Looking for a delicious and affordable vegan turkey? This recipe, made with chickpeas and vital wheat protein (seitan), is the perfect centerpiece for Thanksgiving. It's easy to make, comes together in under 2 hours, and is much cheaper than buying a pre-made vegan turkey. It's made with simple, whole pantry-friendly ingredients, packed with flavor, easy to make (even if you're just a beginner) and more affordable than buying a vegan turkey roast.
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💭 Why you'll love this recipe
- Replicate holiday flavors at home with versatile options. You can make a simple loaf, or a stuffed turkey roast that looks like a real turkey!
- Easy to make and cheaper than store bought and tastes 100x better!
- Detailed, step-by-step instructions that are helpful regardless of whether you're making this for the first time or the 10th!
- Great for leftovers. Save this to use as vegan meat for sandwiches (and that's after you have a delicious family dinner with plant-based ingredients that everyone will love)
This recipe is super adaptable. You can make a simple turkey loaf or a full stuffed, "real turkey" shaped celebration roast - I've included instructions for everything in between, so you can make it for all special occasions.
🦃 What is vegan turkey?
Vegan turkey is simply a plant-based alternative to traditional turkey! It can be made from various ingredients, including chickpeas, lentils, vital wheat gluten (seitan), tofu, and vegetables. Vegan turkey is often seasoned with herbs and spices to give it a turkey-like flavor.
This vegan turkey roast is made with seitan, a mock meat product crafted with vital wheat gluten (i.e., the protein from wheat without any starch). It replicates the meaty texture and chewiness and is flavored to mimic meat.
📋 Ingredients to make vegan turkey
The simplest version of this vegan turkey is a turkey loaf. You can also shape this into a real "turkey" shape - just 3x these ingredients.
- For the seitan: canned chickpeas, vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, vegan bouillon and broth (see notes below), olive oil, soy sauce, garlic and onion powder, dried oregano, poultry seasoning, white miso paste, and salt. To make crispy skin, you'll need rice paper sheets (this is optional).
- For the basting liquid to oven-roast the turkey: broth, olive oil, soy sauce, dried oregano and ground black pepper. Or to brown loaf on stovetop: simply vegan butter and soy sauce. This part is optional, but makes a difference!
Notes and Variations
- You cannot make this gluten-free. Sorry, GF friends, this recipe needs vital wheat gluten as a key component. Instead, you can try these other main dishes: easy vegan mushroom Wellington, stuffed acorn squash, or this nut roast (but use gluten-free breadcrumbs).
- Use a "chicken-style" bouillon or broth (Better than Bouillon is my favorite, Not Chik'n works too). According to my meat-loving fiancé, this mimics the taste of turkey better than vegetable broth.
- Chickpeas have the most neutral flavor, but you can use cannellini beans, Northern beans (or any white beans), or tofu.
- Stuff the turkey: To make the optional stuffing, you'll need: olive oil, onion, celery, mushrooms, loaf of old sourdough bread cut into cubes, dried thyme, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, and broth. See vegan stuffing for details.
Tools Required
There are a couple of tools that are important so I have provided alternatives in case you don't have any of these.
- Food processor works best for pulsing the broth and chickpeas. Mashing chickpeas with a ricer or masher can work too!
- Use a glass or stainless steel mixing bowl and a silicone spatula (versus a plastic bowl and/or wooden spoon). Seitan dough gets sticky!
- To prevent getting the turkey loaf wet while steaming it, use a steamer basket (this one works great with the Instant Pot). If you don't have one, wrap turkey in foil, roll more foil to make a "frame" at the bottom or use mason jar lids or a heat-safe plate to hold turkey off water.
📖 Make vegan turkey roast!
Prepare the turkey ("wheat meat")
- Add all the ingredients except the vital wheat gluten to a food processor (i.e., drained chickpeas, broth, olive oil, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, and miso paste) and process until smooth.
