Vegan Ham Recipe
This vegan ham is one of those recipes that makes people pause mid-bite and ask, “Wait, this is vegan?” With its sweet-smoky flavor, glossy glaze, and a surprisingly pink interior (don’t worry; I’ll explain the secret later!), it’s the kind of centerpiece that steals the show at any holiday table. We’ve been making this recipe for over a decade, fine-tuning every step until it became the version you see here today! And while it takes a little planning ahead, I can tell you from personal experience (and reader reviews!), it is SO worth it.
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This vegan ham, my friend. It’s the kind of recipe that really gets me excited around the holiday season.
Why? Because it reminds me – yet again – that ANYTHING can be veganized for plant-based diets.
To me, this great recipe is EMPOWERING. It reminds me we can still participate in our holiday traditions but align them to our evolving sense of ethics. And more so, that we can prove these points to our loved ones in the form of deliciously tender pineapple-and-mustard-glazed vegan ham.
A wonderful combination of spices mixed with beet juice and vital wheat gluten give this vegan version of traditional ham not just a great meaty texture and savory flavor, but also a perfect match in appearance. And that pineapple brown sugar glaze is the stuff dreams are made of.
Make it for a dinner party, a holiday meal, or just to have on hand for a nice vegan ham sandwich.
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What is our vegan ham made of?
Remember, the full recipe can be found in the recipe card below! This section is meant to give you a better understanding of the ingredients you’ll be using and what their purpose is in the recipe!
Here’s what you’ll need to make an awesome vegan holiday ham:
- A can of beets – This will add a beautiful pink color to our seitan ham giving it that “real ham” look!
- Vital Wheat Gluten – This is a main ingredient in all seitan and vegan meat recipes and cannot be replaced.
- All purpose flour – This will add a tender texture to our seitan that you will LOVE!
- Spices: salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, and smoked paprika
- Pineapple juice – Pineapple juice and ham are a classic combo that really ups the nostalgia factor in this recipe!
- Refined coconut oil – This is key for the best fatty texture. Make sure you’re using a coconut oil that is labeled “refined” and NOT one labeled “unrefined” or “virgin”. This is super important because you don’t want your vegan ham to taste like coconuts!
- Maple syrup
- Liquid smoke – for a deep smoky flavor
- Coconut sugar – You can also use light brown sugar or date sugar!
- Spicy mustard – Dijon mustard or stone ground mustard also work.
- Blackstrap molasses
How to Make Seitan Ham
This vegan ham recipe is a lot like our vegan corned beef recipe (another fav) with a few differences, like it uses a steamer instead of a slow-cooker. The full recipe card can be found at the bottom of this post, but we’ll summarize the steps for you here!
Step 1: Make the beet puree.
First, make the beet puree. This will give your roast that beautiful, pinkish, ham-like color! Pour a full can of beets (water + all!) into your food processor. Then, fill the can to the brim with water and pour that in too. Blend it up until completely smooth.
It’s important to note, you’ll use some of this puree for the seitan roast itself AND some for the glaze. You WILL have leftover beet puree which can be used as a little nutrition boost in soups and smoothies. You can also freeze it in an ice cube tray for ease.
Step 2: Make the seitan.
Next, we make our seitan dough!
Whisk the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and then make a well in the center for the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients in and mix everything together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until a dough ball forms.
Then, get in there with your hands and knead for no longer than 1 minute.
Step 3: Steam the seitan ham.
Use your hands to form a rough loaf with the seitan (try not to handle it too much though!) and wrap it in aluminum foil. You want it to be secure in the foil but still have a little room to expand in the steamer basket.
We use an electric steamer to make this seitan ham recipe. If you’re working with limited counter space (we hear ya there!), bamboo steamers can also be a great option!
Of course, you can use whatever steaming basket you have on hand; even a colander covered and placed over a large pot of boiling water works!
Step 4: Bake and glaze the seitan roast
Time to finish the roast! In a casserole dish, you’ll first bake the seitan IN the tin foil (with a small opening at the top for some steam to escape) for 20 minutes.
While it bakes, mix all the glaze ingredients together in a small pot over medium low heat. You want to mix the ingredients until the coconut sugar completely dissolves.
Finally, you’ll remove the ham from the foil, pour half of the glaze over the roast and bake it another 30 minutes.
How to Serve Vegan Ham
Remove the ham from the oven once more, pour the remaining 1/2 glaze over it, and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.
You can also use a sharp knife to do the fancy diamond pattern on top before adding the remaining glaze.
