Vegan Pepperoni

I love this recipe, and so do my meat-eating family. I make it *almost* exactly the same, but I use onion sugar from a local grocery chain called Giant Eagle instead of coconut sugar, and I use a pizza cutter to cut it into small squares to put into homemade pizza rolls (my “notinos” pizza rolls, lol) instead of making tiny circles.
I still haven’t found a single person who doesn’t like these vegan pepperonis, whether they eat meat or no ^_^
Ps, I’ve found that using the convection setting on my oven will cut about 5 min off the total cook time. If you have that option, I strongly recommend using it <3
Pps, thank you, Minimalist Baker, for being my main source of vegan recipe ideas

So yummy! I did not have anise, liquid smoke, or A1, but the flavor still came out delicious and shockingly similar to the real thing (though I might use only 1tsp of sugar next time).
I didn’t have time to bake it so I decided to pan fry it in my cast iron (the way you do in your amazing chorizo recipe) and it came out as these crispy little pepperoni-flavored crumbles, which worked perfectly as a topping in your Simple Deep Dish Pizza recipe.
10/10 would recommend!

tried this recipe because I needed pepperoni to put in some vegan goulash I’m making. I ended up with pepperoni flavored meat crumble things. the taste is very good and strangely close to real pepperoni, the texture and visuals are probably my fault but if you’re looking for spicy meaty-sausagey crumbles for a pasta sauce or something these are great!

Mine never end up looking very red but they are so delicious! This recipe is amazing! Definitely leveled up my pizza game.

I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years and for some reason never thought to look up a homemade veg pepperoni recipe until today… It was the first grocery store available veggie meat in my area and still to this day I get excited when I see it on sale and need to buy. This recipe is just as good! Also I had all the ingredients except anise and coconut sugar (substituted a little bit of brown sugar). If I would have known this whole time I could make this with just a block of tofu… Crazy! Long time follower of your recipes. Thank you… how did I not see this before!

I made this with what I had at the house – i.e. no anise, no liquid smoke, and regular sugar. The flavor was shockingly delicious. Not that I didn’t expect it to be good but regular pepperoni is a lot to live up to. I definitely learned some lessons on the execution of it. I wasn’t making this for a pizza so I just baked it longer through instead of taking it out to cut it up and then continue to bake it. Next time I will do that because the edges gave it very good texture. I also adjusted it for a 14 oz block of tofu which is super easy to do (42 servings). Seriously, great recipe! Thank you for making my sandwich dreams come true :)

This is one terrific recipe!!! I love pepperoni but I have also been looking for a vegan Gluten free luncheon meat that I can put on a sandwich. Instead of cutting this in circles, I cut it in squares to fit on a slice of gluten-free seven grain bread piled with mustard and lots of veggies and a piece of Follow Your Heart smoked gouda “ cheese.”

Fabulous recipe. Just made it- tastes delicious. Will definitely make again since it is so easy. Will put on my vegan gf pizza tonight.
Thank you as always for the fabulous recipe❤️🙏

I’ve made this a lot. Its simple and very good!

This recipe for vegan pepperoni hits the spot! The flavors are spot on and the texture was nice. I appreciate how easy it was and relatively inexpensive. I could not find anise, but I don’t think I lost any flavor by omitting it. I just added a little extra fennel. Thanks for another great recipe!

This recipe is perfection! This pepperoni has perfect flavor and very satisfying texture. Didn’t use liquid smoke and it is still wonderful as the smoked paprika adds the smoke. I made circular pepperoni by making little balls and flattening them with fingers under a piece of wax paper on olive-oiled-parchment-papered baking pan. Then I lightly brushed them with olive oil. I cooked them a little longer only because I wanted to use some “cooked pepperoni” in a garden pasta salad right away, whereas the recipe says to partial cook them first, then finish cooking them when you put them on a pizza. I plan on putting these on a pizza too but may protect them a little with the cheese so they don’t overcook. These pepperoni disks deliver! They even bend a bit when handling them, and have a satisfying level of chew.

This is a great recipe! I added 3 tsp red pepper flakes cause we like the spice. Love having the taste of pepperoni with out the nasty grease coating your young. Yes I used it first on a pizza (sub par pizza, my fault not pepperoni fault) but the amazing thing I figured out was the next morning. Made some fried potatoes (seasoned with S&P, garlic powder, onion powder and some Noosh) in my air fryer. Halfway through cooking I added red bell peppers, onions and the “pepperoni” scraps. The end result was super crunchy spicy gold! Some of the pieces were almost to the char point and all the pieces were very crunchy. OMG best potatoes I have ever made. Will be making them for my hubby in the morning. Thank you so much, will definitely be subscribing and checking out your other recipes.

