Makes 8 cutlets
This recipe is a Veganomicon favorite! Vegan food that will put your lonely steak knives to work? I’m in! As the years pass I make modifications to all my recipes, as you probably do, too. This one is pretty faithful to the original, only I’ve increased the quantity because might as well. Why not have extra cutlets for tucking into sandwiches or chopping up over a Caesar salad?
I’ve paired down the ingredient list a little bit — it doesn’t exactly need the garlic and lemon peel, although I’ve listed them as optional. Sometimes I’m just not in the mood to break out the microplane grater (I can get pretty damn lazy.) I’ve also taken a few pictures so that you can see exactly how they should look throughout the prep. And last but not least, because people always ask, I’ve added food processor instructions. Hopefully this makes the recipe even easier and more foolproof then it was, and I think it was already pretty easy.
A couple of other things: Wheat gluten can vary from brand to brand. These come out great with either Arrowhead Mills Brand or Bob’s Red Mill, although I think Bob’s brand makes them a bit firmer. Also, you should only use storebought breadrumbs unless you plan on tweaking the recipe. I’ve tried homemade breadcrumbs and they come out way to mushy.
The texture we’re looking for is firm and a bit crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I find that for the best texture you should let the cutlets rest after cooking for 10 minutes or so before digging in.
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
Olive oil for pan frying
Optional ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, pressed or grated with a Microplane grater
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no whole chickpeas are left. Use an avocado masher or a strong fork. Alternately, you can pulse the chickpeas in a food processor. We’re not making hummus here, so be careful not to puree them, just get them mashed up. You can also sneak the garlic cloves in here instead of grating them, just pulse them up before adding the chickpeas. If using a food processor, transfer to a mixing bowl when done.
Add the remaining ingredients and knead together for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed. The strings should look like this (click photo for an even closer up view):
Preheat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over low-medium heat. Cast iron works best. If you have two pans and want to cook all the cutlets at once then go for it, otherwise you’ll be making them in two batches.
Divide the cutlet dough into 2 equal pieces. Then divide each of those pieces into 4 separate pieces (so you’ll have 8 all together). To form cutlets, knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a roughly 6 by 4 inch rectangular cutlet shape. The easiest way to do this is to form a rectangle shape in your hands and then place the cutlets on a clean surface to flatten and stretch them. (OK, maybe my surface wasn’t that clean.)
Add a moderately thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. They’re ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch. I’ve found that they cook more thoroughly if I cover the pan in between flips. I also use my spatula to press down on them while they’re cooking, that way they cook more evenly.
Now let them rest for a bit and you’re done!
you can buy cheaper wheat gluten at the bulk food store….
For those avoiding spendy store-bought breadcrumbs, I get mine at the Italian bakery near my house and it is around a dollar for a pond of breadcrumbs! Just a suggestion. 🙂
We’ve made this twice so far and both times, they really turned out delicious. My husband and I are trying to make the switch to a full vegan diet and recipes like this makes that transition even easier. We tried a toasted mushroom gravy from Vegan Dad on top of these and they were awesome. My hubby likes to eat them “southern” style with a little ranch dressing.
Update! I am unable to get wheat gluten where I live and tried bread flour in place of it…It Worked! I don’t know what these are normally like but they tasted good and had a great texture. I kneeded them a bit longer to help the gluten form.
No way the lemon zest is the best part! I keep frozen lemon zest in the freezer just for these, cause I also get lazy. There really are no words to describe how awesome these are! I always use Panko breadcrumbs too. I prefer them baked with mushroom gravy, German red cabbage (from a jar – lazy!) and horseradish mashed potatoes. YUM YUM YUM!
Oh, dear God… these are incredible. Just frackin’ incredible. I’ve been experimenting with vegan and vegetarian cuisine and this recipe tastes like a cross between my auntie’s famous turkey stuffing (which is the best thing ever) and my grandma’s vienna schnitzel, which is kind of what it looks like/feels like when cooked.
Thank you so much!
I live in the UK and I’m having no luck at all finding wheat gluten! I read somewhere about people using strong wholemeal bread flour (mostly for seitan)- would that work do you think?
Megan, I think you can use regular flour, it just takes longer : (this is what i found when i googled): Making gluten the traditional way is time consuming. It calls for mixing 8 cups of flour with 3 to 5 cups of water and forming a dough. The dough is then kneaded and rinsed under running water to remove the wheat starch. After about 20 to 30 minutes of kneading and rinsing, which to me seems like a considerable amount of time, the resulting 2 or so cups of stretchy gluten is evident. At that point the gluten needs to be simmered in broth for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours or more.
Im probably going to be in the same boat….I want to try making these but havent seen wheat gluten here in ireland. what about asking at a bakery where they get theirs if they use it?
I didn’t really believe that these could be as amazing as every other commenter said they are…but it’s true. Upon my first bite, I immediately became a huge fan of the chickpea cutlet. My only problem was that the chickpeas didn’t incorporate into the dough very well. I think I just need to mash them a bit more next time. Regardless, even if I can never get all the chickpeas in, these cutlets were amazing, and will certainly take the place of any store-bought “chick’n patty” I used to buy. I am now a member of the Chickpea Cutlet fanclub.
Made these cutlets for my picky vegetarian hubby. They turned out amazing!!! He loved them and so did my even pickier 3 year old daughter!!! I changed it a bit and used Italian breadcrumbs, extra broth instead of soy sauce, herbs de province instead of the thyme, lots of garlic and a little onion powder. 🙂
I have been reading through the comments and saw where several people have baked these. I am all about baking! At what temp and how long do you bake on each side? I am looking forward to trying this recipe out this week.
