This vegan ham roast is perfect for a special occasion. It has the perfect ‘meaty’ texture and salty, sweet and smoky flavor. Glazed with a gorgeous maple and brown sugar glaze and roasted to perfection in the oven.
This vegan ham roast makes the perfect main course for a special occasion like Christmas or Easter or just a fancy Sunday dinner.
That way you can surround it with delicious sides like vegan scalloped potatoes, vegan cauliflower cheese, vegan green bean casserole, vegan mashed potatoes and vegan gravy.
Now I DID mention the word ‘meaty’ above. But only because the texture of ‘seitan’ (vital wheat gluten) which forms the basis of this recipe, is kinda meaty.
But it’s not so meaty that you would mistake it for actual meat. You wouldn’t. So that’s not a concern. It just makes a really tasty mock meat that’s also super high in protein and pretty easy to make too.
So you don’t have to worry about this tasting ‘too’ close to the real thing. No one will mistake this for real ham. But it’s still really delicious and those maple, brown sugar, salty, sweet, smoky flavors are just divine.
And leftovers are awesome because you’ll be happily eating vegan roasted ham sandwiches for days on end.
For more delicious roasts check out our vegan turkey roast and our vegan nut roast.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes
- Chickpeas – we used canned chickpeas. If you want to use chickpeas you’ve cooked yourself, the amount to use would be 1 and ½ cups.
- Red food color – is entirely optional but we liked the color that resulted. We used Americolor red gel food coloring, which is very concentrated so a little goes a long way.
- Vital wheat gluten – is the essential ingredient which creates the chewy ‘meaty’ texture of seitan. Unfortunately there is no substitute.
How To Make Vegan Ham Roast – Step By Step
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add chickpeas, vegetable stock, sesame oil, soy sauce, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, liquid smoke and red gel food coloring to the food processor and process until smooth.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and add vital wheat gluten. Mix briefly until roughly mixed.
- Now get in there with your hands and knead for a minute to a minute and a half, until the dough is soft but firm.
- Form the mixture into a ham shaped ball and wrap tightly with foil.
- Place into a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water (or any kind of steamer that you have) and steam for 1 hour, then remove from the steamer and allow to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the glaze by adding light brown sugar and vegetable stock to a measuring jug and mixing until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add toasted sesame oil, smoked paprika, maple syrup and soy sauce and whisk together until well mixed.
- When the ham has cooled, remove it from the foil. Use a sharp knife to make shallow cuts across the top of the ham from one corner to the other. Then repeat, going from the other corner to corner, leaving a criss cross pattern.
- Place the ham into a non stick baking dish. Pour ⅓ of the glaze over the top and use a brush to brush it in well, making sure that the glaze is covering the ham.
- Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, bringing it out at the 10 minute mark and again at the 20 minute mark to pour over another ⅓ of the glaze each time and brush it in again.
- When the ham has finished roasting, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool slightly at room temperature. The glaze will thicken as it cools. Use the brush to scoop up the glaze from the bottom of the dish and brush onto the top of the ham again.
- Now it’s ready to be sliced and served. Serve with a drizzle of glaze (from the bottom of the pan) over the top and some fresh chopped parsley. Leftover glaze from the bottom of the roasting pan can be scooped up and placed into a jug to be served alongside the sliced ham.
Chef’s Tips
The kneading. Your seitan dough should be kneaded for around a minute to a minute and a half, but it’s more by feel than by time. The mixture should feel soft but firm. If you think your ham is too soft, then that means you could knead it more next time. The more you knead, the firmer/chewier it will be.
The glaze. Make sure the brown sugar has completely dissolved in the vegetable stock before you add the other ingredients and then mix it well before pouring it on, brushing it onto the ham each time.
Serving. This makes a fairly small ham, so if you’re serving a big crowd it may work better to make two roasts.
Recipe FAQ
What is seitan? Seitan is also called ‘wheat meat’ and is the kind of mock meat made using an ingredient called Vital Wheat Gluten. This is pure gluten powder made by separating wheat flour from the gluten, leaving only the pure gluten behind. This is what we use in this recipe and what creates the chewy ‘meaty’ texture.
Can this be made gluten-free? This recipe relies on vital wheat gluten for its texture so it cannot be made gluten-free unfortunately. The recipe simply does not work without vital wheat gluten. For a gluten free option (made from tofu) see this recipe from The Live In Kitchen.
Can this be made ahead? You could make this up to when it has been steamed and then let it cool, cover and refrigerate. When you’re ready, glaze and roast it as usual.
How long does it keep? This vegan ham keeps very well in the fridge for up to a week.
Can you freeze vegan ham? It is best when freshly made, but leftovers can also be frozen. Thaw in the fridge.
