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Homemade Vegan Sausages

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No need to buy expensive veggie sausages anymore! These Homemade Vegan Sausages are easy to make and delicious. Thanks to two tricks, they are not tough and rubbery like seitan often is. 

Homemade Vegan Sausages

Veggie sausages like all the other meat alternatives and processed vegan products are quite $$$. Making your own vegan sausages at home can be quite daunting. I get it. I’ve been there. It took me a couple of years of being vegan to finally figure out a vegan sausage recipe that I’m happy with.

These vegan Seitan Sausages are

  • easy to make (soften the onions and garlic, then add all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse, form the sausages, roll them in parchment paper and aluminum foil and steam – no need to knead seitan until your arms hurt!)
  • quick to make (you’ll only need about 20 minutes of preparation time to make these, then steam)
  • super versatile (you can use them in any dish you would have used regular sausages in)
  • soft and firm (if you’ve had rubbery and tough seitan before, you know what I’m talking about. These do not have the texture of a rubber mallet!)

Tricks for making Vegan Sausages that aren’t spongy/rubbery/tough?

My #1 super secret ingredient for these sausages that have just the right balance of soft and firm is sparkling water! It’s just a simple substitution with a huge effect. Trick #2 is to use canned chickpeas instead of chickpea flour. This makes the seitan soft (even the next day or the day after!).

Homemade Vegan Sausages

How to make Vegan Seitan Sausages

Onion, garlic, fennel and cumin in panStep 1: Cook onion and garlic until slightly browning. Add fennel and cumin.

Making Seitan in a Food ProcessorStep 2: Add all the ingredients in a food processor (except the vital wheat gluten): chickpeas, thyme, salt, tomato paste, smoked paprika, onion-garlic-mixture, soy sauce, and sparkling water. Pulse.

Making Seitan in a Food ProcessorStep 3: Now add the vital wheat gluten. Pulse again.

Making the mixture for Homemade Vegan Sausages in a food processorStep 4: The seitan should come together in the food processor.

Homemade Vegan Sausages in parchment paper and aluminium foilStep 5: Cut the seitan into 4 equal pieces and form the sausages. Then roll the sausages in a piece of parchment paper (prevents sticking to the foil) and aluminum foil – tightly.

Steaming Vegan Sausages in Aluminium FoilStep 6: And steam! I’m using a large pot with a steaming basket. If you have a steamer, great, use that!

Homemade Vegan SausagesStep 7: Remove the foil and paper. Enjoy!

Uses for the Seitan Sausages

Basically, you can use these Seitan Sausages in any dish that would use regular sausages. They are very versatile! Here are a couple of ideas:

  • Corn Dogs (coat them in a batter of cornmeal, flour, spices, and plant-based milk and fry)
  • Paella (cut into slices)
  • serve them with mashed potatoes and gravy
  • Breakfast Sausages with tofu scramble
  • Pigs in a Blanket (wrap with puff pastry and bake)
  • add it to Goulash or any kind of stews
  • in Hot Dogs
Vegan Sausages in Hot Dog

Homemade Seitan Sausages are delicious in Hot Dogs!

Can you freeze Seitan Sausages?

Yes, I’ve tried it with this seitan recipe and it works great! Remove the foil, let the sausages cool off completely, place them in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag, freeze. When you’re ready to eat the frozen sausages, let them thaw at room temperature for a few hours, then grill/cook/roast/whatever you want to do with it! They are good as new!

Homemade Vegan Sausages

Homemade Vegan Sausages

No need to buy expensive veggie sausages anymore! These Homemade Vegan Sausages are easy to make and delicious. Thanks to two tricks, they are not tough and rubbery like seitan often is. 
4.38 from 51 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Basics
Cuisine: Vegan
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4 sausages
Author: Bianca Haun | Elephantastic Vegan

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/2 large white onion chopped
  • 1 garlic clove chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup sparkling water
  • 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • In a large pan with canola oil, sautée the chopped onion and garlic cloves until soft. Add the cumin and fennel seeds. Let it cook for another minute until the spices are toasted.
  • In a food processor, add the chickpeas, onion-garlic-spices mixture, tomato paste, salt, thyme, smoked paprika, soy sauce, and sparkling water. Pulse until it’s saucy. Then add the vital wheat gluten and pulse again until it comes together in a ball.
  • Prepare a large pot (filled with a couple of inches of water) with a steaming basket and bring it to high heat.
  • Divide the seitan into 4 equal chunks. Roll and press the seitan into a sausage shape. Roll each sausage in parchment paper and aluminum foil (roll it tightly). Twist the ends so that the seitan is completely covered in foil. Add the seitan sausages into the steaming basket and let them steam for about 40 minutes, flipping them after 20 minutes.
  • Let them cool off a bit before removing the aluminum foil and parchment paper.
  • You can use them in various recipes (Hot Dogs, Corn Dogs, serve them with mashed potatoes etc.). To warm them up, cook them in a pan or contact griller. You can store them in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

Estimated Nutrition Info

Serving: 1sausage | Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 398mg | Potassium: 107mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3.7% | Vitamin C: 3.1% | Calcium: 4.2% | Iron: 9.9%
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InstagramDid you make these Vegan Sausages? Leave a comment and please rate the recipe for other users! If you post a photo on instagram, use the hashtag #elephantasticvegan and tag me via @elephantasticvegan to make sure I’ll see it ^.^ I love to see all your lovely creations! Thanks! <3

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About the author

biancaHi, I’m Bianca! When I went vegan in 2012, I fell in love with food all over again.

