The Best Vegan Ham Recipe
The perfect centerpiece for a holiday meal or Sunday lunch, this Vegan Ham is loaded with delicious flavors. Baked to perfection and smothered in a smoky maple glaze, this oil-free ham roast is one you’ll come back to again and again. This is a great meat-free option for Easter or Christmas!
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Why you’ll love making this Vegan Ham recipe
- Making vegan ham roast is so much easier than you think. You mix up the roast, bake it in the air fryer, coat it in a maple glaze, and bake it a little longer. So simple and a great option if you don’t eat meat!
- Much quicker than a real ham, this mock meat recipe is ready in just an hour. The prep itself only takes 10 minutes!
- If you miss eating meat, you will love the meaty texture! It is incredibly delicious and so tender.
- Just like traditional ham, this vegan roast has an amazing smoky flavor. The maple glaze is so sweet and delicious as well. We can’t get enough!
- Enjoy this Vegan Ham roast just as it is with your favorite vegetable sides. We love making the leftovers into vegan ham sandwiches for lunch the next day!
Ingredients you’ll need
You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.
How to make Vegan Ham with step-by-step instructions, with a little more detail than the recipe card
A complete printable recipe and the US customary and metric measurements are available in the recipe card below.
Crumble the tofu with your hands over a cheesecloth and strain it to remove as much water as possible. This will only take about a minute.
Transfer the tofu crumbs to a food processor and add nutritional yeast, vegan ketchup, smoked paprika powder, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed garlic clove, liquid smoke, salt, and pulse until fully processed.
Place the tofu mixture in a large mixing bowl and add the vital wheat gluten and vegetable broth.
Mix everything together until soft. You should get an easy-to-mold dough.
Preheat the oven to 390°F/200°C. Transfer the dough to a foil-lined casserole dish.
The baking dish should be around 5 x 7 inches.
Cover the top with aluminum foil, place it in the oven, and bake for 40 minutes.
In a small or medium bowl, mix ketchup, vegan broth, and molasses or maple syrup for the ham glaze.
Once the ham is cooked, flip the ham-shaped loaf over another baking tray and make a cross pattern with a knife; insert one clove in every box and pour the glaze generously over the top.
Bake for 15 more minutes or until fully caramelized.
Remove from the oven, place on a serving platter, slice, and serve immediately.
Pro tip: If you find the ham difficult to cut because of the criss-cross pattern on top, flip it over and slice it on the other side.
Recipe notes and expert tips
- Color: To add a pop of color and make this look a little more like ham, add 1-2 teaspoons of beet powder. This natural food coloring is pleasantly pink! Add ½ a teaspoon at a time, as it can be quite strong.
- Other flavors: Like roast ham, you can add a couple of teaspoons of Dijon mustard to the glaze ingredients to make it a maple mustard glaze. It is so tasty! For an aesthetic look, try piercing whole cloves into the top of the ham. It adds a little extra spice and looks lovely!
- Acidity: Acidity in the maple glaze should come from the ketchup, but if it’s not quite doing it for you, add 1/2-1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
- Vegan ketchup: In general, all ketchup is vegan! If unsure, double-check the label, but all major brands are 100% plant-based.
- Maple syrup and molasses: The main differences between maple syrup and molasses are how they are made (maple syrup is tree sap, and molasses is beet or cane sugar) and their density. Molasses is a bit thicker than maple. In a pinch, you could substitute brown sugar. The glaze would need to be cooked on the stove for a few minutes to dissolve the brown sugar granules before glazing the ham.
- A little heat: We enjoy a dash of hot sauce in our glaze to add a little spice!
How to store leftover vegan ham
Store any leftover ham in an airtight container or tightly covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days.
You can eat the leftovers cold or reheat sliced ham in the microwave, air fryer, or oven, or fried in a frying pan on the stove with a little refined coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, or vegan butter.
What to serve with this Vegan Ham Roast
Serve this dish with all of your holiday table favorites! Vegetable side dishes we love include Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes, Fingerling Potatoes, Roasted Baby Potatoes, Smashed Potatoes, Southern Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and Roast Parsnips.
Casserole side dishes are also great with this recipe and perfect for any large gathering. Try our Yellow Squash Casserole, Pineapple Casserole, Potato Casserole, Corn Casserole, and Broccoli Casserole.
Of course, we love to treat this like regular ham and make sandwiches, vegan ham and cheese toasties, or ham wraps with flour tortillas.
