This is the best vegan breakfast sausage patties recipe! They aren’t mushy, don’t fall apart, and they have all of the flavor that you'd expect from a Morningstar or Field Roast sausage. Use them to make our Easy Vegan Breakfast Sandwiches.
We can’t even tell you how many different variations of ingredients we’ve tested for this vegan sausage recipe.
Whenever we set out to create a vegan version of any type of food, we really take the texture and flavor of the conventional recipe into consideration.
For these breakfast patties, we tried using beans, mushrooms, and brown tempeh for a ground meat substitute.
None of them wowed us, so we used the ingredient that created The Best Vegan Seitan Chicken Recipe, Vegan Seitan Ham, and our "Honey" BBQ Ribz from Great Vegan BBQ Without a Grill.
Seitan always wins!
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Ingredients
What are vegan breakfast sausages made of? Here's a visual cue of the ingredients with tips.
See the quantities in the recipe card below.
- Red lentils - we used red lentils because they don't have the earthy flavor that green lentils do.
- Oat flour - use a blender or food processor to grind rolled oats to make flour if you don't have ready made oat flour.
- All-purpose flour - this will help the sausage have a more crumbly texture.
- Vital wheat gluten - this is what will give the sausage patties a chewy texture.
- Vegan Worcestershire Sauce - use Annie's brand or Wizard's brand.
- Fennel - this is what gives it the sausage flavor.
Instructions
Here are step by step instructions to make meat-free sausage with visual cues.
7. For the crispiest vegan sausage patties, fry them for approximately 3 minutes per side.
Pro Tips
- Don’t skip the vital wheat gluten, this is what gives the sausage its meaty texture.
- Depending on the humidity, you may need to add extra wheat gluten or water to get the dough to the correct texture. If this is necessary, add by the teaspoon.
- Knead that dough for the full 5 minutes. This activates the gluten and gives the sausage the perfect texture.
- Crush the fennel, don’t put the whole seeds in or it will be difficult to eat.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you can. The longer it has to rest, the better the flavor will be.
- Baking the sausages alone is great, but if you want them to taste like restaurant sausage, fry them in a little bit of oil after they're baked.
How to Serve
Serve our plant-based breakfast sausages with Vegan Potato Pancakes, Vegan Buttermilk Waffles, Mediterranean Tofu Scramble, or our Vegan Breakfast Casserole, aka Strata.
Recipe FAQ
You can make our vegan sausage recipe or buy them. Our favorite store bought sausage is Gardein's Original Breakfast Saus'ge Patties.
You can make Tofu Bacon or Portobello Mushroom Bacon.
It depends on what's in the ingredients. If they're full of oil and processed ingredients, they're not considered healthy. Our vegan sausage recipe is made with healthy ingredients, so they're a healthy vegan breakfast option.
Our recipe would work on a grill as long as they are big enough not to fall through the grates.
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Heat in a pan until warmed through.
Yes. Freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and heat in a pan on medium-low heat until heated through.
More Meaty Vegan Recipes
Vegan Breakfast Sausage Patties
Equipment
- 1 Oven
- 1 stove
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour coarsely ground works best for this. SEE NOTE
- ½ cup cooked red lentils
- ¼ cup vital wheat gluten SEE NOTE
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon crushed fennel seed
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce We use Annie’s or Wizard’s brands
- 2 teaspoon no-beef broth we use Better than Bouillon
- 2 teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (176˚C)
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the 1 cup oat flour, , ¼ cup vital wheat gluten, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon crushed fennel seed, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste until fully combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk the ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoon no-beef broth, and 2 teaspoon liquid smoke until fully combined.
- Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture, add the ½ cup lentils, and stir until it forms a solid ball. On a lightly floured surface (use vital wheat gluten to flour the surface), knead the dough for 5 minutes. It should be firm and stretchy. If it’s sticky, add a little more vital wheat gluten, if it’s too dry, add water by the teaspoon until you get a firm dough.
- You can bake this immediately, or for the best flavor, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Tear the dough into golf ball size pieces and press into flat discs. Bake for 12 minutes, then flip and bake for another 12 minutes.
- Eat as is, or fry in a few tablespoon of oil until they’re nicely browned and crispy, approximately 3 minutes per side.
Notes
- One patty is considered a serving. If you tear off golf ball size portions you should get 6 sausages from the dough.
- The vital wheat gluten gives the sausage a meaty texture. We tested this recipe with beans, lentils, and veggies, and they were mushy, not at all like sausage.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and heat in a skillet until warmed through.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST SEITAN BREAKFAST SAUSAGE PATTIES
- Don’t skip the vital wheat gluten, this is what gives the sausage its meaty texture.
- Depending on the humidity, you may need to add extra wheat gluten or water to get the dough to the correct texture. If this is necessary, add small amounts.
- Knead that dough for the full 5 minutes. This activates the gluten and gives the sausage the perfect texture.
- Crush the fennel, don’t put the whole seeds in or it will be difficult to eat.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you can. The longer it has to rest, the better the flavor will be.
- Baking the sausages alone is great, but if you want them to taste like restaurant sausage, fry them in a little bit of oil after they're baked.
Nutrition
PIN ME!
Mimi says
Hi Linda, I will definitely make these sausages. I have an air fryer combination toaster and oven. I would air fry them instead of frying. Do you think I could just air fry or should I bake and then switch to air fry?
Thanks,
Mimi
Linda & Alex says
Hi Mimi! I would bake first, just to be sure that the vital wheat gluten cooks properly. Thanks for asking!
