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This homemade vegan salami is tender, chewy, and full of bold flavor from peppercorn and mustard seed. Made with seitan (vital wheat gluten), it’s perfect for slicing thin and adding to sandwiches, snack platters, or your favorite plant-based charcuterie board.
While delicious on its own, this vegan deli meat can be elevated with an optional tofu swirl that creates a marbled look…just like traditional salami.
Why You’ll Love this Vegan Salami
At the moment, there’s seriously a lack of vegan deli meats available in stores. Hopefully, that will change in the near future, but right now, I’m not able to easily find store-bought pepperoni, salami, pastrami, etc.
If you’ve been following for a while, you know I love making vegan ‘meats’. My vegan steak and seitan beef are both reader favorites, so I thought it was time to make a plant-based salami. If you’re craving some vegan-friendly deli meat then this recipe is for you! Here are a few notes from my test kitchen:
Emily’s Recipe Notes:
- Flavor: Smoky, savory, and spiced with a peppercorn crust.
- Texture: Chewy, tender and sliceable, with optional tofu marbling that looks like it came from a deli.
- Difficulty: Intermediate, but I’ve done my best to make it approachable!
What is seitan?
If you’ve never heard of seitan, it’s a protein-rich food that is an excellent vegetarian meat replacement. The main ingredient in it is vital wheat gluten. You can learn all about it and the basics of how to make it in my Beginner’s Guide to Seitan.
Ingredients
Key Ingredients & Why They Work
If the ingredients list for this vegan salami looks intimidating, don’t worry! Most of the ingredients in this recipe are spices or flavorings. Vital wheat gluten is similar to tofu in that it takes on the flavor of anything you chose to mix with it, which is why all of the flavorings in this recipe are necessary.
Meat-based salami is usually cured or air-dried and flavored with white pepper, herbs, vinegar, and sometimes wine. To bring in that smoky, umami flavor, we’re using the following main ingredients:
vital wheat gluten
The brand of vital wheat gluten I use in this recipe is Anthony’s. I love that I can buy a huge bag of this online, making it super affordable (plus it lasts a long time).
You can also find vital wheat gluten in most grocery stores. Usually Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten is the brand I see in stores. It comes in smaller bags and is much more expensive than Anthony’s.
Red Beets, Tomato Paste & Red Wine
This recipe has a few key ingredients to help color the seitan and give it a very tender texture. Red beets, tomato paste, and red wine add rich flavor and color to the salami. You can omit the beets if you’d like, but just know the color will be more brown than red.
If you don’t want to use red wine, it can be substituted with veggie stock, but some of the rich flavors won’t be present. It’s important to note that not all wines are vegan.
How To Make Seitan Salami
This recipe is fairly simple, especially if you measure out all of your ingredients prior to starting.
Accurately measuring the ingredients of this recipe will help ensure the ‘meat’ texture is exactly the way it should be. Incorrect measurements of the ingredients can alter the texture of the vegan salami.
Using a digital scale is an easy way to measure the ingredients, plus they’re usually pretty inexpensive. This is the scale I’ve been using which I love.
Make the Vegan Salami Dough
Add the wet ingredients to a high speed blender or food processor.
Blend until smooth and no large chunks of beets remain.
Mix the vital wheat gluten and dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the bowl.
Mix the wet and dry together to form a soft dough.
Lightly knead the dough for 1 minute by hand, then flatten the dough into a rectangle about 4” wide and 6” long.
Shape the Seitan
Take 1 tsp of the white “fat” mixture and roll it into a long strip as wide as the red “meat”. Place the strip onto the red seitan. Repeat with the rest of the white seitan mixture.
Roll the red seitan up tightly, lengthwise, and pinch the edges together to form a log.
Wrap the salami log tightly with aluminum foil, twisting the ends of the foil. Bake the salami at 350F for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
In a small baking dish, mix the black pepper, white pepper, salt and rice flour for the pepper crust together. After the salami has baked and cooled slightly, roll the log into the crust.
Serving & Storage
Salami typically has pepper coating or a crust that is developed during the curing process. To replicate this crust, I recommend rolling the baked salami log in a pepper coating. This coating is made with a little white pepper, black pepper, salt, and rice flour (or a gluten-free flour blend).
Once rolled in the peppercorn crust, you can slice and use in sandwiches and more!
Storage Tips
- Fridge: You can keep this vegan salami in the fridge in an air-tight container for about 5 days. Seitan has a tendency to dry out in the fridge, so if you plan on storing it longer than that I recommend freezing the cooked salami.
- Freezer: To freeze the seitan, wrap the whole salami log, or pre-cut slices tightly in plastic wrap and then wrap with aluminum foil or place in a freezer-proof baggie.