We highly recommend serving this vegan ham alongside our vegan au gratin potatoes and applesauce for a traditional Easter brunch / holiday dinner made VEGAN! It’s also fantastic sliced thinly for vegan ham sandwiches.
How to Use Plant-Based Ham Leftovers
This vegetarian ham recipe makes fantastic leftovers! Store any leftover seitan ham in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 8 weeks.
This vegan ham is SO good fried up in a skillet the next morning for breakfast. Pair it with a tofu scramble and roasted potatoes OR make a HAM-AZING vegan breakfast sandwich.
You can even add it to a vegan quiche, JUST egg omelet, Vegan Split Pea Soup, or make vegan ham & cheddar hot pockets…ohhhhh, the possibilities!
More Seitan Recipes:
If you’re making this seitan ham for Easter and need some awesome recipes to serve with it, you have to check out our list of 45 vegan Easter recipes!
When you make this recipe, let us know!
You can leave a comment and star rating below or tag us in your drool-worthy food photos on Instagram. If you’re not already hanging out with us over there, we’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”.
We can’t wait to hear allll about your experience!
Enjoy, friends!
Glazed Seitan Ham Recipe
Ingredients
For the Beet Puree:
- 1 (15-oz) can beets
For the Dry Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups vital wheat gluten
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Wet Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup beet puree
- 1/3 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil melted
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp liquid smoke
For the glaze:
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 Tbsp beet puree
- 2 Tbsp pineapple juice
- 2 Tbsp spicy mustard
- 1.5 tsp blackstrap molasses
Instructions
- Get your steaming mechanism ready and open your can of beets. Pour the beets (and the water in the can) into a blender. Fill the can to the rim with water and pour that into the blender as well. Blend on high until a smooth puree is formed. Set this aside to use in the recipe as directed.*
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk. Create a well in the center of your mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir with a big wooden spoon until a dough starts to form. Then, get in there with your hands and knead for no longer than 1 minute.
- Next, use your hands to form a rough loaf with the dough. Wrap this loaf (tightly but leaving a little room for it to expand) in tin foil, and place in the steamer with the seam down for 45 minutes.
- When the steaming is almost done, preheat your oven to 325F and get out a square glass baking dish. Carefully remove the roast from the steamer, flip it upside down, and place it on the dish. Open the foil a bit at the top to give the steam a place to escape and bake it for 20 minutes.
- While the roast bakes, make your glaze by mixing all the ingredients together in a small pot over medium low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- When the timer goes off, carefully remove the roast from the oven and the tin foil. Place it back in the baking dish and pour 1/2 the glaze over it. Bake this again, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Remove the ham from the oven once more, pour the remaining 1/2 glaze over it, and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Hello- beet juice- how is this made please? I’ve never seen it for sale where I am.
Hey, Karen! We just buy canned beets and use either the water from the can or blend a few beet chunks with water. You can do this with fresh beets too!
Could you use parchment paper first to wrap and then foil ? I do not care to have foil touch the food I am going to eat.
Hey, Barbara! You can use cheesecloth or a nut milk bag to wrap the seitan if need be. Mary’s Test Kitchen on YouTube has a couple seitan recipes made like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJOvTkZSPS4 (1:45 is where she explains the cheesecloth method).
I always use parchment paper, then foil, when making seitan. I haven’t made this particular recipe yet, just saw it, looks really good!
I used the exact same amount of ingredients as in the recipe but our seitan ham came out a very dark red rather than the light brown in your picture. It just looks wrong! I followed the recipe word for word too! Any idea why?
Hey, Adam! The beet juice you used could have been more concentrated than you’d like which produced a darker color. I’d recommend either watering down the beet juice or replacing it with vegetable broth!
We have made this twice now and it has turned out very chewy. Any ideas why?
Hey, Jen!
Here are some ideas to try:
Lower the amount of nutritional yeast you use, as its purpose is to give it a bit of a chewy quality.
You also want to be sure the dough is not too wet or dry. You want it to be stretchy but not sticking to your fingers. If it sticks, knead in a little more gluten. If it has any dry spots, wet your hands and knead it in a little more.
Also, be sure you don’t knead it for too long – MAX 2 minutes but you can lower that to – minute of need be. Kneading the dough activates the gluten and adds a chewy element, but if you knead too long you can achieve that overly chewy texture that’s not good!
I hope these tips help! 😊❤️
There is no nutritional yeast mentioned in the ingredients list!
