Vegan Stromboli (Stuffed Pizza Roll) with Plant-Based Salami and Hot Peppers

An American and an Italian meet... This is how the story of the stromboli pizza could begin. It may be a pizza, but its story was written in America. "In Philadelphia in the 1950s, a restaurant owner with Italian roots began selling rolled-up pizza dough with a filling of ham, cheese and peppers. He named his creation "Stromboli". (source) You guessed it: Named after the Italian volcano. You're probably thinking of the good old calzone, which you also know from Italian restaurants. However, a calzone is a large folded-up pizza pocket, whereas the stromboli is a real roll. But the principle is, of course, the same: pizza with a difference! We answer all the important questions about the stromboli and show you how to prepare it vegan.

Let's start with the dough. What do we need for this?

The dough for a stromboli is a classic yeast dough – just like a pizza. You only need the absolute basic ingredients: Flour, salt, yeast, water and oil. Knead everything well and leave to rise in a warm place covered with a damp cloth. In winter, a place on the radiator or a warm (but switched-off) oven works very well. You can also prepare the dough the evening before and leave it to rise overnight in the fridge. You can also use dry yeast or fresh yeast – both work wonderfully!

What goes into the filling?

We have opted for a classic filling made from vegan salami, vegan sliced cheese, vegan shredded cheese and peppers. What we can particularly recommend: Use a spicy salami to give your stromboli some zing. We prefer to use Chorizo salami from Billie Green for this. It is made in the style of a traditional salami, is made from wheat and is also mildly smoked (which is why it tastes SO delicious). It contains no preservatives, artificial colors or thickeners. You can find it at Rewe, Edeka, Tegut, Penny and Globus.

And here's another tip: in our test kitchen, we made a stromboli with more vegan cheese than described in the recipe below. What sounds tempting, however, resulted in so much fat and moisture that the yeast dough could no longer rise properly. So stick to the recipe here!
If you want to try other fillings, you can, of course, replace the peppers with other finely diced vegetables, such as olives, peppers, broccoli or zucchini, or leave out the cheese and replace it with vegan ham.

And how does the whole thing hold together?

Good question! To ensure that your pizza roll holds together properly and doesn't burst open when baking, you should leave a 2–3 cm border when topping and brush it with a little plant-based milk before rolling it up. This will help the dough to stick together. The seam should also lie on the bottom and be pressed firmly together after (tightly) rolling up. So, pay special attention to this before your vegan pizza roll goes into the oven.

You should also make a small incision on the surface of your pizza roll to allow air to escape. This will prevent bubbles from forming, and your stromboli will look like something out of a picture book! For even more flavor, we've brushed it with vegan garlic butter and sprinkled some oregano on top.

And what's with it?

We have prepared a classic marinara dip for the vegan stromboli, which you can dip the pizza slices into. A truffle dip would also go well with it, and a ranch dip would underline the Italian-American friendship! If you don't want to serve the pizza roll as a snack, a fresh salad is also a great side dish.

So, now we're done with all the tips, let's get to the recipe!