Smoky Vegan Ham with Maple Mustard Glaze
This amazing Vegan Ham recipe boasts a smoky umami flavor with a great meaty texture and the perfect maple mustard glaze. A plant-based, high-protein recipe that makes the perfect centerpiece for holidays or any special occasion. And, it’s great for hearty ham sandwiches the next day.
Move over traditional ham, there’s a new kid in town! This one tastes similar to the real thing but without the cruelty or animal products. If you’re looking for vegan meats or mains to serve for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, or just looking for the perfect vegan ham sandwich, this plant-based ham loaf is a must-try.
Like my Vegan Mushroom Wellington and Vegan Lentil Loaf, this mock ham recipe is super easy to make, low calorie and low fat. It’s just what you need to make your holiday season complete.
Vegan Ham Ingredients with Substitutions
- Vital Wheat Gluten – along with chickpea flour, this is an essential ingredient for this seitan vegan ham roast. There is no substitution for this one.
- Chickpea Flour – provides binding, structure and even more protein in vegan ham, helping the ingredients hold together.
- Nutritional Yeast – adds a slight nutty flavor with an extra boost of nutrition. if you don’t have it, you can omit.
- Smoked Paprika – or regular paprika.
- Vegan Ham Broth Base – this is my all time favorite seasoning for vegan ham; however, you can sub with 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp onion powder
- White Pepper – adds a sharp, earthy flavor
- Ground Cloves – mimics the sweet, spicy flavor of traditional holiday ham.
- Beet Powder – optional, but adds color. You can sub with beet puree from one small cooked beet.
- Vegetable Broth – provides moisture; can sub with plant milk.
- Olive Oil – adds moisture. Any neutral oil will do.
- Miso Paste – optional, but adds a bold umami flavor
- Soy Sauce – can sub with Tamari.
- Maple Syrup – this is used in the wet ingredients, as well as part of the glaze ingredients. Can sub with date syrup or agave nectar.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – helps balance any potential gluten taste. Can sub with white vinegar or rice vinegar.
- Liquid Smoke – gives the ham, as well as the glaze, a traditional smoky flavor.
- Tomato Paste – can sub with ketchup.
- Dijon Mustard – used in the maple mustard glaze. Any mustard will work.
- Coconut Sugar – sub with brown sugar
- Garnish – whole cloves, dried orange slices and sprigs of fresh rosemary (I use rosemary from my own garden).
Exact ingredient measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Apply a thin veil of oil or cooking spray to a loaf pan or baking dish. Alternatively, you can line it with parchment paper.
1. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, and all spices (smoked paprika, vegan ham broth seasoning, cloves, beet powder). Whisk thoroughly.
2. Mix Wet Ingredients: In a bowl, mix together vegetable broth, olive oil, miso paste, soy sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, liquid smoke, and tomato paste. Blend until smooth.
3. Make the Dough: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir until it forms a dough. Knead by hand for about 3 minutes to activate the gluten. It should become stretchy but not too dry. If it’s too wet, add a bit more wheat gluten; if too dry, a splash of plant milk.
4. Shape the dough: into a ham-shaped loaf (like an oval or rectangle). Wrap tightly in foil. Steam on the stovetop in a large pot with a steamer basket (I used a taco stand so anything that works as a barrier between the water and the ham loaf is fine) for 30 minutes making sure the wrapped loaf doesn’t touch the water.
5. Make the glaze: add maple syrup, Dijon mustard, liquid smoke, coconut sugar and soy sauce to a small bowl. Mix well.
6. Glaze & Bake: use a sharp knife to cut a diamond pattern in the top of the loaf. To do this, make diagonal slices length-wise, then turn it a quarter turn and make diagonal slices the rest of the way (tip: use a measuring tape to make them even). Add whole cloves and pour half the marinade over the entire ham. Bake covered for 25 minutes, basting every 10 minutes. Remove cover for the last 5 minutes of baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing, thick or thin. If you want, garnish with dried orange slices and fresh rosemary. Serve hot or cold with your favorite Thanksgiving sides.
Tips
- This vegan ham slices beautifully and makes great leftovers for vegan ham sandwiches (make them on these vegan buttermilk biscuits), breakfast scrambles or chop up slices to sub for vegan bacon in this JUST Egg Frittata.
- To get nice, thin slices, allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, slice with very sharp chef’s knife, then reheat before serving.
- Watch the water level in the pot while steaming and add more as needed.
- Please remember: while this vegan ham recipe has a delicious, smoky flavor and chewy texture similar to real ham, it is not comparable (and we don’t want it to be, right?) It provides an alternative to a traditional holiday ham using mock meat but still remaining 100% vegan.
- To make your diamond pattern even, use a measuring tape and measure 1 inch between slices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vegan ham is usually made from a mix of high-protein plant ingredients that give it a chewy texture and rich flavor. A simple version — like mine — is made with:
vital wheat gluten, which gives it that firm, meaty bite, chickpea flour, which softens the texture and adds plant-based protein, and beet powder, which adds a natural pink color without artificial dyes
From there, most people add savory ingredients like soy sauce, garlic, smoked paprika, and something a little sweet — like maple syrup or brown sugar — to get that classic ham-style flavor. A glaze baked on at the end gives it that shiny, caramelized finish.
So in short: it’s a plant-based roast that’s built to look, taste, and feel like ham — without the animal products or complicated extras.
