Vegan Breakfast Sausage

Run, don’t walk, to pick up the ingredients for this Vegan Breakfast Sausage recipe. Amazing savory pork flavor packed into plant-based breakfast sausage. It’s what dreams are made of.

Somedays, breakfast wouldn’t be complete without juicy, fatty sausage. I love to host a big brunch gathering with tons of options from sweet to savory and hot to cold. These vegan breakfast sausage patties totally fit the bill. If you are looking to replace some classic comfort foods with vegan alternatives, I have you covered!

Today I’m going into the science-y part of cooking to teach you how to make your own meat substitutes that really look, taste, and feel like the “real deal.” Having these fun options in your arsenal mean you can feed a wide range of people with just one meal.

I tweaked a recipe from Mark Thompson at Sauce Stache, king of all things vegan meat, to bring you some new techniques. And I’m not going to lie…you’re going to need some weird ingredients for this one. But once you have all the supplies, you can easily whip up vegan meats whenever you want in under 20 minutes. Let’s do this!

Ingredients for Vegan Breakfast Sausage

Unlike most of my recipes on the blog, this one requires some fancy ingredients you’ll likely need to order online. The perk is that once you have them in your pantry, you can make these vegan sausage patties easily anytime you want!

Fat Pucks: Weird name right? If you look at the anatomy of breakfast sausage, it has little chunks of fat that keep things moist. We’ll make our own with water, coconut oil, and methylcellulose. We’ll basically blend those 3 ingredients together then freeze into a “puck”. Whenever you’re in the mood for breakfast sausage, just grate the puck into your vegan pork mixture to replicate the juiciness of pork!

Textured Vegetable Protein: These dehydrated soy nuggets totally look like ground meat and are the perfect base for sausage patties. Here’s our comprehensive guide to textured vegetable protein!

Pea Protein: This protein powder helps bulk up the mixture.

Methylcellulose: A common addition in the food industry, it absorbs water which keeps these patties super juicy.

Pork Flavored Broth Base: This vegan powder has a pork flavor without any animal products. I love this brand in particular, which comes in a variety of flavors (like chicken, beef, and pork) and is so great for vegan cooking!

Beetroot Powder: This helps bring some color to the patties. We eat with our eyes, after all!

Paprika: I prefer normal over smoked here, but use what you have.

Maple Syrup: Pork has a naturally sweet flavor so just a touch will do.

Water: Brings it all together!

Breakfast Sausage Seasoning: The above ingredients can make a mean pork substitute, and it tastes like your basic ground pork. To really bring home the vegan breakfast sausage flavor, we add sage, salt, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and cloves.

How to make Vegetarian Breakfast Sausage

This is definitely a technical recipe in terms of ingredients, but the actual process is super easy (and SO worth it when you bite into these juicy patties).

Step 1: Fat Puck
Add water and methylcellulose to the jar of a blender. Turn it on and add melted (but not hot!) coconut oil in a stream, much like making mayo. Once combined, add to a freezer safe container – try an ice cube tray or other silicone mold for easy removal.

Step 2: Stir
Combine all the Pork Base ingredients in a large bowl. Add the Breakfast Sausage Seasoning and stir. Let this rest for 10 minutes so the TVP rehydrates and softens.

Step 3: Add Fat
Grate the frozen fat pucks into the mixing bowl. Work quickly (but safely!) to get this in still solid, as the coconut oil will want to melt. Stir it in.

Step 4: Assemble
Dip your hands in cornstarch water to form the patties. This will help them not stick to your hands as well as promote browning in the pan.

Step 5: Cook
Cook in a well oiled skillet right away until perfectly crispy on both sides.

Recipe tips

Freezer Ready: You can form the patties and freeze them before cooking. This would be perfect to take camping or just have in the freezer ready to make a couple on a Sunday morning.

Versatile Sausage: Use the mixture as a ground pork substitute anywhere you want! Just swap out the “Breakfast Sausage Seasoning” for some salt and pepper to taste.

Cook Ahead: Cook up the whole batch and store in the fridge to take on the go for easy breakfast all week.

I’m Lovin’ It

Nothing beats savory seasoned sausage for breakfast. Definitely try it on an English muffin with baked eggs and cheddar (if you aren’t vegan) or use it to make our favorite vegetarian Scotch Eggs!

• Tempeh Bacon is perfect for serving up several options at a brunch gathering.
• Campfire Orange Rolls give a sweet pairing to savory sausage you can reheat over the fire.
• Egg Muffin Cups add even more protein. Taking egg cups and sausage on the go is also super convenient.