- Transfer this to a glass mixing bowl, making sure to scrape all the good bits off your blender. Add your vital wheat gluten to the bowl and mix it up with a silicone spatula to start and your hands to finish into a ball.
- Once it has come together in a coarse ball, sprinkle some vital wheat gluten on a clean countertop. Knead the dough (at least 10-12 times). But don't over-knead it (it can make the seitan tough).
- Shape this into a loaf. This will look small, but it expands when you cook it!
If you want to stuff the turkey loaf, first roll the dough into a circular shape. Place the stuffing in the middle and then roll the dough into a log shape after you've placed the stuffing in the center. Check out this amazing recipe for vegan stuffing!
Preparing a vegan Turkey Roast!
The recipe as written is meant to make a "loaf" - however, I got a couple of requests if the shape of the turkey can be replicated, and the answer is yes! It can. You'll need 3x the amount of ingredients as written above. Then follow instructions below to get them into a turkey shape!
Once you finish kneading the dough, break it up into five parts. Five small loafs (for the arms and legs) and one larger part for the body. See below for loose proportions for what this will look like before cooking!
👩🏽🍳 Expert Tip: If you're stuffing the turkey, stuff just the central "large" part (versus the legs and arms) just like you would a real turkey. To do this, roll the dough into a circular shape. Place stuffing in the middle and roll into a large log.
Steam the turkey!
Pick up a large Dutch oven or pot and a steamer basket. Wrap your turkey meatloaf first in parchment paper, then in foil and place it in on the steamer basket. Wrapping in parchment paper helps avoid the aluminum foil from leaching. Then pour at least 3 cups of broth into the bottom of the pot, bring to a boil and lower heat to steam for at least one hour.
Note: Seitan can be finicky, so check after an hour to make sure it's cooked. It can take up to 30 minutes more depending on the size of the seitan. But keep a close eye, since overcooked seitan can become dry and rubbery.
While the turkey is steaming, make basting liquid (aka compound butter) by mixing the ingredients in a bowl (vegan butter, soy sauce, minced garlic, better than chicken vegan bouillon, oregano, and black pepper). If using an oven, while the turkey is steaming, preheat the oven to 400°F.
👩🏽🍳 Expert Tip: Make rice paper skin!
This step is technically optional, but it takes a few extra seconds and makes a world of a difference, so don't skimp if you can! Soak rice paper in water for 30 seconds and allow it to dry completely.
Once the turkey is steamed, brush the turkey log or each individual component with the basting liquid. Then, wrap the rice paper around the log or each individual component.
Don't mind the crinkles or air bubbles (they actually end up tasting super crispy!) You just want to get it covered as much as possible. Then, brush the top of the rice paper with more basting butter.
Brown and baste the turkey!
Oven-roasting: You can brown the small loaf either on the stovetop or in an oven. But I recommend only using an oven if you're shaping the wheat meat into a turkey shape.
Place the steamed turkey in a baking dish. The size of the dish will vary based on size of turkey - small loaf will need a small 9x9 dish while a full turkey will need a roasting rack. I suggest roasting your turkey in the oven if you're doing the full turkey since you can do it all at once versus using a stove top.
Stovetop basting: Heat a large skillet with some vegan butter. Add soy sauce and place the turkey in the pan and cook to golden brown on all sides. Spoon the butter-soy mixture on the turkey every 1-2 minutes to get all the sides.
Serve the vegan turkey roast with your choice of herbs. Slice using a serrated knife, and then with some of the basting liquid on top!
👩🏽🍳 Troubleshooting FAQs
Yes! Place a trivet in the pot, then place your turkey loaf on top. Pour the broth under the trivet and let it pressure cook on low for 50 minutes to an hour. Let it pressure release and then follow rest of the steps.
Chickpeas and cannellini beans imitate white meat a lot more. I found that adding coconut amino to the basting liquid in addition to soy sauce and using tofu instead of chickpeas works for dark meat.
Yes! This recipe is great for make-ahead. Follow the steps until you've steamed it. You can make the "dough" ahead of time, wrap it in foil and place it in the fridge until you're ready to cook it. When you're ready to cook it, I suggest following the oven instructions (but you might need to increase the cook time by 5 minutes).
