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If you were a fan of spam as a child, this recipe is for you. This vegan version of spam can be used to make vegan spam musubi. Vegetarians, prepare yourselves for something nostalgic and delicious!

This recipe makes 10-20 slices of spam, depending on the size of each one.

Table of Contents

(click the links below to skip to the section you’re looking for)

• Vegan Spam Recipe
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Ingredient Substitutions
• Video
• Nutritional Information
• Contact Me with Questions
• Other Mock Meat Recipes

I first made this vegan spam back in 2012 for Jessica’s birthday. She lived in Hawaii for a long time and she introduced me to musubi when she moved to San Francisco. So, it only seemed appropriate for me to make some cute vegan spam musubi for her birthday.

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Ingredients for this Vegan Spam Recipe

(jump to the substitutions section to see ingredient details and suggestions for substitutions)

• ¼ cup (60g) Braggs liquid aminos
• 2 tablespoons (27g) avocado oil
• ¼ teaspoon (1g) liquid smoke or hickory smoke salt
• 1 block (450g) of tofu (extra firm)

How to Make Vegan Tofu Spam

prep time: 10 minutes | bake time: 40 minutes

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC).

Slice the extra-firm tofu on a cutting board. Try to get the slices as thin as possible without them breaking. Slice the short side of the block of tofu to make each slice of spam into a rectangular shape. This is quick and easy if you plan to use them in something where they’ll be hidden (like sushi casserole). For that traditional spam shape, round the corners of each rectangle with a knife.

Or if you want to make something cute, slice the tofu on the long side so you’re getting the biggest slices. That way, you can use a cookie cutter to cut out cute shapes. I’ve made hearts, cats, and coffins (for Halloween musubi of course).

Layer them between layers of paper towel or tea towels for a few minutes to wick the excess moisture out of them. Some people use a tofu press, but I’ve never needed one in my 20 something years of being vegan.

Make a delicious spam marinade. Combine ¼ cup (60g) Braggs liquid aminos, 2 tablespoons (27g) avocado oil, and ¼ teaspoon (1g) liquid smoke in a small bowl.

Brush some of the marinade onto the bottom of a 9x13” glass pyrex pan using a silicone brush.

Lay all the slices of tofu in the lasagna pan as closely together as possible so you can fit them all.

Brush the tops of the tofu pieces with the marinade using a silicone brush. If you don’t have a silicone brush or pastry brush, you can just use your hands and a spoon.

Bake the tofu in the oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for 20 minutes.

Remove the tofu from the oven.

Flip over each piece of tofu.

Brush marinade over the other side.

Bake for another 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown.

Serve with white rice or sushi rice and teriyaki sauce or leftover marinade if you have any. You can also use some to make vegan spam musubi.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is spam?

Spam is a brand of processed canned meat made of ground pork and ham. It was introduced in 1937 and was used during World War II. In present day, Spam is sold in 48 countries.

Poor little piggies (ˆ(oo)ˆ) (ˆ(oo)ˆ)

Can I buy vegan spam products instead of making it?

I have purchased 2 different brands of vegan luncheon meat. One is made by Omni and it’s sold in the freezer section. The other is made by Unmeat, and it’s shelf stable and comes in a can that’s very similar in size and shape to the original spam.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Avocado Oil: I use avocado oil because it withstands high heat. This helps me avoid transfats. If you don’t care about all that stuff, you can use any number of vegan oils instead. Some I recommend are safflower oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil. Coconut oil and vegetable oil will work too, but coconut oil might alter the flavor, so I would use that as a last resort.
• Braggs Liquid Aminos: If you don’t have this ingredient, you can use soy sauce (nama shoyu) instead. If you want to keep this recipe gluten free, use gluten-free tamari or Braggs liquid aminos. If you avoid soy, use coconut aminos.
• Extra Firm Tofu: Extra firm tofu is easy to find at all stores. I especially like the high-protein one because it’s super firm. They sell this kind at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Sprouts, to name a few. I always make sure to buy either organic or non-GMO tofu. If you avoid soy, there is red lentil tofu and hemp tofu that you could use instead. I haven’t tried this though, so if you do, please let me know how it goes.
• Optional Sweeteners: Spam traditionally contains sugar, and you might have noticed that this recipe doesn’t use any. If you want to add a little sweetener to your marinade, I would try using maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or organic or vegan brown sugar. You can also use sucanat, coconut sugar, raw sugar, organic sugar, or demurara.

Video

Here’s a video of me making vegan spam.

Nutrition Facts

• Servings: 4
• Calories per serving: 181
• Calcium per serving: 200mg
• Cholesterol per serving: 0mg
• Dietary Fiber per serving: 0g
• Iron per serving: 1mg
• Potassium per serving: 0mg
• Protein per serving: 15g
• Total Carbohydrate per serving: 2g
• Total Fat per serving: 14g
• Total Sugars per serving: 0g
• Sodium per serving: 973mg

Comments or Questions?

If you make this or any of my vegan recipes, I would love it if you’d snap a pic, post to instagram, and tag me @vegandollhouse. It seriously makes my day/week/month!

Please message me (instagram or email) if you have any questions or feedback about the recipe.

Other Mock Meat Recipes

If you like this tofu spam recipe, I have a recipe on how to make vegan ham out of tofu. I also have a vegan roast beef recipe that’s a little more challenging.

I took these cat-shaped spam musubi on a picnic.

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This post links to items I used when I made this recipe. If you click on the purple Buy Now button on a product page, you will go to a website (like Amazon) where you can buy the same product I used. Sometimes, the store you purchase from (Amazon, Etsy, etc.) will pay me for referring you. This costs you nothing extra, and I would never recommend a product that I don’t use. These affiliate programs help me buy the ingredients to create these recipes for you. Read more about this in my privacy policy.

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