Vegan pepperoni recipe (Perfect for pizza & charcuterie)

After I went vegan, I noticed vegan pepperoni wasn't as easy to find in grocery stores as other plant-based meats. And when I did find it, the texture and flavor often let me down by being too mild, too rubbery, or just not right.

That’s when I started making it at home.

This vegan pepperoni recipe was adapted from The Herbivorous Butcher Cookbook. It’s been my go-to pepperoni and a household favorite since the book came out.

As happens with many recipes, over time my husband and I have tweaked it to pare down ingredients, use what’s convenient for our pantry and kitchen equipment, and vary the spices to suit our palates.

I love having a batch in the fridge to grab a few slices for a quick, protein-packed snack.

This seitan pepperoni also shines on a vegan cheeseboard with non-dairy cheese, crunchy veggies, olives, and pickled vegetables.

And of course, when it comes to pizza, it’s a must.

Enjoy it on a classic vegan pepperoni pizza with non-dairy cheese, or load up the toppings for a supreme-style spread. You can even add it to calzones.

Whatever you choose, I know this is a recipe you’re going to love.

In this post:

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Spices and seasonings: Mustard seeds, fennel seeds, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, onion powder, salt, cayenne, and black pepper.

Vital wheat gluten: This high protein flour is essential for this recipe. Look for it with other types of flour in natural grocery stores and online.

Bob's Red Mill is my go-to, or you can sometimes find vital wheat gluten in flour bulk bins. (Note that the recipe is listed by weight, so you’ll need a kitchen scale to measure.)

Nutritional yeast: This inactive yeast adds umami and depth, plus protein and B vitamins. It’s often sold near the flour in the grocery store or in the health food section. (You can learn more about it in this post, “What is nutritional yeast?”)

Tapioca flour: A starch derived from the cassava root, tapioca flour helps bind the ingredients. It also adds a chewy, slightly elastic texture that mimics traditional pepperoni.

Oil: Avocado oil is my preferred option, but any neutral-flavored cooking oil works here.

Tomato paste: This recipe uses ½ cup of tomato paste for flavor, umami, color, and moisture.

(A boxed tube is pictured above. However, since the recipe calls for a fairly large amount, I actually recommend using canned or jarred tomato paste instead. It’s easier to scoop out in bulk than tomato paste in a tube.)

Tamari: This Japanese soy sauce adds salt & umami. It can be replaced with any soy sauce you like, coconut aminos, or Bragg’s liquid aminos.

White miso paste: This mildly flavored fermented soybean paste adds umami and saltiness. Look for it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the tofu.

Garlic: Use firm cloves with unbroken skin, and no signs of sprouting. If you’d rather, replace fresh garlic with ½ teaspoon granulated garlic.

This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

1. In a mortar & pestle or spice grinder, lightly break up fennel seeds and mustard seeds, leaving some whole seeds as well.

2. Add the following to a mixing bowl:

• Crushed fennel seeds & mustard seeds
• Vital wheat gluten
• Nutritional yeast
• Tapioca flour
• Paprika
• Red pepper flakes
• Cumin
• Onion powder
• Cayenne
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt

3. Combine the dry ingredients with a spoon.

4. In a second mixing bowl, combine the liquid ingredients with a fork or whisk:

• Water
• Avocado oil
• Tomato paste
• Tamari
• Miso paste
• Minced garlic

5. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir with a spoon until everything is incorporated.

6. Once it starts to form a dough, use your hands combine everything, making sure no dry white spots remain. Knead with your hands for a couple minutes, until it forms strings of gluten.

7. Break up the dough into 4 evenly-sized mounds.

8. Lay out 4 sheets of aluminum foil (roughly 10 to 12 inches each). Roll and work each piece of dough, and form each one into a log that’s about 5 inches in length. Put one pepperoni log onto each aluminum foil sheet.

9. Roll each pepperoni log up tight, twisting the foil at the ends like a Tootsie Roll.

10. Put water into a large steamer pot with insert. Bring the water to a simmer. Add the foil-covered pepperoni logs into the insert. Then cover and steam for an hour.

Keep an eye on the water to make sure it doesn’t burn off. Lower the heat and add more water if it’s cooking off too fast.

11. Once the pepperoni is fully cooked, move it to the counter to cool. Then transfer to the refrigerator, where it will continue to firm up as it cools completely. For the best texture, wait at least 4 to 6 hours before slicing it.

12. When you’re ready to enjoy it, use a serrated knife to cut it into thin slices.

You can make this seitan recipe your own by tweaking the spices and other ingredients.

For milder spiciness: Reduce to ½ Tablespoon red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon cayenne, and ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.

For bright red color: If you’d like the pepperoni to have a bolder red hue, add a Tablespoon of red beet powder with the dry ingredients.

(Note that the color is still nice without it. In these pictures it’s shown WITHOUT red beet powder.)

I love snacking on vegan pepperoni right out of the fridge, adding it to a vegan charcuterie board, or making little cracker sandwiches with seitan pepperoni, pickle slices, and non-dairy cheddar.

Vegan pepperoni also works great in dishes like:

• Supreme naan flatbread pizza (shown above)
• Vegan pizza bagels (air fryer or oven baked)
• Bowtie pasta salad with olives & artichokes (as an optional add-in)
• Halloween charcuterie board
• Vegan Thanksgiving charcuterie board
• Pizza hummus with sun-dried tomatoes (shown below)

Tip: For the best texture, lightly brown the vegan pepperoni slices in a bit of oil before adding them to pizza. This adds crispiness, richness, and a mouthfeel that’s closer to traditional pepperoni.

Store wrapped pepperoni in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep about a week.

For longer storage, remove the foil from the pepperoni, and freeze in a freezer bag. It will keep for 3 to 6 months. 

When you’re ready to enjoy it, thaw in the fridge or using the defrost function in the microwave. (For the best texture, be careful to only defrost it in the microwave, not cook it.)

📖 Recipe

Vegan pepperoni recipe (Perfect for pizza & charcuterie)

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 2 votes

Vegan pepperoni can be hard to find in stores, and when you do find it, it's often lackluster. This homemade version has just the right texture and little kick of heat from cayenne and red pepper flakes.

It's delicious eaten by the slice on a charcuterie board, topping sun-dried tomato hummus, or of course, as a vegan pizza topping.

This seitan pepperoni also freezes beautifully. Great to keep on hand for pizza emergencies!

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 people

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: homemade vegan pepperoni, seitan pepperoni, vegan pizza topping

Ingredients

• ▢ ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ▢ ½ Tablespoon fennel seeds
• ▢ 12 ounces vital wheat gluten
• ▢ ⅓ cup nutritional yeast flakes
• ▢ 1 ½ Tablespoons tapioca flour
• ▢ 1 ½ Tablespoons paprika
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ ½ Tablespoon salt
• ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne depending on your spice preference
• ▢ ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon black pepper coarsely ground (Several generous twists of the pepper grinder)
• ▢ 1 ¾ cups water plus more for steamer pot
• ▢ ½ cup tomato paste
• ▢ ½ cup avocado oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil
• ▢ ¼ cup tamari
• ▢ 1 ½ Tablespoons white miso paste
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves minced

Instructions

• ▢
  Using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, lightly break up mustard seeds and fennel seeds. They should still be chunky with some whole spices remaining. (Don't grind into a powder.)
• ▢
  Make the dry mixture: Put the mustard seeds and fennel seeds into a mixing bowl. Then add vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast flakes, tapioca flour, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, onion powder, salt, and cayenne. (If you like a minimum amount of heat, add ¼ teaspoon cayenne. If you like more of a kick, add ½ teaspoon.)

  Then add several generous twists of coarsely ground black pepper from a pepper grinder (about ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon).

  Use a large spoon to mix the dry ingredients.
• ▢
  Make the wet mixture: In a separate mixing bowl, add water, tomato paste, avocado oil, tamari, white miso paste, and minced garlic. Use a whisk to combine, break up, and incorporate the tomato paste and miso paste until it's a smooth and even liquid.
• ▢
  Slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, then stir to combine. Once it starts to form a dough, use your hands combine everything, making sure no dry white spots remain. Knead the dough with your hands for a couple of minutes, until it forms strings of gluten. Then break up the dough into 4 evenly-sized mounds.
• ▢
  Lay out 4 sheets of aluminum foil (roughly 10 to 12 inches each). Roll and work each piece of dough, and form each one into a log that's about 5 inches long.

  Put one pepperoni log onto each aluminum foil sheet. (The dough will be soft at this point with cracks, that's fine.)

  Roll each pepperoni log up tight, twisting the foil at the ends like a Tootsie Roll. (Keeping the foil tight around the log helps it to compress and for any cracks in the seitan to seal.)
• ▢
  Put water into a large steamer pot with insert.

  (Use a steamer pot with an insert about 10 inches wide - a 5 to 6-quart size works well. Depending on the type of steamer basket you're using, you may need a few inches of water or less. You want it to be enough water that it doesn't quickly burn off, but also not so much that it actually touches the pepperoni once it's boiling.)

  Bring the water to a simmer. Add the foil-covered pepperoni logs into the insert. Then cover and steam for an hour. (Some oil may seep out during that time, and that's fine.)

  Keep an eye on the water levels. Lower the heat and add more water if it's cooking off too fast.
• ▢
  Once the pepperoni is fully cooked, remove it from the steamer pot, and let it cool on the counter for about half an hour.

  Then move it to the refrigerator, where it will continue to firm as it cools. For the best texture, wait at least 4 to 6 hours before slicing.
• ▢
  Once it's cooled, it's ready for you to remove the foil and thinly slice with a serrated knife. Enjoy it cold, on pizza, vegan charcuterie boards, or any way that you like. 

Notes

You'll need a kitchen scale to measure the vital wheat gluten. It's the optimum way to get accurate results.

Storage & freezing instructions

For storage, put the pepperoni logs into an airtight container. (I generally leave the foil on as well until ready to use.) It will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Vegan pepperoni also freezes beautifully. Remove the foil from each pepperoni log. Then put the pepperoni into a freezer bag. It will keep for 3 to 6 months. 

When you’re ready to use it, thaw it in the fridge, or use the defrost function on the microwave, being careful just to thaw it, not to cook it. 

Remember: Be sure to remove the foil from the pepperoni before freezing, because the foil can freeze into the sausage, making it trickier to remove. You also can’t defrost it in the microwave with the foil still on.

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Nutrition

Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 748mg | Potassium: 223mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 816IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 3mg