These vegan andouille sausages taste alarmingly similar to the regular ones! Meaty, smoky, and packed with flavors, they will leave you craving more. These sausages are also extremely high in protein!
Looking for a meatless sausage recipe that resembles meat? You are in luck! Like my vegan Italian sausages and vegan gyros, this recipe is made from seitan, giving them a distinct chewy, meat-like texture.
They are great on their own as a high-protein snack, but I love adding them to dishes like my black beans and brown rice or jambalaya to bump up the protein content of the meals!
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💚Why you will love this recipe
- Distinctively smoky and spicy that resembles regular andouille sausages
- A good source of plant-based protein - a serving contains 20g of protein!
- Freezable, making them great for meal prep
- Super versatile and can be added to stir-fries, casseroles, salads, and pizzas!
🌿What you will need
📃Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Vital wheat gluten - A high-protein flour that consists mainly of gluten. DO NOT attempt to substitute this flour with other kinds of flour. It simply will not work!
- Tofu - Use extra-firm or firm tofu that has been drained and pressed beforehand. You can press tofu in a tofu press or by stacking something heavy on top. I recommend checking out this post, ‘How to press tofu,’ for more detailed instructions.
- Cayenne pepper - Traditionally, andouille sausages are spicy. However, feel free to reduce or even skip it to make these tofu sausages spice-free.
- Paprika - I recommend going for smoked paprika to give the sausages some smoky flavor.
🔪How to make
Add all ingredients except vital wheat gluten to the food processor. Blend until smooth.
Next, add vital wheat gluten and pulse until everything is well combined.
Transfer seitan dough to a flat surface and knead for 1-2 minutes. They should be slightly firm but still pliable.
Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Grab a portion and roll it into a 4-5 inches long log.
Then, wrap it in aluminum foil, twisting the end of the foil to seal. Repeat for the remaining dough.
You can steam them for 30 minutes or cook them in the Instant Pot at high for 16 minutes.Let vegan andouille sausages cool down before digging into them!
✔Helpful tips
- Do not over knead - Overkneading will cause the gluten to overdevelop, yielding tough sausages. 1-2 minutes is the sweet spot, but feel free to experiment until you get to your desired texture!
- Wrapping with aluminum foil - If you feel uncomfortable with foil touching your food, wrap a layer of parchment paper around your sausage dough before covering it with foil.
- Checking for doneness - Sausages should be firm and slightly springy. You can also cut a sausage in half to ensure the insides are cooked without the presence of raw dough.
- Allowing sausage to cool - Sausages might look soft after cooking but will firm up as they cool.
- Baking sausages - Alternatively, you can bake vegan andouille sausage in the oven at 180C/350F for around an hour.
🥗How to serve
As mentioned above, these vegan andouille sausages are incredibly versatile and can be added to many dishes. Here are some of my favorite ways to use them:
- Charcuterie or snack boards - Slice up sausages and serve them alongside crackers, vegan cheese, olives, vegan bologna, and hummus (like my paprika hummus)!
- Add to salads or salad bowls - I especially love mixing them into my protein pasta salad or lettuce avocado salad.
- As a topping - For pizzas and open-faced toasts.
- Make a comfort meal - Serve sausages with mashed potatoes, boiled peas, air fryer Portobello mushrooms, and gravy.
- Use in cooking - They can be used to make vegan jambalaya, but I also love adding them to other rice-based dishes like my Mexican rice and beans!
❄️Storing suggestions
Fridge - These tofu sausages can be refrigerated for up to 5 days in a sealed container or Ziploc bag.
Freezer - Vegan andouille sausages can be frozen for up to 3 months. I recommend portioning them out using freezer bags before freezing, so you will only take out what you need. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating - You can reheat sausages in the microwave, grill, or pan-fry them in some oil. Alternatively, slice them up and add them to dishes!
❔Commonly asked questions
These vegan sausages are made with seitan and tofu and are packed with protein. A serving contains around 20g of protein with only 117 calories!
Like the traditional version, these vegan andouille sausages are moderately spicy. However, you can easily reduce the heat by reducing the amount of cayenne pepper used or omitting it entirely to make this recipe spice-free.
