Author: 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 burst of Italian seasoning flavor, 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 flavor, 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!
How To Make Vegan Italian 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.
How To Cook Vegan Italian 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. When it comes to cooking these Vegan Italian Seitan Sausages, you have some options. You can BBQ, fry, or grill them. Once they are finished cooking you can slice them up and put on a pasta, pizza, or salad. Or enjoy them whole on a bun. In other words: enjoy them any way you like!
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Italian Seitan Sausages
Servings: sausages
PRINT
PIN
COMMENT
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, (see notes for oil-free version)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- ¼ 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
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, (optional for spice)
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 cups vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- 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 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 or until its internal temperature reaches at least 160°F (71°C) when tested with an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature goes higher, that's perfectly fine—you can't really oversteam seitan. The sausages will have puffed up in the foil and become tight. After steaming remove the sausages from the steamer and allow to cool completely in the fridge, overnight is best.
- 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.* Learn my secret tricks to making perfect seitan in my free masterclass. Click here to learn more and register.
Notes
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕
Shannen says
Came out fantastic! I love your recipes. I used to be a huge fan of apple sausage when I ate meat, do you have any suggestions on how to convert this recipe to have other seasonings like apple in it? Thank you!!
Jill Ellis says
Amazing!!! I made these and prepared a tray of sausage, peppers and onions and brought to a bbq. I caught my non-vegan friend enjoying it and thought it was actual sausage. Fantastic recipe, I just prepared another batch and I’m going to top my pizza with it. Thank for for another awesome recipe.
Andrea says
Best seitan recipe ever. Steamed in the instant pot and grilled the next day. Next time I'll do a double batch.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Ginny says
I was trying to find out if they could be steamed in the InstantPot! How long did you steam them for?
Hye says
Hi Andrea. How long did you steam in the instant pot? Thanks.
Tommie says
Is there a Substitute for the liquid smoke or could you just leave it out?
Sam Turnbull says
You could substitute for double the amount of smoked paprika. You could also skip it but it will miss the smoky taste 🙂
allison rice says
I made this completely oil free ( followed your oil free sundried tom tip),
And it was awesome!!!
I was careful not to over knead it and the texture was spot on.
Thank you so much for the recipe ^^
For other users, I've also made her seitan chicken steak and it was really good too!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! So happy you loved them, Allison 🙂
Vic says
I tried making these, but they came out very tough and chewy - I tried not to knead a lot, but the moment the viral wheat gluten hit the liquid, it solidified far and a bit of pressure was needed to mould it into a ball, and then later into sausage shapes.
Anything I could have done different?
I also wondered what the difference is in cooling in the fridge overnight? Could this have also made the sausages tough?
allison rice says
For me, I mix everything thoroughly before adding the gluten, then I very slowly and gently fold all of the gluten flour in. Literally folding it in and less kneading it. I do it just until all the flour is mixed, and rather than randomly fold the whole thing i aim for the flour spots as i go on and try to not effect the entire dough. It seems kind of obvious what im saying but it makes a big difference in texture, mine was really tender : ).
allison rice says
I also cooled in the fridge over night and that did not make it tough. I think it's probably overkneading, and possibly steaming too long? Steaming makes it firm up so maybe too long can make it hard. I think i steamed for about 50 minutes and had my foil loose
KP says
Vic, another possible thing to look at is how you measured the gluten. With gluten or regular flour, if you drag the scoop through the flour, or pack it into the cup, you have too much, which ruins tenderness. Also some measuring cups aren’t as accurate. King Arthur flour website has good information about measuring and accuracy. I dropped my spoonfuls of gluten into my most accurate cup to measure, then dropped in segments into well-mixed liquids and I had no problems with fast solidifying.
Edie Richmond says
We liked the taste of these sausages a lot and were easy to prepare. I left them in the refrigerator about 4 hours and then we grilled them. The inside was almost like raw bread dough consistency (stretchy. Do you know what I did wrong? Thank you. Love your recipes and just bought your cookbook.
Bianca says
First seitan recipe I actually like. Most of them have a strong vital wheat gluten taste, which I don't like.
Can't wait for a breakfast sausages/patties recipe!
Susan says
My husband and I made a double batch of these yesterday. They are amazing! I used Sandy's idea and did some of them in the instant pot. We loved them both. We wrapped some in parchment and put some in a silicone sausage mold from Amazon. Until I found your recipes, Sam, I was going to give up on seitan. Now our freezer is filled with "steak", "chicken ' and sausage. Thank you!
