Need more vegetarian holiday recipes? You need to try our Jackfruit Pot Roast, these CREAMY Garlic Mashed Potatoes, as well as our simple Vegan Gravy, this Vegan Stuffing, and our famous Vegan Pumpkin Pie!

vegan turkey loaf sitting on a bed of fresh herbs and citrus slices. plates of green beans, pumpkin pie, and mashed potatoes are in the corner of the shot

Why you’ll love this vegan roast turkey!

I’ve worked on this method for MONTHS and I certainly love LOVE how it turned out! I tested it so many different ways and this final version is PURE perfection.

I often get a lot of pushback when I create long-used meat recipes turned vegan meat but quit frankly, I do not care ONE BIT! If vegan turkey is not your thing then you can move right along:)

But for those of you that are interested in a VEGAN TURKEY that’s soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, and certainly packed with a lot of flavor, you have landed in the right place. Let’s dive right on into this one.

Why you’ll love it:

A great vegan option – if you have a vegan guest coming over and need some vegan options, this is a reliable solution!
Makes standout leftovers – everyone loves post Thanksgiving vegan turkey sandwiches!
A flavor-packed meaty texture – if you’re newer seitan then I think you’re genuinely going to fall in love with the meaty texture that it offers. It’s truly my regular mock meat.

Ingredients needed

The simple ingredients for this seitan roast recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the basics needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired:

Vital Wheat Gluten. This is the VITAL component of the recipe. It’s found at most grocery stores in the flour or health foods section.
Silken tofu. I tried this method with several different types of tofu and I decided that silken tofu gives the turkey the dependable texture without drying it out at all.
Spices. For this method, we’re using a mix of garlic + onion powder as well as fennel seeds and poultry seasoning. Before the turkey goes in the oven, we’ll cover it in another spice rub of paprika, parsley, and thyme.
Nutritional yeast. this adds lots of flavor and umami to the roast that is subtle but deeply good!
Rice paper. this is certainly optional but it gives the turkey “skin” that gets browned and beautifully crispy in the oven.
Broth. Worth keeping using Better Than Bouillon’s veggie base in recipes like this. We’re going to use the broth to steam the seitan before it bakes.

How to cook this Vegan Turkey Roast

Simply a reminder that you can find the FULL written seitan turkey roast recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you:)

Blend the silken tofu – In the large bowl of a food processor, add in the tofu and water and process until completely smooth and no lumps remain.

vital wheat gluten and silken tofu blended in a food processor to form seitan dough

Make the seitan dough – Add in the vital wheat gluten, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and fennel and blend until the mixture completely comes together and forms a ball inside of the food processor. Keep going until it all comes together into a tight ball as seen in the photos.

seitan dough formed in the shape of a roast before it's baked

Form into a loaf – On a piece of parchment paper, form the mixture into a tight loaf about the size of a small loaf of bread. Aim for it to be roughly 9 inches long by 5 inches wide and about 3-4 inches tall.

seitan steaming in a skillet in a steamer basket

Steam the seitan – Grease a steamer basket and place the loaf on top. Bring a pot or skillet of vegetable broth to a simmer over medium heat (using only enough so that it doesn’t simmer over and touch the loaf too much). Once simmering, add in the loaf and cover. Let steam for 25 minutes.

Cover in rice paper skin – Working one at a time, run the rice paper sheets under water for 10 seconds each. Place the first 2 sheets on a piece of parchment paper so that they overlap in the middle a few inches. Place the seitan loaf in the middle and wrap the edges of the rice paper up the sides of the roast so that it hugs the loaf. Place the remaining piece of rice paper on the top and wrap it around the loaf so the whole thing is covered.

vegan turkey roast on a bed of orange slices laying in a pan

Rub on spices and roast – arrange the rosemary and citrus in the baking pan and then put the seitan loaf on top. Using a pastry brush, brush all over with a little oil or vegan butter and then sprinkle generously with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, as well as the dried parsley, thyme, and paprika.
Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until it’s nicely golden brown and crispy. Once cooled, cut with a serrated knife. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Recipe Tips

Blend the tofu completely smooth – and lumps at this stage will carry over into the final texture, so take the extra time to make sure it’s fully lump-free.
Don’t skip the food processor – this dough is dense and needs real power to bring it together into a tight ball. A blender or immersion blender likely won’t cut it here.
Keep the steaming liquid topped up – check the pot periodically to make sure theres always enough broth simmering to properly steam the loaf all the way through.
Make it ahead if you’re hosting – the loaf can be mixed, shaped, and refrigerated overnight before steaming. It’s great for spreading our the work on a big holiday.
Don’t rush the rice paper wrapping – wetting each sheet for the full 10 seconds makes it pliable enough to hug the loaf smoothly without tearing.
Watch it particularly closely under the broiler or in the final roast – rice paper browns quickly, so keep an eye on it in the last few minutes to get that crispy “skin” without burning it.