This easy Vegan Philly Cheesesteak recipe is made with meaty and crispy pan fried soy curls that are marinated in a beefy broth, savory onion and green pepper, mushrooms, and a gooey vegan cheddar cheese sauce. Perfect for lunch or dinner.
This delicious vegan steak sandwich is as authentic as you're going to get to a true Philly Cheesesteak, which as you probably guessed, originated in Philadelphia, PA.
It has the meaty, cheesy, chewy textures that you'd expect, and the flavors are absolutely delicious.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
Here is a visual cue of the ingredients you'll need for the soy curls and tips for substitutions.
Find the measurements in the recipe card below.
- Soy Curls - You can find Butler's Soy Curls in specialty grocery stores and on Amazon. Substitute with the following meat substitutes : our Vegan BBQ Seitan Ribs, shredded jackfruit, store bought seitan or tempeh.
- No Beef Bouillon - This gives the marinade a beef flavor that soaks into the soy curls.
- Vegan Worcestershire Sauce - Adds a wonderful depth of flavor.
- Soy Sauce - Gives the soy curls a much needed umami flavor. Substitute with tamari or liquid aminos.
- Liquid Smoke - Mimics the smokiness you'd find in a grilled steak.
- Vegan Cheese Sauce - We love using our homemade vegan cheese sauces, or if you're in a hurry, we love Violife Smoked Provolone Slices.
- Onions and Bell Peppers - Veggies add even more flavor to this sandwich. Green bell peppers are what you'd find on a classic Philly Cheesesteak, and we added some red for color.
- Mushrooms - Sliced white button or baby Portobellos are our go to.
- Sub Roll - Depending on where you live, you might call them torpedo rolls, steak rolls, or hoagie rolls.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Here are the instructions for the soy curls and the veggies. If you're using our cheese sauce, click the link in the recipe card for the instructions.
Step One
Marinate the soy curls in vegan Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, no beef bouillon broth, water, and soy sauce until they're rehydrated, approximately 30 minutes.
Drain the excess liquid from the soy curls and cook them in a hot pan for approximately 10 minutes, or until they begin to get slightly crispy on the edges.
They should look like the photo above when they're ready.
Step Two
Cook the mushrooms until they're golden, approximately 7 minutes.
Step Three
Saute the onions and peppers until the onion is translucent, approximately 7 minutes.
If you want more spices and seasonings in the veggies, add a little garlic powder, onion powder, and dried oregano.
Step Four
Build the sandwiches. Start by toasting the rolls, then add the soy curls, the onion and pepper mixture, and the mushrooms.
STEP FIVE
Now smother the whole thing with as much dairy-free cheese sauce as you want.
Add some long hot peppers if you love a lot of spice.
Serving and Storage
Serve these with our Roasted Rosemary and Sage Home Fries or our Crispy Sweet Potato Fries.
You can store these without the cheese sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. They're best eaten immediately after making them.
Recipe FAQs
The soy curls are gluten-free, all you'll need to do is use a gluten-free roll.
You can, but it's not going to give you the best meaty texture. No matter how much you cook it, it will still be soft in the center.
More Meaty Vegan Sandwich Recipes
Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich
Equipment
- 1 skillet
- 1 stove
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1 tablespoon no-beef bouillon paste
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or liquid aminos is you don’t eat soy
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
Remaining ingredients
- 8 ounce soy curls
- 1 red bell pepper or orange or yellow, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 medium sweet onion thinly sliced
- 8 ounce button mushrooms thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoon vegan butter divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Cheese Sauce
- See the link to the recipe in the instructions
- 4 sub rolls or 1 baguette sliced into four pieces
Instructions
For the Marinade
- Pour the boiling water into a large bowl and Whisk in the bouillon paste, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and liquid smoke until well combined and the bouillon paste is completely liquified.
- Add the soy curls and stir until they’re completely coated in the broth and let marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.
Make the cheese sauce.
- Heat a large iron skillet or whatever large sauté pan you have, on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, melt 2 tablespoon of the butter and add the onions and bell peppers. Stir to coat with the butter and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the onions and peppers, stirring often, for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until they’re nicely caramelized, salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Heat the pan back up on medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon vegan butter and let it melt. When the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and stir until coated in the butter. Cook, stirring often, approximately 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms have lost their water and are a nice golden brown, salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Drain the liquid (reserve 1 cup) from the soy curls and press out the excess broth. Add to the hot pan and cook for approximately 5 to 7 minutes, or until the edges are crispy and brown. Add a bit of the broth to deglaze the pan and let it evaporate. Stir often. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Grill or toast the bread if desired. We suggest spreading a thin layer of melted butter or olive oil on the inside of the bread before toasting.
- Build your sandwich. We like to start with the soy curls, then the veggies, and top it with the cheese sauce.
Notes
- Soy Curls - You can find Butler's Soy Curls in specialty grocery stores and on Amazon. Substitute with the following meat substitutes : our Vegan BBQ Seitan Ribs, shredded jackfruit, store bought seitan or tempeh.
- No Beef Bouillon - This gives the marinade a beef flavor that soaks into the soy curls.
- Vegan Cheese Sauce - We love using our homemade vegan cheese sauces, or if you're in a hurry, we love Violife Smoked Provolone Slices.
- STORAGE -You can store these without the cheese sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. They're best eaten immediately after making them.
-
Can I make this gluten-free? The soy curls are gluten-free, all you'll need to do is use a gluten-free roll.Can I use tofu to make this? You can, but it's not going to give you the best meaty texture. No matter how much you cook it, it will still be soft in the center. NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
Nutrition
The Student-turned-Doctor @ Food for Dissertating says
This was SO GOOD. The flavors all balanced each other perfectly and your cheese sauce was absolutely genius. I had mine on hot dog buns (because that's what I had), but they were still DELICIOUS. I have rarely enjoyed a meal more. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Linda & Alex says
Thank you so much!! We're so happy you enjoyed the recipe and appreciate your kind comment. 🙂
Mitzi Fox says
Excellent recipe for this now vegan, former Philadelphian. FYI: We buy our soy curls in bulk directly from Butler.
Linda Meyer says
Hi Mitzi! Wow, thank you so much!! We're so excited to read that a former Philadelphian approves. And thanks for the soy curl tip. 🙂
Kerstin says
So I made the Philli cheese, but I used some leftover seitan and it came out beautiful and tasted just like steak
Alex Meyer, MA says
Hey Kerstin,
Thank you so much for your comment! We're so glad you loved the flavor! I love using seitan in this dish and am so happy it turned out well for you too! Have a great day!
Alex & Linda
Christine @ Run Plant Based says
This looks amazing, I want to go buy soy curls right now! My husband would love this, thanks!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you!! My husband really enjoyed these. Let me know if you make them.
Jennifer Bliss says
I need to get into Soy Curls more!
Linda Meyer says
We love them! I can't stop playing around with new recipe ideas. 🙂