Seitan vs. Tofu: Which Vegetarian Protein Should You Use In Which Recipes?

As you get to know your options for plant-based protein sources, chances are you’ll wind up comparing seitan (pronounced “say-tan”) with tofu. A holistic look at the situation, though, is less “seitan versus tofu” and more “both are great in different ways.” Here’s our guide to knowing when the moment calls for seitan over tofu or vice versa, with tips and recipes for cooking both.

The biggest differences between seitan and tofu

Seitan and tofu differ in their source, nutritional profiles, texture, natural flavor, possibilities for adding more flavor, allergen concerns, availability, and how they fare in the freezer (and after freezing).

What they’re made from

Seitan is made from gluten, which is a protein that occurs naturally in several grains. To make seitan, the vital wheat gluten in — you guessed it — wheat is isolated, then mixed with wet and dry ingredients into a moist, sticky dough. After extended steaming, this dough becomes seitan.

Tofu is a soy product that comes from soy milk rather than soybeans. When soy milk, a plant-based favorite, is coagulated to condense its protein and oil, tofu results. Although this process may make tofu sound, well, processed, tofu has existed since the second century B.C., long before processed food became a thing.

Protein content

Seitan contains 18 grams of protein per serving (two ounces), whereas tofu contains nine grams of protein per serving (three ounces). These figures are for extra-firm tofu, the easiest type of tofu to find in traditional supermarkets and grocery stores. In many cases, super-firm tofu, a slightly less common type of tofu, contains 14 grams of protein per three-ounce serving.

Nutritional profile and health benefits

A three-ounce serving of extra-firm tofu contains around 90 calories, three grams of carbohydrates, 4.5 grams of fat, and 15 milligrams of sodium (salt). By comparison, a two-ounce serving of seitan contains around 90 calories, five grams of carbohydrates, and half a gram of fat. Sodium content varies depending on the brand and how it’s pre-seasoned.

Seitan thus contains slightly more calories and carbs than tofu by weight, but slightly less fat and far more sodium. Tofu is thus the superior option for anyone minimizing their salt intake. Neither of these plant-based proteins is a particularly great option for getting fiber, a micronutrient that’s lacking in both.

Additionally, although both seitan and tofu are healthy high-protein options, only tofu is a complete protein. This means it contains all nine of the essential amino acids that the body needs, whereas seitan is missing the essential amino acid lysine.

Texture

Seitan is often lovingly called “wheat meat” since its texture very closely resembles meat. Tofu’s texture varies by type, ranging from velvety silken tofu to dense super-firm tofu. Although seitan will always beat tofu for mimicking meaty textures, one preparation of extra-firm and super-firm tofu that we’ll discuss soon comes reasonably close to taking seitan’s crown.

Flavor when uncooked

Fresh from its packaging, seitan may have a faintly umami, mushroomy, or yeasty flavor, but it’s mostly bland. Tofu is even more of a blank slate, known for being completely tasteless and neutral before cooking.

Flavor absorption

Seitan is worth marinating and seasoning extensively to amplify its flavor, and that’s even more the case with tofu. When tofu is pressed (though this step isn’t necessary with super-firm tofu and impossible with silken tofu), its pores are emptied of their water content. The common plant-based wisdom is that marinades seep effortlessly into these newly emptied pores.

However, some tofu lovers contest this notion. They instead say that flavor mostly happens at tofu’s surface, be that via a sauce that clings to the tofu or seasoning rubbed onto the tofu before pan-frying. Not that these options are mutually exclusive — marinating tofu, then dousing it in sauce and seasonings, gives you the best of both worlds.

Allergens

Since seitan is a gluten product, it’s a non-starter for anyone with a gluten allergy (or celiac disease or a gluten intolerance). If you’re gluten-free, you’ll instead need to choose tofu, whereas if you’re allergic to soy, seitan is the clear winner.

Availability

Extra-firm tofu is available just about everywhere these days, and firm and super-firm tofu are relatively common too. (We make it easy. Shop tofu from the Purple Carrot market.) By comparison, finding seitan typically requires a trip to a health food store or a local food co-op.

Freezing

When you freeze seitan and then thaw it overnight in your fridge, its texture will mostly return to its original form. Freezing and gradually thawing tofu, on the other hand, considerably changes its texture. When the water in your tofu’s pores freezes, it expands and thus pushes against your tofu’s pores, thereby increasing their size.

Upon thawing, all that water exits your tofu, but the enlarged pores remain. The result is a spongier texture that, especially with extra-firm and super-firm tofu, more closely resembles meat, though never as readily as seitan.

To sum it all up:

	Seitan	Tofu
What it’s made of	Wheat gluten	Soy
Protein content	Sky-high	High
High in	Protein, calcium, iron, potassium, sodium (salt)	Protein, calcium, iron, potassium
Low in	Calories, carbohydrates, fat, fiber	Calories, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, sodium (salt)
Complete protein	No	Yes
Texture	Meat-like	Spongy, less meat-like
Flavor when uncooked	Faintly umami, mushroomy, yeasty	Neutral
Flavor absorption	Modest	High
Allergens	Gluten	Soy
Widely available?	Somewhat	Yes
Texture changes upon thawing from frozen?	No	Yes

Tofu and seitan similarities

When you’re choosing between tofu and seitan, you’ll notice that they’re similar in the following ways.

• They’re fantastic high-protein centerpieces for plant-based meals.
• They’re both low in carbs, calories, and fat.
• They’re both rich in calcium, iron, and potassium.
• They’re both low in fiber (to solve this problem, you can easily incorporate another high-quality plant-based protein that we’ll discuss soon into your diet).