Sharine Borslien says
Hi Linda & Alex!
I made these sausage patties and they are delicious! I did a few minor substitutions based on my family's diet — and what was in my pantry, haha.
I used Millet Flour instead of all-purpose, including for the floured surface. This worked flawlessly.
I used Ground Fennel instead of starting with whole seeds, and also upped the amount to 3/4 teaspoon. This was also just fine for our tastes.
I don't use added salt in our food, so subbed Bragg's Amino Acids. Because it is a liquid, I added the Bragg's to a 1/4 cup measuring utensil and added water to fill it. Oh, joy, it worked well!
I had no "no-beef" broth in the pantry, so I added 3/4 teaspoon ground Anise Seed. This made the patties rich, with a distinctive Italian Sausage flavor! (I hope you try this addition, if only just for fun!)
The recipe came together very quickly even for my first time AND using all those substitutions. I refrigerated the dough overnight and baked six patties the next day. My oven called for a few extra minutes on each side, you know how it goes.
I took three of the six patties and broke them by hand into small-ish bite-size pieces, fried them with just a little cooking spray, and added them to my famous Jambalaya. (Yeah, I'm a little early for Mardi Gras, haha!) The sausage pieces turned into firm little dumplings. My goodness, they are so tasty and have such a different texture than the other ingredients!
This recipe is going into my permanent binder!
Thank you for all your kitchen inspirations. I know in my heart how much work goes into each recipe that you create!
Linda & Alex says
Hi Sharine! We're so happy you enjoyed the sausage!! We love the substitutions you made and we'll definitely try the anise the next time we make them. Thank you so much for the kind words, we truly appreciate it.
Have a wonderful week,
Linda and Alex
Naomi says
Hi! I can't wait to try these. Can the finished patties be frozen for future use? If so, how do you recommend reheating them? Would they need to be completely thawed first, or could you reheat from frozen?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Naomi! Thank you so much. 🙂 Yes, you can freeze them. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat in a 350˚F oven until they're heated through.
Alan says
Can brown lentils be substituted for red?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Alan, brown lentils are firmer and red split and are softer when cooked. You can try it, but the texture might be a bit mushy.
Alan says
Thanks a lot Linda. I did try but the insides were too firm actually, it was more like dough but after frying I saw signs that it could work. I’ll buy some red lentils and use those. I also added a little nutritional yeast for “umami”.
How thick would you make the patties? I judged from the pictures and estimated about an inch. Is that too thick? When I remake these I was thinking of going for half an inch but worried if the baking might dry them out.
Linda Meyer says
Hi Alan, between 1/2 an inch to 3/4 of an inch should work. If they're too thick they could definitely end up chewy. Because all ovens heat differently, check them about 5 minutes before the recommended cook time to make sure they don't dry out.
Suzy says
These are great! The only real change I made was reducing the Liquid Smoke by 1/2 because I find it gives things a fake taste. So the flavor was awesome! After baking, I put one on a toasted English Muffin with a slice of Follow Your Heart Pepperjack Cheese. I figured it to be a 356 cal breakfast! Oh, that leads to one question. Your pic shows 8 patties, your nutritional info says for 6. So it is 146 per patty for 6 patties? My patties were 2.3 ounces each. Really the perfect size for the muffin. I used a rolling pin to flatten because coming out of the fridge they were a bit stiff! But wow, this is going to be a great breakfast item!! Thanks!!!
Linda Meyer says
Hi Suzy, we're so happy you enjoyed them, and that you altered the liquid smoke to suit your taste. 🙂 The nutritional info is for 6 patties. We made 8 for the photos, and as you know, they can be made as large or as small as you need them to be. Thank you so much for your comment.
Christine @ Run Plant Based says
These look wonderful and we must try them on our next relaxing weekend breakfast, thanks!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Christine! Let us know what you think.
Ruth says
Can I use almond flour in this recipe?
Alex Meyer, MA says
Hey Ruth! Thanks for the comment! It really depends on why you're wanting to use the almond flour and what you're replacing. The vital wheat gluten cannot be substituted or it will completely change the texture. If you're looking to replace the all purpose flour, you could try replacing it with almond flour but it might slightly change the texture as almond flour has no gluten in it, so it won't bind the same way. Hope this helps!
Alex & Linda
Ruth says
I wasn't looking to replace the vital wheat gluten. I use that for a sausage link recipe and seitan I found online several years ago and know what it does. It was the oat flour I was thinking about replacing. I use almond flour in several recipes and like the hint of almond it gives.
Alex Meyer, MA says
Hey Ruth,
You can absolutely replace the oats with almond flour! That sounds super delicious. Let us know how it turns out : )
Alex & Linda
JoAnn says
I don’t see Seitan in the ingredient list, am I missing something? What is vital wheat gluten? Where can I find this product? One more question can you buy coarse ground oat flour. How do I make my own oat flour , from rolled oats?
Thank you so much I love your recipes and want to make this breakfast sausage
Linda Meyer says
Hi JoAnn, great questions, thank you! Vital Wheat Gluten is the main ingredient in seitan. You can't make seitan without it. Whole Foods and most grocery stores carry it. My local stores stock it with the rest of their Bob's Red Mill products. You can also order it on Amazon. You can make coarse oat flour with a blender or a food processor. Just process rolled oats until it becomes a coarse flour. You can also buy it, but it's so much easier to make, and less expensive.
Thank you for your kind words, we truly appreciate it. I'm going to go and answer your questions in the notes section of the recipe card, as I'm sure you're not the only person who will have the same questions. 🙂