EV’s Take: A So-So Vegan Ham Roast
Tofurky’s vegan ham roast was my final review in my series of vegan holiday roasts, and I wish I were ending on a strong note. Instead, I’m ending on a somewhat bitter, kind of good, kind of weird note. On the one hand, I didn’t love how bitter the glaze became as it cooked, but I also found myself returning for more bites of the ham. Have you ever experienced a dish like that? Like, I’m not loving it, but I also strangely can’t stop eating it.
Tofurky’s ham is served with an amber ale glaze. You cook half the glaze over the ham the entire time it roasts. Then, you cook the remaining glaze for 15 minutes at the end, uncovered. I honestly think this is what ruined the glaze. When I tasted it before cooking, it was deliciously sweet and savory. I brushed it over the roast, and when I took it out of the oven, it was way too sticky, hard in places, and very bitter. If I were to make this ham roast again, I would glaze it and roast for just a few minutes to maintain the delicious, sweet, and savory flavors.
All in all, this is squarely a middle-of-the-pack roast. If you want something that has a similar texture to ham, I think Tofurky’s plant-based ham roast will give you that. My advice? Don’t cook the glaze for as long as the package recommends. I’d even consider simply simmering it on the stovetop for 5 minutes and pouring it over the ham right before serving. Baking it just did something weird and bad to the glaze that I did NOT like.
Tofurky Plant-Based Ham Roast Ingredients
Like the Tofurky Plant-Based Roast and Gravy I reviewed recently, their Ham Roast uses vital wheat gluten and soy as protein sources. You’ll want to skip this roast if you have a wheat or soy allergy.
Here’s what’s in Tofurky’s Plant-Based Ham Roast:
Ham: Water, vital wheat gluten, tofu (water, soybeans, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), expeller pressed canola oil, contains less than 2% of sea salt, spices, granulated garlic, cane sugar, natural flavors, natural smoke flavor, color (lycopene, purple carrot juice), oat fiber, carrageenan, dextrose, konjac, potassium chloride, xanthan gum. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.
Glaze: Malted barley, brown sugar, amber ale (water, malted barley, oats, hops, yeast), whole grain mustard (water, mustard seed, white vinegar, salt, citric acid, turmeric), ground mustard, spices. CONTAINS: NO MAJOR ALLERGENS.
Nothing too shocking in the ingredient list, and you’ll see the usual suspects: vegan protein, spices, sugar, and binders.
Tofurky Plant-Based Ham Roast Nutrition
| Serving Size | ⅕ glazed roast (108g) |
| Calories | 220 |
| Total Fat | 7g |
| Saturated Fat | .5g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Cholesterol | 0mg |
| Sodium | 630mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 19g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g |
| Total Sugars | 10g (includes 5g added sugars) |
| Protein | 22g |
Compared to the Tofurky Roast with Gravy, their Plant-Based Ham Roast has less sodium, fewer calories, and less protein. A note to consider is that the Roast with Gravy comes with stuffing, making it filling. You’d need to serve this ham roast with a side like homemade stuffing or mashed potatoes. Overall, the nutritional value isn’t anything to write home about, particularly for a holiday meal, especially considering that traditional baked ham can have up to 1,000mg of sodium per serving!
How to cook Tofurky’s Plant-Based Ham Roast
This plant-based ham roast is even easier to make than some of the other roasts I’ve reviewed, and it has a shorter cooking time, which is nice.
Here’s how Tofurky recommends cooking it:
- Step 1: Thaw the roast for 24 hours before cooking.
- Step 2: Preheat oven to 325ºF. Remove the plastic casing and metal clips from the roast.
- Step 3: Place the roast on an oven-safe pan and cover with half the glaze. Cover and transfer to the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Step 4: Remove the cover and add the remaining glaze over the roast. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.
From there, you can slice the roast and serve it with your favorite holiday side dish.
Tofurky notes that you can cook this roast from frozen. You just need to add 1 hour to the first roasting time.
How did EV eat Tofurky’s Plant-Based Ham Roast?
I followed the instructions exactly and ate the roast as-is. As mentioned above, those final 15 minutes uncovered seemed to ruin the remaining glaze. As you can see in the photo above, it became very bubbly. It seized up within a few minutes of cooling down, turning it into a thick, tar-like consistency, and it hardened in places (which took forever to scrape off the baking sheet). If I were to make this again, I would glaze the roast with half of the amber ale glaze and cook it according to the instructions. Then, I would simmer the remaining glaze for a few minutes on the stovetop and pour it over the roast right before serving.
Where can I buy Tofurky Plant-Based Ham Roast?
You can buy the Tofurky Plant-Based Ham Roast on Amazon or use Tofurky’s store locator to find a retailer near you.
What do you think?
Have you tried it? After reading our review of Tofurky’s Plant-Based Ham Roast, will you go ham for vegan ham this holiday season? Let us know in the comments!
