Save a piggy! Make this clove studded, maple glazed, vegan seitan ham roast this Holiday!
If you are looking for a centerpiece for your vegan holiday table this is it folks. Place this Vegan Ham roast on your favorite platter decorated with charred pineapple and orange slices and studded with cloves. It looks stunning. It smells amazing and it tastes Divine. Take a moment to watch it glow in the candlelight and then dive right in! Each slice of this Vegan Ham Roast is salty, sweet, smoky, toothsome and tangy.
I was inspired to make a vegan ham roast after I got so many delighted comments from my readers on this Smokey Vegan Maple Bacon recipe.
“Newborn piglets learn to run to their mothers’ voices and to recognize their own names. Mother pigs sing to their young while nursing.”
– Peta
Have you ever cuddled a piglet?
Imagine a squirming velvet bundle with pale pink skin, translucent sea shell ears and limpid trusting eyes that lock on yours like a human infant’s. This little piglet gazes into your eyes and as you croon non-sense lullabies her body relaxes, her eyes blink slowly closed and her snuffling snout puffs warm air onto your cheeks. And she sleeps trustingly in your arms. When wakes she’ll wriggle free to play with her siblings or nurse her Mama’s thick rich milk.
Why visit a Farm Sanctuary?
For me it broke my heart and healed it in one sun splashed afternoon. My dear friend Alison took us to visit the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary a couple of years ago. Her dear, delightful, incomparably beautiful sister Nancy hosted us at her traditional Bed and Breakfast that is near to the sanctuary and fed us some of the best Vegan food around.
Meeting the animals and hearing the stories of their rescues opened all of our hearts. I felt particularly close to this dear hen who trustingly ate green grapes from my hand and let me stroke her silky feathers:
and my hubby bonded with this charmer of a pig:
“Pigs snuggle close to one another and prefer to sleep nose to nose. They dream, much as humans do. In their natural surroundings, pigs spend hours playing, sunbathing, and exploring. …pigs, like humans, enjoy listening to music, playing with soccer balls, and getting massages.” – Peta
When you sit at the table on Easter and your relatives and friends poke and prod you about why you are Vegan tell them the story of Sweet “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, who now lives at the Iowa Farm Sanctuary.
At just 21 days old, Molly was loaded onto a massive semi trailer with hundreds of other piglets and taken to a facility to be fattened up for slaughter. While the other piglets were pushed off the truck at the facility, Molly hid and went unnoticed. . While flooding the truck whith water to clean it, Molly floated out and was discovered, nearly drowned, and saved by an employee.
You can check on Molly’s progress on the Iowa Farm Sanctuary FB page, watch videos of the jokester Molly had become and donate to their worthy cause this Easter in the name of the voiceless piggies that aren’t rescued in time.
Seitan Satay with Spicy Peanut dipping sauce is an easy beginner seitan recipe. 
A reader last week commented that I could use my Smokey Seitan Bacon as a ham recipe. I agree! And here it is.
Check out my Aquafaba page! For tips, tricks and to see all of my Aquafabulous recipes.
A make ahead Vegan seitan ham roast that makes for the perfect centerpiece on the plant based table. Brushed with a smokey maple syrup glaze and studded with cloves it is beautiful, delicious and cruelty free!
- 1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1/3 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves important!
- 2 tbsp tahini or smooth peanut butter
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 4 drops liquid smoke
- 1 cup vegetable broth, warm or hot not cold
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 drops liquid smoke
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4-1/3 cup apricot jam depending on how sweet you like it
- 1 pineapple cored and sliced into rings
- 2 navel oranges sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
- 1/3 cup cloves for garnish, optional
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Mix up all the ingredients to your glaze and set aside. It will be strongly flavored. Play with the balance of flavors to your own taste.
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Heat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl stir together the dry ingredients (the first 7 ingredients) until combined.
In another bowl stir together all the the wet ingredients (tahini trough vegetable broth) until smooth.
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Pour the wet into the dry and stir until a dough forms. I like to do my kneading in the stand mixer with a dough hook but you can knead it by hand as well. If you re using the stand mixer the place the dough in the stand mixer and allow it to knead with the dough hook for 6 minutes on medium speed. I think the texture is much better when I use the stand mixer. It makes for a denser loaf.
If you are kneading by hand then you will need to knead for 10 minutes until the dough is super dense and rubbery.
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Here is how I got my ham shaped vegan ham. I rolled my seitan dough into a ball and placed it on a square of plastic wrap. I then enclosed it and pulled the plastic tight around it until it was a smooth roast like soap. I then removed it from the plastic, brushed it with 1 tablespoon of the marinade and wrapped it tightly in aluminum foil. The dough will try to expand during baking and I find the more I constrict its "rise" the denser and toothsome the final texture.