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Check out my first cookbook: The Veginner’s Cookbook!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. We made these for Fathers Day today. Took them right out of the parchment and foil wrappers and finished them on the grill. Wow is all we could say. Just wow! They completely satisfied that craving for a grilled sausage. The taste was great and the mouthfeel and texture were amazingly close to any veggie sausage you can buy. They were MUCH more satisfying, though, because we made them at home. What a wonderful recipe and one that is going in our summer rotation for grilling. I evidently couldn’t get them rolled as tight as yours because they were not smooth like your pictures, but that didn’t matter one iota! These are fantastic. Thank you SO much.

    One question: How well do you think they would freeze? I’d like to make a large batch and freeze some to pull out and throw on the grill when we have people over.

    Reply

    • Wow, thank you so much for the amazing review, Scott!! :) I’m so glad you all enjoyed them!
      Although I haven’t tried freezing them, I would think that it would work just fine. It’s definitely worth a try! :)

      Reply

  2. What a great recipe. We inhaled them. :) I usually have to knead the seitan for 8 minutes in my electric mixer to get this kind of tenderness. Fantastic!

    Reply

  3. What role does the vital wheat gluten play? I have all the other ingredients and would love to make them without it.

    Reply

          • Any chance Psyllium Husks, Xantham Gum, Guar Gum, or some other non-gluten binding agent would work without yielding weird-tasting/textured results? I’m gluten intolerant and really miss eating veggie sausages.

  4. Hey Bianca
    sounds like a yummy recipe. Can you tell me if I have to use sparkling water or if this could be substituted?
    Look forward to hear back from you.
    Antje

    Reply

    • Okay, so I’ve tried freezing them! It works perfectly! Keep in mind to remove the foil, let them cool off completely, then freeze them in a freezer-friendly container or ziplock bag. If you want to use them take them out a couple of hours before, let them thaw at room temperature (haven’t tried the microwave as I don’t have one), then grill/roast/cook whatever you want to do with them. They are good as new! :) Hope you enjoy!

      Reply

  6. Hi Bianca

    This look amazing! We’re having people over for a housewarming end of this month and plan to serve hot dos on the grill. Do you if they will hold up on the grill?

    /Kat

    Reply

  7. Hi Bianca,

    Awesome! I’ve been trying to find recipes like these and bingo! I’m going to try and make these soon – The question I have is can these be made in an Instapot? If so, what would the instructions be for that? Thank you!!

    Reply

      • HI Bianca,

        An update – I steamed the sausages for 40 minutes in the instapot and they came out AWESOME!! My boyfriend said that this recipe is the best one yet!! Thanks for sharing :)

        Reply

      • I also made a new batch this morning – Yup, that’s how good they are folks! Tried something new tho – Substituted the tomato paste for bbq sauce, the soy sauce for liquid smoke and instead of a white onion, I used red. In the instapot now and we shall see! Am hoping for a bbq smokey flavor this go around –

        Bianca, do you have other spices / flavors for the sausages that would suit this recipe as well?

        Reply

        • I will have to try different varieties! I’ve been meaning to make a spicy chorizo-style sausage. I’ve been using liquid smoke in the sausages and that has been working great. I haven’t tried bbq sauce but I have been thinking about it. I think that would turn out great :) Can’t wait to hear what you say!

          Reply

          • Thank you for replying Bianca! An update on the 2nd batch with the substitutions – Honestly, sticking with the first batch and ingredients is better. The flavor in the 2nd batch wasn’t as tasty as the first. Look forward to trying out more of your recipes!

  9. Hi bianca.

    I’m from south africa and of indian descent. I just recently became a pescatarian and I enjoy soya meals but the shop ones are plain. I plan to spicy it up so I’m definitely gonna try this recipe and will let you know how it tastes.

    Regards
    Clinton R

    Reply

  10. If making Vegan sausages why on earth would the author suggest using “Milk” in the Corn Dog batter?

    Quote “Corn Dogs (coat them in a batter of cornmeal, flour, spices and milk and fry)”

    Reply

  11. I made these and they turned out incredibly well. Easy to make and very tasty. Will definitely be making again. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply

  12. Hi- I plan to make sausage rolls with these. Should I cook them (steam them) first,
    Then wrap in the puff pasty and bake, or do you think I could use the raw mixture in the pastry then bake?
    I’ve used dried sausage mix before and just put that in raw without pre- cooking.

