This recipe for Vegan Pepperoni is screaming to be on your next pizza! It’s savory, salty and spicy, just like you remember. It’s made from seitan, so it’s full of protein and it’s pretty simple to make!
I’ve been eating pepperoni pizza since I can remember, which was a big reason we decided to do this recipe. I missed that spicy little ingredient that kicked it up a notch on any pizza.
I thought pizza was the one and only place pepperoni lived, but I came to understand its versatility when I met Steph. One morning she busted out a pan and started cooking some mini pepperonis on it. I had no idea what she was making, but I trusted she knew what she was doing.
Next thing I knew, she was whipping up some eggs and pouring it over the crispy pepperonis to form a scramble I’d never seen! It seemed weird but I understood why once I tasted it. Now, our next task is to try it with tofu scramble!
There are so many other delicious ways to use vegan pepperoni — pizza, sandwiches, pinwheels, calzones, or even a vegan charcuterie.
Where can you find vegan pepperoni??
While it can be hard to find brands that make vegan pepperoni, more and more have popped up in the market over the years. Problem is, most of them we have tried are not very tasty.
So, as always, we decided to try to make it for ourselves! Figuring out what the base ingredient was going to be ended up being easy. We’ve made lots of recipes with seitan over time, so that was our first idea to test.
The base of seitan is vital wheat gluten, which is basically the gluten left behind after the starches are rinsed away from wheat flour. All that gluten means our seitan dough has lots of protein, is super dense and can easily be shaped into a pepperoni log.
How to make it:
Mix the dry ingredients and spices first. Then, you can pour in the wet ingredients and combine.
Once the dough is easy to handle and isn’t too sticky, shape it into a log so you can easily cut the pepperonis once cooked. Wrap the log in aluminum and steam until done. It’s that easy!
Let it cool and slice as thin or thick as you want and add to any dish you desire. Of course, I recommend adding to your homemade pizza, because there’s nothing more classic about that!
If you make this recipe, please rate/comment below and tag us on Instagram or Facebook @pastabased.
Vegan Pepperoni that's savory, salty and spicy and is a true game changer! The perfect addition to any pizza, sandwich or vegan charcuterie.
- 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1.5 teaspoons black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
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Add dry ingredients to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients into the same bowl and use a spoon to mix until a dough forms. Knead the dough for a minute.
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Separate the seitan dough in half. Roll one half into a pepperoni-shaped log. Wrap tightly with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Repeat with the other half.
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Steam for 45 minutes. Cool completely. Once cool enough to handle, remove the foil and discard. For best results, rest the seitan pepperoni overnight in the refrigerator, or for at least 8 hours, before cutting into thin slices.
*nutrition values are approximate and are for 1/4 of the recipe, or half of one of the pepperoni logs
Sal
This sounds great but I never steamed anything while wrapped in parchment paper.
Would you mind adding that to the video.
I’m dying to add this to my home made pizza.
Thanks
pasta-based
Hey Sal! Thanks for the message. It’s super easy to wrap with parchment, just take a big piece of parchment and roll the seitan log in there. Try to wrap it up tightly. If it’s not holding together, you can use some string or twine to tie it up.