The Best Glazed Vegan Ham Recipe for the Holidays
Nov 16, 2021 • Updated Sep 11, 2023
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Make the best Vegan Ham that’s stunning and delicious this holiday season! It has a savory dairy-free and gluten-free gravy that will wow your guests. The flavors and textures really replicate the real thing.
What is Vegan Ham?
Vegan ham is a plant-based alternative to traditional real ham, made without any animal products! It replicates the appearance, texture, and taste of ham using ingredients tofu.
If you’re eating a vegetarian or vegan diet, this is a great option for a holiday meal!
What Makes This Recipe Great
During the holidays, it can be especially hard to find vegan and gluten-free options, especially when it comes to entrees. While you may find dairy-free side dishes and the occasional gluten-free dessert (my favorites are Butternut Squash Snickerdoodle Cookies), most holiday entrees are meat-based.
That’s why I’m excited for you to try this beautifully glazed Vegan Ham this holiday season. It’s full of savory flavors from soy sauce and nutritional yeast, a great meaty texture, and even has a smooth and delicious vegan gravy to spoon on top.
It makes it the perfect centerpiece for your holiday feast or a special occasion!
Ingredient Notes
You need nothing special or hard to find to make this vegan holiday recipe. Everything can be sourced from your local grocery stores. See the full list of ingredients in the printable recipe card below.
- Tofu. This is our main ingredient. Make sure to use high-protein tofu, which has less water and a better texture for the ham.
- Tamari. You can also use gluten-free soy sauce.
- Lime juice.
- Garlic, onion powder, and smoked paprika for savoriness.
- Liquid smoke. A little goes a long way here! This has an amazing smoky flavor and gives the ham a little natural smoke flavor!
- Nutritional yeast. My favorite dairy-free ingredient for umami flavor.
- Sugar. You can use organic cane sugar, coconut, or brown sugar.
Vegan Gravy
Don’t forget the savory gravy on this tofu ham. It’s so easy to make and will easily be the star of the show at your holiday table. You’ll need these ingredients:
- Vegetable broth. Make your own or use low-sodium store-bought broth.
- Garlic and onion powder
- Tamari or gluten-free soy sauce
- Nutritional yeast
- Fresh thyme. You can also use dried in a pinch.
- Cornstarch. A great gluten-free thickener for gravy.
How to Make Vegan Ham
The first step in this recipe is to marinate the tofu. This way, the high-protein tofu will absorb the flavors from soy sauce, lime, and your seasonings. Tofu is like a sponge, so every bite will be packed with flavor if you give it enough time to marinate.
Scoring the tofu also helps with this. Just make sure not to cut too deep, as you want your ham to stay in one piece!
After marinating, reserve the extra marinade to glaze your tofu ham. While the ham bakes, you’ll simmer the marinade until it’s thick and shiny, then use this to paint your tofu for a nice caramelized flavor on the edges.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Start by preparing your tofu to marinate. Gently pat dry with a kitchen towel and with a sharp knife, make diagonal cuts across the top of the tofu block in both directions to form an x pattern throughout. Be sure not to cut too far into the tofu. It should just be a light score.
- Whisk together your glaze ingredients: tamari, lime juice, garlic and onion powder, liquid smoke, paprika, nutritional yeast, and black pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Place your tofu blocks in an airtight container and pour marinade on top. Allow to marinate for about 1 hour, then flip the tofu to ensure all sides are exposed to the marinade.
- Preheat your oven to 375F and line a baking tray or casserole dish with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. Add your remaining marinade to a small saucepan and add sugar. Cook on low heat until sugar is dissolved, whisking constantly, then bring to a low simmer and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Brush all sides of your tofu with your simmered marinade glaze and pop into the oven to bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush all sides again with marinade, and bake again for 5 minutes. Repeat once more, brushing and baking for 5 minutes this time.
- Remove your tofu from the oven and give it one more light brush of marinade using a blowtorch. Lightly torch to caramelize and char further.
- Add veggie broth to a small saucepan and bring to a low simmer.
- In a small bowl or ramekin, whisk a few tablespoons of your hot broth and cornstarch until dissolved to create a slurry. Add this mixture into the saucepan and whisk.
