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.
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Serving suggestion:
Derk
Mine came out a little “bready”. Any idea what causes that?
Susan Voisin
That seems to happen every now and then, and I’m not sure whether it’s different brands of wheat gluten or something else. Wish I had a good answer for you!
Shellie
We had this last night. Delicious. Next time, however, I’ll use cashew butter or almond butter in place of the tahini. The tahini was too hard a substance to knead in well, and it didn’t melt when cooked….and it wasn’t refrigerated.
OR Suz
INSERT SUPERLATIVES HERE!!!
Wish I’d found this recipe long ago, b/c I’d have saved lots of $$ and additives buying something similar at the grocery.
I’ve lots of experience with VWG, so this was no-brainer.
Everything about the finished product delivered: flavor, texture, ease, etc.
Just sorry I didn’t follow your advice to double the recipe.
Won’t make that mistake again.
(Have you tried freezing them? Do they hold up?)
THANK YOU!
Donna
I made these ribz tonight following the recipe to the letter and wow! Was I (and my husband) impressed. They looked and tasted very much like the real thing. Your recipe was simple enough and easy to follow so I was pleasantly surprised when the ribz turned out perfect, just like in your photos. I will make these again and again. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
melissa
I made these last night and they were fantastic! So easy to make and much lower in fat then the recipe I use to use. This is a keeper!
Nancye
Hi there!
Could you advise me with a similar type of spice rather than using paprika due to Bell Peppers Allergy?
Many thanks N…
Anna
I made these this weekend and they were delicious! Even my fiance, who is a meat eater, said they were good and he was surprised how much they tasted like pork ribs. These will definitely be a summer BBQ staple!
Sahari
First of all, let me join in the choir who sing “Thanks for all you do! ” You are truly God sent.
I am wondering if you could envision a substitute for the nutritional yeast and soy sauce. We’ve (so sadly) had to live without seitan ribs due to my hubby’s gout (soy and yeast are no-no’s).
Here’s hoping!
Susan Voisin
Thanks, Sahari! Fortunately, the yeast and the soy sauce are pretty much optional. You can just leave the yeast out, or substitute a teaspoon of (non-soy) miso. Instead of soy sauce, you could use a teaspoon of salt or substitute coconut aminos, a soy-free soy sauce substitute.
Sean
I just made these last night and one word comes to mind about them. WOW!!! These are amazing. They are even really good warmed up the next day. I am going to make these for a potluck we are having at work coming up and not tell anyone I made them to see who likes them. There are a couple meat eaters that won’t touch my usual fare because it is “vegan”.
Leta
This did not go as well for me, but I will try it again!
Shellie
Leta, Susan also makes another great rib dish. We just had it last night again…outstanding. I highly recommend it.
https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2016/07/jacked-vegan-ribs.html
Sean
This is my new favorite seitan recipe. I have made it twice. The first time was really good. The second time was even better. Thanks for the great recipe.
Laura
I made this because I was looking for a really quick easy and tasty seitan recipe to use the last of the gluten I had left. WOW. What amazingly simple vegan ribs. Seriously. I’ve worked longer, kneaded more, baked longer, boiled broth, but nothing compares to the simplicity and taste of this seitan. I even halved the recipe and it still came out slammin.’ Bookmarked and will be used as my go to!
BBQ Guy
Not vegan far from it I am a culinary student inspired to open up his own BBQ restaurant. But I want vegan options in my restaurant am making this now your way then I will try with one of my spice rubs. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Ade
Just made this recipe and am very pleased with the results. I changed up the spices and made my own sauce. Will not be the last time. Was not as difficult as I thought it would be, a plus
Lauren
These are great. Really hits the spot when I crave ribs. We make these frequently and even my 3 year old son devours these and he’s ridiculously picky. I don’t make any changes to the recipe.
a lifetime vegetarian
I’ve been vegetarian almost my whole life and am thrilled to have something to take to a family bbq that isn’t a frozen processed soy patty….I have shared this recipe with other vegetarians I know and we all LOVE these! My carniverous brother in law had seconds even though “the texture wasn’t quite right” and my teenage sister in law thought they were”really good” This is one of my favorite “meat” recipes… Thanks for sharing it!
Lisa
Great recipe! I have seen the other comments about problems with a bready texture. This is usually caused by your oven being too hot. If you have this problem reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees next time you make them.
