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These vegan Philly cheesesteak sandwiches are easy to make and even better than the real deal! Made with crispy pan-fried seitan, Italian long hot peppers and onions, smothered in dairy-free cheese sauce, they're loaded with flavor and packed with protein!
I'm from Philadelphia, so this was bound to happen eventually. I mean, it does make me an expert on Philly cheesesteaks, right? I modeled these delectable vegan cheesesteaks after my favorite greasy sandwich from my favorite south Philly steak shop.
Psych!
I'm totally kidding. I've never even entered a south Philly steak shop, and I've never had a real Philly cheesesteak. But having lived in Philly I've been around the city's famous steak sandwiches enough to have a pretty good idea of what they're all about and I'm confident that I've created the best vegan Philly cheesesteak sandwiches out there.
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- Ingredients You'll Need
- How to Make Vegan Philly Cheesesteaks Sandwiches
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Vegan Hot Sandwich Recipes
- Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegetable oil. Pretty much any high-heat oil will do. You can use regular old vegetable oil, canola oil, corn or avocado oil.
- Onion. As they say in Philly, these are cheesesteaks "wit." That means "with" as in with onions. Hey, don't look at me, like I said, I've never had a cheesesteak, so I certainly didn't invent the ordering lingo.
- Long hot Italian peppers. Our vegan cheesesteaks are also wit hot peppers. Although I'm not sure if the whole wit thing carries over to peppers? Let's just say it does! Leave the peppers off if you're not into heat.
- Garlic.
- Seitan. You can buy seitan or make your own using my homemade seitan recipe. If you use my recipe, make the beef flavor for a vegan version of a traditional cheesesteak, or the chicken flavor for a vegan chicken cheesesteak. (Chicken cheesesteaks are indeed a thing.)
- Soy sauce. Tamari or liquid aminos could be substituted if needed.
- Paprika.
- Salt & pepper.
- Torpedo rolls. Torpedo rolls are basically long rolls. They might also be called steak rolls, hoagie rolls or sub rolls. Most supermarkets carry them in the bakery section. You can absolutely substitute another type of roll if you'd like.
- Vegan cheese sauce. You can buy vegan cheese sauce (Daiya makes one), or make your own. I happen to have a few recipes for various vegan cheese sauces on this site! Choose from my cashew queso, nacho sweet potato cheese, or cauliflower nacho cheese.
- Ketchup. I'm going to be totally frank here: I don't know if this is a normal cheesesteak topping. I asked my husband and he said "not for people with any taste." Hmmm. My family always put it on their steaks growing up and I happen to really like it on my vegan Philly cheesesteaks. Apparently there's some controversy around this topic. Do what you will.
How to Make Vegan Philly Cheesesteaks Sandwiches
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Do your prep work first. Slice your onions and pepper thinly. Mince your garlic. Slice your seitan suuuuuper thin. Get the pieces as thin as you can. A mandoline slicer is a great tool to use!
- Heat up your oil in a skillet then add onions and long hot peppers. Fry the onions and peppers for a few minutes until they begin to brown, but keep a close eye on them, as they can burn pretty quickly.
- Add minced garlic to the pan and sauté it briefly.
- Add your thinly sliced seitan to the skillet, along with soy sauce and paprika. Fry everything for a few minutes, until the seitan pieces start to crisp up around the edges.
- Stuff your vegan cheesesteak filling into sliced rolls and top it with vegan cheeses sauce and optionally ketchup.
Leftovers & Storage
If you have leftover vegan Philly cheesesteak filling, it will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can these sandwiches be made gluten-free?
Seitan is primarily composed of wheat gluten, so you'll need to find a substitute for it. Butler Soy Curls (soaked in some very flavorful broth) could work, or you can borrow the technique used in my vegan French dip sandwich recipe and use portobello mushrooms. You'll also need to use gluten-free rolls and gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce.
Are these sandwiches spicy?
Italian long hots are pretty mild as far as hot peppers go, so they only add a slight kick. Feel free to leave them out for milder sandwiches.
More Vegan Hot Sandwich Recipes
- Vegan Sloppy Joes
- Vegan Po' Boy Sandwiches
- Grilled Avocado Sandwich
- Jackfruit Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Crispy Vegan Fish Fillet Sandwiches with Tartar Sauce
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
4.91 from 11 votes
Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
These vegan Philly cheesesteak sandwiches are easy to make and even better than the real deal! Made with crispy pan-fried seitan, Italian long hot peppers and onions, smothered in dairy-free cheese sauce, they're loaded with flavor and packed with protein!
CourseSandwich
CuisineAmerican
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Servings 2
Calories 480 kcal
Author Alissa
Ingredients
- 2tablespoonsvegetable oil
- ½medium onion,thinly sliced and separated into strips
- 1Italian long hot pepper,sliced into thin strips
- 1garlic clove,minced
- 1(8 ounce or 226 gram) packageseitan,thinly sliced
- 1teaspoonpaprika
- 1tablespoonsoy sauce
- Salt & pepper,to taste
- 2torpedo sandwich rolls,sliced open
- Vegan cheese sauce,as needed (try my nacho sweet potato cheese, cauliflower cheese, or cashew queso)
- Ketchup (optional)
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
Coat the bottom of a medium skillet with oil and place it over medium-high heat. Add the onion and hot pepper.
Sauté everything until the onions and peppers are slightly softened and browned in spots, about 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook it with the onions and peppers for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
Add the seitan, paprika, and soy sauce. Continue to sauté until the seitan begins to crisp in spots, about 3 more minutes. Stir the mixture frequently to prevent burning.
