Seitan pepperoni - this easy vegan pepperoni is made using vital wheat gluten. It is simple to make, spicy, meaty, delicious and very versatile!
Use it on pizza, in sandwiches, as part of a vegan cheeseboard, in pasta, or just for snacking on.

This vegan seitan pepperoni is much easier to make than you might think, and is a great versatile meat replacement that is high in protein, has a meaty texture and a great spicy flavour.
Seitan (also known as wheat meat) is such a great vegan protein source, containing around 75g of protein per 100g of seitan. It is also a good source of iron.
It can be prepared in so many different ways and takes on flavours really well so you can easily customise it to suit you, and use it to replace pretty much any kind of meat you want! Hail seitan!
What Do I Need To Make Seitan Pepperoni?:
Vital wheat gluten: This is the essential ingredient for making seitan. It is the protein from wheat and looks just like flour, but when made into a dough and cooked it has a chewy, meaty texture. It can easily be found online.
Gram flour: I much prefer the texture of seitan made with some added gram (chickpea) flour, also known as besan. I don't think there is a good substitute for this.
Spices: Pepperoni is a spicy, flavourful meat. It commonly contains paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic, fennel seeds and pepper so I included all of those, as well as some chilli flakes, mustard seeds and onion granules for good measure.
Feel free to switch up the spices to suit you.
Nutritional yeast: Adds savoury flavour.
Tomato puree: (Tomato paste in the US). This provides moisture, flavour and colour.
Soy sauce: Provides flavour and saltiness.
Vegan worcestershire sauce: Traditional worcestershire sauce isn't vegan as it contains anchovies so make sure that you use a vegan version. I use Henderson's Relish and you can also make your own.
If you can't get hold of any then you can use more soy sauce.
Olive oil: It is important to add a bit of fat to prevent the pepperoni from being dry. You can use any kind of oil that you like.
Stock: I use Marigold vegetable bouillon but you can use a vegan friendly beef flavoured stock for a more 'meaty' flavour if you want.
Maple syrup: Most pepperoni recipes I looked at for inspiration contained sugar, so I added a dash of maple syrup. You can use agave instead, or just omit it.
How To Make Seitan Pepperoni:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Sift the vital wheat gluten and gram flour into a large bowl. Roughly crush the fennel and mustard seeds using a pestle and mortar and add to the bowl along with the rest of the spices.
In a large jug, whisk together the stock, tomato puree, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, olive oil and maple syrup.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until no dry lumps remain. It should form a soft dough.
Divide the dough in half. Use your hands to roll each half into a log about 4 cm/1 ½ in thick.
Place one of the logs on a sheet of baking parchment and roll it up tightly inside the parchment. Twist the ends to seal it in.
Roll the parchment lined log up inside a sheet of tin foil. Twist the ends tightly to seal it in. Repeat with the other half of dough.
Bring some water in a steamer pan up to the boil then add the wrapped logs to the steamer basket. Place the lid on the pan and steam for 45 minutes, checking halfway through and adding more boiling water to the pan if necessary.
Once cooked, the logs should feel firm. Allow to cool before unwrapping and serving as you like. The pepperoni can be eaten as it is, or used in recipes.
Top Tips:
Don't knead the dough as that will make the pepperoni tough; just mix it until it is fully combined and there are no dry patches.
It is important to sift the vital wheat gluten and gram flour otherwise they can form lumps which are difficult to break up.
I highly, highly recommend weighing out the vital wheat gluten and gram flour rather than using the cup conversions. You will get a far better, more consistent result. Cups are a very innaccurate measuring system and you may end up with dough that is either too wet or too dry.
If you are using the pepperoni as a pizza topping, spray or brush it with a little bit of oil before baking to prevent it from drying out.
The recipe makes two logs of seitan pepperoni. I like to cut one into slices and freeze it for future quick meals.
You will need a steamer pan or insert to make this recipe.
How To Use Seitan Pepperoni:
- On pizza
- In sandwiches
- As part of a cheeseboard
- Chopped up and added to tomato pasta sauce or mac and cheese
- As a snack
- In pizza flavoured stromboli, babka, pull apart bread or monkey bread
- Added to tofu scramble
- Tossed in a salad
How To Store It:
This seitan pepperoni can be kept well wrapped in the fridge for around 5 days.
It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost in the fridge before serving.
Can I Make It Gluten-Free?:
No. The vital wheat gluten is THE essential ingredient to make seitan, it cannot be substituted so unfortunately this recipe cannot be made gluten-free.
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
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Seitan Pepperoni (Vegan)
Equipment
- steamer pan or insert
- tin foil and baking parchment
Ingredients
- 150 g (1 ¼ cups) vital wheat gluten
- 40 g (⅓ cup) gram (chickpea) flour
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder or granules
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion granules
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- a good grinding of black pepper
- 180 ml (¾ cup) stock (I make mine with 1 teaspoon Marigold vegetable bouillon)
- 60 g (¼ cup) tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon vegan worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Sift the vital wheat gluten and gram flour into a large bowl. Add the nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, garlic and onion granules, cayenne and chilli flakes.
- Roughly crush the fennel and mustard seeds using a pestle and mortar and add to the bowl along with a good grinding of black pepper. Stir everything together well.
- In a large jug, whisk together the stock, tomato puree, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, olive oil and maple syrup.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until no dry lumps remain. It should form a soft dough.
- Divide the dough evenly in half (I use a scale for accuracy). Use your hands to roll each half into a log about 4 cm/1 ½ in thick.
- Place one of the logs on a sheet of baking parchment and roll it up tightly inside the parchment. Twist the ends tightly to seal it in.
- Roll the parchment lined log up inside a sheet of tin foil. Twist the ends tightly to seal it in. Repeat with the other half of dough.
- Bring some water in a steamer pan up to the boil then add the wrapped logs to the steamer basket. Place the lid on the pan and steam for 45 minutes, checking halfway through and adding more boiling water to the pan if necessary.
- Once cooked, the logs should feel firm. Allow to cool before unwrapping and serving as you like. The pepperoni can be eaten as it is, or used in recipes.
Notes
- I highly, highly recommend weighing out the vital wheat gluten and gram flour rather than using the cup conversions. You will get a far better, more consistent result.
- You will need a steamer pan or insert to make this recipe.
- See post above for tips, details, storage instructions and step-by-step photos.
Keith Johnson
This was an amazingly easy recipe and the taste is better than the real thing!
Julie
This worked so well!! I sliced one of the pepperonis and froze the slices - perfect for a quick sandwich/pizza.
Leif Lindström
Probably the best pepperoni I ever have had. I need to make double batches since it is all too good. Thanks for sharing this!
astra
I thought this would be messy and a faff to make, but it was actually very easy. I found I had a few ingredients missing- some of the tomato puree, nutritional yeast, Worcester sauce, garlic powder and maple syrup. So I improvised by blending sun-dried tomatoes, miso, garlic and balsamic vinegar. It came out really nice, much nicer than the quite expensive premade stuff I've been buying. I'll definitely be making more batches. Thank you