Vendy says
Hello! This recipe looks amazing. I just have one question - does it hold its shape nicely?
I would like to 'smoke' them on a stick on a fire - but I am afraid if they wouldn't fall apart. I haven't made these yet, so I better ask.
Thank you! Vendy.
Sam Turnbull says
Yep, they hold their shape great once steamed. You could even leave them in their foil packets if you like.
Anjani says
I am not able to find Vital wheat gluten. What is the good substitution for it?
Bianca says
I don't believe there is a substitute for vital wheat gluten. Have you tried to buy it on Amazon?
Also, check Gaz Oakley's recipe on Youtube (BBQ Sausages). That one has no Vital Wheat Gluten.
Sandy Prager says
Great recipe! I did an experiment in that I steamed half in aluminum foil on the stovetop, the other half in about 3/4 inch broth and a little liquid smoke in my instant pot, for 16 mins, letting it cool naturally. The winner is definitely the instant pot! More flavorful and juicy. Really brings out your terrific recipe! Which I will be using. Thanks for posting it! 🙂
Emily says
So no aluminum foil in the version with the instant pot? Thanks 🙂
Sandy Prager says
No foil. Just about 1/2 inch or so of a liquid.
anissa says
hi! may i ask how did the sausages hold their shape if no foil was used? did u wrap them in cheesecloth? thanks!!
Sam Turnbull says
Great tips!
Eddie says
I made these yesterday, following the recipe completely and they were awesome. Thanks very much for this recipe. Going to try the 'chicken' tenders recipe next.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!
Alice says
These are incredibly delicious. The tomato and miso paste add so much flavour, I only wish I had added slightly more chili flakes for a bit more kick. I'm a vegetarian who honestly misses meat, but I would choose this sausage over a meat sausage any day. I've tried both your chicken and steak seitan recipes, and while they were good, this recipe is both the easiest and tastiest in my opinion, so for anyone considering trying to make seitan for the first time, make these sausages. Thanks so much for all the work you do, this website makes it so easy to be veggie!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thanks so much, Alice!! Thrilled you loved them so much 🙂
jean says
Going to try this today! Any suggestion for substituting white miso? I don't have any on hand. Braggs liquid aminos perhaps?
Thank you, jean
Suzy says
Finally got around to making these (during quarantine, not much else to do but cook!) and they are fantastic! I noticed a bit of sweetness to them and that was the first thing hubby picked up on too, so I'll reduce the brown sugar by 1/2. I also used Yellow Miso as I can't find White Miso to save my life. Tonight I made homemade pizza and crumbled the sausage to scatter on top of the pizza. Oh yeah.....that'll work nicely, thank you very much!!
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you loved them, Suzy!!
caitlin leigh says
Hi, im really excited to try this it looks amazing! just wondering if there's anything you could replace with liquid smoke as cant find it at the supermarket anywhere
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, try subbing smoked paprika. Double the amount 🙂
Alyson says
I just found your site & also excited to try some of your recipes! I’m curious what brand of viral wheat gluten you use? I tried making seitan with Bob’s Red Mill VWG but it was awful both times I tried it 🙁
Alyson says
*vital haha not viral
Sam Turnbull says
I use Bob's red mill. But vital wheat gluten is basically a flour so it doesn't really matter what brand you use. Instead what matters is the recipe. Have you tried one of my seitan recipes? most people love them.
Deanna says
Do you have any suggestions on how to turn this into more of a breakfast sausage flavour?? It's the only thing i'm missing in my life!!
Love you and all your recipes - I always know I can trust them!
Sam Turnbull says
I will add it to my idea list!
Alyssa says
I loved these! I like to cut them in pieces and fry them as a side. I've also added it to soup, fried rice, etc. Great recipe!
Vidette says
Has anyone steamed these in an instapot? If so how much water did you use please? V
Sam Turnbull says
Thrilled you love it, Alyssa 🙂
VeggieTater says
These came out great, but I would love it if you could come up with a good recipe for vegan brats? I've made some recipes but the spice mix just didn't cut it, and bratwurst is one of the very few meat products I've ever missed. Corned beef would be the other... but the spice mixes are all wrong and have tried quite a few. Even a search for the spice mixes for conventional products turn up conflicting lists, and its so frustrating to put in all the time, effort, and cost on a super tight budget...and be so disappointed with the outcomes. The texture is acceptable, but the flavor is sadly lacking.
Sam Turnbull says
I've added it to my idea list 🙂
Margie says
Yes. . Corned beef please!!!