Vegan Philly Cheesesteaks with Seitan

Why You’ll Love thEse Vegan Cheesesteaks

Let me tell you all- I am so pumped to share this recipe today. This Vegan and Vegetarian Cheesesteak Recipe is SO good. Probably one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. It’s up there with my homemade vegan hot pocket recipe.

I’m convinced that this is the best vegan Philly cheesesteak out there. Here are a few reasons you’ll love this recipe:

• The Best Vegan Beef: The chewy seitan beef (homemade vegan meat) is seasoned with soy sauce and lots of spices for the perfect umami, savory, and salty flavor. The meaty texture of the seitan is what makes this sandwich so drool-worthy and SO similar to a traditional cheesesteak!

• Creamy Homemade Vegan Cheese Sauce: The vegan provolone cheese sauce is so gooey, creamy, and way better than a plain old slice of melted cheese on top.

• Flavor-packed Veggies with a Garlicky Hoagie Roll: And the sautéed onions and peppers add a flavorful, fresh bite inside the soft, yet crunchy garlic-coated hoagie roll.

the vegan cheesesteak ingredients

To make this vegan seitan cheesesteak, you’ll first need to make your seitan beef! I have an easy and absolutely delicious recipe for how to make your own seitan beef. I love making this recipe in bulk and then freezing the ‘beef’ strips to use in quick weeknight dinners like this.

Here are all the ingredients you’ll need to make this sandwich:

• Homemade Vegan Seitan Beef
• Green Bell Peppers
• Yellow Onion
• Garlic
• Soft Hoagie Rolls, or a sub roll
• Vegan Butter
• Flour
• Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Vegan Provolone Cheese– I’m using Daiya’s

Substitutions

• Homemade Vegan Beef: If you don’t have time to make your own seitan, you can use store-bought seitan strips like Upton’s Naturals or feel free to use soy curls. You can also use homemade vegan ground beef for a different take on the recipe. If you’re not a fan of vegan beef alternatives, you could also substitute thinly sliced portobello mushrooms or button mushrooms instead to make a vegan mushroom ‘cheesesteak.’

• Almond Milk: This can be subbed for another dairy free milk like oat milk or soy milk.

• Vegan Butter: This can be swapped for some extra virgin olive oil.

• Vegan Provolone Cheese: This can be subbed for another vegan cheese of choice like Swiss or mozzarella.

• Hot Peppers: Feel free to top this vegan & vegetarian Philly cheesesteak with hot peppers for a spicy kick!

Helpful Equipment

• Small Pot: For making the cheese sauce 

• Sauté Pan: For the peppers and onions

Step By Step Instructions

The Seitan Beef

STEP 1: If using homemade seitan, make this recipe for the seitan beef. 

📌 TIP: Once the seitan is made, you’ll want to thinly slice the seitan strips, so they’re more authentic!

The Peppers And Onions

A few traditional ingredients in a classic Philly Cheesesteak are green peppers and onions! So the second step in making this vegan version is of course prepping our veggies. I’m using thinly sliced green bell peppers and sweet yellow onions.

STEP 2: You’ll want to sauté the onions and peppers on medium heat for 5-8 minutes until tender and slightly charred. Sauté them on medium-low heat for a bit longer if you prefer caramelized onions!

📌 TIP: I recommend using a nonstick skillet, but if they stick to the pan add 1-2 tbsp of water to the mixture (or use oil if you prefer).

The Vegan Provolone Cheese Sauce

To get that extra ooey gooey cheese, today we’re going the extra mile and making a cheese sauce to spread on top of the seitan and veggies.

STEP 3: While the veggies cook, go ahead and melt the 2 tbsp of vegan butter in a small pot to start the cheese sauce. Feel free to add in some extra seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, or nutritional yeast!

STEP 4: To thicken up the sauce, sprinkle in the flour once the vegan butter has melted. Whisk for 1 minute so the flour cooks through and you get rid of that raw flour taste.

STEP 5: Then, continue whisking while you add in the almond milk. The mixture should be fairly thick at this point.

STEP 6: You can now add in the vegan provolone! Make sure to stir until the vegan cheese incorporates into the butter and flour mixture. 

📌 TIP: I found that the oil from the vegan butter started to separate from the vegan provolone. To better combine everything and to make the cheese sauce smoother, transfer the mixture to a mini food processor or blender, and blend the sauce on high for 1 minute until completely smooth. 

serving the seitan cheesesteaks!

Once you have all the components for the sandwich, you can assemble it! Spread the melted vegan butter and garlic on the hoagie rolls and toast them up. After they’re toasted, I like to spread a bit of the cheese sauce on both sides and fill them up with the seitan beef and veggies. For extra cheesiness, spoon a little more of the sauce on top!

These vegan cheesesteaks are best served warm with a buttered, garlic hoagie. For the best cheesesteak possible, use fresh good quality bread!

If you’re looking for a few sides, this recipe would be delicious served with homemade french fries or polenta fries on the side.

Storage

If you have leftovers, I recommend storing each component separately in an airtight container in the fridge. The leftovers will stay fresh in the fridge for 5-7 days. The hoagie rolls themselves are best fresh and can become stale in the fridge.

The vegan beef can be frozen for up to 3 months! I love making a large batch of the recipe linked in the recipe card below and freezing it. This way I have homemade seitan ready whenever I’m craving a sandwich like this one!