- Reheating: The seitan can be reheated by thawing it on 50% power in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Cooking Notes & Substitutions
Frequently Asked Questions
Vegan salami is typically made with seitan (vital wheat gluten), spices, and sometimes tofu or beets to replicate traditional deli meat flavor and texture. This is a seitan recipe so it’s made with vital wheat gluten.
Yes! Since it’s made with seitan, this vegan salami is packed with plant-based protein. This makes it a great substitute for sandwiches and deli-meat.
No steamer needed! This recipe is baked, which simplifies the process while keeping the seitan tender.
More Vegan Meat Recipes
Homemade Vegan Salami
Rate this RecipeIngredients
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup red wine, 100g- vegan-friendly
- 3 tbsp olive oil, 30g
- 1 tsp liquid smoke, 8g – optional
- 1 tbsp soy sauce, 10g
- ¼ cup tomato paste, 60g
- 1 tbsp diced & peeled raw red beets, 12g- optional but recommended
- 2 tbsp water
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten, 125g, spoon & leveled – don’t scoop directly from the bag
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 tsp salt
Optional Marble Center
- 2 tbsp firm tofu, 40g, drained and lightly pressed
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten, 20g
Optional Peppercorn Crust
- 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp white pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp rice flour, or gluten free flour blend
Instructions
Make the Optional White Marble
- In a mini food processor or a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the marble swirl. Set aside while preparing the other ingredients.2 tbsp firm tofu, 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten, ½ tsp salt
Make the Vegan Salami Dough
- Blend Wet Ingredients: In a high-speed blender, add all the wet ingredients. Blend on high for 1 minute until the beet is completely incorporated and there are no large chunks.½ cup red wine, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp liquid smoke, 1 tbsp soy sauce, ¼ cup tomato paste, 1 tbsp diced & peeled raw red beets, 2 tbsp water
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center, and pour the wet ingredients into the bowl. Mix the wet and dry together to form a soft dough.1 cup vital wheat gluten, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp caraway seeds, 1 tsp salt
- Knead Dough: Lightly knead the dough for 1 minute by hand, then flatten the dough into a rectangle about 4” wide and 6” long.
Shape the Salami
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the Marble: Take 1 tsp of the marble mixture and roll it into a long strip as wide as the red “meat” (about 4” long). Place the strip onto the red seitan. Repeat with the rest of the white seitan mixture, placing the strips about ¼” inch from each other. (See the photos in the post above)
- Roll into a Log: Roll the seitan rectangle up tightly, lengthwise, and pinch the edges together to form a log. Wrap Well: Wrap the salami log tightly with aluminum foil, twisting the ends of the foil. If you prefer, you can wrap the salami with parchment paper first, then cover it with aluminum foil.
- Prep Baking Dish & Steam: Place the wrapped salami into a square baking dish. Fill a small ramekin or oven-safe bowl with 1-2” of water, and place the ramekin into the baking dish with the salami. This will help create steam in the oven and will help keep the salami moist while baking.
- Bake & Cool: Bake the salami at 350°F for 1 hour and 30 minutes. When the salami is done baking, remove it from the oven, and let it cool for 20 minutes in the foil before unwrapping it.
To Make the Pepper Crust:
- In a small baking dish, mix all the ingredients for the pepper crust together. After the salami has baked and cooled slightly, roll the log into the crust.1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 tbsp white pepper, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp rice flour
- The salami is now ready to slice and serve! If you prefer a harder “meat”, wrap the salami in plastic wrap or parchment paper and place it in the fridge overnight to set up further.
Video
Recipe notes
- Red Wine: substitute veggie stock
- Liquid Smoke: substitute vegan Worcestershire sauce
- Not all wines are vegan. You can use Barnivore.com to check and see if your wine is vegan-friendly.
Did You Make This?
Leave a star rating and a comment below to let others know how it turned out for you!
Categories:
Basics, Seitan, Sides & Snacks, Vegan Comfort Food, Vegan Meats, Vegan Proteins, Vegan Recipes,
Not sure about aluminum foil use even though it is over parchmant. I have put my mix in a stocking and tied the ends. Works well when steaming or in boiling water.
Hi Maple! That sounds like it should work. I’ve also seen people wrap seitan in a cheesecloth instead of foil.
This sounds great. I’m wondering if I can use beet powder in place of the beets and if so how much would I use? I’m guessing the amount of fresh beets in grams would be too much for the powder.
Hi there! I haven’t tested this with beet powder but I bet it would work since the beets are primarily for color in this recipe. I would start with around 1 tsp of beet powder and see how it affects the color. If you give it a try, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Amazing texture and flavor. Have tried so many variations of vegan deli meat this is by far my favorite. Recipe is so easy which is added benefit
Hi Amy, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
phenomenal! will probably make double batch every week now. immersion blender worked perfectly for the liquid part.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!