You won’t believe how delicious these vegan ribs are! They’re tender, meaty, and just in time for your next vegan BBQ! Serve them with crispy wedges and vegan ranch dressing and you will even impress meat-eaters!
*The recipe for these vegan ribs is from the cookbook “Great Vegan BBQ Without A Grill” by Linda & Alex Meyer*
I’m so happy that it’s finally getting warmer! I’m so ready for summer and I can’t wait to turn on the grill and have delicious dinners outside. Yay! Linda’s and Alex’ cookbook came just in time for that. I was so excited and absolutely fell in love with it. So many delicious vegan recipes in just one place!
It was hard to pick a recipe from the book to share with you guys. But I had never tried vegan ribs or seitan ribs before, so I was kind of curious. And they turned out sooo good!
First a few words on these vegan ribs and then I’ll take you on a little tour through Linda’s and Alex’ cookbook!
What to Love About These Vegan Ribs:
- they look absolutely drool-worthy
- they got an awesome texture that looks so “meaty”
- seitan mimics meat in a great way
- they’re not mushy or too soft like many other meat alternatives
- hickory-flavored liquid smoke, BBQ sauce, and dark beer give them a great smoky flavor
- they’re dripping in sweet and sticky sauce
- you can make them ahead and have them ready for your vegan BBQ
- you don’t need an actual grill for them, you can just make them in a grill pan or a skillet
- and most of all: no animals had to die for this vegan grilling recipe!
These vegan ribs are great with crispy wedges! Or you could also enjoy it with my Southwestern pasta salad. If you’re looking for more vegan grilling recipes, check out the roundup of 30 vegan BBQ and grilling recipes.
What You Need For These Vegan Ribs:
- white mushrooms caps
- vital wheat gluten
- garlic powder
- paprika powder
- smoked paprika powder
- ground annatto
- onion powder
- mushroom broth
- dark beer
- soy sauce
- vegan Worcestershire sauce
- hickory-flavored liquid smoke
- tomato paste
- natural creamy peanut butter
- BBQ sauce
- sliced jalapeño peppers
- minced cilantro
As always, you can find the full ingredient list and the recipe instructions in a separate recipe box at the end of this post.
How to Make Vegan Ribs
Linda and Alex use seitan for these vegan ribs, which gives them an amazing texture! For those of you who are not familiar with seitan: It’s often used as a meat substitute as it has a very chewy and stringy texture that resembles meat. Besides, it’s also a great vegan source of protein. Maybe you wouldn’t guess but seitan is made from wheat gluten.
It’s made by rinsing wheat flour dough with water to dissolve the starch granules. In the end, you’re left with a sticky mass of protein, which you can then cook and use to make homemade vegan meat alternatives.
You can also use vital wheat gluten like Alex and Linda did for their vegan ribs. It’s just perfect for vegan meaty recipes! You can purchase it online or at Whole Foods or in the natural foods section of many supermarkets. It’s becoming more and more common these days.
To make these vegan ribs, you combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl (meaning the vital wheat gluten and the spices). Then put all wet ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour it into the dry mixture and stir until it turns into a stretchy ball of dough. Pat the dough flat and bake for 30 minutes. You will find the detailed recipe instructions for the vegan BBQ ribs in a separate, printable recipe box at the end of this post.
“Great Vegan BBQ Without A Grill” by Linda and Alex Meyer
Linda and Alex are the mother-daughter team behind Veganosity. I’ve known Linda for a couple of years as we’re both part of a Facebook group for vegan bloggers, where we help each other out with blogging stuff. I was so excited when Linda told us that she and Alex got a cookbook deal. I love their recipes and a book about vegan BBQ recipes? Totally call me in! And you don’t even need a grill to make them? Even better!
The book is full of amazing vegan ribs, burgers, steaks, kabobs, and so many more smoky vegan recipes!
Linda and Alex take drool-worthy photos themselves (just check out their blog!), but they decided to work with a professional team of food photographers and stylists for this cookbook. And the outcome is AMAZING! I just wanna try all of these recipes and also my hubby couldn’t believe his eyes…
The book is divided into seven chapters:
- Meat-Free BBQ to Satisfy Meat Eaters
- Burgers and Sandwiches from Way Up North to the Deep South
- Stick Food: Because Eating Food of a Stick Is Fun!
