Sunday was such a beautiful day that I had to get outside, away from the kitchen and the computer, and just enjoy the sunshine and flowers. I spent all of last week closeted in my office trying to copy files and programs to a new computer and set up a new home network. By Sunday I had had enough. I wanted to spend as much of the day outside as I could.
For a few weeks I’ve been planning on cooking these barbecued seitan ribs, but the timing and weather were never quite right. Though they’re started in the kitchen, they’re finished up on the grill, giving them the smoky taste that only grilling can impart.
I’ve found that cooking outside is much less stressful if most of the foods are pre-cooked at least a little in the kitchen; long grilling times, different foods finishing at different times, and potential burning all can be avoided with a little strategic pre-cooking in the microwave or oven.
We ate these vegan ribs outside with steamed broccoli and grilled/baked potatoes. The potatoes were pre-cooked in the microwave until almost done and then cooked on the back of the grill while the seitan was cooking. The whole meal was a complete success.
The potatoes had that delicious grilled taste without the long cooking time baked potatoes usually require. And the seitan was succulent and tasty. In fact, the three of us probably could have eaten another entire pan of this stuff, so in the future I will double the recipe and hope for leftovers. E. says to tell you that this is “way, way kid-friendly.”
Note: This recipe is loosely based on this recipe, which uses the oven rather than the grill.
For a different version, try my Jacked-Up Vegan Ribs with jackfruit for texture. Yum!
Suggested Homemade Barbecue Sauces:
Try these ribs with one of these homemade barbecue sauces or any bottled sauce.
Barbecued Seitan Ribz (Vegan Ribs)
Ingredients
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons tahini or other nut butter
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- about 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce see some suggestions below
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray an 8×8 baking dish with canola oil. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the water with the nut butter, Liquid Smoke, and soy sauce and add it to the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well and then knead lightly in the bowl 15-60 seconds (the less you knead it, the more tender it is; the longer, the chewier).
- Put the dough into the baking dish and flatten it so that it evenly fills the pan. Take a sharp knife and cut it into 8 strips; then turn the pan and cut those strips in half to form 16 pieces:
- Put it in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. While it’s cooking prepare your grill.
- Remove it from the oven and carefully re-cut each strip, going over each cut to make sure that the ribz will pull apart easily later. Generously brush the top with barbecue sauce. Take it to the grill and invert the whole baking dish onto the grill (or use a large spatula to lift the seitan out, placing it sauce-side down on the grill). Brush the top of the seitan with more sauce:
- Watch it closely to make sure that it doesn’t burn. When it’s sufficiently brown on one side, turn over and cook the other side, adding more sauce, if necessary. When done, remove to a platter and cut or pull apart the individual ribs to serve.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please pin and share!
Serving suggestion:
Amanda
July 3, 2010 at 10:44 amI rarely comment but felt the need to due to all this nasty negativity! I am an ETHICAL vegan. The health benefits are an added plus but I do not eat meat or animal products for purely ethical reasons. That being said, I grew up eating meat and milk and sometimes do crave that “comfort food” during certain times of the year. These ribz are amazing – I’m making them for our July 4th party and I can’t wait to show them off to everyone. My vegan fiance practically drools when I tell him these are the weeks dinner list and they make excellent leftovers on sandwhiches the next day! Thank you, Susan for this wonderful recipe and all your recipes. I check your blog at least a few times a week for iedeas and everything I’ve made has been (healthy) and delicious 🙂
Sarah
July 3, 2010 at 9:35 pmI’ve got this saved to make soon, but my last attempt at making baked seitan was a total flop – the cutlets just poofed into crispy balloons that were hollow inside and didn’t have a whole lot of flavour. Does this recipe puff up a lot in the oven too? I ask because unlike the Veggeroni there’s nothing to constrict it’s expansion. Thanks in advance, I’m a total nOOb when it comes to seitan stuff.
SusanV
July 3, 2010 at 9:42 pmSarah, when I make this, it doesn’t puff up like that. It really only “grows” a tiny bit in the oven. It doesn’t come out as dense as the Veggeroni–there are small air holes throughout–but it shouldn’t be hollow.
Erika
July 3, 2010 at 11:39 pmI LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it about 5 or 6 times and it is so easy. I’m really bad about measuring and I have never had a failure with this recipe. Thank you so much Susan. XOXO
lindsy
July 4, 2010 at 2:05 pmthis recipe is excellent! i’ve been making it for about a year now, for veg and non-veg friends & family alike, and everyone loves it. It travels well, too- i baked a batch @ my brother in law’s house before going camping at a Phish show. We grilled it late that night when we arrived, and it was just as delicious.
Thanks so much for sharing!!
Kate
July 6, 2010 at 1:12 pmI made these for the 4th, along with the chipotle bbq sauce…..they were AMAZING!!! I will most definately be making these again! Thanks so much for such a fun recipe! 🙂
Jen
July 7, 2010 at 2:37 pmHello! I am attempting to make my first batch of seitan today, however, as I am in the UK I can’t get hold of vital wheat gluten 🙁
So have made it from scratch using bread flour, and lots of kneading and rinsing!