I really enjoyed making and eating this faux pepperoni! Great texture and flavor. Didn’t see anise at the store but this tastes right to me without it. I cut the large piece into 2×4 in rectangles.
It’s nice to have a faux meat recipe so I don’t have to use something highly processed. I will store it in the freezer til needed, no waste that way.

Fabulous recipe! I sliced it into bacon sized slices. I use it as you would use a cold cut.

I love this so much! I don’t have the patience to actually make it into little pepperoni shapes and I usually just want to make my pizza quickly so I just mix up the dry seasonings and sprinkle a little bit on sliced, sautéed mushrooms, adding the steak sauce or liquid smoke during cooking. Then I store the remaining pepperoni spices for our next pizza night.

I’ve made this recipe multiple times and I couldn’t be happier with the results. It is perfect because it isn’t seitan. I am a vegetarian and my bf has celiac disease, so meals can be complicated. There just aren’t enough vegetarian pepperoni options out there, especially not budget friendly ones. This checks all the boxes.

For those who find this recipe time consuming, it really isn’t necessarily to cut out perfect circles. When I’m in a hurry I just tear it up into chunks. It isn’t as pretty but it’s just as delicious. I wonder if this can be rolled into a sausage shape and then frozen and sliced? I’ll give it a shot here soon.

Thank you for sharing this. I decided almost on a whim and it’s so good, I can’t stop munching. I left some larger pieces to make sandwiches. Mine may be spicier. I was heavy handed. I substituted anise extract for ground because that’s what I had. It will be a staple!

Love love love these vegan pepperoni. I make Ny style pizza pretty much every week. But we usually eat veggie pizza because we don’t eat meat. I miss the pepperoni on my pizza. This recipe allows me the indulgence without the meat and it’s the best substitute for the real thing! Thanks for sharing. Made it twice and both times it was hit with friends and family. Thanks for sharing!

Made this yesterday for vegetarian italian subs and it turned out amazing! Cut the pieces into squares rather than circles since I wasn’t putting them on a pizza. Boosted the amount of paprika a smidge, added some turmeric and a bit of maggi seasoning. I think the biggest change we made was that we used chili oil (Lao Gan Ma chili crisp) rather than red pepper flakes. We used the solid bits and the bit of oil that was stuck to them for the dough and brushed it with the oil for cooking. I think it captured that delightful oiliness I expect from pepperoni! Ours turned out rather spicy but I loved it! Thanks for posting such a straightforward and simple recipe! I might use this same technique to try making some different cured meats in the future!

Thank you for this delicious recipe! I didn’t roll the tofu mix out thin enough but it was so tasty on a wholemeal pizza base. I have missed pepperoni since going vegetarian so I am thrilled to find your version.

We love this recipe! I’ve now made it many times. I spread mine on a silicone mat, erring on the thicker side so it doesn’t get too dry. I only do about 1 1/2t red pepper, as its pretty spicy.
I use a pizza cutter instead of cutting circles, some small for pizzas and wraps, and some sandwich size. Cashew garlic mayo + thick tomato slice + lettuce + pepperoni on homemade sourdough = best sandwich ever. We call them PLTs :)

Really good and I didn’t have anise or liquid smoke/A1. All I had to buy was the tofu so it was a big win for me. Made it along side a regular pepperoni and a sausage pizza and the vegan pepperoni was still outstanding. I made it closer to 1/4 inch thick, cooked for 30 minutes, flipped them after they were cut out so the softer side was up and cooked them on top of the cheese for 12 minutes in a 500 degree oven. Thanks for the recipe!

Mine turned out a bit dry and burnt- 1/8″ inch seems to be too thin. I actually loved the mixture before it was cooked, I will probably make it again as a spread for crackers. Thank you!

Wow, this is outstanding! I’m not vegan or even vegetarian, but I was looking for an alternative to the greasy pepperoni that I ate in the past. This is easy and fun to make and has a great taste and texture! I love it and will probably never eat traditional pepperoni again! I’m happy to lower my meat consumption just a little bit more and I look forward to using this recipe many times in the future. Thanks for figuring it out and posting it for us !

