Vegan, oil-free and gluten-free breakfast sausage patties…now you can have those breakfast sandwiches, burritos, and casseroles that you’ve been missing!
If you’ve been looking for a breakfast sausage to make your favorite breakfast recipes with, this might be the one. I gave up trying to find a plant-based alternative to pork sausage when I stopped eating oils. I was able to find gluten-free, plant-based versions occasionally, but all of them were loaded with oils and saturated fats. Some were even higher in saturated fat than the meat versions! This version is not fat-free, but it is all plant-based and made with whole foods and no oils.
This sausage will form and hold it’s shape fairly well if you are gentle with it. It also crumbles nicely so you can use it in casseroles and other dishes that call for ground meat, like this hash brown breakfast casserole below.
Let’s get started!
I used Butler Soy Curls, rice and walnuts to create the meaty texture.
Rehydrate the soy curls in veggie broth. This gives them more flavor than if rehydrated in water. I use a colander to drain and squeeze the broth from the curls after rehydrating. They’ll look like the picture below.
Add them to a food processor and pulse until they are in small bits. Add to a large bowl. Pulse the walnuts down to a similar or smaller size. Add to the bowl. I used Trader Joe’s sprouted rice and gave that a little pulse or two in the food processor also. Do the same for the hash browns and the mushrooms.
I like mixing my spices in a mortar and pestle, but it is not absolutely necessary. Prepare the flax eggs and allow to thicken for about 10 minutes while you’re mixing the spices.
Add the spices to the soy curl mixture and mix thoroughly. I used my hands to get it completely mixed. Add the tomato paste and flax eggs and mix it really well.
Grab a handful or a big spoonful and form into a patty. I used little metal rings that I have to keep them all the same shape, but you can just form into a patty in a size that you like.
These can be baked or pan-fried. I prefer baking them all at once and then freezing them. In the morning, I can take one out of the freezer and heat it in a dry pan. I’ve also used my air fryer to cook these and that works well also, but I suggest using a piece of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to the basket. See the picture below for how they look prior to baking.
One last picture to scroll past to get to the darn recipe…ha haa!
- 1 8 oz pkg soy curls rehydrated
- 3-4 cups broth or water to rehydrate soy curls
- 6 oz mushrooms I used white, but any would work
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 2 cups hash browns, thawed can use grated potatoes, but press out as much water as possible
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 flax eggs 2 tbsp flax meal/6 tbsp water
- 1-2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1-2 tsp fennel, ground
- 1/2-1 tsp black pepper
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1-2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1-2 tsp dried sage
- 1-2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2-1 tsp nutmeg
-
Place all the spices in a mortar and pestle or a small mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and set aside. *See note regarding amounts*
-
Rehydrate the soy curls by placing them in a bowl and covering with broth or water. Set aside for 10 minutes or so. When soft and completely rehydrated, drain into a colander and using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
-
Add the soy curls to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until you have small bits. Add these to a large mixing bowl.
-
Do the same for the mushrooms, walnuts, rice and hash browns. Each ingredient should be pulsed separately and added to the mixing bowl.
-
Mix soy curls, mushrooms, walnuts, rice and hash browns thoroughly.
-
Add spice mixture.
-
Add nutritional yeast, tomato paste and flax eggs. Continue to mix until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
-
Form patties and place on a baking sheet to bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. This is the best method for initial cooking.
Alternatively, you can fry these in a dry pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side. Turn carefully!
*See note for further info on best reheating method**
- Start with the lesser amount of spice listed if you tend to like things milder in taste. Bump up to the higher amount if you like things highly flavored (I do...and I also like things spicer (heat) so I add more red pepper flakes.
- These patties hold together best if they are oven-cooked first. To reheat, they do nicely in a dry pan over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side.
- I have great results freezing these. Separate with parchment paper and freeze in an air-tight container.
Do you have a mailing list, if so richardeahern@hotmail.com
I’m working on creating a mailing list and I’ll be sure to add your name when it’s up and running. Thank you!
Where is the breakfast casserole recipe ?
Hi! I haven’t written up a separate post for the breakfast casserole, but I will soon. Here is what I do: Take a bag of hash browns and place them in the casserole dish. Bake at about 375 degrees until golden and a little crispy in some spots. Make a tofu scramble (I sauté tofu, onions, spinach and add turmeric for color and Kala Namak Black salt for the eggy taste) Add the tofu scramble on top of the hash browns. Add a layer of crumbled sausage. Pour your favorite cheese sauce over it all and poke it in in several places and smooth the top. Bake covered until bubbly. Uncover and bake a little more to get the cheese to firm up on the top. I hope to get this recipe up sometime soon. Due to a house remodeling, I’m limited in what I can do on my blog for now, but I will be back!!
Just found your blog, and am so glad that I did.
I’m making the breakfast sausage for my husband this morning and hope to make your casserole described above soon.
You are an inspiration!
Thank you! I hope you and your husband enjoy the sausage! Let me know how you like the casserole!
Hi Trish!
I can’t have any kind of nuts or seeds. Is there a substitute for the nuts that would work in this recipe?
Thanks
Hi Becky! You can leave the nuts out without any problem. They just give it a texture/mouthfeel that people associate with meat. I’ve made them nut-free for my granddaughter who is allergic to tree nuts, and I used hemp seeds one time and that worked nicely too. Since you can’t have nuts or seeds, I’d just leave them out altogether. I hope that helps!
Thanks Trish! I’ll give it try without!
Sorry ,I made it and not a fan!
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy them. What was it that you weren’t a fan of? Flavor? Texture?
These are great, Trish! I used a few sausages to make my Grandmother’s traditional sausage stuffing both vegan and gluten free for our early Thanksgiving celebration. The other dozen plus sausage patties went into the fridge or freezer. I plan to use the ones in the fridge for brunch tomorrow with a tofu scramble. Thank you!
These are great, Trish! I used a few sausages to make my grandmother’s traditional sausage stuffing both vegan and gluten free for our early Thanksgiving celebration. The other dozen plus sausage patties went into the fridge or freezer. I plan to use the ones in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow with a tofu scramble. Thank you!
I’m so glad you like them. I’ve recently been adding a small amount of psyllium powder (mixed with water) to the batter and they hold together so nicely! It gives them a bit more of a “chew” that I like. Thanks for commenting!