My husband is allergic to coconut. What would you recommend using instead of the coconut sugar and coconut oil?
Organic brown sugar & vegan butter would work beautifully to replace the coconut sugar & oil! It looks like the original Earth Balance brand is free from coconut. Good luck! 🙂
Hi, recently gone oil free and I was wondering what you’re advice would be for cutting out the coconut oil please? Just omit, or replace the liquid with something like water or aquafaba maybe? Thanks 🙂
Hey, Lisa! I’d try replacing the coconut oil with more pineapple juice. 🙂
I would like to try making this recipe the day before a holiday and reheating it the day of. Would you suggest steaming it and then waiting to bake it till the next day or will it be fine to just reheat the finished product? I am worried about it drying out if i bake it twice.
Thanks!
Hey, Erin! Yes, we’d definitely recommend glazing and baking the seitan ham the day you’re serving it. The steamed seitan will be fine in the fridge for up to a week or even in the freezer for up to 2 months! We hope you enjoy it!! 🙂
Hi here. Super excited to try this recipe for thanksgiving. I’m wondering what kind of steamer you use… would a instapot work? And if that’s different then what you use should I change the amount of time is use? Thanks, happy holidays vegan friends!
Hey, Christine! So sorry to be getting back to this comment so late. Did you try it in the Instant Pot?! I know we’ve made it in the crock pot before but don’t have an IP (yet! lol). If you gave it a try, let us know how it went. Hope your holidays were awesome!
I must make this! I have a pressure-cooked seitan recipe that could use this glaze!
Awesome! Let us know how it goes!
any advise on how this can be done in an electric pressure cooker?
Hey, Michelle! Unfortunately, I don’t know too much about electric pressure cookers. We have made it in a crock pot though. Let us know if you give it a try!
Did not like this at all. The seitan was a mess to work with, so stringy and it wanted to turn to lumps. We felt like we were eating gristle loaf. I changed the recipe by adding 1 1/2 cup of cooked white beans blended with the liquid (liquid must be 1 1/2 cup total) at the beginning, then added the nutri. yeast, spices, and flavorings. Last I added the gluten and mixed. It was much better.
Hey, Candace! So sorry you had trouble with the recipe at first but super glad you found a way to make it work for you! Rock on!
I’m using this as base for my “White Trash Ham” (Ham in coke) this year for our traditional pre Xmas meal … I replaced the Beet juice with Coke and Beet Powder and made 3 x Qty … it’s great, thank you!
Wow, this is genius! Thanks for the idea, definitely giving this one a try!
Can I bake it in the oven and not steam it?
Hi, Linda! We really recommend steaming it and then just baking to finish it off, but if you really don’t want to steam, just be sure you bake it covered and keep the dough on the wetter side as baking will dry it out a lot faster. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hello, can you please tell me how long i have to steam it? Thanks
Hi, Syuzanna! We suggest steaming the roast for 45 minutes, flipping it once halfway through.
Have you tried “poach” this in a favour bath either in the oven or on the stovetop instead of steaming – like with the chickind (that’s what I call my seitan chickn) seitan recipes?
Hi, Amanda! We haven’t thought of poaching the seitan, but that could be a great idea! We did just recently post a corned beef seitan made in the slow cooker, maybe that’s more the method you’re looking for? If you click on Recipes in the menu section above, it will be the on the first page!
Look so Goodwood. I am gonna to tray
Not certain what I did wrong but mine was mushy. I followed the recipe to a T
Hi, Heather! I’m so sorry to hear you got a mushy seitan ham! 🙁 Seitan texture can be tricky sometimes, especially depending on where you live and what the weather is like. High humidity tends to require more dry ingredients to be used in the dough. If you give it a go again, just remember to feel the dough before wrapping and steaming. If it feels super squishy and falling apart, knead in a bit more wheat gluten (a little at a time). Keep in mind though, you don’t want it to be overly dry / stiff. Smooth and stretchy is perfection!
Hello! Could I replace blackstrap molasses with just molasses? Thank you!
Yep, that should work!
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! It did come out a little tough though. I don’t have a steamer so i used my instant pot and steamed it for the recommended time. I am wondering if maybe it should have been steamed for a shorter period of time possibly? I also cooked it in a friend’s oven where i have found i have to cook things for a lesser amount of time than my own oven so maybe that could have been what made it a little tough. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Hi, Kathryn! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe but sorry to hear the texture was a bit off. Subsequently to posting this recipe, we have been having a lot of luck replacing the nutritional yeast with some all-purpose flour. It helps to break that “tough” texture down even more. As for the oven, that could definitely be a factor so I’d also try roasting it a little less! We also have this seitan recipe that uses a crock pot and a “low and slow” roasting technique. It may be helpful to look that one over for an alternate cooking method. I hope this helps!
