vegan deli slices

A super simple recipe for vegan pepperoni made with vital wheat gluten and baked in an air fryer or oven. Gorgeous on pizza or sandwiches.

Easy Vegan Pepperoni

g vital wheat gluten

paprika

garlic powder ((or granules))

thyme

cayenne pepper

chilli flakes ((or 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder))

salt

ml vegetable stock ((made with 1 vegetable stock cube))

tomato puree

olive oil

soy sauce

In a mixing bowl add the vital wheat gluten, paprika, garlic powder, thyme, cayenne pepper, chilli flakes and salt. Mix well to combine.

In another mixing bowl add the vegetable stock, tomato puree, olive oil and soy sauce. Mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon to combine, then knead in the bowl for a couple of minutes (with clean hands). You will feel how elastic it is right away.

Shape and roll into a sausage shape, then roll firmly in non-stick baking paper.

Now roll in tin foil and twist the ends like a cracker.

Pop in the air fryer at 200c/400c for 50 minutes (middle shelf, if you have shelves) or in a preheated oven at 200c/180c fan/400f/gas mark 6 for 50 -55 minutes. (If you are making it for pizza, remember it will be cooked a second time on the pizza, so reduce the cooking time by 10-12 minutes for the original bake)

When it&#39;s ready it should have started to brown on the outside and be firm, yet springy to the touch.

Leave to cool.

Slice and use in a pizza, sandwich, pasta etc.

Enjoy!

Easy to make and tastes better than store-bought! Make this bologna ahead of time and then have it ready to slice for a snack or sandwiches. It&#x27;s even great fried! Great for your kids lunch box.

Vegan Baloney (Bologna)

block (350 grams) extra-firm tofu (drained)

ketchup

yeast

onion powder

garlic powder

smoked paprika

mustard powder

nutmeg

vital wheat gluten

Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil.

In a food processor add the tofu, ketchup, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, mustard powder, and nutmeg. Mix until smooth as possible, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.

Add the vital wheat gluten and pulse several times to incorporate, scraping the sides as needed. It will form a crumbly dough.

Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and knead together to form a dough. Shape into a large log that will fit in your steamer basket.

Roll the log up in foil twisting the ends closed so it looks like a large candy. Place in the steamer basket and cover.

Steam for 1 hour, or until the seitan&#39;s internal temperature reaches at least 160°F (71°C) when tested with an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature goes higher, that&#39;s perfectly fine—you can&#39;t really oversteam seitan The vegan baloney will have expanded in the foil making a tight log.

Remove from the steamer basket and allow it to cool (the foil will loosen a bit as it cools). Move to the fridge and chill completely before serving. When ready to serve just slice an enjoy! Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week

This is great my husband loves it, but it makes more than we eat in a week if we don't eat it everyday. what is the maximum time it will stay good in the fridge? Google says 5-7 days. but ours has been done for 8 days now, and we still have half of it left. Next time I will have to freeze half of it for sure.

Hi Sam,

Nice recipe, thanks for all you share! I am curious why there is not much gluten development done in this recipe. I am trying to figure out the secrets to achieving texture match if possible (can only get so close!) and I sense that kneading versus not kneading will have an impact. Kneading seems to make the loaf harder, is that correct in your mind?

Have you found a recipe you feel does mimic bologna more closely? Please share the difference! I think Sam does a great job coming close in flavor on all her recipes, but we all have different tastes. I read that nutmeg is one seasoning that makes real bologna unique. Perhaps try that?

Absolutely delicious! I couldn't even wait for it to cool. Game changer and I swear I will only 1 more slice...... This will save me so much $$$ to not have to buy tiny packages of vegan bologna any more. AND... it's so much better!

Hi Sam,
I made this today and it reminded me of when I made playdough with my children, except it tasted way better! I can't wait to make toasted bologna and cheese sandwiches with tomato soup for dinner!! My vegan daughter is loving it!
thanks again

Soooo excited about this recipe! I am wondering about if it's a typo on the way of the block of tofu. One package is $396 g. So I had to cut off a little bit of it. I'm making your Deli lunch meat at the same time. And the weight on that recipe shows the full block amount of 396. Just wondering if I was supposed to cut a little piece of this black off to weigh 350?

This definitely tastes like fake vegan bologna. I really like the other seitan recipes but this one lacks the similarity to actual bologna.

Oooh, hadn’t thought of olives; loved olive loaf back in the 70’s! Over time, I’ve been making this with all kinds of variations because it’s such a terrific recipe diving board that allows one to plunge into endless possibilities!

