Crockpot Vegan BBQ

This sweet and tangy Crockpot Vegan BBQ is out-of-this-world! Perfect for summer outdoor gatherings or any time of the year. Serve with slaw, corn on the cob, or air-fried potato wedges. 

We absolutely LOVE barbecue, and I remember the first July 4th holiday, after we went plant-based, was when I found this crockpot vegan bbq recipe in a book by Dr. Neal Barnard, president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. 

Vegan BBQ is so good because it’s…

• smokey
• tangy
• hearty
• perfect for July 4th
• great summer picnic food
• simple & delicious

Every year, on July 4th, the small North Carolina town I live in has a festival with rides for kids, music, crafts, and fireworks. The volunteer fire department makes barbecue and sells it, and we always used to go eat lots of barbecue sandwiches. 

That was a problem after we went plant-based because our newfound knowledge told us that animal products are loaded with artery-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol. And, that’s when I ran across this recipe and decided to give it a try.

We absolutely love it and make it all year round–no special holiday needed! You’ll be amazed at how good it tastes, and it’s not difficult to make either. 

How to make vegan bbq

The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.

The first step in making this recipe is cooking the seitan, and I know some of you have never even heard of it before.

Seitan is becoming more and more popular in vegetarian, vegan, and plant-based communities as a meat substitute. It has a look and texture amazingly similar to cooked meat.

Making seitan

I sometimes make my own seitan, because it’s quite easy to make. Check out this article I wrote called Seitan How to Cook it and Recipes. It can also be purchased already cooked at Whole Foods and other health food stores.

It’s quite simple and fun to make a batch yourself. It’s made with vital wheat gluten and just needs water and spices to prepare.

Assemble the dry ingredients of wheat gluten powder, spices, and herbs. Combine in a large bowl and whisk together.

In a medium bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients of water, tamari, “oyster” sauce, and tahini.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. It will thicken very quickly. Begin to knead everything together for approximately 3 minutes.

Set to the side and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Then knead another 2-3 minutes. The longer you knead, the chewier the seitan will be after baked.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and press seitan into the pan. Bake at 325°F for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven, cut in half, and place in a crockpot with barbecue sauce. Allow to cook on low for 1 hour. By allowing the seitan to cook slowly in the barbecue sauce for at least an hour, it achieves a tender, pulled texture.

BBQ sauce

The barbecue sauce in the recipe card below is simple and delicious. However, if you’re short on time or just don’t want to make your own bbq sauce, a good store-bought sauce is Bone Suckin’ Sauce available on Amazon by clicking the link.

Remove the seitan from the crockpot. Use a couple of forks to pull and shred the seitan apart. This can be shredded in a food processor, but I like mine chunkier and do it by hand. Then place back into the crockpot with barbecue sauce and cook 6-8 hours on low.

Serve warm on whole grain buns. We added fresh spinach leaves and sliced onion to ours. Delish!

Note: These sandwiches can also be made with Soy Curls instead of seitan if preferred for those that are gluten-free.

*Originally published May 2015.

Tips for making vegan bbq

• At first glance, I know this recipe seems a bit labor-intensive, but believe me when I say it will be well worth the effort.
• After you’ve learned to make seitan for this barbecue, you’ll feel more comfortable making it for other recipes like recipes that use seitan.
• If you decide to purchase precooked seitan and bottled bbq sauce, this dinner can come together in about 10-minutes flat. Simply combine the cooked seitan with the bbq sauce and heat and eat.

Other great burger recipes

• Soy Curl Barbecue Sandwiches
• Portobello Burgers
• Black Bean Burgers
• Chickpea Burgers

For those of you new to the whole food plant-based lifestyle, we’ve created a FREE 7-Day Plant-Based Menu Planner to help you get started!

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it by rating it and leaving a comment. We love to hear from you!

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Crockpot Vegan BBQ

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

This sweet and tangy crockpot vegan bbq is out-of-this-world! Perfect for summer outdoor gatherings or any time of the year. Serve with slaw, corn on the cob, or air fried potato wedges. 

Print

Ingredients

Baked Seitan

• 2 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1.5 cups water
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 2 tablespoons vegetarian "oyster" sauce
• 2 tablespoons tahini

Barbecue Sauce

• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 cups fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard, not ground mustard, but liquid
• 2 tablespoons black strap molasses
• 2 tablespoons agave or maple syrup
• juice from one lemon
• 2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional

Instructions

Baked Seitan

1. Vital wheat gluten can be found in the baking section of most grocery stores.
2. Assemble the dry ingredients of wheat gluten powder, spices, and herbs. Combine in a large bowl and whisk together.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients of water, tamari, "oyster" sauce, and tahini.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. It will thicken very quickly. Begin to knead everything together for approximately 3 minutes.
5. Set to the side and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Then knead another 2-3 minutes. The longer you knead, the chewier the seitan will be after baked.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and press seitan into the pan. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, cut in half, and place in a crockpot with barbecue sauce. Allow to cook on low for 1 hour. By allowing the seitan to cook slowly in the barbecue sauce for at least an hour, it achieves a tender, pulled texture.
8. Remove from the crockpot. Use a couple of forks to pull and shred the seitan apart. This can be shredded in a food processor, but I like mine chunkier and did it by hand. Then place back into the crockpot with barbecue sauce and cook 6-8 hours on low.
9. Serve warm on whole grain buns. We added fresh spinach leaves and sliced onion to ours. Delish!

Barbecue Sauce

1. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in 3 Tbsp of veggie broth until it softens. I cook a little longer to caramelize.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, simmering for another 5 minutes.
3. Pour mixture into a blender and puree until smooth. Add to crockpot with seitan.

Notes

Detailed instructions, in-process photos, and my personal helpful tips can be found in the article above.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 151Total Fat: 3.5gCarbohydrates: 13.1gFiber: 1.9gProtein: 11g

To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.

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