This homemade vegan sausage recipe tastes incredible and is gluten-free! Simple whole foods with spices to get that perfect texture.
Store bought vegan sausage is filled with processed ingredients and almost always has gluten. It's much healthier and saves money to make it at home!
This post was originally published on November 29, 2021.
This vegan sausage recipe is amazing on its own, but also perfect in all of my (or any other) recipes that include vegan sausage. Make my easy 3 Ingredient Spinach Tomato Pasta or throw these in a vegan omelet, all delicious and healthy!
Ingredients
Many store bought vegan sausages and homemade recipes are made with vital wheat gluten, which doesn't work for those of us eating gluten free! By making your own you can control exactly what goes into it.
Not only can you make sure it fits your dietary needs, you can adjust the spices (see below for variations) to make it taste exactly how you like. Since this recipe is so easy to make, there's really no reason to ever buy it at this store again!
In order to make your own gluten free vegan sausages you will need the following items:
- Mushrooms
- Onion
- Garlic
- Tamari (a gluten-free soy sauce)
- Oats
- Walnuts
- Lentils
- Basil
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Fennel
- Paprika
- Red pepper
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Vegan Sausage
This recipe takes a few steps, but they're easy!
- Pulse the dry ingredients.
- Sauté veggies.
- Pulse them together to get a dough.
- Shape them into links.
How to Cook Vegan Sausage
Once the links have been formed it's time to cook them up! A lot of vegan sausage recipes can fall apart easily, so for the best firm consistency that holds together here's what to do:
- Surround the vegan sausage links in parchment paper and then foil.
- Place in a steamer basket in a pot with water and steam.
- Finally pan fry, grill, or air fry for the perfect finish!
Alternatively you can skip the steaming process and cook them in a pan with a drizzle of oil. Rotate them every 3-4 minutes so the whole thing gets brown and cooked. Allow to cool so the texture will set before eating. While this is quicker, they won't stay together as well and the texture won't be as firm.
Recipes to Make With Vegan Sausage
Now that you have this delicious gluten free vegan sausage recipe down you can make it all the time to enjoy in so many ways! Here are a few recipes this would taste great with:
Dipping Sauces
If you're eating these meat free sausages on their own, they will go well with these sauces:
More Vegan Sausage Flavors
I'd classify this recipe as vegan Italian sausage, but you can switch up the flavor very easily!
- For breakfast sausage try leaving out the basil, oregano, and fennel, and instead add sage and rosemary.
- Try a chorizo inspired flavor with chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, and salt.
- Get the bratwurst taste with caraway, nutmeg, onion, and coriander.
- Mix in a splash of liquid smoke if you want an extra smoky flavor.
- You can also add in other flavors like sun dried tomato, apple, caramelized onions, olives, whatever sounds good!
Substitution Suggestions
This vegetarian sausage recipe is quite versatile and can be adjusted to fit your taste preferences and dietary needs.
- If you need to make this recipe soy free, simply swap out the soy sauce for coconut aminos.
- Keep the sausage nut free by substituting the walnuts with sunflower seeds.
- Make sure to use tamari and certified gluten free oats to keep the recipe gluten free. If you are not avoiding gluten feel free to use soy sauce instead of the tamari.
Preparation Tips
- For more texture in the vegan sausages avoid blending the mixture into a paste, instead keep it crumbled.
- A firm consistency is best reached by steaming. The longer you steam the firmer they will get. Make sure to check the water level and refill as needed.
- No matter how you cook them the texture sets more as it cools.
Storage Tips
- Store the vegan gluten free sausages in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
- For the best results, freeze raw vegan sausage links individually wrapped in parchment paper and foil, sealed in an airtight container.
- You can also freeze after you steam and/or fry them.
- Defrost to room temperature then heat them in a pan.
- Raw sausages may have to be reshaped a bit once they defrost.
- Reheat in a skillet over medium heat. You can also warm them up in an air fryer or toaster oven, or just pop them in the microwave real quick.
Common Questions
Not all vegan sausages are gluten-free. In fact, many get their meaty texture from vital wheat gluten.