We’ve been on a vegan pizza quest for about 8 weeks now and last night was our first attempt at pepperoni! We have 1 family member who doesn’t like things very spicy so I made a few adjustments:

-Decreased black pepper to 1 tsp
-Decreased red pepper to 1 tsp
-Added 3/4 tsp regular paprika for more color
-Added an additional 1/2 tsp sugar for balance

I also rolled it out between 2 sheets of parchment paper that were both sprayed with cooking spray. I smoothed it out with my hands and then removed the top paper — no sticking at all!

I used a small metal cookie cutter to make the pepperonis and didn’t have an issue with that either. It turned out great! Thank you!!!

I just made this, and the taste is great (very spicy!). However, it completely stuck to the parchment paper, practically ruining it. I didn’t see anyone else have this issue in their reviews, so I’m confused!
Also, mine did not get deep red; it stayed brown. I wanted to use it for “cheese” and crackers, but I was also confused whether the 25 min was enough time or if I needed to cook it for another 10-15 minutes.
Agreed that using a cookie cutter did not work, either.
I will remake this recipe, adjusting the timing and figuring out how to get it not to stick to the parchment.

I can’t believe how much the taste and texture is like actual pepperoni! My mouth was watering as the smell filled my apartment while it was baking. Thank you so much for this recipe! Pepperoni was one of my favorite foods before I went vegan.

Absolutely beautiful, I love this recipe so much, I’m so impressed I can’t leave it alone, I’m low carbs & this is perfect for snacking on it’s also a perfect pate before roasting.
I’m looking forward to trying the 7 layer mexican dip next. Thankyou

Made this recipe after searching for a while for a vegan pepperoni substitute- a solid recipe that produced good quality Pepperoni, which I put on top of a Paella where the flavours of the rice complemented the spicy taste and made the texture less obviously not meaty.

My method was slightly different to original recipe- didn’t press tofu down for a long time- between 5-10 mins, and didn’t have liquid smoke so used a dash of soy sauce instead. I perhaps didn’t bake it long enough as the texture was quite soft and still pasty. Would definitely recommend trying though and experimenting with flavours, processing time and baking time.

I guess I’m the minority here. I followed the recipe exactly, even used homemade tofu, and it didn’t taste a bit like pepperoni to me. Texture turned out like cookie crumbs.

So good! I have been missing regular pepperoni in my life, but not anymore! I didn’t try to cut them in circles, but did as another commenter suggested and just tore it into pieces. One thing I will caution people on though is how much red pepper flakes you really need. I thought I loved spicy, until I added the maximum amount into this recipe, and HOLY SMOKES, was it on fire! I’ll decrease that next time.

I made this recipe and it was amazing! The texture and taste was spot on for pepperoni. It was a little too spicy for my taste, so next time I’ll add less pepper flakes. I did have to spread it with a knife on the parchment paper, but it still baked up great and sliced well. I’ll never make vegan pizza without this pepperoni again!

OMG! Delicious. This will definitely be a repeat recipe. I did add some tomato paste to help with the color. I didn’t use any liquid smoke, A1, oil and only a smidgen of sugar.

Great tastes like the real thing very very identical however the instructions for getting it onto the pan are bad and vague and they definitely can’t be cut with a cookie cutter. They are too tough. Otherwise this recipe is a keeper. So long as you don’t mind ripped up pieces of pepperoni which I don’t.

I couldn’t stop eating this as I was making the circles! Sooo good and tastes exactly like regular pepperoni. Such an easy recipe too. THANK YOU!!

I tripped the recipe, adding a little less salt and pepper. Processed it in 2 batches,spred it with a spatula as thin and even as possible. After 25 min in the oven I tried to cut circles, but it didn’t work. So, I flipped the while thing over and baked another 25 min. It got brown and a little crunchy. I also cut into small squares, much easier. It’s definitely hot, but think it will go nicely as a pizza topping, or a replacement for bacon bits.

Easy to make, I chopped half into squares as much less scrappy bits, very moorish, I probably overdried it and because I chopped into squares my daughter said it was like jerky

These are so yummy!! But I only added 2 tsp red pepper flakes and they are so spicy I can barely eat them! Maybe I’m just too sensitive. Lol but they were great!!

The flavors are there but mine were brown and not the beautiful color in the photos. I added way to much red pepper (2 tsp) and my mouth is still burning. Definitely make sure you spread thin. The middle of mine was thicker than the edges and it’s not as enjoyable. Trying these on a pizza tomorrow. I wouldn’t eat them on their own. Looking forward to making thinner and with less red pepper. Overall, not disappointed with my first run.
On a side note: I didn’t have a cookie cutter so I used the top from an empty spice jar.

I would characterize this recipe as profoundly disappointing. It’s not like absolutely vile or anything once it’s cooked, but it is not even vaguely similar to pepperoni. It is simultaneously bland and overbearing with flavor. Absolutely too many fennel seeds, never planning to use those again. I applaud your creativity, but definitely not a hit.

This is a fantastic quick recipe. However, i took it the extra mile to see if i could make it taste more genuine using traditional methods. When making your tofu from scratch, add no flavour coconut butter to the mix & a small amount of inulin. Add a glassful of decentish red wine (you can taste bad quality wine despite the strong spices), then 3% himalayan salt minimum per volume. Don’t make your roll too compact, so it doesn’t set too tightly. The inulin will help bind the ingredients to keep it from falling apart & keep it relatively moist inside. Wrap in a baking bag, puncture it all over & allow to ferment for at least a week in a warm, space (The process can be speeded up in an oven at low heat but its not the same). Just like in real salami the fatty deposits collect within the sausage & you get an outer skin. The texture, colour & taste is almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Hope you enjoy ?

So this was the first vegan pepperoni recipe I ever tried, and I liked it but thought I might be able to find a better one (I mostly wanted to be able to roll it and slice it) so I made about a million other recipes, but none of them were as good as this one, so I’ve returned to using this one from now on.

I did adjust a little. I use a few drops of anise extract instead of ground anise, and I swore that your recipe had tomato paste in it, so I always add one of those little cans of tomato paste, but I’ve revisited your recipe and apparently I’m smoking crack, because it says nothing about tomato paste. This is probably why mine never seems dry and crumbly, and why it always has a deep red color though, so I’ll just keep making it this way, lol. Thanks for the great recipe!

The sheets cracked and split as they baked and they did not take on the red color of pepperoni as you photos show.

Even thought my patch turned out so spicy my tongue feels like it might fall off this is still a great recipe. I have no idea what happened. I love spicy things and I only added 1.5 tsp of ground pepper and only 1 tsp of crushed red pepper (this was for my 11 month olds lunch) but next time I think I will skip the red pepper. I also added a whole lot of paprika (I wanted the red color), but I don’t think that could of been the reason. Oh well, other than that it was so tasty and the texture was very nice. I will try again soon. Thanks for all the great recipes.

I’ve made this numerous times now and it is a fantastic recipe! I use it on pizza and stuff it inside calzones to freeze for lazy lunch days. It’s amazing how much this tastes like the actual thing, thank you so much for creating this!!

Just finished making a batch. They are very good plain, and I’m willing to bet they will be even better on a pizza! Just to let everyone know, I’m a meat eating male who enjoys any kind of cooking as long as its good. I generally compare a dish to the animal protein original. This one compares well!
I added just a little more pepper flake than called for. Just a tad hot. I’ll use less the next time.
They do lack that ‘slightly greasy’ texture that I enjoy in the real thing, though. I’ll have to work on that. Next time I’ll also add just a little more smoke, too.
The color came out exceptionally well. The texture lacks a little ‘bite’ but who really cares? I see more in my future, for sure!!

This recipe is awesome! I definitely recommend.

This was awesome! I agree with others – would love to try adding some gluten as a binder and making a roll but honestly i just put on a plastic glove, dipped my hand in water and patted the mixture out flat on the parchment. Once it had baked for a few minutes and had dried a little, I pulled it out and rolled it more evenly with a small rolling pin and then finished baking. I have a number of small circular cutters but figured I wanted to try this in some vegan pizza pockets I could freeze for work so just cut it into thin strips with a pizza cutter and then cut the strips into dices. Tastes great. Thanks for the recipe!

Made this for the first time two weeks ago. Instead of baking it as a sheet we cut them out first. The first batch was incredibly dry but after cutting time down to twenty minutes the second batch was perfect. The third batch was cooked as a sheet and ended up being extremely hard to get out despite following instructions. The fourth batch were cooked as individual slices again and turned out fine.

This was great! We had our doubts but were thrilled with the outcome. Could not stop eating the scraps while cutting and preparing the rest of the ingredients for our pizza. Will definitely repeat this recipe!

I can’t believe it took me only about 40 minutes, including baking and cutting out the circles! It’s a genius recipe, so easy as well… However, I didn’t have garlic granules so used fresh instead, also subbed paprika for smoked hot paprika, no chilli flakes and sugar (simply forgot to add), came out perfect, if not red enough. Thanks Dana, love your style x

So I made these and the flavor was really good. But I used wax paper and they were super hard to spread out, it came off on the wax paper. Then I made them to thin so sections burned. I made them a bit to spicy but that was my fault. The biggest problem is I couldn’t get them off the wax paper. Next time I’ll make them in my silicone sheets with a bit less pepper. I’ll probably also use plastic wrap to spread them out.

This was simple, affordable and delicious. Thank you!

I made this, and plan on making it again today. I loved it! It’s very similar to the pepperoni on the Tufurky pepperoni pizzas. I didn’t have anise, but the fennel was fine by itself. I didn’t have smoked paprika, so I added a bit of cumin and liquid smoke. I blended my red pepper flakes and fennel a bit in my spice blender (coffee bean grinder). I love spicy, but this was very hot! I think my peppers or black pepper were very hot brands, I know some are way hotter than others, especially red pepper flakes ( I added not quite 2 tsp, next time I’ll try 1 1/2 tsp). I know grinding brings out more flavor, so I probably am why it was very spicy, lol by the end, I now want it to be that spicy, but my acid reflux may not agree, ; ) (it’s a food that the more you eat, the more you can’t stop) . I just stretched it out thin, cooked it a bit, then peeled it off flipped it and cooked longer. I also fryed some of it in a pan after it cooked in the oven a bit, to make it crisper. I peeled it and tore into pieces when it was done. I wasn’t worried about presentation, as it was just me eating the pizza. I’m shocked at how easy it was, how amazingly tasty, I love it so much! Thanks for making me one happy vegan……pepperoni/veggie/vegan cheese pizza is nirvana! This recipe is like magic, so well textured from simple tofu, and super adaptable to your preferences!

This is one of the most amazing recipes I’ve ever made! Thank you so much!!! Cannot say enough good things about this recipe. It is perfection! The photos are helpful as well,especially for the first time making. I make this ALL the time. I don’t like to mess with the circles but rather just do a rough chop style. Also,I like to freeze it loosely in a container to use a little here and there.

I have been wanting to make this recipe since you posted it! The Mellow Mushroom pizza chain just started using a new Follow Your Heart cheese and so I bought a pizza then baked the pepperoni on top- so delicious!
For people who are struggling with the color- I used annatto powder to boost the color. Melted 1 TB at a time in 1 TB coconut oil (makes the color carry better) then mixed into the unbaked pepperoni until the color was a light red, adding another TB annatto/oil if necessary. Annatto isn’t easy to find at a regular grocery store but any Hispanic or Vietnamese market will have it, sometimes as achiote.

I haven’t had pepperoni pizza since going vegan so this is awesome! The taste is spot-on. I accidentally rolled out mine too thin so I was unable to cut it into circle shapes, so they weren’t pretty, but tasted fantastic! This recipe is so much cheaper and healthier than store bought vegan pepperoni.

Discovered you and vegan pepperoni when searching for pepperoni spice mix. I’ve been making Taco “Meat” with a quick TVP recipe and thought that it could be pepperoni flavored instead. Wow, was I right! Boiled a cup of water for a cup of TVP will all of the spices and stirred it up. Needed to add 2 TBSP. olive oil and about an additional 1/4 cup of water. Worked wonders for the TVP and now I’ve a great pepperoni sausage meat. Will do the recipe with tofu soon. Thanks a bunch!

Cal

First things first… I love your recipes! They’re simple and bleeping delicious! ?
I’m a new vegan and you’ve helped make things so much easier in my home! I don’t have to cook animal products for my husband and vegan for myself! ? The Huz likes everything I’ve mad so far the past 4 mos! He has agreed to have no animal products in the house thanks to good vegan cookin!
With no success finding vegan pepperoni at the market or online( always sold out!?!?), I was extatic to find this recipe! I made it yesterday and it was DELICIOUS! I added a tad more smoked paprika, coconut sugar, and black pepper, as well as 1/2tsp onion powder and I did end up using the liquid smoke. Mine didn’t have the beautiful red color yours did, but it didn’t matter! I put some on a scratch vegan pizza and it was a hit! ?I think I’ll just forget buying some altogether. I prefer to make things from scratch usually anyway! Thank you! Thank you. Thank you!

so good! even my meat eating husband loved it

I made this recipe today. The pepperoni are so delicious that even the carnivores in my house love them! I didn’t have coconut sugar, so I used splenda. Easy recipe, definitely will make these again!

I ended up making some tonight. The flavor is amazing :D even my wife was impressed. I’m going to tinker around and see if I can get it more juicy, but over all I am extremely happy with this recipe. Thank you so very much :)