Hi, I’d like to try this, my only concern is that it would taste a little sweet due to the sweet ngredients, is this the case? We prefer savoury to sweet, thank you 🙂
Hi, Francesca! The flavor is a balance of smoky / salty / sweet, like you would find in a pineapple-glazed ham or hickory-smoked bacon.
Because many asked, and I was curious, I decided to steam my seitan in my electric pressure cooker (I used the Crockpot Express, but an Insta Pot would work too). First, I set up my pressure cooker by adding about 2 cups to the bottom of the pot and then placed my metal rack (came with my cooker) in the bottom. The water should not cover the metal rack but come to just below it.
I wrapped my loaf in aluminum foil, as directed, and placed it on the rack inside the pressure cooker. Put the lid on it, set the release valve to close, and put it on the steam setting for 20 minutes. When it was done, I allowed the steam to release naturally. It turned out perfect, and it’s ready for baking tomorrow.
Hope this helps someone.
SO helpful. Can’t wait to try it with our new pressure cooker. Thanks, Marie!
Thank you for posting this! I don’t have a steamer.
Yes, I agree, everything can be veganized! Vegans can eat anything, not just salad. 😀
I really like this recipe, thanks for sharing!
Also, it is featured on my blog here: https://suzinspire.com/20-incredible-meat-free-recipes-you-should-try-this-summer/
If you like this collection, please share it on social media. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for including our recipe in your round-up, Suzie!
Have you ever made “ham” balls with this recipe? Do you think I would still need to steam before baking?
Oooh, I’ve never actually heard of ham balls before, but now I’m super intrigued! I would form the seitan dough into balls, wrap, and steam them individually before glazing and baking for the best shape/consistency. If you try this, definitely let us know. Sounds so cool!
I’m making this for Easter this year, loved the corned beef and really liked how it came out. What do you suggest the liquid and spices be for the crock pot version for the ham?
I’m wondering how essential the beets are and if they could be exchanged for something else? I have yet to find a dish that includes beets that I like, even premade veggie burgers. I am not at all worried about color, is that their only purpose? Any ideas what I could sub? It looks so delicious, except for the beets, and I would really like to try it for Easter dinner. Thanks for any help you can provide!
Hi, Melody! I’m going to ask you to really trust me when I tell you that you cannot taste the beets at all in this. (Half of us around here really hate beets and she loves and created the ham. LOL!) Yes, they’re primarily for color, but they also give a little something extra to the texture of the dish. I really wouldn’t recommend subbing them out for anything else.
I steamed this in the instant pot on high for 45 min, turned it off and let sit for 10 min before releasing. Worked great for me. I also only had pickled beets on hand and that also worked.
Awesome, Shannon! So glad it worked out so well, and thanks for reaching out!
I love making this ham. I have been making it for several years now. By the way. You guys look great! Thank you for posting.
Thank you, Kathryn! And I’m so very happy you like the ham so much!
This is a phenomenal recipe! I’ve been making it for at least 3 years now and every time I can’t get over how simple it is to make without too many ingredients and how delicious it is. I am not vegan and yet can’t get enough of it. I always post about it when I make it in hopes of spreading the fact that it is so easy and delicious.
I am extremely happy you enjoy it, Julie! Thank you so much for the very kind words and for all the support!
You keep referring to nutritional yeast, and there is none in your recipe. I use it in a lot of my recipes and it doesn’t seem to make anything tough, its more the flavor of cheesy
Thanks for asking, Sue! The recipe used to contain nutritional yeast. It has since been updated and that ingredient was replaced with the all-purpose flour.
I have been making this recipe for several years now. It’s always perfect and delicious!
I pulled it up today to start gathering my ingredients so I am prepared for easter bunny weekend. I can’t believe I haven’t left a review before now! Even my non-vegan mom LOVES it!
In addition to making this seitan ham for holiday dinners, we make this and pack it in a cooler for trips. It is so delicious on a sandwich!
Thanks so much for your review, Deb!! I LOVE that your mom enjoys it, and the cooler idea is genius. Now, I’m gonna need to make two for tomorrow for sandwich leftovers! 🙂 Happy Easter to you and the fam!