Yes, you can make it up to 3 days ahead. When I make it ahead, I wrap it in foil, steam it, let it cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator still wrapped on a plate. When you’re ready to bake it, remove the foil, slice the recommended “diamond” pattern, glaze and bake.
I have done it both ways. When baking uncovered, the maple syrup in the glaze that drips off into the baking dish tends to char. If you want to avoid this, cover when baking for the first 25 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 5 minutes before removing from the oven.
I have made it once without steaming and did not care for the texture. I highly recommend following the recipe which requires a 30 minute steam bath prior to baking!
Storage, Freezing and Reheating
- Refrigerator – stove leftover vegan ham in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer – wrap individual slices or the whole ham loaf in plastic wrap. Store in freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating – to reheat from frozen, allow to thaw in refrigerator overnight. Cover and reheat in the oven (recommended), on the stovetop or in the microwave before serving with your favorite delicious sides.
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve my vegan ham for breakfast with my favorite Gingerbread Pancakes with toasted buckwheat and orange zest. Here are some other suggestions:
- Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
- Vegan Croissant Stuffing
- Vegan Cranberry Sauce
- Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes with Vegan Gravy
- Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts
- Grilled Asparagus with Vegan Hollandaise Sauce
More Popular Vegan Mains
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Vegan Ham Recipe
Ingredients
For the Ham Base
- 1.5 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp vegan ham broth seasoning
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp beet powder optional; adds color
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth substitute with plant milk of your choice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp white miso paste optional; add bold umami flavor
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp tomato paste sub with ketchup
For the Maple Mustard Glaze
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar sub with brown sugar
- 1 tsp soy sauce sub tamarii
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
Instructions
- Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Apply a thin veil of oil or cooking spray to a loaf pan or baking dish. Alternatively, you can line it with parchment paper.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, and all spices (smoked paprika, vegan ham broth seasoning, cloves, beet powder). Whisk thoroughly.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a bowl, mix together vegetable broth, olive oil, miso paste, soy sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, liquid smoke, and tomato paste. Blend until smooth.
- Make the Dough: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir until it forms a dough. Knead by hand for about 3 minutes to activate the gluten. It should become stretchy but not too dry. If it’s too wet, add a bit more wheat gluten; if too dry, a splash of veggie broth or plant milk.
- Shape the dough: into a ham-shaped loaf (like an oval or rectangle). Wrap tightly in foil. Steam on the stovetop in a large pot with a steamer basket (I used a taco stand so anything that works as a barrier between the water and the ham loaf is fine) for 30 minutes making sure the wrapped loaf doesn’t touch the water.
- Make the glaze: add maple syrup, Dijon mustard, liquid smoke, coconut sugar and soy sauce to a small bowl. Mix well.
- Glaze & Bake: use a sharp knife to cut a diamond pattern in the top of the loaf. To do this, make diagonal slices length-wise, then turn it a quarter turn and make diagonal slices the rest of the way (tip: use a measuring tape to make them even). Add whole cloves and pour half the marinade over the entire ham. Bake covered for 25 minutes, basting every 10 minutes. Remove cover for the last 5 minutes of baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing, thick or thin. Garnish with dried orange slices and fresh rosemary. Serve hot or cold with your favorite Thanksgiving sides.
Notes
- This vegan ham slices beautifully and makes great leftovers for vegan ham sandwiches (make them on these vegan buttermilk biscuits), breakfast scrambles or chop up slices to sub for vegan bacon in this JUST Egg Frittata.
- To get nice, thin slices, allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, slice with very sharp chef’s knife, then reheat before serving.
- Watch the water level in the pot while steaming and add more as needed.
- Please remember: while this vegan ham recipe has a delicious, smoky flavor and chewy texture similar to real ham, it is not comparable (and we don’t want it to be, right). It provides an alternative to a traditional holiday ham using mock meat but still remaining 100% vegan.
- To make your diamond pattern even, use a measuring tape and measure 1 inch between slices.
This vegan ham recipe is wildly impressive — it mimics the texture and flavor of traditional ham using high-protein ingredients. It’s a standout for holiday or special-occasion plant-based meals.
I like that it freezes well so I froze a bunch for the holidays after making it this time again. Thanks Tisha.
Tried smoky vegan ham with maple mustard glaze — flavorful, tender, and plant-based!
Happy you enjoyed it Claudia. Thanks much.
this ham is so flavorful, i would never imagine it to be entirely plant-based.
this ham is so flavorful! love that it is vegan
Thank you Leah. Glad you enjoyed it.
This looks incredible! Love how thoughtful the ingredients and glaze are. Definitely trying this for the holidays.
A delicious vegan option for our holiday buffet! Thanks for the excellent recipe.
You’re welcome, thanks Liz.
I really enjoyed this recipe! The maple glaze was so delicious and I loved how easily it all came together!
I love the maple glaze too. Thank you Leslie.
This vegan ham recipe is intriguing. The plant-based take on a holiday classic that promises flavor, texture, and festive appeal without the meat
Thanks Tisha.
this vegan ham recipe is so delicious! love that it is plant-based and flavor packed.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it. Hope you make it again soon. Thanks Nicole.
Love how you layered smoky, sweet, and savory flavor. It’s hard to believe this is plant-based. Can’t wait to try it for my next family gathering!
It is so good, you’ll love it. Thanks Jet.