Can I make this in the air fryer?
Absolutely! Our Air Fryer Vegan Ham recipe is so simple, takes the same amount of time, and uses less energy than turning on the oven.
What’s the difference between tofu ham and seitan ham?
There are a few differences to note between these two homemade vegan ham varieties.
Firstly, the main ingredient. A tofu ham is made with either soft, firm, or extra firm tofu, which comes from soybeans.
A seitan loaf is made with seitan which comes from wheat gluten.
Another key difference is how they are cooked. For a tofu ham like this recipe, we bake it in the oven.
Seitan ham, on the other hand, needs to be steamed in a steaming basket.
You wrap the seitan tightly in aluminum foil, steam it, and then bake the steamed seitan in the oven after glazing it.
As you can see, seitan recipes can be a little more complicated than tofu, but they are very tasty nonetheless!
What is vital wheat gluten?
Vital wheat gluten is a flour that is made by hydrating regular wheat flour to activate the gluten in it, and then it is processed to remove everything except the gluten.
This is such an important ingredient that binds everything together in this wheat meat and is not one to be skipped!
As there is gluten in this vegan ham, it is not suitable for a gluten-free diet or for celiacs.
More easy vegan recipes for you to try
Vegan Ham
Utensils
Ingredients
For the vegan ham:
- 5½ ounces soft tofu block
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup vegan ketchup
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup veggie stock use more if needed
For the glaze:
- ¼ cup vegan ketchup
- 2 tablespoons veggie stock
- 2 tablespoons molasses or maple syrup
Instructions
- Crumble the tofu with your hands over a cheesecloth and strain it to remove as much water as possible. Transfer the tofu crumbs to a food processor and add nutritional yeast, vegan ketchup, smoked paprika powder, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed garlic clove, liquid smoke, salt, and pulse until fully processed.5½ ounces soft tofu block, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, ¼ cup vegan ketchup, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 clove garlic, ½ teaspoon liquid smoke, 1 teaspoon salt
- Transfer the tofu mixture to a bowl and add the vital wheat gluten and veggie stock, and mix until soft; you should get an easy-to-mold dough.¼ cup vital wheat gluten, ¼ cup veggie stock
- Preheat the oven to 390°F/200°C. Transfer the mixture to a foil-lined baking dish (around 5 x 7 inches), top it with aluminum foil, place it in the air fryer basket, and bake for 40 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix ketchup, veggie stock, and molasses or maple syrup for the ham glaze. Once the ham is cooked, flip it over another baking tray and make a cross pattern with a knife; insert one clove in every box and pour the glaze over the top. Bake for 15 more minutes or until fully caramelized. Remove from the oven, place on a serving platter, slice, and serve immediately.¼ cup vegan ketchup, 2 tablespoons veggie stock, 2 tablespoons molasses or maple syrup
Notes
- Color: To add a pop of color and make this look a little more like ham, add 1-2 teaspoons of beet powder. This natural food coloring is pleasantly pink! Add 1/2 a teaspoon at a time as it can be quite strong.
- Other flavors: Like roast ham, you can add a couple of teaspoons of dijon mustard to the glaze ingredients to make it a maple mustard glaze. It is so tasty! For an aesthetic look, try piercing whole cloves into the top of the ham. It adds a little extra spice and looks lovely!
- Acidity: Acidity in the maple glaze should come from the ketchup but if it’s not quite doing it for you, add 1/2-1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
- Vegan ketchup: In general, all ketchup is vegan! If you’re unsure, double-check the label, but all major brands are 100% plant-based.
- Maple syrup and molasses: The main differences between maple syrup and molasses are how they are made (maple syrup is tree sap and molasses is beet or cane sugar) and also their density. Molasses is a bit thicker than maple. In a pinch, you could substitute brown sugar. The glaze would need to be cooked on the stove for a few minutes to dissolve the brown sugar granules before glazing the ham.
- A little heat: We enjoy a dash of hot sauce in our glaze to add a little spice!
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover ham in an airtight container or tightly covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can eat the leftovers cold or reheat sliced ham in the microwave, air fryer, or oven, or fried in a frying pan on the stove with a little refined coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, or vegan butter.Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that nutrient values are estimates only. Variations can occur due to product availability and manner of food preparation. Nutrition may vary based on methods of origin, preparation, freshness of ingredients, and other factors.
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