Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage
Posted: 02/24/21
Updated: 01/13/22
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This vegan corned beef and cabbage is the real deal! It starts with an easy homemade seitan recipe (and store-bought works, too!), simmered with pickling spices to infuse it with deliciously authentic flavor, totally meat free. Served with tender cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, there’s just no better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- It tastes convincingly like traditional corned beef and cabbage, without any of the meat! The seitan perfectly captures that classic, salty brisket flavor and texture.
- This recipe yields an entire meal. Not only do you get delicious vegan corned beef, but you get all the tasty, traditional vegetables to go with it.
- You can use this vegan corned beef to whip up an incredible vegan version of our Corned Beef Sandwich. Just use a vegan Thousand Island or Russian dressing!
Key Ingredients
Seitan – I’ve included the ingredients and the how-to for making your own homemade seitan “corned beef” below. If you want to use store-bought seitan, though, you absolutely can! One pound of store-bought seitan will work perfectly.
Pickling Spices and Mustard Seeds – Since we’re not using traditional corned beef, you don’t get the spice packet that comes with it, BUT we can make our own with pickled spices and mustard seeds! These babies give your “corned beef” all of its incredible flavor. The pickling spices are usually things like allspice, coriander, cloves, ginger, and a few other spices.
Chef’s Tips
- To get the flavor of the pickled seasonings and mustard seeds but don’t want them to stick to your vegan corned beef, put them in a tea infuser ball or wrap them in cheesecloth before you add them to the pot.
- Overworked seitan dough will be rubbery and, basically, gross. Pay close attention when you’re working with it in the food processor – you want a stringy, holey dough mixture.
- If you end up with leftovers, you can refrigerate the vegan corned beef one of two ways. Option 1 – seal it in an airtight container with some of the liquid from cooking. Use enough liquid to keep the seitan submerged. Option 2 – wrap the seitan tightly in foil or plastic wrap, then refrigerate it in an airtight container. Both of these methods should prevent the seitan from drying out. Leftovers will keep in the fridge up to 5 days.
More Incredible Vegan Recipes
- Vegan Cream Cheese
- How to Cook Tempeh
- The BEST Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Seitan Grilled Chicken with Vegan BBQ Sauce
- 45 Incredible Vegan Instant Pot Recipes
- Vegan Biscuits and Gravy
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Vegan Corned Beef & Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots
This vegan corned beef and cabbage is the real deal! It starts with an easy homemade seitan recipe (and store-bought works, too!), simmered with pickling spices to infuse it with deliciously authentic flavor, totally meat free. Served with tender cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, there's just no better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!
servings
Ingredients
For Homemade "Corned Beef"
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth or vegan beef-flavored broth
- 4 cloves garlic crushed or minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- a few drops vegan red food coloring or a bit of beet powder optional, for color
For Broth and Vegetables
- 8 cups water or vegan beef-flavored broth, or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon mustard seeds
- 2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices divided
- 10 small red potatoes
- 5 large (7 ½ inch) carrots peeled, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 1 large head cabbage outer leaves removed and cut into 8 wedges
Equipment
- Food processor (if making seitan)
- Loaf pan
- Parchment Paper
- Large pot or Dutch oven
Instructions
For the Homemade "Corned Beef"
- In a food processor, use the dough blade to combine all ingredients. Pulse until dough forms and then becomes stringy, with holes.
- For a brisket-style shape, bake the seitan in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Press the seitan down in the pan, lay parchment paper on top, and weigh it down. Bake for 325° Fahrenheit for 60 minutes.
For the Broth and Vegetables
- Add water (or broth), salt, brown sugar, mustard seeds, pickling spices, and seitan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add whole potatoes and carrots. Cook approximately 10 minutes, until vegetables are almost tender.
- Add cabbage. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove seitan and slice.
- Serve 2-4 slices of seitan per person along with veggies, topped with as much (or as little) broth as you like.
Notes
- You can 100% use 1 pound of store-bought seitan in place of the homemade seitan! If you’re using store-bought, start your process at step 1 under the “For the Broth and Vegetables” section.
- Make it Low Carb: Most of the carbs in this recipe come from the broth and vegetables – the vegan corned beef is pretty low carb on its own! One serving of the homemade “corned beef” has 14 grams total carbs, so by skipping some of the vegetables, you can easily cut down on your carb intake. The red potatoes have the most carbs, then the cabbage, then the carrots.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 772kcal, Carbohydrates: 126g, Protein: 52g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 2923mg, Potassium: 3334mg, Fiber: 20g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 15752IU, Vitamin C: 136mg, Calcium: 292mg, Iron: 9mg, Net Carbs: 106g
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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