Yes, you can! Stick the loaf in the freezer and then move it to the fridge the night before you want to use it. Then, let it it thaw on the counter for an afternoon. It'll be ready to cook by dinner time.
I find that the stuffed version works amazingly for Christmas! In fact, I make the individual loaves for Christmas and the full turkey for Thanksgiving at my house.
Yes, you can! Just wrap in puff pastry before throwing in the oven.
🍴What to serve with vegan turkey roast
To make a perfect holiday meal with this holiday roast, check out the following amazing recipes (or serve it up with vegan gravy!)
- Dinner rolls (vegan or vegetarian)
- Cranberry sauce (three ways!)
- Vegan stuffing
- Smothered garlic green beans
- Instant pot spinach and artichoke dip
- Crispy garlic smashed potatoes
- Instant pot mashed potatoes (or stovetop cheesy mashed potatoes)
🍴 Make-ahead, storage and reheating
Make ahead: You can make the turkey meat and let it steam for an hour. Then, cool and refrigerate in an airtight container. Then, when ready to serve, remove from the fridge, wrap in foil, and roast in oven at 350°F for 30 minutes to warm. Then follow the rest of the instructions for basting and browning.
You can store the turkey in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container. You could freeze the turkey, but I don't recommend that.
Did you make this recipe?! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Please leave a comment and a star rating and let me know how it went! We love hearing from you, thank you so much
📖 Recipe
Vegan Turkey Roast!
Equipment
- 2 wooden skewers if making turkey shape
Ingredients
For the Turkey Roast
- 1½ cups chickpeas, drained
- 1 cup vegetable broth or vegan chicken-style broth
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning, see notes for homemade version
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoons miso paste
- 1⅓ cups vital wheat gluten
For the basting liquid:
- 8 oz vegan butter, might add more for the oven basting!
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon vegan bouillon, optional
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For Crispy Skin
- 3 sheets rice paper
Instructions
Make Wheat Meat Turkey
- Add all the turkey roast ingredients except the vital wheat gluten to a food processor (drained chickpeas, broth, olive oil, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, and miso paste) and process until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl, making sure to scrape all the good bits off the processor jug. Add the vital wheat gluten to the bowl and mix it up with a silicone spatula to start and your hands to finish.
- Once it has come together in a coarse ball, sprinkle some vital wheat gluten on a clean countertop. Knead the dough (at least 10-12 times). (*See notes for stuffing your turkey)
To Shape Log:
- Roll the dough and shape it into a thick log. Note that this will look quite small, but it expands when you cook it.
To Shape Turkey:
- Once you finish kneading the dough, break it up into five parts. Five small loaves (for the arms and legs) and one larger piece for the body. Use the skewers to shape the legs around it.
Steam, Brown and Baste Turkey
- Steam the turkey: Pick up a large Dutch oven or pot and a steamer basket. Wrap your turkey meatloaf and any other pieces in foil paper tightly and place it on the steamer basket. Then pour at least 3 cups of hot water into the bottom of the pot, bring to a boil and lower the heat to steam for at least one hour. (*See notes for tips when steaming the turkey).
- While the turkey is steaming, make basting liquid (aka compound butter) by mixing the ingredients in a bowl (vegan butter, soy sauce, minced garlic, better than chicken vegan bouillon, oregano, and black pepper).
- Make rice paper skin: Soak rice paper in water for 30 seconds and allow it to dry completely. Once the turkey is steamed, brush the turkey log or each individual component with the basting liquid. Then, wrap the rice paper around the log or each individual component. It’s okay if there are crinkles or air bubbles, you just want to get it covered as much as possible. Then, brush the top of the rice paper with more basting liquid.
- Brown the turkey (in the oven): You can do this either on the stovetop or in an oven. If using an oven, while the turkey is steaming, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place the steamed turkey in a baking dish and pour basting liquid over the turkey. Bake for 20 minutes. Spoon the basting liquid over the turkey every 5 minutes to avoid it from drying out on the inside.
