*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »
Tired of Every 👏 Single 👏 Holiday 👏 Feast 👏 being centered around a dead animal? Me friggin’ too. That’s why this maple-glazed vegan ham recipe is about to turn the party up. Crafted from nourishing plant-based ingredients, my 400+ recipe testers loved the smoky, ham-like flavor, and the guests they served it to were so blown away too!
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Sliced thinly and slathered with vegan gravy over a Close Encounters-style mountain of vegan mashed potatoes with a side of candied yams, nothing brings me back to my childhood quite like this vegan ham.
And what’s super nice is that the recipe is pretty easy to follow, doesn’t require a ton of skill, and the ham freezes like a dream. – Wait, do dreams freeze now? Whatevs. Let’s get this maple-glazed miracle roasted up right quick!
Jump to:
🥰 Why you’ll adore this vegan ham recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all of my vegan meat recipes, you can enjoy all that smoky, savory goodness without harming any piggies.
🛒 Made with Easy-to-Find Ingredients: Just about everything you need for this recipe can be found at a regular ol’ grocery store. From chickpeas to vital wheat gluten and maple syrup, you won’t be running around looking for specialty items.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of the vegan recipes I publish, I first shared it with a global team of testers. They nailed it and loved it so much!
🌾 Ingredients to make maple roasted vegan ham
Beet
While including this is optional, I like the mild natural pink a tiny bit of shredded beet gives the ham. I do the same thing in my vegan corned beef recipe too. If you prefer not to use beets, you can skip it without losing flavor, or use a couple of drops of red food coloring for extra color. Alternatively, you can use a spoonful of smoked paprika, or Kashmiri red chili powder to help get the ham a little pinker without giving it too much noticeable heat.
Miso Paste
Whenever possible in my cooking, I like to impart saltiness using something more complex tasting than plain boring ol’ salt. White miso paste is great for that. You can also make this recipe using taucu (which is the secret ingredient in my vegan chicken and mee rebus recipe), or doenjang (the Korean fermented bean paste that I use in my tofu soup recipe).
Nutritional Yeast
Nutritional yeast, affectionately called "nooch," is a vegan staple packed with B vitamins, including B12. Its nutty, kinda cheesy flavor is why I love using it to make vegan nacho cheese and vegan parmesan. But here, it helps bring umami complexity to the ham’s taste. There’s really no perfect substitute for it, so just leave it out if there’s no way you can get some.
Liquid Smoke
A small amount of liquid smoke goes a long way in achieving that authentic ham-like taste. This smoky flavor is especially important if you plan to chop up some of your ham to add to split pea soup.
Got a bottle just for making this, and don’t know WTF to do with the rest of it? I use the stuff in a lot of homemade meat recipes like vegan pepperoni, vegan sausage gravy, and my vegan hot dog recipe too.
If you don’t have any liquid smoke but want to add some smokiness, you can make a strong cup of smoked lapsang souchong tea and add a tablespoon or two of it to the ham seitan dough.
Vital Wheat Gluten
This is the key ingredient in most seitan recipes, and it gives the ham its chewy, meaty texture. It’s pure gluten, so it forms the dense, slightly strand “meat” structure we are looking for. I use it to make my vegan Italian sausages, vegan drumsticks, and vegan breakfast sausage too.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Pecan Sage Crusted Vegan Ham
After steaming, baste the ham in the glaze and then coat it with a mixture of pecans, fresh sage, and breadcrumbs that have been pulsed together in a food processor. Serve with Turkish green beans, and some heavenly smelling, chestnut-studded vegan stuffing.
Vegan Lechon
When I was in the Philippines, I came to find out that lechon is the thing that everyone in the country freaks out about ALL THE TIME. So, let's go ahead and give your ham a crispy, savory finish, mimicking the flavors of Filipino roasted pork. Marinate the steamed seitan in sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), plenty of garlic, and bay leaves before roasting. Serve with turmeric rice and Filipino classics like sitaw, ensaladang talong, and langka for a seriously bangin’ meal.
Mexican Vegan Pork Carnitas
After roasting, shred your seitan ham and pan-fry it with adobo sauce. Serve it in vegan taquitos, on mushroom fajitas, or as part of a vegan burrito bowl with vegan Mexican rice, habanero salsa, or salsa roja.
📖 How to make maple glazed vegan ham
Nail this holiday essential on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Thich Nhat Ham:
In a food processor, grind together the chickpeas, miso paste, mushroom powder, garlic powder, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, liquid smoke, maple syrup, paprika, and olive oil. Process until smooth. If using, add the grated beet for color and pulse until well combined.
Step Two
Hams Christian Andersen:
Transfer the wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the vital wheat gluten, stirring with a spatula or your hands, until a dough forms. Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes to develop its texture.
✅ If you are a lazy bum like me, you can just mix everything together in a stand mixer with a dough hook for a few minutes instead.
Step Three
The Hamityville Horror:
Shape the dough into a compact loaf and wrap it tightly in foil, ensuring there are no gaps or loose ends. Place the wrapped ham dough in a steamer, or a large pot with a steamer basket in it, and steam over medium heat for one hour.
