After a busy weekend, I’m popping in quickly to share this amazing vegan seitan rice salad recipe. It’s a take-off on a favorite (and long gone) restaurant dish. Way back when, I used to have it with chicken, but even then (this was almost 20 years ago), the restaurant offered a vegan version with seitan. I finally tried it one time and I was hooked. Even though I was not yet a vegetarian, the seitan version was my favorite.
The restaurant eventually closed, and I made several attempts to create my own version. The key was the tarragon dressing and I finally found just the right combination. I was so happy that I was able to make one of my favorite dishes, vegan seitan rice salad. And it tasted just like the original!
Vegan Seitan Rice Salad with Creamy Tarragon Dressing
If you’ve never tried seitan, it is a flavorful vegan meat substitute made from gluten, the protein in wheat. Unlike some store-bought faux meats, seitan is pretty easy to make at home and contains only a few ingredients. Here’s my favorite seitan recipe. Depending on the seasoning used, seitan can be used as a chicken, beef, or even pork replacement.
- 1 package seitan (or one cup if you make your own), cut into
1 inch pieces - ½ cup vegetable broth
- 2 Tbs lime juice
- Pepper
- 2 cups cooked wild rice
- 1 large tomato, chopped salad-style
- ¾ cup mushrooms, sliced
- ½ cup green onions
- ½ cup corn
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
- Creamy Tarragon Dressing
- Tarragon Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅛ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh Tarragon leaves
- ¼ cup parsley
- 4 ounces silken tofu
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp salt
- Pepper to taste
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until creamy
- Combine seitan, lime juice, vegetable broth, and pepper and set aside while you chop vegetables.
- Preheat a non-stick pan. Add seitan mixture and cook until the liquid has evaporated and the seitan begins to brown slightly. Set aside to cool off.
- If the rice is hot, allow it to cool off for a few minutes. Combine the rice, seitan, and vegetables. Add the Tarragon Dressing slowly until the rice is lightly coated. You may not need all the dressing. Toss carefully. The salad can be eaten either warm or cold. Makes enough for two-three meal-sized servings.
If tarragon is not your favorite herb, feel free to substitute extra parsley, cilantro, or basil. You can also make this salad gluten-free by using tofu, tempeh, or a chicken substitute like Gardein Chick’n Scallopini, which contains no gluten. The GardeinChick’n Strips are delicious but they contain gluten. You can also skip the faux meat altogether and enjoy this delicious salad as a side dish at your summer BBQ.
Have you tried seitan yet? Are you a tarragon fan?
Weekly Linkups
My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Inspire Me Monday with Janet
Tuesday Topics with Kim and Zenaida
The Runners’ Roundup with Rachel , Deborah, Lisa, Smitha, Jenn, and Me!
The Weekly Run Down with Deborah and Kim
I eat a lot of tempeh and tofu but have not really explored seitan that much. I love cold salads like this in the summer time. Thanks for sharing and linking up today
I haven’t had seitan in forever. This salad looks really filling and perfect for lunch or dinner.