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Homemade Vegan Italian Sausage (Seitan)

These flavorful sausages, made with simple ingredients, are fun and easy to whip up in your kitchen. Vital wheat gluten is found in many grocery stores today or can be ordered online. It’s used to make a versatile food called seitan which is high in protein and can be used to create many meatless dishes. Experiment with different spices and herbs to change the flavor profile. Once the sausages are steamed, they can be grilled, fried, or used in soups and stews. You’ll be surprised at how easy these are to make and how delicious homemade vegan sausage can be. The dough can also be shaped into cutlets!
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Keyword: plant-based meat, vegan

Ingredients

  • 1 can refried beans 15.5 oz can (or substitute other canned beans, mashed)
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 ¾ cups vegetable broth plus more if necessary
  • 2 ¼ cups vital wheat gluten

Instructions

  • Before mixing your ingredients together, set a steamer basket over a pot filled with enough water that it’s about 2 inches below the steamer. Cover, and bring to a simmer. Have 6 or 8 (depending on how many sausages you want to make) square sheets of aluminum foil ready: you’ll be rolling each sausage in foil individually, then steaming them.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the refried beans, nutritional yeast, garlic, soy sauce, oil, oregano, onion powder, salt, fennel seeds, and black pepper. Add the vegetable broth and stir until everything is combined. Add the wheat gluten and mix together with your hands. Add a little more broth or water if the dough is dry; it should be soft, moist, an pliable. Once the dough comes together, knead the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes or up to 10 (the longer you knead, the chewier the texture will be).
  • Shape the dough into a loaf and cut widthwise into 6 or 8 equal strips. Roll one of the pieces into a cylinder, then place on a sheet of foil and roll up, twisting the ends together tightly like a candy wrapper. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
  • Place the wrapped sausages in the steamer basket, in two rows if necessary, leaving room for the steam to rise through. Cover the pan/steamer and steam for about 50 minutes, rotating the sausages from top row to bottom row halfway through cooking. Remove the steamer basket from the pot and let the sausages cool for an hour or refrigerate overnight for the best texture. Unwrap when cool enough and they’re recipe ready. Freeze unused sausages wrapped in foil and inside a freezer bag.

Notes

Allergen Notes: Contains gluten
Special Equipment: Pot with steamer insert