Legumes, soy and plant protein
Seitan on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 25 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), ready made, as sold, for around 130 calories. A few slices, about 100 g (3.5 oz), gives roughly 25 g of protein for 130 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from seitan alone you would need about 120 g (4.2 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How seitan sits on a GLP-1
Seitan is wheat gluten cooked in stock, and it is the most protein dense plant food most people will meet: about 25 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) with almost no fat, similar to chicken breast. It is chewy and meaty, closer to a firm cold cut than to tofu, and that chew is the obstacle on a GLP-1. It also sits for a while. It is not for anyone with coeliac disease or gluten trouble, since it is nothing but gluten.
When your appetite is small
Slice it thin and put it in a sauce. Thin strips of seitan simmered in a stir fry sauce or a gravy for a few minutes soften and take on the flavour, and 100 g (3.5 oz) in a small bowl over rice is a full 25 g stop. A slab of it fried and served dry is a chewing job that gets abandoned.
Three ways to prepare it
Thin strips in a stir fry sauce
Slice it as thin as you can, fry briefly, then simmer in the sauce for three minutes. The sauce is what makes it soft enough to eat easily.
Shredded into a wrap with hummus
Pulled apart by hand and folded into a small wrap with hummus and pickles. Cold, no cooking, about 20 g.
Simmered in a broth with noodles
Slices dropped into a miso or stock based noodle soup. Wet and warm, and the broth does the work.
What to eat it with
Soy, sesame, black bean sauce, barbecue sauce, gravy, hummus. It has a bland savoury flavour and needs a sauce with body. Beans, lentils or dairy in the same day cover the lysine it is short of.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seitan | about 25 g | 130 kcal | this page |
| Tempeh | about 19 g | 190 kcal | See the page |
| Firm tofu | about 14 g | 130 kcal | See the page |
| Chicken breast | about 31 g | 165 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, ready made, as sold, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Seitan is also sold as wheat meat, wheat gluten or mock duck, the last usually tinned in Asian grocers. It is in some UK and US supermarkets and specialist shops, and in Australia mostly through health food shops and Asian grocers. Protein ranges from about 20 to 30 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) by brand.
Questions people ask
Is seitan a complete protein?
No. Wheat protein is low in lysine, so seitan on its own does less for muscle than the number suggests. Beans, dairy or eggs in the same day fill the gap. It is also unsuitable if you cannot eat gluten, since it is gluten and nothing else.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.