Epic Vegan Steak: Plant-Based and Cow-Approved

Steak is one of the world’s most popular ‘dinner foods’. But these days you can easily replicate meat with natural plant-based ingredients like seitan. From easy to fancy recipes, there are also some fantastic ready-made brands.

Vegan Steak (School Night Vegan) is made with vital wheat gluten, along with a myriad of other ingredients including cannellini beans, soy sauce, yeast extract, nutritional yeast, vegan gravy granules, mustard powder and vegan Worcestershire sauce.

Keep vegan steak away from pets due to salt, onion, garlic etc.

For recipes, unless you have a food waste bin (turned into biogas), just bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallot, chives), as acids could harm compost creatures.

Reasons to try vegan steak

Celeriac steak (The Veg Space) is made with vegetables!

• Better for animals. Cows are beautiful creatures and wonderful mothers, who deserve to live lives of happiness and peace, just like all creatures.
• Zero cholesterol. If you enjoy steak, you can enjoy vegan ones more often, as they are still high in protein, but unlike meat have no cholesterol, and are packed with fibre, to aid good heart health and digestion.
• Environmental impact. Avoiding livestock saves massive amounts of water and methane gas, contributing to more fresh water supplies worldwide and helps to prevent climate change emissions.

Tips for good vegan steak recipes

Vegan steak (the Cheeky Chickpea)

If you are going to make your own vegan steak, here are a few tips to make it easier and tastier.

• The main ingredient used for most recipes is seitan, which is a kind of ‘wheat-meat’ that is kneaded to give that same meaty chew. Avoid over-kneading which could make for a ‘rubbery’ steak.
• Vegan steak is good with added deep umami flavours like soy sayce, liquid aminos or vegan Worcestershire sauce.
• Pat steaks dry before they hit the pan, so they ‘sear’ instead of steam.

Planted: The Swiss Trailblazer for Vegan Meats

Planted is a very successful brand of vegan meats from a Swiss company. Made with natural ingredients (the ‘vegan chicken’ only has five ingredients), items are made in Switzerland or Germany, which makes this is a very efficient company!

By combining extrusion and traditional fermentation, Planted can produce larger pieces of plant-based meats that have a more complex texture, and are both juicy and tender. Items are fortified with important micronutrients like vitamin B12.

Sold in grocery stores across Europe, everything is made with renewable energy.

Planted was founded in 2019 by Pascal who had been bothered by the many additives in vegan meats, while living and working in the USA. On return to Switzerland, he brought his cousin Lukas on board, along with a doctoral student who knew about the techy wet extrusion stuff. A financier also got on board, which has likely what has made the brand so successful. Now with a fifth member on board, this brand is going places!

The items are made in factories that run on renewable energy, and packaging can be recycled at kerbside or at supermarket bag bins.

By combining extrusion and traditional fermentation, Planted can produce larger pieces of plant-based meats that have a more complex texture, and are both juicy and tender. Products are fortified with micronutrients like vitamin B12.

The range includes:

• Planted.steak is made from soya protein and rapeseed oil. High in protein and fibre, it’s low in saturated fat and packed with iron and vitamin B12.
• Planted.nuggets are crispy on the outside, mild and juicy on the inside. Serve with your favourite sauces.
• Planted.burgers
• Planted.chicken
• Planted.pulled
• Planted.kebabs
• Planted.bratwurst
• Planted.schnitzel
• Planted.skewers

Chrigu Stucki is Switzerland’s top wrestling champion. As a confirmed meat-lover, he tried the products. And like them so much, he’s now Planted’s main ambassador.

Other good brands of vegan steak

The Herbivorous Butcher (US) offers a thick and tender 12oz porthouse steak that can be seared on a skillet or simmered for a stew. Profits also help their own farm sanctuary!

Bonsan Kofu steak is a blend of tofu and digestion-friendly kombucha. Rich in protein, this is full full of flavour, and perfect with sweet potato chips (fries) or a fresh garden salad.

Beyond Steak looks and tastes just like real steak, and cooks in just five minutes. Ideal for fajitas, stir-fries and salads, it can be cooked in air-fryers.

Juicy Marbles offers thick-cut fillets, whole-cut loin and baby ribs (including one in sticky vegan honey). Produced in Slovenia, these are made with beet juice to give that realistic colour. Used by top chefs everywhere.

Redefine Meat is a lab-grown meat and the range includes a flank steak, perfect for cooking or grilling. Also sold for food service and used by top chefs.