This spicy vegan salami is made from meaty seitan and seasoned to perfection. It’s surprisingly easy to make a homemade vegan salami that’s perfect for sandwiches or snacks. This peppery vegetarian salami is sure to be your new favorite vegan deli meat!

A log of vegan salami on a cutting board with some slices cut off of it.

Want to save this recipe?

Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, get more amazing vegan recipes that will satisfy your cravings!

Save Recipe

Vegan salami is made with seasoned wheat gluten that is then cooked into a meat substitute with an authentic taste and texture. This recipe is similar to my vegan pepperoni, vegan summer sausage, and vegan Italian sausage recipes. Seitan salami is easy to make and can be whipped up in about 10 minutes (plus cooking time).

You can dice up this plant-based salami and use it in things like vegan lasagna, stuffed peppers, or pasta salad. It’s a also great addition to a vegan charcuterie board along with some vegan cheese.

🧾 Ingredients and substitutions

Wet ingredients and spices

  • Refined Coconut Oil – for a rich flavor and fatty mouthfeel of traditional salami. You can omit it if you want it to be oil-free. I put a little extra coconut oil in the salami to simulate the fat pockets in a traditional salami. You can choose to do this or omit this step.
  • Smoked Paprika – you can also use regular paprika plus 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke.
  • Red Pepper Flakes – you can adjust the amount to control the level of spice.
  • Fresh Ground Black Pepper – it’s important to use fresh ground for the best flavor.  You can swap it out for regular black pepper, but it won’t be quite as flavorful.
  • Cayenne Pepper – for extra spice. You can leave it out if you don’t want it too spicy.
  • Onion Powder– for flavor.
  • Garlic Powder – for flavor.
  • Fresh Garlic – for more flavor.
  • Water – or low-sodium vegetable broth
  • Salt – for flavor. Feel free to cut the salt in half for a lower-sodium salami.
  • Soy Sauce – or you can swap it out with 1 tablespoon of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.
  • Ketchup – for flavor and a slight sweetness.  You can also use tomato paste and a little sugar.
  • White Beans – you can use any type of bean that you want, but the small chunks of white beans will give a look of salami.

Dry ingredients

  • Vital Wheat Gluten – this is a high-protein gluten flour.  You must use wheat gluten and no other type of flour to get the salami to work with this method.  There is no gluten-free swap for this. You can find it at most major grocery stores, but I like to order a large bag from Amazon to make lots of seitan recipes.

🔪 Helpful tools for making seitan

  • Aluminum Foil – to wrap the salami before steaming. (If you don’t want your seitan to touch the foil, you can wrap it in parchment paper before wrapping it in foil.
  • Steaming Pot – a pot with a built-in steamer basket is the easiest to use, but you can use any type of steamer basket large enough to fit the salami links.

Many of my seitan recipes like vegan ham, vegan turkey, vegan hot dogs, or vegan beef require a blender or a food processor to blend the beans and broth, but for this recipe, I like to simply mash the beans instead of blending.

A close up of vegan salami slices on a cutting board.

🥄 How to make vegan salami

Step 1 – In a small saucepan, warm the oil over low heat and add the smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, minced garlic, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Step 2 – Stir the spices around in the warm oil and let the flavors bloom for about 3 minutes, then remove from heat.  (Be sure to only warm the oil and not burn the spices.)

Step 3 – Add water, ketchup, soy sauce, and salt, and stir well.

Step 4 – Add 1/2 cup of white beans to the broth, mash them up with a fork, and stir them into the broth.

Step 5 – Mix in 3/4 cup of the vital wheat gluten with a silicon spatula, then knead in the remaining 1/4 cup of wheat gluten with your hands until you have a firm dough.

A collage of 4 images that show the process of making a seasoned broth and adding wheat gluten to make seitan salami.

Step 6 – Spread the wheat gluten dough out flat and drop small pieces of very cold coconut oil on it. (This will simulate the fat in a traditional salami.) Then roll the gluten to trap the pieces in the center of the salami. (You can omit this step for a lower-fat vegan salami.)

Step 7 – Shape the seitan salami into a smooth log and wrap it tightly in foil.  (You can wrap it in a layer of parchment before wrapping it in foil if you don’t want the foil to touch your food.)