…like this…http://forkable.blogspot.com/2008/07/courtesy-of-toliveandeatinla.html
I would love to make this recipe but would it be possible using the method I have to follow? I can’t add anything to the flour as it would just get rinsed out! Do you think I could just press the raw gluten into the baking dish and proceed from there?! Thank you in advance if you have any idea if this would work!
…and also thank you so much for the vegan eggnog cheesecake recipe, I made it the other week, and ate the whole thing in about a day 😀
(Its been the only vegan cheesecake I’ve ever made that actually tasted like cheesecake!)
paige
July 17, 2010 at 5:40 pmI just made the seitan and its AMAZING…….thanks so much.
Kristen
July 18, 2010 at 7:49 pmOMG…these were so good! I’ve put off trying to make seitan for years because I thought it would be too complicated. This recipe was SO easy and was really delicious. I wasn’t in the mood to pull out the grill, so after the initial cooking period, I brushed with bbq sauce on both sides and baked for an additional 20 minutes in the oven. I will definitely be making this again!
Noelle @OPera Singer in Kitchen
July 23, 2010 at 8:36 pmI always peruse your recipes especially since you are on my blog roll, but I finally made one of your recipes tonight and it was SO delicious! I have been vegan for 9 months and had yet tried my hand at seitan because I was afraid of the taste and texture but I am so mad I had not tried it before. My non-vegan husband love it by the way! Thanks! I am postingyour recipe on my blog with credit to you! 🙂
Carin
July 31, 2010 at 7:48 pmThese ribz are terrific! I’m new to vegan eating. I was cooking my omnivore husband some ribs the other day, the temptation was agonizing. With some internet surfing I discovered your recipe. Thank you so much, these ribz saved the day!!
aj
August 11, 2010 at 2:13 amI’m almost afraid to leave a comment since I was not a fan of these. I hope the fact that I’m doing it in a nice way will make a difference. I am new to the whole vegetarian/vegan lifestyle, and have been hesitant to try any “fake meats”. I love barbecue of any sort, so I gave these a try. The flavor was fine, I just couldn’t get over the texture! I know there is a description in the blog that says these are “spongier than veggeroni”, but I guess I missed that being that I have no idea what veggeroni is. I mean no disrespect by posting a negative review, I just thought I would voice my opinions for others who may want more info before trying this recipe. Please keep posting recipes, I do appreciate another animal-product free resource, even if I may not like all of the recipes! 🙂
Rebecca
May 16, 2012 at 12:04 pmYou might want to try baking them longer. I don’t have a grill so I form them into strips from the get-go, and bake them until the bbq sauce is caramelized and the ends of the strips have started to get crispy. They aren’t so spongy that way.
Jennifer
August 22, 2010 at 12:48 pmAre these ribz similar in texture to the Harvest Direct veggie ribz, which I love? I made seitan in the crockpot recently and I couldn’t get past the spongy wet texture, similar to tofu if the water isn’t squeezed out. I would like to be able to incorporate homemade seitan into my meals but I prefer a dryer texture. Maybe baking it is the key. Any thoughts?
SusanV
August 22, 2010 at 1:23 pmI haven’t had the Harvest Direct ribs, so I can’t comment on that, but the texture of these is definitely not wet, and they’re denser and spongier than tofu ever gets. Baking definitely results in a drier texture, but the barbecue sauce lends moistness and flavor. Give them a try!
Gloria Huerta
September 6, 2010 at 1:17 pmI am sorry to read the negative comments about this recipe. I am a vegan for moral and health reasons. But my reasons are not important here. Any recipe is a starting point. You read it, you decide what ingredients you will omit or substitute, without sacrificing the final end. I look forward to making this recipe today, and I will add my own Mexican flavorings to it. Thanks for such a great website. Please do not allow such negative comments to discourage what you are doing.
Meredith
September 6, 2010 at 6:04 pmThese were AWESOME!! I have never had a good at home, from scratch, seitan experience and have tried many, many times, with no luck. This however changed things forever. These were delicious. I broiled them in the over for about 6-7 minutes on each side and they were great. Even my carnivore husband enjoyed them, and he has NEVER eaten any of my home made seitan dishes before (only in restaurants and premade seitan). I cannot wait to make these again, but mostly because I cannot stop eating them.
Dawn
September 8, 2010 at 2:57 pmTried these last night and they tasted good but my ribs were quite spongy….How do I remedy that???? Thanks.
rebecca
September 9, 2010 at 1:41 pmThese turned out great! I grilled them on my jen-air after baking which worked perfectly- even got the grill marks.
Terry
September 20, 2010 at 11:57 amThanks for sharing all of this wonderful info. I will visit your site often.
Amy
October 25, 2010 at 9:09 pmThank you for this AWESOME recipe!!!
My husband and I were in BBQ RIBZ HEAVEN tonight!
We are both hard-core mountain biking vegetarians (me, vegan), so we have very “healthy” appetites, especially after long rides.. and this recipe was terrifically satisfying!
I used a bottled, organic, vegan BBQ sauce I got at Whole Foods (by Organic Ville), and it was deeee-lisshhhhh!