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Bake for 50 minutes at 350, turning every 15 minutes to ensure even baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. You can store it at this point wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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Once completely cool, score the outside of your Vegan ham into a diamond pattern with a sharp knife and insert a clove into the center of each diamond. See photo. Place the roast on a baking pan and surround with sliced pineapples and oranges. Brush with glaze.
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Bake 15 minutes at 375 Fahrenheit brushing with glaze as often as possible until fully heated. If you desire a brown exterior the place under the broiler on high for 4-5 minutes. Serve with any extra glaze.
Maple Glazed Holiday Vegan Ham Recipe is a gorgeous centerpiece for the Plant Based Easter table- SunnysideHanne #sunnysidehane #seitan #veganeaster #veganholiday #veganholidayrecipe #veganeasterrecipes #veganham #veganroast #hamroast #veganbacon #seitanrecipes #plantbased #plantbasedprotein #veganprotein #veganbrunch #vegetarianbrunch #vegandinner #liquidsmoke #fauxmeat
Oh wow, that is one show-stopping grand entree to top them all! The crosshatching is on point and the flavors sound brilliant. I want to host a big party now just to have an excuse to try this recipe out.
Now that would be quite the party! I volunteer to do the dishes.
From a classic story about a pig:
” ‘How’s this?’ he asked, showing the ad to Charlotte.
‘It says “Crunchy.” “Crunchy” would be a good word to write in your web.’
‘Just the wrong idea,’ replied Charlotte. ‘Couldn’t be worse. We don’t want Zuckerman to think Wilbur is crunchy. He might start thinking about crisp, crunchy bacon and tasty ham. That would put ideas into his head. We must advertise Wilbur’s noble qualities, not his tastiness.’”
Ahhh Helle you really get the gist of this. BH was very like Charlotte, no? When I read it aloud to the kids I used her voice.
I made it I made it!!! Yay!! It was really good. I doubled the amount of liquid smoke throughout as well as the garlic and onion powder just because I always do when I make seitan. I like that it was not complicated at all! I might see if I can actually buy maple wood chips and smoke it a little bit too, see if I can intensify the smoky flavour. I’ll definitely make this again. Thanks.
Lisa doubling the smoke and garlic powder was an inspired choice. Please let me know if you try smoking it.
This vegan ham looks amazing! I am going to make it very soon. I am the only vegan in my family. No vegetarians in the family either. So i try to get them to taste things i make. I had a breakthrough yesterday thou my youngest son actually tried a bite of my beyond burger and he couldn’t believe how good it was. I am also watching my grandkids a lot so as long as they are with me they will eat vegan. One is 4 one is 3 and y youngest one is only 2 months old. Sorry for the long post lol! Is tho leftovers good fried and in sandwiches and stuff? Thank you in advance if you reply to me!
Hi Shannon, I slice up the left over ham and sauté it in a pan and add it to wraps and stir fries. What a wonderful Grandmother you are Shannon, feeding your Grandkids healthy plant based foods. I just tasted my first Impossible burger last week and I was amazed at how spot on tha taste and texture were.
Can this vegan roast ham be freezed?
Hi April,
Yes it can be frozen. Wrap it well in freezer proof material and it can be stored for up to three moths. Defrost before baking. Cheers
Thank you for answering me. I can’t wait to make this.
I am having a Christmas dinner and 2 of my friends are Vegan. I want to make sure they have an enjoyable meal and was racking my brain until I saw your recipe. I will indeed fix this for them and will decorate it to reflect Christmas. Thanks. now if I could buy a Vegan Ham it would make me happy but I am unsure as to the brands that are good Ant suggestions?
Hi Fran I’m not aware of any Vegan Ham roasts for sale in the US but there is always Tofurkey roast that you could decorate as if it were a ham. I hope that helps. If you make the recipe I’d love to know how it goes for you. Happy Christmas
Vegetarian Plus has an amazing vegan ham roll (and also a whole “turkey”) — I’m excited to try this recipe out though, making it today!!
I am going to try this out tomorrow. I purchased vegan ham bullion to replace the vegetable bouillon. and a dry honey rub which I plan to add to the glaze.
I made your rib recipe a few weeks back and was thrilled with the turn out. I hope this is as delicious. Especially since I am changing a few things. Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes
Whoa! I didn’t know there was vegan ham bullion. Amazing. I’m going to search for it. Im so glad you loved the ribs recipe. I hope the ham roast pleased you as well. Thank you for reaching out. Youradditions to the recipe sound great
Hello, do you need the gluten? I thought i had some but apparently not.
