Vegan Breakfast Sausages

ByJanelle Carss

At last, delicious and healthy Vegan Breakfast Sausages! Made from healthy, whole plant foods. Sweet and savoury, perfect with a stack of pancakes on the weekend.

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Watch how to make  Vegan Breakfast Sausages on my YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

Ingredients & Inspiration

You guys, my amazing readers, loved my vegan sausage recipe so much over on my YouTube (and my blog) that I decided to give them a sweeter spin and transform them into the perfect Vegan Breakfast Sausages! Made with similar, healthy ingredients, I’ve simplified the recipe even more while still adding extra flavours and deliciousness.

These Vegan Breakfast Sausages are truly the tastiest breakfast sausage, vegan or non-vegan, that I’ve ever had in my life. Crispy on the outside, chewy and meaty on the inside and absolutely packed with flavour and a warm dose of peppery, herby and maple-y sweetness. Where have these been all my life?!

The best part is most of the ingredients are probably already in your kitchen right now! Here’s what you need:

  • block of extra firm tofu
  • onion
  • apple
  • chopped walnuts
  • tomato paste
  • oil
  • maple syrup
  • soy sauce or tamari
  • balsamic vinegar
  • smoked paprika
  • garlic powder
  • dried thyme
  • dried sage
  • cayenne pepper
  • nutmeg
  • salt and black pepper
  • oat flour
  • rolled oats
  • nutritional yeast

How to Make Vegan Breakfast Sausage

These homemade Vegan Breakfast Sausages are an easy 3-step dance: Sauté the aromatics, cook up the rest of the sausage filling ingredients, roll into a rice paper sausage casing and fry or air fry!

  1. In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion, garlic and shredded apple for 5 to 7 minutes, until slightly darkening in colour and softened.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the tofu simply by crumbling it into a bowl with your hands. You want small, tiny pieces.
  3. Add the crumbled tofu into the skillet with the aromatics, followed by the maple syrup, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Stir well to combine and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. Add in all the spices, plus the soaked walnuts and tomato paste. Stir in the tomato paste really well into the mixture to ensure it browns nicely as it cooks. Continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping any stuck bits off the bottom.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer to a large bowl to cool for 10 minutes before handling it with your hands.
  6. Meanwhile, prepare a large, round plate by filling it near the top with warm water. Stir in a splash of soy sauce and maple syrup to lightly sweeten it. Grab 7 or 8 rice round paper sheets as well.
  7. Using a food scale, weigh the amount of the sausage filling mixture and divide that number by the number of sausages you wish to make. You should be able to make 7 to 8 decent sized sausages. If you don’t have a food scale, just eye ball it.
  8. Dip a sheet of rice paper into the seasoned water until it’s fully immersed, then remove it and gently shake off any remaining liquid. Place the sheet down on a cutting board, then drop a portion of the sausage filling in the centre. Shape it into a log shape using your hands, then roll it up in the rice paper. Set aside on a lightly oiled plate or tray and repeat until all the filling has been used up.
  9. Now, warm some oil in another skillet over medium heat and fry the sausages, in batches if needed, cooking on each side until golden and crispy. Alternatively, you can air fry them at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes until golden and crispy. Just make sure you lightly oil the air fryer basket as well as spray the sausages lightly with oil.
  10. Serve hot with your favourite breakfast dishes like pancakes, hash browns or waffles and enjoy!

Sweet ‘n SAvoury

Breakfast sausages always made an appearance on our Sunday morning breakfast table when I was a kid, so I’m really happy I can bring back that nostalgia with these sweet and peppery Vegan Breakfast Sausages! They’re so hearty, succulent, chewy and meaty I can’t believe how delicious they are. Perfect with some vegan tofu scramble, waffles, pancakes or hash browns.

If you enjoyed this recipe you should definitely check out my OG Vegan Sausages! You might also like my Lentil Loaf, too!

Lastly, if you made any of these recipes and decide to share them on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @SteamyVegan and use hashtag #SteamyVegan! I seriously love seeing what you’re cooking up! Plus make sure to check me out on YouTube — I have HUNDREDS of recipe videos to give you limitless plant-based inspiration!

Janelle Carss

Vegan Breakfast Sausages

At last, delicious and healthy Vegan Breakfast Sausages! Made from healthy, whole plant foods. Sweet and savoury, perfect with a stack of pancakes on the weekend.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Cooling Time 10 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 7 sausages
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Canadian
Calories: 260
Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 12-oz block extra firm tofu, crumbled
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 apple, shredded
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts, soaked in hot water 15 minutes
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari, plus extra
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar*
  • 1½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • ¾ tsp dried sage
  • ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 2 to 4 tbsp oat flour, depending on the moisture content of the sausage filling
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Rice Paper Sausage Casing
  • 7 to 8 sheets of rice paper
  • 1 large round plate of warm water
  • splash of soy sauce or tamari
  • splash of maple syrup

Method
 

  1. In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion, garlic and shredded apple for 5 to 7 minutes, until slightly darkening in colour and softened.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the tofu simply by crumbling it into a bowl with your hands. You want small, tiny pieces.
  3. Add the crumbled tofu into the skillet with the aromatics, followed by the maple syrup, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Stir well to combine and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. Add in all the spices, plus the soaked walnuts and tomato paste. Stir in the tomato paste really well into the mixture to ensure it browns nicely as it cooks. Continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping any stuck bits off the bottom.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer to a large bowl to cool for 10 minutes before handling it with your hands.Meanwhile, prepare a large, round plate by filling it near the top with warm water. Stir in a splash of soy sauce and maple syrup to lightly sweeten it. Grab 7 or 8 rice round paper sheets as well.
  6. Using a food scale, weigh the amount of the sausage filling mixture and divide that number by the number of sausages you wish to make. You should be able to make 7 to 8 decent sized sausages. If you don't have a food scale, just eye ball it.
  7. Dip a sheet of rice paper into the seasoned water until it's fully immersed, then remove it and gently shake off any remaining liquid. Place the sheet down on a cutting board, then drop a portion of the sausage filling in the centre. Shape it into a log shape using your hands, then roll it up in the rice paper. Set aside on a lightly oiled plate or tray and repeat until all the filling has been used up.
  8. Now, warm some oil in another skillet over medium heat and fry the sausages, in batches if needed, cooking on each side until golden and crispy. Alternatively, you can air fry them at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes until golden and crispy. Just make sure you lightly oil the air fryer basket as well as spray the sausages lightly with oil.
  9. Serve hot with your favourite breakfast dishes like pancakes, hash browns or waffles and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Macros per sausage, calculated based off making 7 sausages (you might get 8):
  • Calories: 260
  • Protein: 13g
  • Carbs: 25g
  • Fats: 12g
 
If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, you can sub it for vegan worcestershire sauce.

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