Cooking with seitan and tofu: Which one suits which recipes?

Seitan and tofu both work great in stir-fries and one-pot dishes, especially if marinated, seasoned, and paired with a luscious, savory sauce. Seitan is better when trying to emulate meat’s texture, especially in a sandwich, burrito, or taco, whereas tofu is the superior pick for a breakfast scramble.

Cooking with seitan

When you’re looking to replicate meat’s texture, choose seitan. It’s a perfect choice for sandwiches and plant-based wings, and it can also star in a stir-fry, one-pot dish, taco, burrito, or rice dish.

You’ll get more flavor from seitan if you chop, slice, or tear it into smaller pieces, then marinate it overnight. Season it before cooking it with a finger-lickin’-good sauce, and voila — plant-based magic. A saute pan with some oil, or your air fryer, is a tried-and-true choice for melding seitan with your favorite sauce, but your oven works great too, as does a grill pan or standalone grill.

Once you’ve cooked your seitan, store it in the fridge and eat it within five days. Alternatively, pop it in the freezer, where it’ll last three to six months or maybe longer. Always thaw it in the fridge — your microwave’s thaw setting may seem convenient, but it’ll almost certainly make your seitan needlessly soggy.

Cooking with tofu

For stir-fries, one-pot dishes, and breakfast scrambles, you can’t go wrong with firm, extra-firm, or super firm tofu. Soft tofu can work in some of these meals, especially scrambles, but it’s overall better for smoothies or desserts made in a blender, as is silken tofu.

Cooking with tofu almost always requires pressing the tofu beforehand for the reasons discussed earlier, though scrambles are a notable exception. You should press your tofu for at least 30 minutes to fully get all the water out of its pores. From there, marinate your tofu overnight, then pan-fry, air-fry, bake, or grill it, and bring everything together with a restaurant-quality homemade sauce.

Store cooked tofu in the fridge for at most five days, or three to six months or longer in the freezer. If you froze and thawed your tofu before cooking it, you can freeze it again no problem. Since you’ve already gotten all its water out, freezing and thawing it again won’t change its structure or texture.

What about tempeh?

Like tofu, tempeh is a soy product, but it’s derived from fermented soybeans instead of soy milk. Its fermentation is associated with certain gut health benefits that you won’t get from tofu or seitan. Tempeh also has considerably more fiber than tofu and seitan.

Tempeh is also somewhat higher in protein than even super-firm tofu, competing with seitan’s exceptionally high protein content. Its iron content, though, pales in comparison to seitan and tofu. Texturally, it’s dense, firm, and cake-like as compared to spongy tofu and meaty seitan, with a naturally nutty and earthy flavor that scans as bitter to some. And since tempeh is cakey instead of spongy, it lacks pores for effective marination.

Tempeh freezes well, and since it’s somewhat less readily available than tofu (though it’s easier to find than seitan), extending its shelf life in the freezer never hurts. Speaking of which: That whole “seitan vs. tofu” debate can always be expanded to include seitan versus tempeh versus tofu. And ultimately, it’s not an either-or — it’s a “yes, and” for all three.

6 recipes featuring seitan

Venture into seitan with these six beginner-friendly recipes.

• Sticky Apricot Seitan: Sauce-coated seitan is served alongside green beans, carrots, and quinoa-speckled for an indulgent yet balanced meal.
• Seitan Asada Tacos: Serve these bright, fresh, comforting seitan tacos to your meat-eating loved ones, and they’ll swear it’s “real” meat.
• Spiced Pepper Seitan: Seitan with a bit of heat jumps out from lemony rice and a briny, tangy tomato-caper relish.
• BBQ Seitan Bowl: This mouthwatering seitan dish, served with sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, is a must-try for anyone who loves Caribbean and American flavors.
• Mongolian Seitan: Resembling Korean BBQ beef in flavor, texture, and appearance, Mongolian-inspired seitan pairs beautifully with rice and broccoli.
• Maple Seitan Lettuce Cups: Who needs sandwich bread when you’ve got crunchy greens? Crispy seitan in lettuce cups with ranch and cucumbers is a true delight.

6 recipes featuring tofu

Explore tofu’s versatility with these six tofu recipes that just about anyone can make.

• General Tso’s Tofu: Bursting with tangy ginger-garlic flavor, this tofu dish keeps the sodium low and the mouthwatering vibes high.
• Tofu Marsala: Brown and crisp your tofu, then immerse it in a classic trattoria-style marsala sauce for flavors as comforting as the mashed potatoes on the side.
• Almond Butter Tofu: Savory, nutty notes mingle with sharp ginger, chili, and garlic flavor, coating crispy tofu with restaurant-level lushness.
• Orange Tofu: Citrusy, garlicky, spicy, sticky and crispy, this Chinese takeout staple gets elevated with our straightforward recipe.
• Black Pepper Tofu: Far from a one-flavor dish, black pepper tofu is alive with garlic, ginger, shallot, and heat. It’s served with greens and rice for a well-rounded meal.
• Silky Chocolate Mousse: Treat yourself to dessert! With silken tofu and a food processor or blender, you’ll get velvety decadence with more protein than most sweets.

Master seitan and tofu with Purple Carrot meal kits

Instead of visiting several grocery stores to find tofu and seitan (and browsing the internet for recipe ideas), choose Purple Carrot. Our fully plant-based recipes are developed by chefs and dietitians for maximum flavor, nutrition, and ease of preparation. Whether you’re going completely plant-based, just doing Meatless Mondays, or something in between, shop Purple Carrot today for $100 off your first month of meal kit deliveries!