Hi Clarissa, Yes the gluten in integral to the recipe. I hope you get some and try it out.
Can i make the vegan ham base then cook it 2 days later??
Can’t wait to try this out for my vegan Christmas dinner! I was just wondering, can it be served warm? Many thanks!
Hi Lucy, Yes I like it best served warm from the oven. Bon Appétit!
Hello I bought garbanzo Bean Flower on accident could I substitute using this type of flour instead of chickpea flour thanks
Hi April, Yes you can! They are the same thing. : )
I’m so glad! I’m making it today and testing it out. My kid’s father became a vegan over 2 year’s ago, after being together almost 14 year’s. I’ve learned to make almost all Hispanic dishes vegan. People in my family that aren’t vegan go after the vegan dishes to. I’m excited to bring this vegan ham to Thanksgiving. Thank you for answering promptly.
This recipe is bulletproof I made it today but added green apples to the pineapple was so good thank you I’d give it 10 stars if I could
Hello Hanne, if I triple this recipe how long should I cook it ?
Oh April I’m sorry to say I don’t know. I’ve never cooked a piece of Seitan that large.
I made this recipe exactly as written, and it just came out a little too dense/chewy. However, there are going to be discrepancies, such as exactly how high i should put the mixer on to knead the seitan, or exactly how tight i should have it in the foil. So, a lot of the mistakes I made i think could really have only been fixed with the experience of making it before (this is my first time making seitan). The way the recipe is written made me feel like i should keep it pretty compact in the foil while baking but overall it just made it too dense and thick (I overkneaded it slightly too). Also the recipe didn’t call for salt but I wish i had added some, as i think it would have made the flavor outstanding. In the future i think i could make this perfectly. It’s definitely a really great base recipe to reference for next time.
Hi Sarah, What a thorough review, thank you! The addition of salt makes sense. Yes, making seitan does take some experience to get the hang of. All the best, Hanne
I made this without realizing there was no salt in the recipe. Completely ruined it! I was also bummed to see it wasn’t just a typo, someone had already pointed this out and it wasn’t corrected. A waste of my precious VWG supply.
Mine didn’t work super well, it was extremely chewy and a bit bland. It was like I was back in my childhood eating steak! Yuck! (On the steak) I hand kneaded it since I couldn’t find my hook attachment but followed the instructions other than I left it in to bake the second time for longer than 15, maybe closer to 30 or 40 minutes. Was that my issue or??
The second bake, 15minutes seems very fast to heat all the way through, especially if you’re opening the oven to baste regularly? Or am I just ignorant to the reheating speeds of seitan?
Hi Tom, definitely heat it to the temperature you most enjoy. Closer to 25 minutes is probably what you are looking for. Enjoy!!
Hi I made mine up and its resting in fridge,can I cook it in a stock r is it best done in oven?
Hi Christine, So glad you made it! It is best finished in the oven. Cheers!
I am going to give this a try for Christmas! One question about leftovers: do you think I could slice it and use it for a cold ham sandwich? I love the vegan ham slices from the store, but frequently find it unavailable, plus I really like the fact I would know exactly what’s in it.
Thank you for your recipes!
Hi Dianne, Yes it would work in a sandwich. Check out my Bacon recipe. I think a couple of slices of melted vegan Violife provolone would make for a scrumptious sandwich. Let me know how it goes.
I am making this tomorrow for Christmas dinner. Of course i will probably be the only one to eat. Oh well more for me! Anyways i hope you see this before I make it. I could not find smoked paprika! Is it ok just to use regular paprika? I hope so!! I will come back and right a review and leave a rating after dinner! Thank you in advanve!
Hi Shannon, Merry Christmas! You can with out the regular paprika for the smoked. Or skip it altogether. Cheers Hanne
Delicious will make again
Do you wrap the roast in plastic, THEN in the foil and bake with both wrappings? or do you wrap it in plastic to get the shape, remove the plastic, then wrap in foil and bake?
Hi Buffalo Vegan, Yes I wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. All the best
Hi I really want to try this recipe it looks so beautiful but I’m wondering how the seitan cooks thoroughly in the oven? Most seitan recipes I’ve tried steam or cook the setian in broth and are great. Any time I’ve tried just seitan in the oven it finishes gummy and uncooked in the center. Is the final texture of this roast like typical seitan? Thanks I’m advance!
Hi Miriam, Feel free to steam or cook the seitan in broth instead if you’d like. I’m sure it will be delicious. Let me know how it works out for you. Happy holidays!
Since chickpeas are full of protein and you can use the aquafaba in the dessert, this is the perfect main dish for Thanksgiving dinner.
I’ve tried a lot of different Seitan recipes and this ham is my current favorite. A Holiday must! Thank you for this delicious recipe
Oh Jane, I am simply chuffed. thank you for taking the Time to let me know that this seitan recipe works for you!
What is the purpose of the nutritional yeast? I’m out; can i substitute? Maybe more chickpea flour? Or can I leave it out?
Feel free to omit the nutritional yeast. It just adds a little background flavor. The ham will be yummy without it. Cheers
My oven is currently broken- how would you steam this?
Hi Cassandra, Sorry about your oven. I would wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a large pot of simmering broth. Simmer for about one hour. I would let it cool and then perhaps slice it and sear the slices in a hot pan.
Hi there! I’m making this tomorrow for Easter dinner & couldn’t find chickpea flour… do you recommend any other flour. Thanks in advance !
Happy Easter Kathleen, Chickpea flour is pretty integral to this recipe…Cornmeal might make a decent substitution. Please let me know how it goes.
I’m making this now but what I can’t figure out is if I’m making it the same day, does the roast need the additional 25 minutes in the oven? Can I cut the roast into the diamond pattern before it’s “completely cool” and put it right back in?
Made this recipe for first time and will use it again. I do hope your insight could help me improve my first effort. It was on the dry side and I feel like there was not the complex flavour I expected. Today tasting leftovers it seemed the chickpea flour or perhaps wheat gluten dominated the flavour. This is not a critique of the recipe. I know there are nuances to seitan so I want to up my game by mastering this one.
Prior to kneading with dough hook it lacked the wet stickiness I expected, but I didn’t know what proportions or wet ingredients would have been the smart choice. Full disclosure I did double the recipe as I am blessed to be #stayinghome with my large extended family.
Thank you so much for your beautiful humane recipes. We have pigs on our sanctuary farm and they are loving, communicative, wonderful beings. #kindeating
I made this for Easter dinner and it was a huge hit with my family. Because we’re inder the COVID19 restrictions, I had to make some adjustments to use what I had on hand. I used water instead of broth and added a teaspoon of red miso for a little extra flavor. And I didn’t have apricot jam for the glaze so I just left that out. The glaze was still wonderful – everyone loved it! I sliced the leftovers thin for sandwiches, and the entire roast was gone in a day. Next time I’m going to make a double batch. Thank you so much for this recipe!
The recipe reads gammon but the title of it is ham; Is it okay to use ham for this recipe? I have never made either and would like to this Christmas 🙂
I plan to make this for Christmas feast. I have a question regarding on step 3 when the recipe reads “brush dough with 1Tbsp of the marinade” is the marinade the Smokey Sweet Maple Glaze?
Oh my! This was so, so good! Thank you for the recipe. I will definitely making this in the future for a family gathering. Tonight was just me …and wow, loving it!
The glaze is really what takes this vegan ham to the next level! I made it to go with our traditional Southern New Year’s Day dinner. In the southern U.S., we celebrate with hoppin’ John (black-eyed peas and rice), collard greens and cornbread. This was a delicious addition to the meal. Thanks for the recipe!
I tried this today and it did not turn out. It was flat, didn’t rise, and tasted like a meatloaf bread. It was mushy. I kneaded by hand, had to sub white flour for chickpea (they don’t sell it near me). I’m so disappointed it didn’t turn out good. We went vegan for health benefits and I miss Christmas ham. I am giving 2 stars because I couldn’t follow the recipe as perfectly instructed (ref the sub flour) but everything else I did on point. I do wish a little more detail or pictures were given during the process. Just a learning curve.
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Janetta that is so disappointing that the recipe didn’t turn out as expected. Perhaps it is because you subbed wheat flour doe chickpea flour. Have you made seitan from scratch before? It can be a bit of a “learning curve” as you so deftly put it. The animals are so lucky that through your compassion you’ve gone plant based. All the best Johanne
Hi! Thank you for this delicious recipe! I do have a question I hope you can answer for me. I made this in 2020 and it came out so well, beautiful and delicious. I made it again last year to bring to our vegan daughters home for Thanksgiving. Honestly, I made it ahead, through step 3, then refrigerated overnight and cooked the next day. It just seemed off, not as good as the prior year. This year she requested two! Should I make it all the way through, then refrigerate? How exactly do I ‘make ahead ‘? Thank you!
I would make ahead and refrigerate as you thought and then I’d pop them in the oven at your daughter’s house. I would continue from step 5 at your daughter’s house. Have a beautiful beautiful time. Oh yes and I’d probably double the amount of glaze just so you could serve some on the side at the table.