This was good!  Couldn't wait for the final cool down, but it had a nice bologna flavor.  I could see this being a base for customization as well (maybe a little cayenne, extra vinegar, or olives).  It's really easy as well.  Put everything in the food processor.  With the pressure cooker, I didn't even have to hang out while it steamed.

Great consistency-looks so much like bologna. Just doesn't really taste like bologna-don't like the tomato taste. Why no salt?

this recipe is wonderful. made this as vegan bologna is hard to find and my daughter loves it. This smelled awesome just mixing it,. next time I will make two smaller loaves that will fit my mandolin! Thanks for sharing!

Excellent! Thanks! Can’t wait to try this:)

Hi! Just wondering what the cooking time would be in an Instapot? Thanks!

Thank you for sharing your recipe! It was surprisingly quick and easy, which is rare in my household. I did not bother weighing the tofu and instead used the whole block which was a bit more and I used homemade sugarless ketchup, but otherwise followed your recipe. I think my family would like all the spices doubled, so I’ll go for that the next time. I steamed for an hour, which gave me an internal temperature of 189º, but it was still perfect after a night resting in the refrigerator. An absolute winner!

Taste is good, just like bologna, but perhaps I made a mistake. Mine came out a little doughy. Any idea what could have affected the texture?

We can't believe how great this is! We've been having regular bologna sandwiches and Katie Lee's fried bologna sandwiches for a week now. Can't get enough of them. It makes a lot and I came back online to find out if I can freeze the rest. Lo and behold I can! Looking forward to you other recipes! Thanks a bunch!

Skip the expensive meat alternatives from the store and learn how to make your own vegan smoked deli slices! Extra meaty, a bit chewy, and infused with a warming smokiness, these slices are perfect to use in sandwiches, pizza, salads, or grilled cheeses!

Vegan Smoked Deli Slices

firm tofu

water

tbsp oil

tbsp white vinegar

tsp liquid smoke

tsp red food coloring

shallot (roughly chopped)

tbsp sugar

tsp black pepper

Blend into a cream. Add the tofu and all of the other ingredients, except the vital wheat gluten, to a blender. Blend on high speed for 30-50 seconds or until smooth. It should look like a thick cream.

Combine with the gluten. Next, transfer the blended tofu cream to a stand mixer and add the vital wheat gluten.

Knead. Knead using the paddle attachment for 5-7 minutes on medium speed. At first, the mixture will appear very wet. This is normal – after a few minutes, it will start to form a dough. Note: You can also knead by hand if you do not own a stand mixer.

Wrap it. Divide the dough into two balls of the same size. Shape one ball into a log of about 4.5 inches (11.5 cm) long. Wrap it in a layer of parchment paper. Then, wrap the log very tightly in one layer of aluminum wrap. Wrap it one more time with another layer of aluminum wrap. This will prevent the seitan from expanding. Do the same with the other ball of dough.

Arrange a steamer. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and place a steamer basket on top. You can use a bamboo or stainless steel steamer basket.

Steam. Place the loaves into the steamer and cover with the lid. Steam for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Check the water level after 30-40 minutes and add more if needed. There should never be less than 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) of water in the pot.

Let cool completely. After steaming, remove the loaves from the steamer and let them cool for at least 1 hour before unwrapping them. Then, wrap each loaf with plastic wrap and transfer them to the refrigerator.

Slice. After resting for a minimum of 6 hours in the refrigerator, you can slice it into thin slices or dice it into chunks!

You can store these deli slices for up to 7 days in the refrigerator.

Fantastic! I was VERY impressed with this recipe and am so grateful for it.  Thank you!

Can you make a smoky-flavor vegan sausage with this? I’ve been very frustrated to not find ANY recipes online for vegan SMOKED sausages made with VWG. This comes closest, though the texture is smoother than a sausage might be. Any advice?
This is a lovely recipe, BTW! 
I’ve not made the deli slices yet, but it’s on my “try soon” list!

Top 4 vegan deli slices recipes from across the web

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Top Tags

Easy Vegan Pepperoni

Vegan Baloney (Bologna)

Vegan Baloney (Bologna)

Vegan Smoked Deli Slices

Top 4 vegan deli slices recipes from across the web

The most viewed vegan deli slices recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Vegan Pepperoni

Vegan Baloney (Bologna)

Vegan Baloney (Bologna)

Vegan Smoked Deli Slices

The most viewed vegan deli slices recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine