The first time I had these was at a restaurant called Blind Faith Café. I had just started a journey to improve my health and was going on a macrobiotic diet (see this post). I probably would have quit shortly after beginning if it wasn’t for Blind Faith as I didn’t know how to cook and wasn’t familiar with the ingredients. Most of the food on their menu was allowed on my diet and it was delicious so I ate there regularly until I figured out how to cook for myself. My favorite item on the menu was the seitan fajitas!
I haven’t been to the restaurant in quite a while, but all of a sudden I had a craving for their fajitas and jumped in the car ready to go. Then I thought, “why don’t you drive to the grocery store instead and learn how to make these yourself so you can have them ALL THE TIME!” I’m so glad I did because I will definitely be making these at home again and again.
If you aren’t familiar with seitan, it’s a meat substitute made from wheat gluten. OK, that doesn’t sound appetizing, but trust me, this stuff is really good. It has the texture of meat and absorbs whatever flavorings you throw on it. It comes pre-cooked (in a solid block or cut into strips) so you just heat it up. One serving has 21 grams of protein, 120 calories, 2 grams of fat and 5 grams of carbs. I used 1 package which was about 2 servings. (If you want to avoid gluten, a gluten-free tempeh would be a good substitute.)
Initially, I was going to make the fajita sauce from scratch. Then I found a pre-made sauce by Frontera (chef Rick Bayless is the man behind the brand). Although the list of ingredients is long, it doesn’t have any preservatives or weird ingredients I can’t pronounce, so I decided to go with it. It definitely cuts down on the prep time! Feel free to use any other brand of fajita sauce if you like, but if you are strictly vegan, check the label to see if it’s made with Worcestershire sauce which can contain anchovies.
I used gluten free brown rice tortillas which, to be brutally honest, weren’t that good. Use whatever tortilla you like best. I like mine warmed up over the low flame setting on my gas stove. Use tongs to keep flipping sides and prevent burning. You can also heat them up in a microwave, or in a frying pan with a small amount of oil.
Ingredients (makes 2 servings)
1 8-oz. package seitan (cut into strips)
1 8-oz. package Frontera Classic Fajita Sauce (medium heat)
tortillas
1 large red bell pepper (cut into strips)
1 onion (sliced same size as pepper)
¼ tsp. chili pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves (chopped)
salt to taste
Avocado Sauce Ingredients
1 avocado
¼ cup coconut milk
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 freshly squeezed lime
salt to taste
Directions
1. Place seitan strips in a bowl and pour sauce over the top to marinate while prepping other ingredients.
2. Place all avocado sauce ingredients in a small food processor and blend thoroughly.
3. Sauté onion and garlic in skillet with chili pepper flakes and 2 tbsp. cooking oil for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add in red peppers and sauté another 5 minutes (until peppers are cooked to desired tenderness).
4. Add seitan with fajita sauce and cook another 3 minutes on medium-high heat until seitan is warmed through.
5. Serve on warm tortillas, topped with avocado sauce and garnished with cilantro.
cheri says
These look really good Amy, I’ve had seitan before and it is delicious. Love Rick Bayless, have one of his cookbooks.
Amy says
These fajitas are addictive! Hope you give them a try.
Tonga says
I will definitely give this a try once I finish with the strict phase of ETL, very colorful and looks so yummy. Thanks for sharing!
Amy says
Thanks, Tonga. These are really tasty. I hope you like them.