More Vegan ‘Meat’ Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Ham
Ingredients
- 15 ounce Can Chickpeas (1 can) Drained
- ⅔ cup Vegetable Stock/Broth (160ml)
- ¼ cup Sesame Oil (60ml)
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce (60ml)
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Liquid Smoke
- ½ tsp Red Gel Food Coloring
- 1 ½ cups Vital Wheat Gluten (225g)
Maple Glaze:
- ⅓ cup Light Brown Sugar (66g)
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Stock/Broth (80ml)
- 2 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- ½ cup Maple Syrup (120ml)
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
Instructions
- Add chickpeas, vegetable stock, sesame oil, soy sauce, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, liquid smoke and red gel food coloring to the food processor and process until smooth.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and add vital wheat gluten. Mix briefly until roughly mixed.
- Now get in there with your hands and knead for a minute to a minute and a half, until the dough is soft but firm.
- Form the mixture into a ham shaped ball and wrap tightly with foil.
- Place into a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water (or any kind of steamer that you have) and steam for 1 hour, then remove from the steamer and allow to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- While the ham is cooling prepare the glaze by adding light brown sugar and vegetable stock to a measuring jug and mixing until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add toasted sesame oil, smoked paprika, maple syrup and soy sauce and whisk together until well mixed.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- When the ham has cooled remove it from the foil. Use a sharp knife to make shallow cuts across the top of the ham from one corner to the other. Then repeat, going from the other corner to corner, leaving a criss cross pattern.
- Place the ham into a non stick baking dish. Pour ⅓ of the glaze over the top and use a brush to brush it in well, making sure that the glaze is covering the ham.
- Bake for 25 minutes, bringing it out at the 10 minute mark and again at the 20 minute mark to pour over another ⅓ of the glaze each time and brush it in again.
- When the ham has finished roasting, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool slightly at room temperature. The glaze will thicken as it cools. Use the brush to scoop up the glaze from the bottom of the dish and brush onto the top of the ham again.
- Now it’s ready to be sliced and served.
- Serve with a drizzle of glaze (from the bottom of the pan) over the top and some fresh chopped parsley. Leftover glaze from the bottom of the roasting pan can be scooped up and placed into a jug to be served alongside the sliced ham.
Notes
- Chickpeas: We used 1 full 15 ounce (425g) can of chickpeas (drained). If you’re using cooked chickpeas then the amount to use would be 1 and ½ cups.
- Vital Wheat Gluten: This is an essential ingredient in this recipe so unfortunately this recipe cannot be made gluten-free.
- Make ahead: You could make this up to when it has been steamed and then let it cool, cover and refrigerate. When you’re ready, glaze and roast it as usual.
- Storing: This vegan ham keeps very well in the fridge for up to a week!
- Freezing: It is best when freshly made, but leftovers can also be frozen. Thaw in the fridge.
Hi, I love this recipe. My only change was I shredded a small beet very finely to replace the food colouring. It works in this and has also worked to give my veggie burgers an authentic pinkish-brown colour too. I’ve used sumac powder in things like Thai red curry paste to great effect but the citrus flavour wouldn’t likely work here.
Awesome, thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Alison, another wonderful recipe thank you. My husband and I had this for dinner tonight and WOW! As we were doing the dishes he cheekily suggested having another dinner haha. Looking forward to leftovers Tuesday night.
Fantastic! And the leftovers are so good I’m a little bit jealous. 🙂 Thanks for the amazing review Susan!
I am making this today. Since it is Thanksgiving I don’t expect a reply today so I will do my best and hope it works. I just have a question about steaming. How do you have enough water for steaming an hour? My steaming baskets only allows a small amount of water that will disappear long before the hour. I will try to do my best but I am interested in tips for next time. Thank you. I will let you know how it goes. 😊
Hi RaeAnn, in that case I would keep an eye on it and add more water if needed, if you add in hot water (straight from the kettle) so it doesn’t need to re-heat from scratch each time that would work best. We use a steamer basket that we place over a pot so we’re able to put in enough water so that it lasts for an hour. Also you steam with the lid on, so you don’t lose as much water as you think you would, though of course it does reduce.
Hi, it’s late for Thanksgiving .. I made the other roast and use a large canning pan to steam it.
Hope this helps for next time:)
Hallo 🙂 I’m from Italy and love your recipes!!! I must try this ham too! do you think it could be ok to use olive oil or coconut oil instead of sesame oil? Thanks 🙂
Hi Betty! So happy you love the recipes, thank you! You could use olive oil but I don’t recommend coconut oil as it gave this a coconut flavor when we tried it and it didn’t taste good with the other flavors.
Thank you, so I’ll try with olive oil! Anyway obviously I meant odourless coconut oil 🙂
Oh I see, yes odorless would remove that coconut taste, but olive oil will still work better in terms of the texture for this. 🙂
This is so delicious! And you’re right, leftovers are so good for vegan ham sandwiches! Thanks so much.
Nice taste. I did find it to be very soft. Perhaps I didn’t steam it long enough. I used an Instant pot and steamed it for 30 minutes, rather than 60 minutes, since it was under pressure. What are your thoughts on this?
Hi Ann, glad you liked the taste! If it was a bit soft then you can knead it a little longer next time. I’m not sure if the shorter steaming time would have had an impact, I don’t have any experience with the instant pot.