✅ Try to make a fatter loaf, rather than a longer, skinny loaf. About 4-5 inches (10-12 cm) is what you are looking for in width.
✅ If you are steaming it in a pot, make sure the wrapped ham isn’t in contact with the water. If you need to, you can place a few stacked-up plates or some other heat-and-water resistant object under your steaming basket to allow for more room underneath it.
Step Four
Hamber Heard:
While the loaf is steaming, whip together the glaze ingredients. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the vegan butter.
Stir in the brown sugar, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and ground cloves. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until the glaze thickens slightly, then set aside.
Step Five
Ham Solo:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a roasting pan with a lightly greased sheet of parchment paper for easy cleanup. Place your ham in the center of the pan.
✅ Make thin crosshatch incisions with the sharp tip of a knife all around the outside of the steamed ham to let the glaze in. Optionally, you can insert a clove at every intersection.
Brush about ⅓ of the glaze over the vegan ham, making sure to coat it thoroughly. Bake the ham for 10 minutes.
Step Six
Have a Seat. I’m Chris Hamsen of Dateline NBC:
After the first 10 minutes of baking, take the vegan ham roast out and brush it with more of the glaze.
Put it back in the oven and bake for another 10-12 minutes, letting the glaze work its sticky, sweet magic.
Step Seven
Call your Granma, it’s Hamma Montanna:
Optionally, garnish with herbs, or serve over roasted pineapple slices, drizzled with additional glaze or gravy over the thinly sliced ham. Some hasselback potatoes, or maple balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots would be super nice on the side too!
💡Serving Ideas
This vegan ham is the perfect centerpiece for your Thanksgiving, Easter, or Christmas feast.
Serve it alongside vegan sweet potato casserole, or vegan green bean casserole.
Some lovely condiments to serve with your ham are mushroom gravy, vegan sausage gravy, bourbon cranberry sauce, and Turkish-style cranberry relish. Perhaps some vegan cornbread stuffing on the side?
This also makes phenomenal ham sandwiches. Slap some slices on a freshly grilled baguette, loaded with marinated kale, tomato, onions, and a generous squeeze of vegan kewpie mayo.
🎄 Vegan Ham as Part of Christmas Dinner
After a nice festive mug of vegan eggnog, this vegan ham can be the centerpiece to a complete holiday meal. Vegan gingerbread cake for dessert, vegan Christmas cookies decorated the living-heck-out-of with vegan royal icing?
I mean, come on. You gotta put something out for old man Claus, so it's either that, some vegan oatmeal cookies, or some warm dairy-free chocolate chip cookies, because you don't want to cause problems for lactose intolerant ol' Saint Nick...
👉Top tips
- Steam Kinda Carefully:
If you don’t use a big bamboo steamer like I do for my vegetarian steamed buns and putu ayu cakes, you can still make this in a pot. Just place your vegan ham on a steaming rack or trivet inside a pot with just enough water below the rack. Never steam over high heat. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and check the water level periodically to prevent it from drying out or scorching. - Marinate for Maximum Flavor:
For a deeper, richer taste, let your vegan ham marinate for at least an hour, or even overnight before roasting. This gives the flavors time to soak in. You can add stronger flavors here, like homemade sriracha, Korean BBQ sauce, or sambal oelek too. - Glaze It Up:
Re-apply your glaze or sauce during the last ten minutes of baking. This prevents the sugars in the glaze from burning while still giving you that kinda juicy, caramelized finish that everyone loves. - Experiment with Textures:
Consider adding a crunchy topping, like chopped toasted nuts or seeds, just before serving. This adds a lovely little contrast to the tender vegan ham.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
🧊 Refrigerating Leftovers:
Allow any leftover vegan ham to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. Store it in the refrigerator, where it will keep fresh for up to 5 days.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
To reheat on the stovetop, place slices into a skillet over medium heat. Add a splash of vegetable broth or water to keep it moist, and cook for about five to seven minutes, flipping occasionally until heated through.
⚡️ Microwave Reheating:
For quick reheating in the microwave, place the vegan ham on a microwave-safe plate and cover it with a damp paper towel. Heat it in one-minute intervals, checking and flipping as needed for 2-3 minutes, until it’s heated thoroughly.
For sure! Slice the loaf and place the slices in a freezer-safe container or bag. It can be frozen for up to 3 months. Just make sure to label the container with the name of what’s in it and the date, so you know what it is and how much storage life it has left in it.
🌡️ Thawing A Frozen Vegan Ham:
Transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw overnight. If you’re short on time, you can also thaw it in the microwave using the defrost setting. Then reheat either on the stovetop or microwave.
For a firmer, chewier texture, knead the seitan dough for a longer period (about eight to ten minutes), or add a small amount of extra vital wheat gluten. This will increase the meat-like density.
I’d be lying if I told you yes. I mean, anything’s possible, and you can 100% work something edible out with pressed extra firm tofu and gluten-free flour, and whatnot. But, it’s not going to be anything like this recipe by the time you swap out the vital wheat gluten, which is sorta essential to its performance.