Definitely on our list of all-time favorites=)
THANK YOU, Susan V!!!
Melissa
November 19, 2010 at 6:04 pmFANTASTIC!
These were much easier, quicker and lower in fat than the ones I made before. I didn’t feel like adding BBQ sauce to them and cooking more, so I just made plain seitan and we dipped them in BBQ! I will definitely make this again. 2 thumbs up from the whole family.
Ben
December 16, 2010 at 6:56 pmI am trying your recipe tonight for the first time. Sounds amazing and I hope it tastes as good as it sounds. I did have one question though. Are the ribs finished when both sides are lightish brown but not burnt. Thanks
SusanV
December 16, 2010 at 7:45 pmI’d say they’re ready when medium brown without being burned. Hope they turn out well for you!
WaterClue
January 30, 2011 at 6:43 amso delicious i love barbecue, looks so amazing. Unluckily, I have to wait for the summer to do it. Thank you!
Jessica McCann
February 5, 2011 at 5:23 pmAs always with your recipes, this made me- and my tummy- very happy! This was my first attempt at homemade seitan, and it turned out really quite well! The hardest part, I found, was trying to shape it to fit the pan, as it was incredibly sponge-like. Either way, I decided I need to stop stalking your blog with out comments – and instead, start giving you the compliments you deserve. Your recipes – and writings, musing and images- are inspiring, informative, interesting and very healthy and delicious. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
PS. I really CANNOT believe all the negative comments on this recipe! One of the great joys of vegan cooking is being able to make vegan alternatives to classic food favorites that many people are not willing to give up when considering switching to a non-meat, non-dairy diet. This might not be the “healthiest” recipe in the world, but it is certainly far healthier than the meat-version… while still being super delicious!
Mel
February 7, 2011 at 11:38 amHi, I’ve made several recipes from your site over the last couple of weeks, since my girlfriend introduced me to it. Every single one has turned out incredibly well! This was no exception, but it got me wondering if this seitan recipe could be tweaked/used to make steak tacos/fajitas? I’m sure it probably could, but I was wondering what your thoughts might be on a possible marinade or rub I could use to do that?
Heather Teeter
March 9, 2011 at 4:00 pmThis was a great recipe! For some reason my ‘ribz’ puffed up in the oven (for the 25 minute baking period). I followed the recipe exactly EXCEPT for stirring the wet ingredients properly prior to mixing them in with the dry. So, moral of the story STIR THE DRY, THE WET, THEN COMBINE 🙂 I think I was having a moment of culinary laziness…it happens 🙂
Marykate
March 14, 2011 at 8:56 pmI’ve made this recipe twice and it is so delicious! Mine are puffy after the oven, like the above commenter’s. Are we doing something wrong? Either way the taste and texture is awesome, so I’m not too worried! Thanks for giving me a good veg BBQ option! 🙂
SusanV
March 14, 2011 at 10:09 pmThis is a crazy question, but are you sure you’re using nutritional yeast and not regular yeast? 😉 because I can’t figure out why they are puffin up. One thing I can think of that might make them less puffy it to knead them more, gently pulling and stretching the dough to make it stringier. But if you liked them, you might just want to keep doing what you’re doing.
Lady
March 16, 2011 at 6:50 amDear Susan,
I`ve tried out your delicious recipe, but it went all wrong.
I got one huge puff out of the oven. I used pure gluten from a baker ( I live in germany) My ribs look like one big dough with to much yeast in it. 😉
I would appreciate it if you could help me out.
Thank you.
Lady
Lady
March 16, 2011 at 6:55 amAh sorry, just read the comments above, seems I am not the only one with that problem. Btw, I didn`t use the yeast at all.
Laura
March 16, 2011 at 9:55 pmI tried this recipe tonight and was rather pleased with the results, but liked it even better later when I nibbled on a piece that was cold. The sauce had permeated the “meat” and the texture was better. I’m new to the whole vegan eatin’ thing, so it’s nice to have this wealth of alternatives at my fingertips. I just love the recipe box feature!! I think I’ll try Samosas next. Or maybe falafal….
Amy
April 19, 2011 at 10:07 pmJust tried this recipe for the first time – heavenly! I’ve made a lot of BBQ seitan recipes and this is definitely the best. It also held up after I made a huge mistake and put 1 3/4 cups of water in instead of 3/4. I had to add extra gluten but it all worked out.. I bet it will be extra amazing when I don’t mess it up. 😉
stacer77
May 3, 2011 at 1:00 pmMy husband, two year old son and I tried these for the first time last night after seeing them as a feature on facebook and all I can say is WOW!!! These were amazing. My son scarfed them right up and he can be a little funny about seitan sometimes. This has been put on the top of our menu for our Fourth of July BBQ. Thanks for the great recipe!
Serenity
May 9, 2011 at 8:53 amI made these a few weeks ago and haven’t been able to stop thinking about them. They will be on the grill for Memorial Day
Thanks for this recipe
nafartari
May 10, 2011 at 11:41 ami’m gonna try some of these this summer! just need the best spices or should i mainly use what would have been used on non-veg vegan recipes? thanxxxxxxx