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With over a dozen 5-star reviews, rest assured that this vegan pepperoni truly tastes like the real thing. Top your pizza or crackers with this pepperoni, a meatless plant-based alternative made from seitan, tomato paste, soy sauce, and loads of delicious seasonings!
save this recipe!Meatless seitan chicken wings and seitan burgers are one thing, but meatless pepperoni? Well, that’s on a whole other level! After many rounds of testing, I’ve developed this vegan pepperoni recipe that tastes and feels just like the meat version.
Thanks to its meat-like texture, seitan makes a rockin’ pepperoni that’s perfect for making your favorite at-home pizza or veggie Italian sandwich!
Reader rating
“Made this with the intent of making this the first of five vegan pepperoni recipes I’d pinned to determine which to make my go-to staple. After making and tasting this recipe, I do not plan on testing any of the others. This is THE ONE for me. Excellent taste and texture, and it came together very easily using common ingredients. Can’t even nitpick anything about it.” —Rick
here’s what you’ll need
Making vegan pepperoni only takes a handful of ingredients, and many of the items are probably already in your pantry! Measurements can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post!
- Vital Wheat Gluten: The first (and main) ingredient in seitan is wheat gluten. By working the dough, we’ll develop strong gluten strands, which give this pepperoni its meaty texture!
- The Sauce: To form the dough and add some flavor, we need water, tomato paste, soy sauce, and coconut oil. Ensure you use solid, cold coconut oil, which will give this pepperoni those fat pockets found in traditional pepperoni.
- Seasonings: The seasonings are where homemade pepperoni really shines! You’ll need crushed red pepper flakes, ground mustard seed, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and chopped or crushed fennel seeds.
- Liquid Smoke: Last but not least, 1 tsp of liquid smoke will make this recipe complete!
let’s make it
Making vegan pepperoni isn’t as complicated as you might think. The whole process takes 1 hour, with 15 minutes devoted to prep time.
Step 1: Create The Dough
In a large bowl, stir together all of the ingredients until a ball forms. Transfer the mix to a clean surface and knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough is elastic and cohesive. The dough will still be lumpy, which is okay!
Step 2: Shape The Pepperoni
Divide the dough into 2 even pieces, and then shape each piece into a log (similar to a sausage link). Wrap each tightly in aluminum foil, making sure the foil overlaps so it doesn’t open during cooking. Twist the ends to secure.
Step 3: Steam The Logs
Bring a pot of water to a boil and place a steamer basket on top. Place the wrapped pepperoni logs in the basket. Cover and let steam for 45 minutes.
Step 4: Let Them Cool and Slice
Remove the pepperoni logs from the basket and gently unwrap them. Transfer to the fridge and allow to cool fully, then use a sharp knife to thinly slice each log into pepperoni pieces!
It’s time to use that pepperoni
This vegan version can be used in any way that traditional pepperoni can!
- Bruschetta Pizza: What’s better than a classic pepperoni pizza with vegan cheese?
- Boursin Tomato Sandwich: Turn this sandwich into an Italian club by adding vegan pepperoni.
- Meatless Charcuterie Board: Add pepperoni to your snacking board as an easy protein option to pair with cheese and fruit.
Perfect Vegan Pepperoni (Step-By-Step Tutorial)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten, 180 g
- ½ cup water, 120 mL
- ¼ cup tomato paste, 50 g
- ¼ cup soy sauce, 60 mL
- ¼ cup coconut oil*, should be solid, 50 g
- 2 tsp each crushed red pepper flakes, ground mustard seed, smoked paprika, garlic powder
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, roughly crushed or chopped
- 1 tsp liquid smoke, 5 mL
Instructions
- Dough: In a large bowl stir together all ingredients until a ball forms. Transfer to a clean surface and knead for about 5 minutes, or until dough is elastic and cohesive (it will still be lumpy, that's okay!)