Divide the seitan mixture between sandwich rolls. Top with vegan cheese sauce, and ketchup if desired.
Serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition information does not include cheese sauce, because it will vary depending on what variety of cheese sauce and how much you use.
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Amount Per Serving (1 sandwich (without cheese))
Calories 480Calories from Fat 163
% Daily Value*
Fat 18.1g28%
Saturated Fat 3.7g19%
Sodium 1194mg50%
Potassium 165mg5%
Carbohydrates 56.1g19%
Fiber 4.6g18%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 34.7g69%
Calcium 102mg10%
Iron 5mg28%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Meredith @ Unexpectedly Magnificent saysHell to the yes. Philly represent! *high fives* :) These look mindblowingly delicious.
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- Cherylyn says
Seitan is expensive to buy and not that tasty..compared to homemade. Its easy easy to make.
This sandwich looks wonderful and will be dinner this weekend.Reply
- lisa kusel says
This dish was so amazingly tasty. We substituted the hot pepper with reg. green pepper. I served with a side of creamy (non-vegan) coleslaw. The cheese sauce went into burritos the next day and the rest I just ate with a spoon because it was so darn delish. I signed up for your newsletter because of this recipe. You are a goddess. Thank you.Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
Awesome!!! Green pepper sounds like a nice sub for a milder version. I'm so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks Lisa!
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- mila furman says
OMG this is really incredible!!! I need to try this!!! Philly cheese steaks are just my EVERYTHING and I have been panicked to create a vegan version...super glad that now I will be able to!!!
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- Alissa Saenz says
Yay! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
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- Karen says
Do you have a recipe for the vegan sweet potato nacho cheese?
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- Alissa Saenz says
Yup! It's linked in the recipe but the text blends in. I need to fix that! https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/thats-nacho-sweet-potato-cheese/
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- Danni says
Soooooooooooo delicious! I mean this was so good I felt guilty lol. Thank you so much, I e already have abt 10 recipes I'll be trying out :)Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
Yay!! I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks Danni!!
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- Matthew Combs says
Do you have a recipe for homemade seitan?
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- Alissa Saenz says
Yes I do have a recipe for homemade seitan. Thanks for asking - enjoy!
https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/how-to-make-seitan/Reply
- Marilyn says
Delicious, I love all of your recipes, keep them coming.Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
Thank you! I absolutely will!!
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- Jenna says
Being a Philadelphia native, I had to check this recipe out! It reminds me a bit of Govinda's, a little place on South Street where I got some very excellent vegetarian cheesesteaks circa 10 years ago. I LOVED them. This looks like it will make me equally happy. But I will probably swap the ketchup for something a little more similar to that strange, kind-of-ketchupy, sweetish tomato sauce found on traditional cheesesteaks. (Whenever family comes home to visit, I am REQUIRED to take them out for cheesesteaks, so I have gotten to know this funny little sauce rather well.)
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- Alissa Saenz says
Oh wow! I've never had that sauce - I think I always just assumed it was ketchup! I never got around to trying a Govinda's cheesesteak either, but I always heard they were awesome. Sabrina's is the place I used to go and theirs is what I modeled this one after. :)
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- Jenna says
And thank you for doing things up properly with a seeded roll :)
*respect*Reply
- The Travel Bunny says
This looks amazing! I'll have to try this. Yummy! Thanks for sharing it.Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
Thank you!! I hope you enjoy it!
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- Maureen Cram says
Never having eaten anything like this but my US husband has, should the seitan be more beef flavoured or does it not matter as long as the seitan is in strips and crispy? I usually make a chick'n flavored seitan with poultry seasoning and nooch. Thanks for all your recipes - I share many of them to my South African vegan FB group.Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
I use store-bought (WestSoy) or my basic homemade seitan recipe, which works for pretty much anything (as opposed to a beef flavored version). I think a version with poultry seasoning should be fine. :) I'd love to hear how it works out if you try it!
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- Johanna Werbach says
Going to be trying these on Sunday as Super Bowl fare. Go EAGLES!Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
These are perfect superbowl food!! Enjoy and go Eagles!!
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- Katie says
This was delicious! We used Poblano peppers which were just the right amount of heat. Everyone loved the nacho cheese sauce and my son didn't even know there was sweet potato in it. We'll definitely make this again!Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
Oh...I bet this was awesome with poblanos! Glad you enjoyed it!
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- Amy Carter says
Whoa, whoa, wooa wonderful! The vegan cheese is amazing. Made it for my vegan daughter and she called it amazing. Thank you for a fantastic recipe that will be made again.
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- Alissa Saenz says
Yay! I'm glad your daughter enjoyed it!
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- Marcia says
Trying this cheesesteak recipe tonight, 2.5 years of eating mostly vegan and I do miss them. I love your queso r6 with sweet potato, I've told so many grieves about it, love your recipes, thank you!Reply
- Alissa Saenz says
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes!
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- Lea says
Hi Alissa, I can't wait to try this recipe!! It looks delicious. I've never had an "official "Philly Cheesesteak" before. That is back when I ate meat. I've had them but not from Philly. I've never tried it with hot peppers but will give it a try mixing a little bit of hot peppers with regular bell peppers (that's how I used to make them.) I've learned never to knock someone's taste even if it sounds strange. I wouldn't go for the ketchup but if I didn't add hot peppers or wanted more heat after they were cooked, I wouldn't hesitate to add a little hot sauce to dip the sandwich in. Thank you for this recipe. I'm going to pin it.
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