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.
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!).
How to make Vegan Seitan Sausages
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:
- Vegan Goulash with Homemade Sausages
- Vegan Hot Dogs with Homemade Seitan Sausages
- Vegan Breakfast Pizza
- 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)
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
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon canola oil
- ½ large white onion chopped
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼ cup cooked chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup sparkling water
- ¾ cup vital wheat gluten
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.
Selah Taylor says
These are so good! I made them, froze them and then they were fried in a frying pan with a little oil and they came out really tasty, with a very good texture. I'm going to make more soon.
Jordan says
Hi Bianca,
I'm looking forward to trying your recipe! Are there alternatives to using tinfoil? Trying to pair my vegan life with my zero-waste life. I know there are alternatives for food storage, but can beeswax wraps be steamed?
Thank you!
Richard says
Wow! These are good! I am so used to the store bought sausages and was skeptical how these would turn out. I knew they would be good but they by far exceeded my expectations in terms of texture and taste. Thanks for sharing your recipe with us!
Nilyu says
Thank you for this recipe, they turned out amazing! I didn’t have any sparkling so substituted it with regular water with some lemon juice, to add the oxidisation sparkling water add and that seemed to work out.
David says
Not a vegan but wanted something that would not fall apart in the BBQ when I cook for vegetarians. I followed the instructions to the letter, though used my own seasoning. They looked great when fried but tasted awful. Just plasticky/doughy. I threw them in the fridge and forgot about them. From the reviews I assumed the bar was set low for vegans. However. I tried one 3 days later and it tasted great. The dough taste had gone and the other flavours shone through. Posting this with thanks and to encourage others who may have had the same initial impression.
Jerry says
Hi everyone, seems I’m late to the party BUT I made these tonight and LOVE the texture. A big negative though is the ‘wheat gluten’ flavor. It’s a very distinct flavor that’s almost impossible to ignore. Any tips on how to neutralize it?? We weren’t able to eat due to the unique wheat gluten flavor!! Any/all advice welcome!!!
Anonymous says
How might it work to bake these in the oven instead of steaming them? Wouldn’t it give a crispier “skin” texture?
Chaven says
Is there an easy way to make wheat gluten. Stores don't sell this in my country.
MB says
Do you think it would work to make these into sausage patties and fry them? Instead of steaming them as links?
Mathew says
Thank you very much
Deb says
I made this recipe yesterday for the first time, I thought the uncooked ingredients lacked flavour and increased the spice. The cooked sausage was delicious and the texture superb. I’m going to experiment tonight by adding chilli flakes. I plan on making sausage rolls later in the week.
Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Emilia Clark says
Hey! I’m looking forward to trying these. I’m curious, I’m not vegan and I’m wondering if adding an egg or two to this would be okay? For extra protein and binding?
Mazzy says
I made these before and need to make them again now however I only have chickpea flour and not canned or fresh chickpeas. I can't by canned in my village and I have no time to boil any! Can I substitute with chickpea flour? Any advice on the amount or changes to the recipe to compensate? Thanks and thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Joy says
Want to try it but I dont have chick pea at hand can I use white beans instead or chick pea flour?we dont have vital gluten flour here in our shops can I use raw gluten instead?