- Shape: Divide into 2 even pieces, then shape each piece into a log. Each log should be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Wrap each log tightly in aluminum foil, making sure the foil overlaps so it doesn't open during cooking, then twist the ends to secure.
- Steam: Bring a pot of water with a steamer basket to a boil, then place wrapped pepperoni logs into the basket. Cover and let steam for 45 minutes. (Keep an eye on the water level to make sure water doesn't all evaporate.)
- Cool: Remove pepperoni logs from the basket and gently unwrap. Transfer to the fridge and allow to cool fully, then use a sharp knife to thinly slice each log into pepperoni pieces! Use as you would traditional pepperoni (on pizza, sandwiches, or crackers!)
Notes
Solid coconut oil is important for the final texture of the pepperoni, giving it those pockets of fat you would find in traditional pepperoni! If it’s not solid, transfer it to the fridge to cool down and harden before using it in this recipe. How should seitan pepperoni be used?
You can use this wherever you’d use traditional pepperoni — on pizza, in sandwiches, with crackers, in your favorite meatless charcuterie boards, etc! Can I use something other than foil to wrap the logs?
Yup, feel free to use parchment paper.
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
Hi! I’ve never tried seitan, but would love to try this recipe- can I steam it in an Instant Pot? (It’s really hot here in Texas and don’t want to use the stove)🥵
Hi Diana! I actually haven’t tried this before so I can’t say for sure! Having just been down in Texas though, I feel your pain!
My daughter loved it! Do you have any suggestions for an alternate to aluminum? I’m thinking it could be harmful to steam in the foil for 45 mins?
Oops just saw your comment about the parchment paper! Thanks
You can wrap it in parchment paper first and then in aluminum if you don’t want the foil touching the seitan!
Can I sub the coconut oil with cold vegan butter?
I haven’t tried this so I can’t say for sure, but I think it would work! 😀
This is really by far the best vegan pepperoni I’ve had – and I’ve tried a few recipes ! I just used a bit more garlic Powder because I love garlic and it’s pretty damn close to the original product (coming from someone who is not a vegan) so I will be using this instead from now on !
Greetings from Germany
So awesome to hear!! Enjoy! 😀
Made this with the intent of making this the first of five vegan pepperoni recipes I’d pinned to determine which to make my go-to staple. After making and tasting this recipe, I do not plan on testing any of the others. This is THE ONE for me. Excellent taste and texture, and it came together very easily using common ingredients. Can’t even nitpick anything about it.
YAY! This makes me so happy to hear Rick! 😀
It was easy to make and delicious on pizza. I also sliced some and fried up for a sandwich. I will definitely make again.
YAY! So happy to hear it, Deb! Enjoy! 😀
Perfect! This is easy to do and very good. Made a pizza and almost no difference with real pepperoni. Not a vegan person but real pepperoni hard to digest so it was a long time that I tried to replace it.
Thank you and I am looking forward to buy your popsicles book.
I have to say I was a skeptic. I LOVE pepperoni, but don’t love how unhealthy it is. Decided since I was trying so many of your recipes during the 31 Day Vegetarian Challenge that I would give this a try. At first it seemed daunting, but it was actually super simple to make. The end result looked like pepperoni and was pretty darn close to tasting like pepperoni. Next time I will up the spice a bit, but there will be a next time… which is saying a lot for this non-vegetarian!
Mine didn’t have the same pepperoni color as pictured and the flavor when eaten alone was slightly off. Having said that, texture and spice were perfect. The amount of spice was good, not too hot for the faint of heart but enough. Once we ate it with other foods that off flavor disappeared. We ate it with cheese and crackers and in a pasta salad and it was excellent.
Best pepperoni I may have ever had!! Of course that’s from memory from a long time ago. But who cares this stuff is amazing. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for this recipe.
If you were to make the rolls thicker, for a large slice, would the steaming time need to be adjusted?
Thanks
Yes, I would add a few minutes to ensure it cooks through the center!