Michelle
10 plus stars!! I’ve been experimenting with various vegan cheese and meat recipes for the past year or so. This is by far the best thing I have made to date. Texture, flavor, etc. was on point and I can’t wait to try other seitan meat recipes now. I highly recommend giving this a try!
Rachel
This dish is now my go-to for any potluck, I’ve brought it to 3 and each time everyone asks me for the recipe. It’s soooooo good!
Kaylyn Patton
I made this recipe once a few months ago and it was great, but I could taste the VWG. Maybe the brand I used just has a strong gluten-y flavor, but tonight I’m making it with the same brand and following the recipe with one change: I replaced 1/2 cup of the water with BBQ sauce. I mixed it really thoroughly into the wet ingredients and the texture of the dough seemed perfect (I knead mine a bit for a chewier texture). I also didn’t have a grill last time u made them so it was oven baked and then pan seared in sauce, this time I’ll be finishing on a charcoal grill for hopefully some more smokey BBQ flavor. Thank you so much for this recipe! Seitan has always been daunting to me but these are so easy and quick that they can be a regular weeknight dinner with no fuss.
bluejolene
i’ve been making this for years. recently my daughter who’s not vegan but eats my vegan meals 🙂 started eating this with me and she says its just like the vegan riblets I buy and to stop buying those frozen packs and just make this :). It never looks as nice as the pic up there in the glass pan, but w/ sauce over it, it don’t matter 😉 I’m been making it in the oven, no grill and today after baking I’ll flip them a few times on an electric skillet, see if I can improve the flavor.
bluejolene
been making these for years. A++ kid says they are better than the frozen riblets I sometimes buy
Tammy
Yummy. I’ve just started making my seitan, so this was only the second time. I had my doubts because I could only smell the nut butter. However, I cooked them in a grill pan, used some hot pepper jelly barbecue sauce I made and wow, did they hit the spot. My daughter ate a significant portion. Lol. Thank you!
El
Hello! I am eager to try this! I have a question, though: In the instructions to make it without a grill, it says, “To make this without a grill, bake it for 25 minutes…” Is that in addition to the 25 minute baking time in step 3? Thank you!
Susan Voisin
No, that’s instead of the 25 minutes in step 3–or rather the same as the time in step three. You bake it for 25, flip it, brush with sauce, and bake for another 10 minutes or so for a total of 35-40 minutes cooking.
Mildred Johnson
I haven’t been long trying out different vegan “not meat” recipes. I really like how easy this one is. I like even more that I don’t have to steam and then weight a day to enjoy. I LOVE this recip and the ribz were delish. They were a bit dry…but that probably was my mistake. I’ll add a tad bit more liquid the next time I make, which will be soon.
Thank you
Vienna
These were so easy! Much more so than other seitan recipes. And very good. I subbed 1/2 tsp chipotle powder for liquid smoke because I didn’t have any of the latter. I now want to make the recipe with different types of bbq sauces (and double the recipe, of course!)
Steve Little
It looks like you came up with this first…
http://www.baked-in.com/2014/06/30/vegan-barbecue-ribs/
Susan Voisin
Yep, they get around that by saying “adapted slightly from FatFree Vegan.” 🙁
Janna
I encourage everyone to try different recipes using VWG. It is sooooo easy to make faux meat and it is delicious. And freezes well after cooked.
Gretchen
OMG Thank you!! I grew up making gluten ribs from wheat flour and water. A very long, tedious job that was always delicious but took forever and a lot of elbow grease. I haven’t found any recipes to compare using VWG…. until now! This was the quickest and best recipe! I made these one day, my omnivore hubby ate them all up and begged for more! I doubled the recipe a few days later and they were gone before the night was over!! Thank you for making BBQ ribs an attainable weeknight dinner (even with 2 toddlers)!!
Susan Voisin
I’m so happy you–and your husband–liked them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and rating.
Becky Anderson
Made these yesterday for my guy for Father’s Day and they were delicious! Next time I’m going to try kneading them a little longer to make them chewier. I don’t think they were “bready” as some people said, but they were a little on the soft, spongy side. Do you think kneading longer would help that? Either way, they were fabulous and super easy to make.
Susan Voisin
Definitely, longer kneading will make them chewier.
Shannon Gassaway
WOW did I mess it up!!! I’ve experimented with seitan in the past but it’s probably been a year or so since I’ve made any. After folding in the wet ingredients it didn’t get sticky like I remember, so I started stirring and it mixed completely but was still like batter… I’m used to gluten mixes totally sticking to everything, so I think I just somehow got so distracted by how wet it was that it slipped my mind to try to knead it. Needless to mention, even after an extra 10 minutes of baking it hadn’t firmed up very well, and after attempting to grill it, then nuking it for 10 minutes, it was still like some gawd-awful dense cake. YUCK. I know I should have kneaded, but still confused… Followed the ingredients so not sure why it was so wet – can gluten lose its elasticity properties after being stored too long?
Susan Voisin
I don’t think it can lose its elasticity, but I think it can probably absorb moisture from the atmosphere, making it too wet. If you used the same amount of liquid as I did, that would be my bet. Unless—you didn’t, by chance, mix the barbecue sauce into the gluten?
Shannon Gassaway
OH FOR EFF SAKE! Yes, I did!!!! I read through the steps when I was still kinda waking up and I think just assumed mix your dry, mix your wet, combine. So later when I made it I only looked at the ingredient list, not the steps. What a dork! I’ve kinda been burnin the candle at both ends so I didn’t catch that even after messing it up and looking at the recipe again – THANK YOU for catching that!! 😆
Ivee
I’m excited to try this recipe! I’m wondering if I just missed it but wanted to check and see what is constituting a serving size. I see to cut into 16 strips. How many strips is a serving to coincide with the approximate nutritional information provided?
Thanks so much fornall you do! Your recipes are amazing!
Susan Voisin
Thanks! Each serving is 4 ribs. I hope you enjoy them!
Becca
I’m confused by the nutritional value. What’s the serving size?
Susan Voisin
Each serving is 4 ribs if you follow the directions and cut it into 16.
Toby
A newly turned vegan I was really excited to try these as real ribs were one of my all time favourite treats when I was a meat eater. These were… meh. Texture was okay, if a little bready (I didn’t cook them at too high a temperature after reading the comments warning against that), but the flavour was also quite bready and needed to be masked with a lot of barbecue sauce. Not unpleasant just not great, and a million miles away from pork ribs. Will try again with more liquid smoke, and also maybe cook them on the barbecue rather than in the oven. Thanks for the recipe though!
Eddie
This was my 1st seitan dish that i prepared. It turned out great. My wife and both my (somewhat picky) kids enjoyed it(wife loved it so much she wanted more so lucky i made 2 batches). Thank you. Will be making this and experimenting with it regularly.
Followed recipe exactly by the way.
Cherry
The hubby absolutely loved it. It didnt make as many as the recipe, only 8, and took longer to cook, so maybe it just wasnt as thin as it should have been but I couldn’t smash it thinner. But they were moist and juicy and super flavorful he said. He ate all 8 in one sitting with the meal I prepared of homemade garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. The rest of us had beef ribs. Will def make again. Oh, and I used peanut butter and sesame oil in place of the tahini.
Cindy
Can you freeze?
Susan Voisin
Yes you can.
Stacie
This was my first time using vital wheat gluten . I followed the recipe exactly. I kneaded it for about 45 seconds. It came together nicely. It took me a lot longer to actually press it into the 8×8 baking dish. It was more like rubber than stretchy dough. It tore a bit and was difficult to get it to stick back together. Should it be that hard to fit into that size pan? Other than that, It baked up perfectly. I used a homemade BBQ sauce and finished baking in the oven because my grill was out of gas. Texture was chewy. Taste was fabulous. I’ll definitely make again!
Susan Voisin
It should be a little hard to stretch it to fit the pan, but not excessively so. Be careful not to knead it too much—that can make it too chewy and tough.
Deborah Likens
I made these for Memorial Day and I loved them. I am not a pork eater and I know these wont fool a meat eater, but they worked for me! I finished them off on the grill and that made them yummy. Basically it is “wheat meat” lol. With corn on the cob and vegan baked beans I was a happy camper. I have to say I was leary because lately I have a lot of “fails”, but this is a win!
Angeline McGee
I’ve made this twice and each time I cannot get the dough to spread out. It keeps coming back together but never stays flat and evened out.. tastes AMAZING though.. any suggestions?
Susan Voisin
Try stirring it together as gently as possible and don’t knead it at all. That might help.
Melissa
Hi, I am making these for the first time but was wondering if I could bake them one day and then bbq them the next day when we plan to eat them. I’m going to my friends for a social distance ribfest so wanted to bring these. Would that work? Bake them in Friday and bbq them on Saturday? If not what is the best way to reheat them? Thanks
Susan Voisin
I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t work, but I haven’t tried it myself.