Vegan 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!

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.

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

More Vegan Hot Sandwich Recipes

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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!

Ingredients

• 2
  tablespoons
  vegetable oil
• ½
  medium onion,
  thinly sliced and separated into strips
• 1
  Italian long hot pepper,
  sliced into thin strips
• 1
  garlic clove,
  minced
• 1
  (8 ounce or 226 gram) package
  seitan,
  thinly sliced
• 1
  teaspoon
  paprika
• 1
  tablespoon
  soy sauce
• Salt & pepper,
  to taste
• 2
  torpedo sandwich rolls,
  sliced open
• Vegan cheese sauce,
  as needed (try my nacho sweet potato cheese, cauliflower cheese, or cashew queso)
• Ketchup
  (optional)

Instructions

1. Coat the bottom of a medium skillet with oil and place it over medium-high heat. Add the onion and hot pepper.

2. Sauté everything until the onions and peppers are slightly softened and browned in spots, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and cook it with the onions and peppers for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.

4. 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.

5. Divide the seitan mixture between sandwich rolls. Top with vegan cheese sauce, and ketchup if desired.

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 480
Calories 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.