Where to Buy Seitan & How to Find It in the Grocery Store

Seitan is delicious. If you haven’t had it before, you’re in for a treat. But you also might have no idea where to buy this “wheat meat” stuff! If that’s you, I can help.

Where can you buy seitan? Health food stores and natural foods stores will almost always have seitan. Grocery stores with an emphasis on natural foods, such as Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s, also carry it. Some other large grocery stores carry seitan, as well.

Read on to learn exactly where to find seitan in a typical grocery store, and to see pictures of what to look for. I took pictures showing where the seitan is stocked in my local Wegman’s and what each package looks like.

Which Stores Carry Seitan?

There are three kinds of grocery stores that I would look for seitan at:

1. Local health/natural food stores

The first type of store that is ideal to check is your local health food store or natural foods store. These little stores are often run as co-operatives.

If you’re not familiar with any local stores that fall in this category, do a quick search online to see if there is one. It can be a great option to know about, even if you buy most of your groceries from a bigger store.

2. Grocery stores with a focus on natural foods

The second category of stores likely to have seitan is grocery stores with a natural foods section or a focus on healthy foods. This would include Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s.

Kroger and Wegman’s usually have “natural foods” sections, too, which have seitan. Any large grocery store with plentiful gluten-free, organic, or vegan options would likely have seitan.

3. Large grocery stores in general

In the U.S., I’m thinking here of Wal-Mart, Costco, Publix, Target, Albertson’s, Safeway, Fred Meyer, Hannaford, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and many more. These stores won’t always have seitan—but they might.

As more and more people try eating vegetarian and vegan meals, seitan is more likely to be stocked in even the most simple grocery stores. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if these general chains don’t carry seitan at this time.

Lastly, I’ll note that discount grocery stores like Aldi or Save-a-Lot are not likely to carry seitan at this time, based on my experiences.

Where to Find Seitan in the Grocery Store

So you’ve identified a few local stores that may have seitan. Now where the heck is it located in the store? Seitan is almost always stocked right next to the tofu.

If you don’t know where the tofu is, keep reading and I’ll help you find that, too!

The seitan, tofu, and tempeh are all going to be found in a refrigerated area. They may be in an actual glass refrigerator, or they may be in an open refrigerated area like where the salad and carrots are.

If the Store Has a Natural Foods Section…

If there is a natural foods section in the store, check there first. This section has most of the gluten-free, organic, and vegan specialty foods.

Look for the refrigerated areas in the natural foods section, and you’ll find it in no time.

Check Along the Edge of the Produce Section

In stores like Target and Wal-Mart, the tofu (and seitan, if it’s in stock) is often at the edge of the produce section or the back of the produce section.

Look at the refrigerated areas keeping the fresh greens and vegetables. Do you see any packaged foods? (I include pictures of seitan packages below. Scroll down to get a look.)

Check the Freezers for a “Meatless” Section

Usually, seitan is located in a refrigerator, not a freezer. But if you haven’t found any seitan in the refrigerated areas mentioned above, you might also just check the freezer aisles.

Look for “Meatless” along the top of the aisle. Most grocery stores will have some veggie burgers in a “Meatless” section. These products are similar to seitan and sometimes made of seitan.

Just Ask Where the Tofu Is Stocked

Tofu is more popular than seitan. If you ask the grocery store employees where the seitan is, they might have no clue what you’re talking about. But if you ask where the tofu is, they will probably be able to tell you.

In my experience, the seitan is pretty much always stocked next to the tofu. I can’t even think of one time I’ve seen it stocked in a very different part of the store.

So if you find the tofu, you can just check next to it for whether they have seitan.

Example: Where to Find Seitan in Wegman’s

Here are some pictures from where the seitan is located in my local Wegman’s grocery store. Here is the section more generally:

This is the natural foods section of the store, and so it’s in the refrigerators in that section of the store. Here, you can see there’s a “tofu & seitan” section specifically:

And here are the majority of the seitan products on the bottom shelf:

What Does Seitan Look Like in the Store? 3 Packages

Seitan is brown, and it can be cut/sliced in different ways. Here are some pictures of the seitan products in my local grocery store:

Should I Buy Seitan Online?

If you’re having trouble finding seitan in your area, you might consider buying seitan online.

I would just mention that seitan usually needs to be refrigerated. So I would expect the package to come with some kind of cooling pack or something. I’d suggest just reading reviews before buying.

Here are the two seitan products I could find on Amazon: here and here. They are both canned seitan! They look pretty good, and the ingredients are definitely vegan.

Should I Make My Own Seitan Instead of Buying It?

Seitan is actually pretty simple to make. I’ve never made it myself because, honestly, I’m not a huge cooking/baking guy. But I have several friends who make their own seitan regularly.

The ingredients for making your own seitan are pretty simple. You can either make it from vital wheat gluten (faster) or whole wheat flour (cheaper).

Making Seitan From Vital Wheat Gluten

Here’s a page with a recipe and explanation of how to make seitan from vital wheat gluten.

Vital wheat gluten is another “natural foods” kind of ingredient, so if you struggled to find seitan in the store, you may also struggle to find vital wheat gluten in the store.

Buying vital wheat gluten online? On Amazon, you can buy Bob’s Red Mill, a leading brand. You can buy one pack at a time or in a 4-pack (if you know you’ll be making a lot).

Making Seitan From Whole Wheat Flour

Here’s an explanation and recipe for how to make seitan from whole wheat floud.

Making your own seitan with this method could save you a lot of money if you end up eating it regularly.

More Seitan Ideas! A Cookbook

Here’s an awesome-looking cookbook focused entirely on seitan. It has recipes for seitan tacos, BBQ, stir-fry, wings, and more! It would be the perfect companion to your seitan, once you get it! Check the current price on Amazon here.

Finding Seitan: Worth the Effort

Whether you can easily buy seitan at a nearby grocery store or whether you need to order it online or make it yourself, I want to encourage you on your journey!

Seitan is an amazing meat replacement option. Most people love it more than tofu or tempeh. It’s chewy and satisfying, and it can potentially be cheaper and more versatile than other mock meat products.

Godspeed on your path to seitan!

Two More Recommendations for Your Plant-Based Journey

1. This is the best free video training I’ve found on plant-based nutrition. You’ll learn how to reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and obesity—all with plant-based food. Watch the free “Food for Health Masterclass” here.

2. This is the best vegan multivitamin I’ve found in my 14 years of being vegan. It has vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3—and nothing else. Translation: It only has the nutrients vegans are actually low in. Read my full review of Future Kind’s multivitamin here (with 10% discount).

If you found this guide helpful and don’t want to lose track of it, consider saving the Pin below to your Pinterest “Seitan” or “Plant-Based Diet” boards!