I was all set to bake these tonight & then discovered I was almost out of olive oil-I’d already started mashing the beans so I carried on….they still turned out as good as ever-I baked them @ 375 for about half an hour, flipping them once. I love how versatile this recipe is! (And super good with the Sexy Vegan’s green bean casserole!) Veganomicon has turned into my go-to cookbook, sometimes I read it like a funny, insightful novel….ok I’m a crazy vegan who likes real food-thx for your inspiration!
THese were even better with dark soy sauce and bread crumbs from dark rye bread.
i always ad-lib these with great success! tonight i used 1/2 cannelini and 1/2 chickpeas, and a few handfulls of rolled oats for the breadcrumbs. MMMMM FIBER STEAK
agave nectar + siracha as a dipping sauce. <3
I too had trouble finding vegan breadcrumbs in my local grocery store. I ended up buying melba toast and crushing it up. Worked great!
I made this today (have been eyeing them for while) and I was super happy with the way they came out, though I did mess up and by mistake added salt before double checking the recipe, so it was tad too salty this time. The other additions I made was to add a teaspoon of curry powder, and a little bit of smoked paprika. 2 yo and 5 yo loved them too, which was great.
I wonder though if they are just as good baked and then maybe just one minute under the broiler? I will try to do since some of the comments mention that as an alternative to pan frying. (I just hate pan frying, too labor intensive for me…)
My children love these. I cook up a huge batch of chickpeas and freeze a bunch of containers with 2 cups each. Then when I want to make them one night I can just take a container out of the freezer in the morning. They are very quick to make. I use the food processor and don’t leave big bean chunks because my children prefer that. Also for some reason I think they are better with water rather than vegetable broth. Sometimes I coat them with some olive oil and bread crumbs. I bake at 375 for 30 minutes, flipping in the middle. Yum.
These didn’t turn out so well when I first made them, but I still made them again and again…finally, changed the vital wheat gluten to Bob’s Red Mill and they were terrific…
I really look forward to making these! Do you think I could reduce or eliminate the oil to make them more “Engine 2” friendly?
Yes. You can completely leave out the oil and use tomato paste instead, I like em that way!
I’ve been making bread in the food processor; do you think this recipe would work if, after pulsing the garlic and chickpeas, I switched to the bread blade in the food processor and used that to knead the dough?
Yep.
I’ve made these a couple of times and really like them, but I’m not sure if they are coming out right. Mine are nice and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Is that how they are supposed to be, or should they be firmer like seitan?
Our family is Vegan and also GF. I love this recipe!
When I began the recipe I first substituted the gluten for Bob’s Red Mill Quick Cooking Oats. I soak the oates in the half cup of veg broth while I assembled the rest. I added a little lemon juice as I did not have lemons but love the taste. Oh and I fried it in Canola oil. This was SO good that even a couple of picky kids loved this! Thanks for a great recipe and great cookbooks!!
Holy hell these are good! I’ve made them twice. First batch I used the 1 cup VWG and the second batch I only used 3/4 cup. I prefer the 3/4 cup because it’s not as chewy and rubbery as the initial 1 cup. I think if anyone is going to make these they should play around with that ratio because you can still form plenty of gluten strands with the 3/4. Just a thought…
Almost forgot…..USE THE LEMON ZEST! It adds so much flavor!
I have made this recipe so many times! I have discovered a couple of important things: first, “Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Gluten” works way better than “Hodgson Mill’s Wheat Gluten”. Secondly, I have found letting the chickpeas sit in the oil for a little bit before mashing them makes them mash much easier and more evenly.
Oh, yeah, I had to go to Publix the other to get more breadcrumbs. All of the breadcrumbs they had, including panko, were not vegan, but I did discover that the Corn Flakes Crumbs are vegan! I had never seen them before!
Mine came out gooey on the inside, though I pan fried them until they were burned. I’ll give it another try because someone has made them for me before and they were great. Any suggestions?
Denise, were your cutlets too thick or the heat too high? I made them last night for the first time and they came out great, followed the recipe to a ‘T.’ Mine were pretty thin, maybe about 1/4″ to 1/2″ at the thickest. I used the Hodgson Mill’s brand of vital wheat gluten and again, no problems, but I’m curious to see the difference the Bob’s Red Mill might make…I will pick some up next time I’m at WF. I can’t believe I’ve owned ‘Veganomicon’ for over two years and never tried this recipe, these cutlets are seriously good! I am the only one who will be eating them so I froze half the batch AFTER cooking (next time I’ll probably freeze before); the other half went into the fridge. I heated one up with my lunch today and I swear it tasted it even better! Definitely another staple in my house, thanks!
Just made these last night for myself and my partner (we are both omnivores) and they were delicious! Cooked them over medium heat, and made sure the cutlets were thin. The only change I’d make is to cut the amount of soy sauce (maybe 1/2 soy sauce 1/2 water) if using vegetable broth because they are a bit salty. Can’t get over how perfect the texture of these were!
I make these bad boys and then let them sit in a container of my Nonna’s tomato sauce. Try it: you will not be disappointed.
Thanks for the fantastic, classic (and classy!) recipe 🙂
Stoves must differ a lot – I also tried medium heat (electric) and they charred almost immediately. Lowered the heat and they ended up looking pretty much just like the picture, and they were tasty! Nice texture, too. I also made mine thin, not more than about a cm thick.
I think I’ll try cooking them on an electric griddle I have. I’ve used it at 350 degrees F to make chickpea burgers before, and I imagine that will work well for these.
I didn’t read all of the comments but wondered if the oil is necessary in this recipe. The fat content is pretty high for me. I will bake them so as not to fry them with oil, but need to substitute out the 1/4 cup oil added to the recipe. Thanks