These vegan sausages are not gluten-free. Vital wheat gluten, the main ingredient in this recipe, consists of mainly gluten. Due to this flour's unique nature, it is nearly impossible to substitute it with another flour.
Seitan is used to make these vegan sausages. Due to its high gluten content, seitan has a chewy texture that resembles meat. Additionally, tofu is added to tenderize the dough, giving sausages a juicier mouthfeel.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Andouille Sausages
Equipment
Ingredients
- 7 oz extra firm tofu drained and pressed (around ½ block)
- ½ cup water or low-sodium vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari/shoyu
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (reduce or omit for heat)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten *
Instructions
- Prepare 6 sheets of 7-8 inches of aluminum foils. (I am using 12 inches wide foil.)
- Add all ingredients except vital wheat gluten to the food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Next, add vital wheat gluten and pulse until everything is well combined.
- Transfer seitan dough to a flat surface and knead for 1-2 minutes. They should be slightly firm but still pliable.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Grab a portion and roll it into a 4-5 inches long log.
- Then, wrap it in aluminum foil, twisting the end of the foil to seal. Repeat for the remaining dough.
- Steaming - Bring 1-2 inches of water to a boil in a pot with a steamer basket fitted. Once the water starts to boil, place in seitan, and steam for 30 minutes.Instant pot - Place 1 cup of water into the inner pot and fit in a trivet. Place wrapped sausages in and cook at high pressure for 16 minutes. Quick-release pressure after the timer goes off.
- Unwrap sausage and allow them to cool before enjoying for the best texture.
Notes
- Do not over knead - Overkneading will cause the gluten to overdevelop, yielding tough sausages. 1-2 minutes is the sweet spot, but feel free to experiment until you get to your desired texture!
- Wrapping with aluminum foil - If you feel uncomfortable with foil touching your food, wrap a layer of parchment paper around your sausage dough before covering it with foil.
- Checking for doneness - Sausages should be firm and slightly springy. You can also cut a sausage in half to ensure the insides are cooked without the presence of raw dough.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
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Michelle says
Just made these and I am IMPRESSED. I will say that I strayed from the recipe just a little bit (cut the cayenne way back since I wasn't looking for the heavy spice) and added some ground fennel, rubbed sage, black pepper, and oregano. While I think they were a little heavy on the tofu flavor, when I dipped them in mustard, they really gave it. I am making more later this week and I think I will let the mixture sit for a while between steps 2 and 3 to give the tofu a chance to soak up all the flavors (as tofu does so well). I also intend to use this recipe in the future for lots of variations: maple breakfast sausage, hatch chile, Italian, basil & sun-dried tomato... the list is endless!
Jim Mee Sha says
Thanks for your feedback! I am really happy to hear that. 😁
Shellie says
These sound great. Can they be made into the one log like your INSTANT POT SEITAN recipe?
Meesha says
I have yet to try that out, but you could try pressure cooking it for 40 minutes instead of 16 😊
Shellie says
I made these last night, 6 small sausages. I used the chickpeas in place of the tofu. These are fantastic and so easy to make. 16 minutes in the IP wasn't enough. They were still gummy. I added another 4 minutes and let it come down to pressure naturally. Can't wait to have them again. Will doubling this recipe work the same in the IP? We definitely need more soon. 🙂
Rick W says
I just made these! The texture is spot on! I am actually pretty shocked at how pleasant they are on the pallete compared to store bought vegan sausages/hot dogs, etc. the only change I’ll make to them in the future is omit the thyme and add maybe some liquid smoke, and that’s just a matter of my own personal taste, not a huge thyme fan.
Meesha says
I am so happy to hear that! Yes, liquid smoke sounds like a great addition.😁
Jill says
Great recipe just tried it. Nice flavour and texture. A little dry but I think that was my fault as my daughter didn’t like the idea of a sausage that wasn’t pan fried even though it didn’t need it. Sat on char grill for about 5mins to “look” the part and I think that drained what moisture there was. Next time definitely won’t add that step.
Meesha says
Glad you like it! You can slightly reduce the kneading time to make it less tough, or perhaps reduce the grilling time. As they are already cooked, you wont need to grill them for a long time. 😉