Many vegan sausages use vital wheat gluten as a main ingredient. Other varieties use gluten-free ingredients such as beans, nuts, oats, lentils, or veggies.
It depends on the recipe! Some store bought kinds may not be made with the best ingredients. Make sure to read the label to see if it fits you dietary needs. Better yet, make your own with this recipe that uses whole food ingredients so you know it's healthy.
More Vegan Meat Recipes
Once you're done finishing the best vegan sausage recipe ever, make sure to try these classically meaty dishes! They have been transformed into gluten-free plant based ones made with whole foods:
The Best Vegan Sausage (Gluten-Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped mushrooms
- ¾ cup chopped yellow or sweet onion
- 2 cloves garlic , chopped
- Your favorite oil for sautéing veggies , or veggie broth if not using oil
- 1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper , depending on heat level you want
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika , optional for smoky flavor
- ¼ cup tamari , or soy sauce if not gluten free
- 1 cup oats , gluten-free if needed (see note)
- ¾ cup walnuts
- 1 ½ cups precooked lentils
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt , this is optional if you feel you want more salt
Instructions
- Saute mushrooms, onion and garlic in a drizzle of oil or veggie broth until they begin to get soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the basil, oregano, thyme, fennel, red pepper, smoked paprika if using, black pepper and soy sauce. Cook about 2-3 minutes until no liquid remains. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile put oats and walnuts into a food processor and blend until crumbled.
- Add in the sauteed mixture and lentils. Pulse until you get a crumbled but dough like consistency. If you want more texture don’t blend into a paste but keep it crumbled.
- Allow mixture to set about 5-10 minutes so the oats can soak in some liquid (you can also do this after you shape into sausages as well). I use this time to clean up a bit.
- Shape into 8 sausage like links.
- Here you have two choices. You can cook directly on a pan with a drizzle of oil, rotating every 3-4 minutes so the whole thing gets brown and cooked. Allow to cool so the texture will set before eating.
- If you want a more firm consistency, then wrap each link in some parchment and then foil. Place in a steamer basket in a pot with a few inches of water at the bottom. Steam for about 45-60 minutes. The longer you steam the firmer they will get. Make sure to check the water level and refill as needed.
- You can then pan fry after or eat as is! The texture sets more as it cools.
Notes
- If there is a nut allergy, you can sub seeds for the walnuts.
- If you want to freeze for later use, you can freeze raw individually wrapped in parchment and then foil then put them in an airtight container. You can also freeze after you steam and/or fry them. Once ready to eat, I defrost to room temperature then heat them in a pan. If you freeze raw you may have to reshape them a bit once they defrost.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Liz
Hi. Can I substitute the lentils with beans? Your recipe looks delicious.
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Liz! Thank you! I haven't tried other beans but I am sure you can. Texture should be similar!
Brent
Hi Liz
I am a head chef of a gastropub who has been struggling with my vegan sausages for ages. Tasted amazing but sloppy and looked awful. Tweaked this recipe (left out the nuts and replaced the lentils with 5 beans) but what an amazing result. Steaming definitely the way forward and feedback is that the smoked paprika is the way forward. Thanks so much. Will now work on my burger! X
joe
Do they hold without disintegrating? Tks
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Joe! It depends on what you are using these for and if you steam for the right amount of time. Steaming helps them firm up so the longer you steam the more firm they will be. I have used them with pasta in sauce and they worked great.
Sarah
Loved these! Can't wait to experiment with different spices to mix things up!
Slawero
Your recipe travelled across the pond to Eastern Europe. I make your sausages regularly without fennel seeds because it's hard to get them here. They're still tasty. Thanks
Sophia DeSantis
Wow!!! I’m so happy to hear you like them! Thank you so much for telling me.
Debra Moray-Brach
Do you think you could wrap them in rice paper?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Debra! I bet you can! It would give a casing like outer cover. Let me know if you try!
joe
Howdy
Can the fennel seeds be left out or sub for something else?
God bless. happy New Year.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Joe! Happy new year! You can definitely leave out the fennel seeds. You can sub with some of the other spices if you want or simply leave them out for a more mild flavor.
Sarah
These are perfect! Chopped them up and served with pasta and marinara, delish!