I’ve made seitan steaks, I’ve made seitan chicken inspired tenders, I’ve made seitan wing inspired bites, I’ve made seitan pepperoni, and now it’s time to share my recipe for Vegan Italian Seitan Sausages. Clearly, I’m obsessed with seitan recipes. These Italian style sausages have that perfect meaty texture, that classic sausage shape, that flavourful burst of Italian seasoning, and they’re just really damn good!
It’s actually a bit weird how meaty these turn out, but because I made them in my own kitchen, I know they are also 100% vegan! There is even an oil-free option for those who prefer it.
The secret to taking these vegan sausages from good to really damn good is to add bits of sun-dried tomato and sautéed onion. You know how traditional sausages have those little fat speckles throughout that help add texture and flavour, well that’s exactly what the sun-dried tomatoes and sautéd onions do. Even though they are just bits of veg it provides a very similar texture. So cool!
These sausages are best made the day ahead and chilled in the fridge overnight for the ideal texture. When they are cold they will be quite firm, but when you heat them- grill, fry, etc.- they will soften slightly for the most amazingly perfect texture. Then you can use them anywhere you like!
Where to use vegan sausages:
- Grill the sausages and serve on a bun, hot dog style.
- Fry and serve with potatoes and vegan gravy.
- Cut into thick slices or small chunks and top on soups, salad, or pasta.
- Toss into pasta sauces.
- Slice thinly or crumble to use on pizza.
- Prepare sausages with peppers and onions.
- Anywhere else you want to use these vegan sausages!
To make Vegan Italian Seitan Sausages:
Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan or skillet over medium heat and when hot add the onions and garlic. Sauté until the onions turn translucent and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the vegetable broth, tomato paste, and white miso pasted until smooth. Now add the sun-dried tomatoes, nutritional yeast, dried basil, brown sugar, fennel seeds, dried rosemary, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, liquid smoke, and all of the sautéd onions and garlic along with any oil leftover in the pan, and stir to combine.
Oil-free option: if you prefer to make oil-free vegan Italian sausages simply sauté the onions and garlic in water or broth. Then for the sun-dried tomatoes, use the dry kind that aren’t in oil. Chop them up and then soak them in hot water for about 20 minutes to soften the tomato bits. Drain, and proceed with the recipe as normal.
Lastly, add the vital wheat gluten and combine to make a dough. Knead the dough to make sure it’s all combined, but once combined, stop kneading. The more you knead the tougher the sausages will get so only do as much as is needed to incorporate the vital wheat gluten.
Cut the dough into 6 equal-sized pieces. Take one of the pieces of dough and place it on a sheet of aluminium foil. Shape the dough into a rough sausage shape, but don’t worry about making it look pretty or neat. Some pieces of onion and sun-dried tomato may fall out but just tuck them near the dough and it will all incorporate and shape up nicely as it cooks.
Roll the sausage up loosely in a piece of aluminium foil then twist the ends closed. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough to make 6 sausages.
Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the sausages to the steamer basket and steam for 40 minutes. After steaming remove the sausages from the steamer and allow to cool completely in the fridge, overnight is best. The logs will have puffed up in the foil and become tight.
Once cooled, remove the foil and they are ready to enjoy as is or you can fry, grill, slice, or enjoy them any way you like.
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Easy to make with oil-free option. Perfect for the grill, BBQ, to toss on pasta, pizzas, salads, soups, on a bun, or to use anywhere you like!
Recipe adapted from Plant-Based Meats cookbook
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (see notes for oil-free version)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup white miso paste
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (the kind in oil), finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional for spice)
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 cups vital wheat gluten
Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan or skillet over medium heat and when hot add the onions and garlic. Sauté until the onions turn translucent and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the vegetable broth, tomato paste, and white miso pasted until smooth. Now add the sun-dried tomatoes, nutritional yeast, dried basil, brown sugar, fennel seeds, dried rosemary, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, liquid smoke, and all of the sautéd onions and garlic along with any oil leftover in the pan, and stir to combine. Lastly, add the vital wheat gluten and combine to make a dough. Knead the dough to make sure it’s all combined, but once combined, stop kneading. The more you knead the tougher the sausages will get so only do as much as is needed to incorporate the vital wheat gluten.
Cut the dough into 6 equal-sized pieces. Take one of the pieces of dough and place it on a sheet of aluminium foil. Shape the dough into a rough sausage shape, but don’t worry about making it look pretty or neat. Some pieces of onion and sun-dried tomato may fall out but just tuck them near the dough and it will all incorporate and shape up nicely as it cooks. Roll the sausage up loosely in a piece of aluminium foil then twist the ends closed. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough to make 6 sausages.
Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the sausages to the steamer basket and steam for 40 minutes. After steaming remove the sausages from the steamer and allow to cool completely in the fridge, overnight is best. The logs will have puffed up in the foil and become tight. Once cooled, remove the foil and they are ready to enjoy as is or you can fry, grill, slice, or enjoy them any way you like.
* For the oil-free version, sauté the onions and garlic in water or broth instead of oil. Use the sun-dried tomatoes (the dry kind, not in oil), but soften them before adding them to the mixture by soaking them in hot water, and then draining the water once they are softened.
*Nutrition is based on one sausage. Recipe makes 6 sausages.
* If you prefer to avoid aluminum foil, roll the sausages up in parchment paper, and then roll the parchment paper wrapped sausages up in cheesecloth and tie the ends closed.
*These freeze wonderfully as well. Once cooled completley in the fridge, transfer them to an air-tight freezer container and toss in the freezer. Before using, allow them to thaw completley and then cook with them as you like.
Nutrition
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Hi Sam! I’m planning to have this in my boyfriend’s upcoming BBQ party. What’s the shelf life if kept in the freezer?
I would say they should keep just fine for up to three months. Enjoy!
OMG. My first try at seitan ever. SO GOOD!!! And so easy. And omni-hubby approved.
I’m deeply impressed: I now know how to make super yummy sausages without any weird/expensive ingredients/appliances myself. In my own kitchen. WOW. How many carnivores can say that? Can’t wait for the next potluck. You’re a genius.
Haha!! Amazing!! So thrilled you loved them so much, Yulca! Isn’t it SO cool that we can easily make vegan meats right in the comfort of our own home!? 🙂
These are fantastic Sam! I’ve only made seitan a few times, always by your recipes, and they always turn out great.
A couple of days ago I was making a batch of naan and had a great idea: Vegan pigs in a blanket! Tasted great but super filling. Next time I’ll roll the dough a bit thinner.
Sounds amazing! Thrilled you are enjoying my seitan recipes so much, I’m having so much fun making them 🙂
I was excited to read the spicy Italian pasta with sausage recipe when saw note about opting for gluten free pasta. I must be gluten free and thought I could make the sausages for vegan niece and then we could all enjoy a special meal together.
The sausage recipe sounded great until the gluten part!
Is there truly nothing that can replace the gluten in this otherwise great sounding recipe?
Unfortunately, there is no good substitute for vital wheat gluten as far as I know. Instead, try using a store-bought gluten-free vegan sausage such as Beyond Meat sausages. Enjoy!
Yummy I can not wait to make and try these!!
Yay! I hope you love them, Bobbie 🙂
Looking good!
Will definitely be giving these a try…if I use plain dried tomatoes and slightly re-hydrate with water would that work?
Also, regarding the instant pot, they could play with the manual setting & steam for 5-10 minutes and see how the sausages look.
Thank you! I have a note about the dried tomatoes in my notes 🙂 Enjoy!
What is vital wheat gluten
Hi Wilman, it’s a protein rich flour made from wheat. I explain more about it in my seitan steak post.
Hey Sam, just a quick question. On the nutritional content of the recipe, is that per sausage or for the entire recipe? Tracking my salt…
Per sausage. It says that in the recipe notes 🙂 Enjoy!
These look great. I’m going to try steaming them in my instant pot. Anyone have success doing this?
I don’t have an Instapot so I’m afraid I’m not sure. Sorry I can’t be more help!
These look so good!! Any suggestions for cooking them without a steamer basket?
Yay for providing a no oil version
You’re welcome, Andrew 🙂
You can make a DIY steamer basket such as in this article. Enjoy!
Do you know how long I would need to steam them if using an InstantPot?
I don’t have an Instapot so I’m afraid I’m not sure. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Hi Sam! These look SO delicious! Just wondering if firm/extra firm tofu would work in place of the vital wheat gluten as I am extremely sensitive to gluten?? I miss grilled Italian sausage dearly, we used to be good friends until I had to say goodbye to it :(… I am going to experiment with tofu and update as to how (and IF…) it works out. Thank you for being my Vegan Guru!!
Hi Janeth! No, tofu isn’t close to vital wheat gluten at all I’m afraid and will not work for this recipe. Vital wheat gluten is wheat flour where the starch has been washed away leaving behind just the gluten (wheat protein). It’s a flour that when used makes things very chewy. I’m afraid as far as I know there isn’t a good gluten-free option yet.
Hi Sam,these Look delicious I will definitely be making them,I Love your Vegan Recipes&have made several because they always turn out!Thanks for a New Vegan recipe!
Yay! Thank you so much, Tamber. So thrilled you are enjoying my recipes 🙂