vegetarian pepperoni

Vegan pepperoni, made with only 9 ingredients. It is deliciously flavorful and smokey and has a great texture. The best pizza topping!

Vegan Pepperoni

oz firm tofu

garlic powder

tbsp smoked paprika

tbsp sugar (I used brown sugar)

fennel seeds

salt

tsp black pepper

tsp liquid smoke

½-1 tsp red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 400ºF or 200ºC. Press the tofu while the oven is preheating (just wrap the tofu in a clean towel and apply a steady weight to squeeze out the moisture).

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until well combined.

Try the mixture and adjust the seasonings if needed. I added ½ tsp of red pepper flakes, but feel free to add more of them if you like your vegan pepperoni really spicy.

Spread the mixture onto a lined baking sheet into an even layer about ¼ or ⅛ inch thick (about 0,3-0,6 cm). 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Use a circular cookie cutter to cut out your vegan pepperoni and it'll be ready to be added to your vegan pizza. You should bake it for at least another 10 to 15 minutes before eating (it's not ready to eat until you bake it for another 10 to 15 minutes).

If you’re not going to use your vegetarian pepperoni immediately, just let the slices cool and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If frozen, let them thaw slightly before using them.

Feel free to add your vegan pepperoni to our vegan pizza recipe or make your own version of a vegan pepperoni pizza.

Top your pizza with this easy vegan pepperoni recipe, a plant-based alternative made with seitan and loads of delicious seasonings!

Easy Vegan Pepperoni (Step-By-Step Tutorial)

vital wheat gluten (180 g)

water (120 mL)

tomato paste (50 g)

soy sauce (60 mL)

coconut oil* (should be solid, 50 g)

tsp each crushed red pepper flakes, ground mustard seed, smoked paprika, garlic powder

fennel seeds (roughly crushed or chopped)

tsp liquid smoke (5 mL)

Dough: In a large bowl stir together all ingredients until a ball forms. Transfer to a clean surface and knead for about 5 minutes, or until dough is elastic and cohesive (it will still be lumpy, that&#039;s okay!)

Shape: Divide into 2 even pieces, then shape each piece into a log. Each log should be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Wrap each log tightly in aluminum foil, making sure the foil overlaps so it doesn&#039;t open during cooking, then twist the ends to secure.

Steam: Bring a pot of water with a steamer basket to a boil, then place wrapped pepperoni logs into the basket. Cover and let steam for 45 minutes. (Keep an eye on the water level to make sure water doesn&#039;t all evaporate.)

Cool: Remove pepperoni logs from the basket and gently unwrap. Transfer to the fridge and allow to cool fully, then use a sharp knife to thinly slice each log into pepperoni pieces! Use as you would traditional pepperoni (on pizza, sandwiches, or crackers!)

This easy vegan pepperoni is irresistible for snacking and perfect for everything from pizza and calzones to sandwiches and baked pasta! Seitan pepperoni can be baked OR cooked in the Instant Pot. Only 20 minutes of hands-on prep time, and the flavor is amazing!Recipe adapted from Miyoko Schinner&#39;s peppy unpepperoni in The Homemade Vegan Pantry.

Vegan Pepperoni Recipe

yeast

oat flour

paprika

fennel seed, lightly crushed (see Note 2)

red pepper flakes

smoked paprika

fine sea salt

black pepper

cayenne (omit for mild pepperoni)

allspice, optional

oil (or smooth nut butter)

soy sauce

maple syrup

liquid smoke

water

Prep

Tear off two pieces of aluminum foil (preferably heavy duty), each about 12 inches long. Also tear/cut two smaller pieces of parchment paper just large enough to wrap around each log of pepperoni. If baking the seitan pepperoni, preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a food processor or a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and pulse or stir to combine. If using a food processor, let it run for about 30 seconds or until the seitan dough comes together in a ball. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until smooth and firm, about 30 seconds for dough made in a food processor or 2 minutes for dough made in a bowl.