- Brown the loaf (on the stove): Heat a large skillet with some vegan butter. Add basting liquid and place the turkey in the pan and let it brown on all sides. Spoon the basting liquid mixture on the turkey once every 1-2 minutes to make sure you're getting all the sides until browned and under medium-low heat.
- Serve and slice with a serrated knife.
Video
Notes
- Stuffing turkey loaf: If you want to stuff the loaf, first roll the dough into a circular shape. Place the stuffing in the middle and then roll the dough into a log shape after you've placed the stuffing in the center.
- Stuffing turkey shape: I suggest stuffing just the central "large" part (versus the legs and arms) just like you would a real turkey. To do this, roll the dough into a circular shape. Place stuffing in the middle and roll into a large log.
- Steaming: Seitan can be finicky, so I suggest checking after an hour to make sure it's cooked. It can take up to 30 minutes more depending on the size of the seitan. When ready, remove from the foil.
- Browning: The size of the dish will vary based on the size of the turkey - a small loaf will need a small 9x9 dish while a full turkey will need a roasting rack. I suggest roasting your turkey in the oven if you're doing the full turkey since you can do it all at once versus using a stovetop.
- Make ahead: You can make the turkey meat and let it steam for an hour. Then, cool and refrigerate in an airtight container. Then, when ready to serve, remove from the fridge, wrap in foil, and roast in oven at 350F for 30 minutes to warm. Then follow the rest of the instructions for basting and browning.
this recipe looks and sounds delicious. about the vital wheat gluten ... is that in a flour form? or is the seitan (chinese mianjin) that looks a bit like bread in cubes?
The vital wheat gluten is the one in flour form!
Due to a food allergy, one of my daughters now follows a vegan diet. I did a test run of this dish to be sure she doesn't feel left out over the holidays, and it turned out great!
Oh that's fantastic, thank you for sharing back!
This is a great way to incorporate "turkey" into any festive occasion -- beyond just Thanksgiving!
I followed the tip to add aminos to recreate the taste of dark meat. I really enjoyed the result! Will definitely save this recipe for the 2023 holiday season.
I must say: Super Delicious! and no, I will not wait until Thanksgiving to make it again.
Great flavor and texture. Thank you!
This was a sensational substitute for the vegans at my bbq on Memorial Day. I wasn't sure I wasn't going to be able to shape it like you did but your instructions were so helpful. There were rave reviews!
Dude. Best vegan turkey roast EVER. Super freaking delicious, relatively cheap & easy to make as well. Even my meat eater husband loved it. It's truly the best holiday roast substitute I've had. I even added stuffing. The savory seitan & chickpea turkey with the crispy skin. I'm definitely gonna make this again... like next month LOL
This made my day! Thank you SO much 🙂
I’m just about to try it and I don’t know what poultry seasoning is. In the ingredients it says to see notes for home made version. Am I missing it or is it not there?
Hi Carolyn! It should be linked in the post - apologies if I missed that. Poultry seasoning is usually just labeled as such in most grocery stores but when I make it at home, I use a blend of 2 tablespoons each of basil, oregano, paprika and thyme, along with 1 tablespoon of rosemary, 2 teaspoons of onion powder, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Just add all to a container and shake well. Hope that helps!
This will transform my Thanksgiving, for years I've had to have just vegetables and no real main course. I did a trial run of the recipe to make sure I wanted it for the big day and OMG yes I do!!!
I made your Vegan Turkey Roast for my vegan family members and they loved, loved, loved it! Thank you for a great recipe!
This is delish! I made it for an early Canadian Thanksgiving celebration, and it was terrific! I loved all the flavors and it got rave reviews!
Thanks for this recipe! I tested it and it was so delicious! I've got a lot of vegan friends and I'm making this for our friendsgiving!
Beautiful! I'm excited to make This for my vegan guest at Thanksgiving!