    Many thanks

    Sam

    Reply

  13. Hi, I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. I have tried a few attempts at vegan sausage, and they always come out rubbery. These don’t? And do you know why that happens? Will report in when I’ve made these!

    Reply

    • Hi Rosie! I’ve found out that the chickpeas and sparkling water make soft seitan! This one isn’t rubbery at all! But I’d love to hear your opinion as well! :)

      Reply

    • I was going to ask the exact same thing. Been looking for a good vegetarian sausage recipe for a while now.
      Have you tried it with the celulose casing? If so can you tell me if it worked? Thanks

      Reply

  15. LOVE LOVE LOVE! I have made these four times now, each time upping the spice a bit as I prefer a more spicy sausage. The third time I made these, in addition to the spices in the recipe, I added Italian spice and red pepper flakes, and a bit more garlic. The texture is amazing and so much better than store bought vegan sausage without all the additives you can’t pronounce. They are so easy to mix and roll and actually look like a sausage on the ends. I prefer to pan fry versus the grill, but both turned out well. When I go to friends who BBQ regular meat sausage at get togethers, I always bring these for myself.

    Reply

  16. I do want to try this. I’m trying my first seitan recipe that I happened to have the ingredients for, finish the recipe tomorrow. We’ll see! I haven’t tried the store bought, too expensive, and I also don’t want all those weird ingredients. I do miss sausage flavors, so I would want the Italian spice, too.

    Reply

  17. I would love to make this recipe , but my food processor broke. I can blend the first part of the ingredients in the blender to make the ”sauce” . But I think adding the vital gluten go well in my blender. I think kneeding it by hand will work as well ? What do you suggest ?

    Reply

    • I wouldn’t recommend adding the gluten flour into the blender, I think it will be a sticky mess. You can totally make the sauce in the blender. Then just knead the dough by hand for a couple of minutes! :) That should turn out just fine!

      Reply

  18. I’ve just completed veganuary and this is only the second seitan recipe I’ve tried. I made sausages with this and they do taste amazing. This will definitely be my go to from now on.. the parchment paper did stick . So any helpful hints to avoid this will be muchly appreciated.
    Could I use this same recipe to make a loaf? Lining the loaf tin in parchment and foil ?

    Reply

  19. This is an easy seitan sausage recipe that tastes great and has a great texture. The inclusion of sparkling water is sheer genius. It’s also the secret ingredient to making great, fluffy, light matzo balls, so it didn’t surprise me that it works so well to make seitan. This has become my go to recipe for everyday seitan meals.

    Reply

  21. I’m curious – would this recipe work as a substitute for sausage in a traditional sausage gravy where the sausage is more crumbly and not needed to be in “log” form? Thank you!

    Reply

  22. Hi Bianca,

    This is my favorite go to recipe for vegan sausage, have you ever tried rolling them into cellulose casings?

    Reply

  24. I love the texture of these sausages! I didn’t have sparkling water, so I used Corona Beer. They still turned out amazing with a great beer-sausage flavor! I made them a bit smaller than recommended and my son stood at the counter and ate 5 of them in a row. He’s a skinny, teenage, eating machine! These are fantastic! I’m going to make these to take on vacation with us. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  25. Everyone in my family loves these! I omit the oil, add sun dried tomatoes and a little more spice. I also used these silicon sausage molds and steam them. They work beautifully:
    https://www.amazon.ca/OHYESS-Silicone-Handmade-Bakeware-Accessories/dp/B078TG6JP6/ref=asc_df_B078TG6JP6/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292944040466&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17661527438288752069&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001537&hvtargid=pla-524768356937&psc=1

    Reply

  26. I’d like to try this recipe with sweat potato mash, carrot, parsnip, coliflower, broccoli, onion, garlic &cheese, if I wrapped up all these ingredients in the vital wheat gluten would they stick together, & would I have to add the chickpeas to it.

    Reply

  27. BI

    BIGOS!!!
    My vegab bigos recipe uses these, plus other homemade seitan (beef-, chicken-, pork-style) to create a bigos which even my Polish carnivoew friends enjoy and ask for again and again.
    These are also very good if made with the diameter of a Wiejska or Krakowska whole sausage and then sliced. specially if you have an electric slicer.

    Thank you!

    Reply

  28. First, try this foil… it’s parchment on one side and foil on the other, so you don’t need two products and do two wraps.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0145I67PO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=joebyer99-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0145I67PO&linkId=18eaf7d5feaac11179369e2f36a487e2

    Second, great recipe! I like to cook up some lentils, wheat berries, and kalmut in a little veggie stock and stir into the mix. The little globular textures randomly stirred around the mix gives a great mouthfeel like ground meat. Also, I heated up my oil (and was a little more generous with it) and added all my spices and herbs to the warm oil to infuse for a few minutes before adding into the mix. The toasty flavor of fennel and everything else really blooms in the hot oil. Next time, I’m going to do a carribean jerk version; can’t wait!!

    Thanks!

    Reply

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