Shape

Cut the dough in half, and shape each piece into a log about 5 1/2-inches long. It&#39;s okay if they don&#39;t look perfect. Your veggie pepperoni will snap into place inside the foil. Place a piece of foil on the work surface, and place a piece of parchment on top near the edge closest to you. Wrap the pepperoni up tightly, twisting the ends like a candy wrapper.

Cook

Add 1 cup water to the insert and place the trivet inside. Place the two foil packages on the trivet, and secure the lid. Press the &quot;steam&quot; button, and make sure the display reads &quot;high&quot; (if applicable for your IP). Set the time for 30 minutes. Some pressure will build but not as much as during pressure cooking.

Cool

When the Instant Pot beeps that the time is done, carefully quick release the pressure, remove the lid, and use tongs or an oven mitt to move the pepperoni to a plate or cutting board to cool. Unwrap and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing, or cool completely then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Instant Pot Instructions:

Bake

Place the two foil logs on a baking sheet, and bake for 55 minutes, flipping at the halfway point. Remove from oven, unwrap, and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Or cool completely then store vegan pepperoni in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

Oven Instructions:

This recipe is great!  My wife and I are both surprised how good it is.

The one thing I've missed the most in the years since I've followed a vegetarian / vegan diet is sausage.  I buy various types of vegan sausage from the store but they are typically overpriced and not all that great.

Now, I'll be making all of your sausage variations!  Thank you so much.

Hi fellow veges out there this vegan pepperoni really is as good as it sounds.
I used less wheat gluten and more chickpea flour and it still worked well. We are vegetarians and do eat cheese and don’t much like nutritional yeast, so I used fresh grated Parmesan instead.
Thanks for sharing the recipe Lori, I did steam it in basket over water in saucepan and it had cooked perfectly in 45 mins.
Thanks again 
Vicky

Hi Lori
Sounds great, I’m going to make this today, however, I don’t have an instant pot. I wondered if I could steam the parcels in a steamer basket above a saucepan of water. I think it would take longer but would it work?

Thanks 
Vicky

Hi Lori, Thanks so much for your suggestion, doesn’t look as good as your recipe but it will be fun to try a bit of mix and match, wish me luck!

This beat store-bought vegan pepperoni, hands down! I used my homemade sunflower seed butter in place of oil, decreased the red pepper flakes to 1 teaspoon and only used about 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper. I used half of one log on my homemade pizza under the cheese and it wasn't at all dry.

Wow - this pepperoni is really good! I used tahini in place of the olive oil and the dough wasn't dry at all.  Plus I had smoked paprika in short supply so I finished that 1 teaspoon off with chili powder.  Yum...

Fantastic recipe. Per previous comments, I reduced the flour to 1 tablespoon. Definitely will make this again!

Hello.  I would really like to make this pepperoni.  Is it necessary to use Anthony's?  It is quite pricey.  Would another/any vital gluten work?  Also, can you freeze these?  Thank you in advance!

I followed the recipe perfectly, using the instant pot steaming method. Pretty good, but a bit dry. Next time I will increase the oil slightly.

First of all, this is fantastic *real* pepperoni flavor and texture! 
Second of all, it has a much better flavor than the Sweet Earth pepperoni from my Kroger. We made two strombolis tonight, one with each type of pepperoni. Your recipe was SO much better!
Two small changes: (1) I replaced the oil with Thai sweet chili paste. (2) Next time I will cut the "flour of choice" to just 1 tablespoon. The dough was drier than any other seitan I've made, but I don't want to mess with the balance too much because it was so good.
After five years vegan, traditional pizza is back on the menu - woohoo!!
Thank you, Lori. I looked at five pepperoni recipes and I'm so glad I made yours!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/MBgRnRbl.mp4

Vegan pepperoni is delicious and surprisingly easy to make at home. Generously spiced with paprika, fennel seed, garlic and just enough spicy heat. This vegan pepperoni recipe can be cooked in the Instant Pot or baked in the oven. It's perfect for vegan charcuterie boards, pizza, calzones, and sandwiches.

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