Vegan Ham

In this post:

Turn some simple ingredients into an amazing vegan meat alternative! Here is exactly what you need to make Vegan Ham:

And some important ingredient notes:

• Vital wheat gluten - An essential ingredient in this seitan ham. This recipe cannot be made gluten-free.
• Tofu - This should be extra firm tofu. Do not press it.
• Ketchup - This is for color, sweetness, and tang.
• Better Than Bouillon - I recommend using either the vegetable, garlic, mushroom, or no chicken flavour. If you can't get BTB use 2 good tasting stock cubes (add them dry and not dissolved in any liquid). There is no need to add salt to this recipe because the BTB is salty enough.
• Nutritional yeast - Really important for umami flavour.
• Brown sugar - Dark brown sugar is best if you have it because it has more flavour than light brown sugar. It adds to the rich, festive, caramelized ham flavour both in the ham itself and when mixed with maple syrup and Dijon mustard in the glaze.
• Dijon mustard - Adds a much-needed tang to balance out the sweetness while also acting as a thickener in the glaze.
• Smoked paprika - Not regular paprika. We want the red colour and the smoky flavor. A few drops of liquid smoke could be used as an alternative.
• Garlic Powder & onion Powder - These give us a concentrated flavour without adding any moisture which would alter the texture of the finished ham.
• Allspice - A very common spice that you'll find in all good grocery stores. It is warming and aromatic and really adds to the festive hammy flavour.
• Refined coconut oil - Ham is a pretty fatty meat and adding some plant-based fat helps keeps it moist and makes it more realistic to eat. Refined coconut oil is flavourless. Don't use unrefined or virgin coconut oil or your ham will taste like coconut. If you don't have refined coconut oil use any neutral liquid oil. If you are oil-free you can omit the oil completely.

A quick summary of how to make your own delicious Vegan Ham (for more detailed instructions see the recipe card):

1. Process the seitan ingredients in your food processor until a smooth and supple dough is formed.
2. Remove and knead into an oval shape. Don't worry, it won't get tough.
3. Shape, and wrap in parchment paper like a paper-wrapped candy.
4. Wrap in a triple layer of foil and bake. Yes, we're baking rather than steaming for an incredibly realistic texture.

Success Tip - For the very best results, (as with all seitan), I recommend refrigerating the vegan ham overnight before slicing, then bringing it to room temperature before serving. You can bake, glaze then store, or bake the ham, store it in the fridge, then score and glaze a day or two after. This works well if you want to serve it warm at a later date.

Serving Suggestions

Sauces that work well with vegan ham and veggies include leftover brown sugar maple glaze, chutney, cranberry sauce, mustard, onion jam, and gravy.

Got leftovers?

• Enjoy sliced in sandwiches or with salads.
• For breakfast with vegan scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes, and buttered toast.
• Dice and add to fried rice, pasta dishes, pizza, soups (like my pea soup), quiche, and pie fillings.
• Fry chunks in a pan and use as you would bacon bits. It's great like this served scattered over my vegan carbonara instead of the smoky carrot rashers!