You can buy several different brands of vegan frankfurters, but these easy vegan hot dog recipes rival the taste of any commercial product.
Whether you want hot dogs made from seitan, legumes, or marinated carrots, you’ll find several recipes to love in this list of vegan dog recipes.
1. Grilled Carrot Hot Dogs by Sweet Simple Vegan
This recipe is perfect for getting plenty of healthy veggies into your diet and skipping the processed vegan meats. Even though the hot dogs are marinated carrots, they deliver the smoky, salty flavor you want.
Veggie broth, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, and liquid smoke create the perfect marinade to infuse the carrots with hot dog flavor.
You won’t find many hot dog recipes as simple as boiling carrots in a marinade and slapping them on the grill.
2. Vegan Hot Dogs by The Hidden Veggies
These seitan hot dogs get amazingly close to the taste and texture of the real thing, so if you’re not into carrots dogs and have the time to make these, give them a try.
The benefit of making homemade hot dogs from seitan is the control of the ingredients. You know what’s in them and can control the level of fat and sodium by making small adjustments.
The method of making the seitan is similar to many other recipes but with the addition of tofu to help give the hot dogs their texture. Seasonings like ketchup, soy sauce, and paprika give the right flavor.
Once you form the seitan in dogs and steam them as normal, they’re ready to eat or stand up to the grill without falling apart.
3. Vegan Hot Dogs by Love & Lemons
This vegan blog’s take on carrot dogs uses a marinade made from tamari and apple cider vinegar with smoked paprika instead of liquid smoke. If you love the taste of carrot dog recipes but want fewer processed ingredients, this recipe is for you.
Peeled and steamed carrots soak up the marinade to ensure that every bite bursts with a smoky, salty flavor. For the best taste, leave them to soak in the fridge for several hours or overnight before grilling them to perfection.
As with any carrot dog recipe, choose shorter, thicker carrots and peel them into the shape you want.
4. Carrot Hot Dogs With Japanese Yam Buns by Flora and Vino
Here’s an even healthier twist on already healthy carrot dogs. Instead of a traditional bread hot dog bun, use a split Japanese yam instead.
Veggie broth, apple cider vinegar, tamari, mustard, maple syrup, and smoked paprika make a traditional marinade for the carrot dogs. You’ll soak the carrots for at least half an hour before baking them in the marinade.
Baked Japanese yams split down the middle are a non-traditional but healthy substitute for the standard hot dog bun.
This recipe is a great option for people who eat gluten-free or limit fast-absorbing carbs like bread and can’t find or don’t want to make gluten-free buns.
5. Homemade Vegan Hot Dogs by Make It Dairy Free
Not only is this recipe gluten-free as long as you use a gluten-free bun, but it’s also one of the easy vegan hot dog recipes that don’t use seitan or marinated carrots.
This recipe is packed with protein because the base is lentils cooked in vegetable broth. You can buy the oat flour or process oats in a food processor for a fraction of the cost.
You’ll also need vegan Worcestershire without anchovies which you can buy online or in stores like Whole Foods or use a vegan recipe to make your own. The recipe also calls for chopped spinach, half a carrot, onion, flax seed, and tomato paste to add great flavor and nutrition.
Plan these ahead of time because you need to refrigerate the mixture for at least four hours, but overnight is better. You can make the dogs in the oven, but the texture is best if you use an air fryer.
6. Best Vegan Hot Dogs by The Cheeky Chickpea
This seitan-based take on hot dogs makes 16 standard-sized hot dogs, so it’s perfect for parties and cookouts.
A mixture of tofu and vital wheat gluten makes soft seitan that mimics the texture you’re used to in purchased vegan dogs. Liquid smoke, sesame oil, BBQ sauce, and nutritional yeast give the seitan an umami depth of flavor that rivals any vegan meat product you can buy.
Once you steam the seitan mixture, you can pan fry or grill the dogs and top them however you want.
7. Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Dogs by Plant Based Instant Pot
Many easy vegan hot dog recipes call for oil, vital wheat gluten, and flour, making them undesirable for people sensitive to gluten and wheat products or those who avoid added oils in their diet.
This Plant Based Instant Pot recipe provides a gluten-free option with no added oil or refined sugars. Some recipes use beans, seeds, or nuts to add texture, but this recipe is also nut-free.
Instead of seitan from wheat gluten, this recipe uses brown rice flour, quinoa or teff flour, oat flour, and tapioca starch as a sort of seitan base, with nutritional yeast and seasonings for flavor.
Those dry ingredients mix with cooked potatoes, carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes for texture and nutrition to make it tasty and healthy. This dog version isn’t as salty or smoky as others, but if you want a healthier gluten-free option, you need to give this one a try.
8. Homemade Veggie Dogs by Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
Most hot dog recipes that use seitan as the meat base include tofu or other ingredients to achieve a softer texture. This one uses onion, garlic, and pinto beans mixed in a food processor to blend in with the vital wheat gluten and other dry ingredients.
Using beans instead of tofu means less fat in the recipe and a slightly different texture than tofu, while whole rolled oats instead of oat flour give the bite a little more spring.
This recipe is a good one to try if you’re looking for variety in your dog recipes or want something with less fat and sodium than most options.
9. Sweet Potato Cabbage Hot Dog by My Ginger Garlic Kitchen
These Indian-inspired vegan hot dogs fit the bill if you want something different that’s delicious and healthy. Sautéed mustard seeds, ginger, chopped cabbage, and green peas get mixed with cooked, mashed sweet potatoes to create the base of the recipe.
Salt and garam masala help make these dogs salty and spicy, and red chili powder turns up the heat if you want a spicier dish. Corn starch forms the mixture into a dough you allow to cool, then roll into hot dog shapes before frying or grilling.
You can top these dogs with your favorite condiments or use the recommended cucumber, mustard, lemon juice, and a sprinkling of chaat masala for more authentic Indian favors.
10. Vegan Hot Dogs With Homemade Seitan Sausages by Elephantastic Vegan
Easy vegan hot dog recipes that use seitan usually use beans or tofu to create a hog dog texture. This one uses chickpeas for that texture, which makes a firmer bite than softer beans.
Ingredients like fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and thyme impart a sausage-like flavor to the mixture, close to the taste of purchased vegan sausages and frankfurters and a little less like the standard vegan hot dogs.
Soy sauce, tomato paste, and smoked paprika give the seitan a familiar umami taste, so if you like vegan sausage, this may become one of your favorite versions.
11. The Vegan Gutbuster by Taste With the Eyes
Some recipes create a dog that’s more like a sausage than a hot dog, but it’s good to have those options when you want something with a little more spice and flavor.
This recipe’s homemade vegan Italian sausage will please any hot dog lover, but if you want to minimize the sausage taste, you can omit the fennel seeds.
Mushroom broth, cannellini beans, and soy sauce create the flavor base for these seitan sausages you steam, pan fry, and top with onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, tomato, seasonings, and your vegan cheese of choice.
12. Vegan Hot Dogs by This Healthy Kitchen
Many easy vegan hot dog recipes contain added oil, upping the fat content. The oil improves the texture and makes seitan great for recipes like vegan ribs, steaks, chicken patties, and sausages. This recipe leaves oil out of the seitan to lower the fat and make a healthier version.
The base contains the standard ingredients like maple syrup, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and vegetable broth, with cannellini beans to soften the texture. Smoked paprika mixed into the wheat gluten with other dry ingredients adds a touch of smoky flavor.
You can cook the seitan by baking, steaming on the stove, or using the Instant Pot to steam it. The dogs are ready to eat immediately, but brushing them with oil and grilling adds extra flavor and texture.
13. Vegan Chorizo Hot Dogs by Rhian’s Recipes
This recipe will kick your hot dog game into high gear. Cumin, oregano, garlic, and smoked paprika make a rich, smoky mix that sets off the intense flavor of sun-dried tomatoes. Apple cider vinegar, tamari or soy sauce, and miso paste blend with a can of kidney beans for the base.
If you want more recipes without seitan or carrots, you’ll love this one with a similar texture and the umami of beans and soy sauce. A gluten-free soy sauce or substitute makes this a gluten-free recipe safe for people who are sensitive to it.
After processing the ingredients, you pan fry the mixture in hot dog shapes, put them in buns, and pack on your favorite toppings.
14. Smoky Barbecue Carrot Hot Dogs With Creamy Chickpea Salad
This dish is perfect for a summer supper or picnic. Marinated carrots with BBQ flavor mingle perfectly with a cool, creamy chickpea salad poured on top. You’ll enjoy this recipe, especially if you love vegan pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw.
In this carrot dog version, you boil unpeeled carrots until soft, then peel and soak in the marinade, preferably overnight. Then you mix partially mashed chickpeas with vegan sour cream or mayo, chopped pickles, lettuce, and onion for the salad topping.
The carrot dogs taste best charred on a smoky grill, but you can also roast or fry them.
15. Vegan Carrot Hot Dogs by Shane & Simple
This recipe adds rice vinegar to the common carrot dog marinade ingredients of apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable broth, and maple syrup for an even more tangy flavor. Smoked paprika and liquid smoke impart the hot dog flavor you love.
Instead of marinating overnight or for several hours, this recipe gives instructions for quickly infusing the flavors into the carrots by cooking them in the Instant Pot for two minutes.
They can go directly from the Instant Pot to the grill, eliminating the waiting time usually required in marinades. Or you can put them in the marinade in the refrigerator until you’re ready to finish cooking them.
16. Vegetarian Hot Dogs by Baked In
Though Julie at Baked In calls these hot dogs vegetarian, they’re also vegan because they don’t contain any egg or dairy products.
They have a seitan base, but what makes this seitan different is the almond meal that gets mixed in with tofu and vital wheat gluten to improve the texture.
Coriander, nutmeg, cumin, and cardamom ensure these dogs won’t taste plain after you steam them and cook them on the grill. You can also pan fry them before loading them into buns with your favorite condiments and toppings.
17. Marinated Tofu Franks by Connoisseurus Veg
This blog doesn’t claim that their marinated tofu version will fool hardcore hot dog lovers, but that doesn’t mean they won’t find the dish delicious.
For this recipe, cut tofu into strips the size you want and soak them in the standard marinade ingredients for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. After marinating, you bake the strips for about 40 minutes, then pan fry to give the outside more texture.
If you love the taste of the cooked tofu strips, you can also use them in grain bowls and salads.
Easy Vegan Hot Dog Recipes, Final Thoughts
Whether you prefer the healthiest easy vegan hot dog recipes or more indulgent ones that taste closer to the real thing, you should be able to find some recipes you love in this list. And if you’re looking for more culinary inspiration, check out these vegan dinner recipes.