✌️You'll love these other vegan meats too
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Learn to make plant-based meat from the seitan master himself, in this super-fun & informative class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Maple Mustard Glazed Vegan Ham Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon red beet finely grated (optional for color)
- 15 ounce canned chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons miso paste
- 1 ½ teaspoons mushroom powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup unsalted vegetable stock
- 4 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 4 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika or Kashmiri red chili powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ¾ cups vital wheat gluten
Maple Glaze:
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Optional for Roasting and Serving:
- 20-25 whole cloves
- 10 pineapple rings
- Fresh parsley chopped
- Fresh sage leaves
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, miso paste, mushroom powder, garlic powder, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, liquid smoke, maple syrup, paprika, and olive oil. Process until smooth. If using, add the grated beet for color and pulse until well combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the vital wheat gluten, stirring with a spatula or your hands, until a dough forms. Knead the dough for five minutes to develop its texture. -If you have a strong food processor that will not burn out, you can do this mixing step right in the food processor, mixing for just 2 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a compact loaf and wrap it tightly in foil, ensuring there are no gaps or loose ends.
- Place the wrapped loaf in a steamer and steam over medium heat for one hour.
- While the loaf is steaming, prepare the maple glaze. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the vegan butter. Stir in the brown sugar, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and ground cloves. Simmer for two to three minutes until the glaze thickens slightly, then set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Once the loaf has finished steaming, carefully unwrap it and make shallow, crisscross cuts across the surface of the loaf. Brush the loaf generously without ⅓ of the maple glaze.
- Optionally, once glazed, insert whole cloves at the intersections of the cuts. If you like, you can arrange pineapple rings on top of the loaf, securing them with toothpicks.
- Place the loaf on a baking tray and roast in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, basting with another ⅓ of the glaze halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for ten minutes before drilling with the remaining glaze, and thinly slicing using a serrated knife. Garnish with fresh parsley and sage leaves before serving.
Notes
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Lisa says
Funny - I make this with little hope that my husband would like it. I was wrong! He absolutely loved it. So much so that I thought he was going to eat it all in one sitting. lol
He especially loved slicing it up and pan frying it. He even made a mock-Cuban. It's going to be on the regular rotation along with a few other favorites. It's a little time consuming, but considering the rave review, worth the time. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Lisa says
As an added note - I priced out the cost based on my own ingredients, and it matched your cost listed here. Very helpful!
(Of course, the cost does not include our own time spent, so everyone must consider for themselves whether this is time well spent. I know I do!) 🙂
Paige Davis says
This was delicious !! We scraped our plates. So glad we have leftovers, too. My first seitan ham. Now it’s going in the rotation permanently.
Katherine says
This came out really good, the glaze makes it so tasty. I was afraid that it would come out tasting like bread (which has happened to me with others’ seitan recipe). The texture and flavor were lovely. I made half the recipe of glaze and still had plenty.
Joann says
Hi!
I’m planning on making this for Thanksgiving, and would love to make it and freeze it (before roasting) .
The recipe states that I can marinate it first. My question is what is the marinade recipe, and when I freeze it, should it be with or without the marinade.
Thanks so much!
Adam Sobel says
You don't HAVE to marinade it, but if you do, I would do it in hot vegetable broth overnight. You can also add a splash of red wine to the marinade to deepen the umami. I haven't experimented with freezing it before roasting, but I have frozen it afterward and that works great. I don't think there's any reason to freeze it in a marinade, which will probably just cause it to eat up more precious freezer space. Let me know how it comes out if you do freeze the steamed dough and thaw it to bake later. I'd love to know!
Flo says
I haven't had dinner yet, but it smells amazing!!!
Super easy to follow.
I can't wait to for dinner tonight.
Followed by the lemon cake from another recipe.
Deb Z says
OMG this looks good Adam! Here comes the question I've asked you before in other recipes....LOL. Can I steam this ham in an Instant Pot? Low or high pressure? Same time or less, since it's got the pressure going as well. Thanks in advance. I love you! BTW....your fantastic ultimate chicken I cut off 10 minutes and it turned out even better. Advise?
Adam Sobel says
You bet you can steam this in an IP. Go ith lower heat/pressure settings as you don't want it to get brainy and weird on you. Lemme know how it comes out for ya ❤️
Jennifer says
I came to ask about using the IP to steam also, like I do when making seitan. Can you recommend how long you would steam since it’s much faster? Thank you so much!
Adam Sobel says
I've not tested this with an IP for steaming, but I would guess it could shorten that steaming phase to about 45 minutes, providing you don't roll the ham super thick. You will still want to roast it afterward, though. If you do make this with an IP, please report back with how it works for you!
Kay says
Looks delicious! What can you substitute that is gluten free for vital wheat? Thank you!
Adam Sobel says
Unfortunately, this is one recipe that would be next to impossible to make gluten-free. Richard from the blog School Night Vegan has a great vegan ham recipe made with roasted celery root, though that might be up your alley.
suzanne says
Thanks so much for having this alternative for those who can't (or prefer not to) eat vital wheat gluten and for turning me on to another vegan chef. You rock (as always)!