- Stuffed, Foiled and Smothered: Delectable Entrees for a Cozy Dinner
- Sides and Salads That Go with a Barbecue
- BBQ Dips to Bring to the Party
- Keeping it Saucy: BBQ Sauces and Rubs
At the beginning of the cookbook you can also find some helpful notes on ingredients and tools. They’re talking about jackfruit, vital wheat gluten, aquafaba, liquid smoke, and nutritional yeast in this section. So even if you’re not familiar with these products, you’ll learn everything you need to know to make these delicious vegan grilling recipes.
They’re also giving you tips on what pans to you use. Can you believe that you don’t even need to step outside to make these vegan BBQ recipes?! However, if you want to use an outdoor grill, you certainly can! The recipes will still work just fine.
I could definitely recommend “Great Vegan BBQ Without A Grill” to everyone who loves smoky flavors! It will be the perfect help for delicious family meals, even for meat-eaters in the family!
My Experience with “Great Vegan BBQ Without A Grill”
I’ve already made the vegan ribs, a vegan crab dip with jackfruit, and BBQ cauliflower stuffed peppers. Everything turned out super delicious and the recipes are very easy to follow. You might have to invest in a few new ingredients and spices (for example vital wheat gluten and liquid smoke) but if you like smoky and meaty vegan recipes, it’s really worth it!
Here are a few recipes from “Great Vegan BBQ Without A Grill” to make you hungry:
- Pulled New Orleans BBQ Seitan
- Old Bay Grilled Scallops
- Boot Kickin’ BBQ Cauliflower Tacos with Avocado Lime Sauce
- Savory Veggie Skewers
- Loaded BBQ Potatoes
- Southern-Style Creamy Potato Salad
- Vegan Aoili
- Avocado Lime Sauce
Are you hungry yet?! Of course all recipes are 100 % vegan although they have “meaty” names like the seitan ribs!
I hope you like the vegan ribs and the cookbook as much as I do!
Sina – xx
**Copyright Disclaimer: The photos of the vegan ribs are from “Great Vegan BBQ Without A Grill”**
Vegan Ribs - Classic Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups coarsely chopped white mushroom caps
- 2 cups vital wheat gluten
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon ground annatto
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground sea salt
- 1 cup mushroom broth, plus more if needed
- 1/2 cup dark beer
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon hickory-flavored liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons natural creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups BBQ-sauce
- sliced jalapeño peppers
- minced cilantro
Instructions
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until they're soft and browned, approximately 5 minutes. Let cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk the gluten, garlic powder, paprika, smoked paprika, annatto, onion powder and salt until fully combined.
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F and lightly oil a 9 x 9 -inch square pan.
- Put the mushrooms, broth, beer, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, tomato paste, and peanut butter in a food processor or a high-powered blender and blend for approximately 1 minute or until smooth and creamy. Pour it into the dry mixture and stir until it turns into a stretchy ball of dough. Knead or about 1 minute.
- Pat the dough flat so it spreads evenly in then pan until it reaches all four corners. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and cut in half lengthwise. Use a sharp knife and score (don't cut all the way through) the ribz horizontally, about 1 inch thick. Each half should look like a rack or ribs.
- Heat a grill pan or skillet on medium-high heat and brush with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Slather the sauce on all sides of the ribz and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until you see grill marks or a browned surface.
- Use extra BBQ sauce for dipping. Serve with sliced jalapeño peppers and minced cilantro for extra flavor.
Delicious. Did it on a grill with a spicy BBQ sauce. Having the ‘ribs’ all connected made grilling / flipping really easy.
Next time I want to try cutting the ‘ribs’ thinner, maybe 1/2 inch instead of 1 inch thick.
I may also experiment with a simpler recipe for the seitan. I suspect most of the flavor comes from the sauce, so you may be able to get similar results with fewer ingredients.
These ribs were totally awesome! I want more. My hubby loved them as well. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for the wonderful review, Sina!! We’re so thrilled that you and your husband have already tried so many of our recipes and that you can’t wait to make more. :)
I know that some of our European readers have a hard time finding liquid smoke, and they can always use smoked paprika in a pinch. The flavor isn’t as strong, but it’s still really good.