- Next, add garlic powder, onion powder, tamari, nutritional yeast, and fresh thyme. Whisk over medium heat until the mixture reduces and thickens, and you end up with a gravy-like texture.
- Season with salt and pepper as needed, and enjoy!
Secrets to Success
- Tofu recipe method adapted from PlantBasedRD’s Brown Sugar Glazed Tofu
- High protein tofu is extremely dense and firmer than extra firm tofu! Please use this variety of tofu–silken, soft, or regular firm tofu will not work. Extra firm/super firm tofu might work, but high protein tofu is the easiest to work with.
Serving Tips
- To serve, simply slice the ham into thick pieces and drizzle with gravy. On the side, add Creamy Cashew Broccoli Salad and Garlic Mashed Cauliflower.
- Serve this for any holiday or special occasion. Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and more.
Storage Tips
- Store this leftover vegan ham roast in airtight containers for up to four days. You can reheat them on the stove or in the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
Some recipes call for Seitan which is vital wheat gluten made from wheat protein (it’s also called “wheat meat”). Seitan ham has a meat-like texture and is high in protein, but unfortunately, it’s not gluten-free. For this recipe, I use high-protein tofu, which is firmer than extra firm! It’s both vegan and gluten-free.
More Vegan Holiday Recipes
Outfit your holiday table with more vegan and gluten-free side dishes, entrees, and desserts. Here’s what I’ll serve this ham with:
Gingerbread Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Triple Chocolate Hot Chocolate
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know what you think with a star rating and comment below! Follow me on Instagram for more delicious recipes!
The Best Glazed Vegan Ham Recipe for the Holidays
Ingredients
- Tofu “Ham”
- 2 16 oz blocks of high protein tofu*
- 1/2 cup tamari or gluten free soy sauce
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- crack of black pepper
- 1/3 cup sugar you can use light brown sugar or coconut sugar
- Simple Vegan Gravy
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Marinate your tofu
- Start by preparing your tofu to marinate. Gently pat dry with a kitchen towel and make diagonal cuts across the top of the tofu block in both directions to form an x pattern throughout. Be sure not to cut too far into the tofu, it should just be a light score.
- Whisk together tamari, lime juice, garlic and onion powder, liquid smoke, paprika, nutritional yeast and black pepper until smooth. Place your tofu blocks in an airtight container and pour marinade on top. Allow to marinate for about 1 hour, then flip the tofu to ensure all sides are exposed to the marinade.
- Bake your tofu
- Preheat your oven to 375F and line a baking tray with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. Add your remaining marinade to a small sauce pan and add sugar. Cook on low heat until sugar is dissolved, whisking constantly, then bring to a low simmer and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Brush all sides of your tofu with your simmered marinade and pop into the oven to bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush all sides again with marinade and bake again for 5 minutes. Repeat once more, brushing and baking for 5 minutes this time.
- Remove your tofu from the oven and give it one more light brush of marinade and using a blowtorch, lightly torch to caramelize and char further.
- Making simple vegan gravy
- Add veggie broth to a small sauce pan and bring to a low simmer.
- In a small ramekin or bowl, whisk a few tablespoons of your hot broth and cornstarch until dissolved to create a slurry. Add this mixture into the sauce pan and whisk.
- Next add garlic powder, onion powder, tamari, nutritional yeast and fresh thyme. Whisk over medium heat until the mixture reduces and thickens and you end up with a gravy-like texture.
- Season with salt and pepper as needed and enjoy!
Notes
Secrets to Success
- Tofu recipe method adapted from PlantBasedRD’s Brown Sugar Glazed Tofu
- High protein tofu is extremely dense and firmer than extra firm tofu! Please use this variety of tofu–silken, soft, or regular firm tofu will not work. Extra firm/super firm tofu might work, but high protein tofu is the easiest to work with.
Serving Tips
- To serve, simply slice the ham into thick pieces and drizzle with gravy. On the side, add Creamy Cashew Broccoli Salad and Garlic Mashed Cauliflower.
- Serve this for any holiday or special occasion. Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and more.
Storage Tips
- Store this leftover vegan ham roast in airtight containers for up to four days. You can reheat them on the stove or in the microwave.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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