These vegan andouille sausages taste alarmingly similar to the regular ones! Meaty, chewy, and packed with flavors, they will leave you craving more. These tofu sausages are also extremely high in protein!
Looking for a meatless sausage recipe that resembles meat? You are in luck! These spicy vegan andouille sausages are made from tofu and seitan, making them incredibly juicy and tender. We do not tolerate mushy, soft ones here!
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🤔What are vegan sausages made of
These vegan andouille sausages are made from 2 main ingredients - vital wheat gluten and tofu.
Wheat gluten (also known as gluten flour) is a wheat-derived flour that composes of gluten, the main protein in wheat. Hence, it has an elastic and chewy texture that resembles meat. I highly recommend checking out my ‘What is vital wheat gluten’ post to learn more about this amazing flour.
As wheat gluten can be tough on its own, tofu is added to provide moisture and tenderness to the sausages. We are using extra-firm tofu here.
Other than that, various spices and seasonings like nutritional yeast, soy sauce, paprika, and thyme are added to flavor these tofu sausages.
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Meaty, flavorful, and incredibly delicious
- 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 skip it to make these tofu sausages spice-free.
🔪How to make
Make sausage dough - 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.
Kneading - Transfer seitan dough to a flat surface and knead for 1-2 minutes. They should be slightly firm but still pliable.
Shaping and wrapping - 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.
Cooking - 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 them with foil.
- Allowing sausage to cool - This allows tofu sausages to firm up, improving their texture.
🥗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:
- In dishes like stir-fries, rice and black beans, and curry tofu scramble
- Chop them up and add them to salads like lettuce avocado salad, and protein pasta salad
- Slice them thinly and use them as a topping for pizza, along with marinara sauce or tomato sauce and shredded vegan cheese
- Make it a meal by serving tofu sausages with sides like mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, mac and cheese, and vegan gravy
- Make a simple charcuterie board with crackers, paprika hummus, tofu ricotta, pickles, and olives
❄️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 with oil.
❔Commonly asked questions
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.
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!
🍽More seitan recipes
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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.
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 them with foil.
- Allowing sausage to cool - This allows tofu sausages to firm up, improving their texture.
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.
Shellie
These sound great. Can they be made into the one log like your INSTANT POT SEITAN recipe?
Meesha
I have yet to try that out, but you could try pressure cooking it for 40 minutes instead of 16 😊
Shellie
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
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
I am so happy to hear that! Yes, liquid smoke sounds like a great addition.😁
Jill
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
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. 😉