A collage of 4 images showing adding coconut oil to the seitan and then wrapping it up to make a faux salami from wheat gluten.

Step 8 – Place the wrapped seitan into a steamer basket and steam for 50 minutes (or steam for 40 minutes in a pressure cooker and let the steam release naturally).

Step 9 – Allow it to cool completely and store in the fridge until ready to slice and eat. (You can eat it warm, but it will become denser as it cools.)

👩🏻‍🍳 Pro tips for making seitan

  • Vital wheat gluten is a very fine powder and it gets messy fast.  When adding the flour, hold the measuring cup low in the bowl so you don’t have a cloud of powder.
  • Feel free to adjust the spices to your taste. This is a spicy deli “meat,” so if you don’t like it too spicy, cut the red pepper flakes in half and omit the cayenne.
  • If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can use a small amount of water and place jelly jar rings at the bottom of your pot to lift the salami up out of the water.  Just check and refill the water as needed.
  • Wash your bowl and utensils in very hot water.  This will “cook” the gluten and stop it from being sticky.

🥡 How to store your faux salami?

The salami will keep well in the fridge for 3 – 5 days wrapped in an air-tight bag or container.

❄️ Can I freeze seitan salami?

Yes, seitan freezes well and seitan-based salami can be stored in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Vegan seitan salami sliced on a cutting board with a knife on the side.

🌟 More vegan meats

I love to make vegan meats, many of my recipes are wheat gluten-based seitan recipes, but some are also gluten-free faux meats made from soy curls or TVP. Here are some of my family’s favorites.

📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!

📋 Vegan salami recipe

Vegan salami sliced on a cutting board with a knife next to it.
Diet
High Protein Icon
Nut Free Icon
Vegan Icon
5 from 6 rating

Vegan Salami

Yield: 6
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Author: Monica Davis
A spicy meaty seitan salami made from seasoned wheat gluten.
Print Leave a Review Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce, (or liquid Aminos)
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1/2 cup white beans, (or any type of bean)
  • 1 cup vital wheat gluten

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil over low heat and add the smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, minced garlic, garlic powder, and onion powder.
  • Stir the spices around in the warm oil and let the flavors bloom for about 3 minutes, then remove from heat. (Be sure to only warm the oil and not burn the spices.)
  • Add water, ketchup, soy sauce, and salt, and stir well.
  • Add 1/2 cup of white beans to the broth and mash them up with a fork and stir them into the broth.
  • Mix in 3/4 cup of the vital wheat gluten with a silicon spatula, then knead in the remaining 1/4 cup of wheat gluten with your hands until you have a firm dough.
  • Spread the wheat gluten dough out flat and drop small pieces of very cold coconut oil on it (totaling about 1 additional tablespoon of coconut oil). (This will simulate the fat in a traditional salami.) Then roll the gluten to trap the pieces in the center of the salami. (You can omit this step for a lower-fat vegan salami.)
  • Shape the seitan salami into a smooth log traping the little bits of oil in the center and wrap it tightly in foil. (You can wrap it in a layer of parchment before wrapping it in foil if you don't want the foil to touch your food.)
  • Place the wrapped seitan into a steamer basket and steam for 50 minutes (or steam for 40 minutes in a pressure cooker and let the steam release naturally).
  • Allow it to cool completely and store in the fridge until ready to slice and eat. (You can eat it warm, but it will become denser as it cools.)

Notes

  • Vital wheat gluten is a very fine powder and it gets messy fast.  When adding the flour, hold the measuring cup low in the bowl so you don’t have a cloud of powder.
  • Feel free to adjust the spices to your taste. This is a spicy deli “meat,” so if you don’t like it too spicy, cut the red pepper flakes in half and omit the cayenne.
  • If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can use a small amount of water and place jelly jar rings at the bottom of your pot to lift the salami up out of the water.  Just check and refill the water as needed.
  • Wash your bowl and utensils in very hot water.  This will “cook” the gluten and stop it from being sticky.
Serving: 0.33cup, Calories: 150kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 615mg, Potassium: 172mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 735IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 52mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!