Spicy and flavorful Vegan Andouille Seitan Sausage is easy to prepare and totally versatile. Add this homemade vegan sausage to your favorite grain bowls, stews and soups, snack boards, sandwiches, and Cajun recipes! Oil-free option.
I've made homemade vegan sausages plenty of times over the years, but they were usually Italian-inspired, based on Isa Chandra's recipe for Simple Italian Sausages. It wasn't until last year that it occurred to me to try adding traditional andouille seasonings to my favorite seitan sausage. And from the very first test batch Mark and I both loved it! I kept meaning to make it again for the blog, but before I knew it months and months had passed.
Recently I've found myself craving all sorts of spicy recipes, so I revisited this one and dialed it in! If you love a bit of kick from cayenne, I think you'll love these vegan andouille sausages. They also get flavor and color from smoked and sweet paprika, ground mustard, pepper, soy sauce, pinto beans, thyme, and garlic.
How to Make Vegan Sausage
If you've never made seitan sausages before, please don't be intimidated. It really is incredibly easy. I'll break it down for you...
- First, you need to cut 8 pieces of foil large enough to wrap up each individual sausage link (about 8 x 12 inches). And if you prefer not have foil directly against your food, you'll also cut 8 pieces of parchment paper. The parchment can be considerably smaller, though, about 5 x 6 inches.
- In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl whisk together all wet ingredients except the pinto beans.
- Pour the wet mixture and the beans into the dry ingredients. And here comes the fun part...get your hands in there! No spoon required. You're going to mix everything together by squishing, squeezing, mixing, punching, and kneading. See the photo on the right below? That's how the dough will look after mixing everything together in the bowl, soft and fluffy.
- Next, transfer the dough to a flat surface (if you have a porous countertop that stains easily I recommend using a cutting board). Knead the dough for about 3 to 4 minutes, and don't be afraid to get rough with it. This isn't like kneading bread. You can tear it, squish it between your fingers, and really mash it up! If any whole pinto beans fall out just mash them and press them back into the dough.
- Once the dough feels fairly firm, shape it into a rectangle. This doesn't have to be precise. Cut the rectangle into 4 equal-sized pieces (photo on the left below). Then cut each of those 4 pieces in half, so that you have 8 pieces of dough.
- Wrap one log in parchment (if using), then in foil. Secure the ends by twisting the foil like a tootsie roll wrapper. The sausages need to be securely wrapped to hold in their moisture during baking.
- Place the foil-wrapped sausages on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 55 minutes. To test for doneness, press the center of one of the sausages with tongs. If it feels firm, carefully unwrap it to check the color and texture.
Now you have eight spicy, gorgeous vegan sausages ready to eat or use in your favorite recipes!
I've also cooked these sausages by steaming them, but the texture is much better when baked. The contact with the hot baking pan browns them like a skillet, and the overall texture and firmness is much better.
If you prefer to steam the sausages, cook time will be about 45 to 55 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
We're in the midst of party season, and I can absolutely see these sausages gracing a gorgeous vegan snack board. Slice 'em up and serve alongside an assortment of vegan cheeses, veggies, crackers, bread, olives, mustards, pickles, hummus, etc.
You can also slice these sausage links or crumble them in a food processor, and add them to stir fries, tofu scrambles (like this Cajun Tofu Scramble), pastas, soups, wraps, and sandwiches.
Of course, these can be eaten straight out of the oven when hot or refrigerated for later use. If you plan to use them later, the best way to reheat these seitan sausages is in a hot skillet, briefly in the microwave, or on a grill. Reheating seitan in the oven tends to dry it out pretty quickly.
Are they spicy?
The recipe calls for a range of 2 to 2 ½ teaspoons of cayenne pepper. I would consider both of those amounts to create a moderately spicy sausage.
Mark and I both liked the extra spicy batch the best, but only you know your palate! If you want just a hint of heat you could always reduce the cayenne to 1 or 1 ½ teaspoons, though I haven't tested that amount.
I hope you enjoy this Vegan Andouille Sausage recipe! If you try it I would love to hear from you. Snap a pic and tag me on facebook or insta with @myquietkitchen. You can also leave a comment and star rating below to let everyone know how they turned out!
Enjoy!
You might also like:
Maple Vegan Breakfast Sausage
Easy Seitan Roast (Baked or Instant Pot)
Cajun Tofu Scramble
Basic Homemade Seitan
Seitan Jerky Two Ways
Thai-Inspired Vegan Larb
Vegan Andouille Sausage
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 ¾ cups vital wheat gluten (330 g)
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 to 2 ½ tsp cayenne
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp sea salt
Wet ingredients:
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3 Tbsp olive oil For oil-free diets, sub 2 Tbsp tomato paste.
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp garlic puree, freshly grated from about 4 large cloves
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp molasses
- 1 cup cooked pinto beans If using canned beans, rinse, drain, and pat dry to remove excess moisture.
Instructions
- Cut 8 pieces of foil just large enough to securely wrap the sausage links, about 8 x 12 inches. If you like a layer of parchment between food and foil, cut 8 smaller pieces of parchment, about 5 x 7 inches.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients - vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, cayenne, smoked paprika, regular paprika, thyme, mustard powder, pepper and salt.
- In a small/medium bowl, whisk together the broth, oil, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar and molasses.
- Pour the wet ingrediens into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and add the cup of pinto beans. Push up your sleeves and get in there with your hands! Squish and squeeze everything together for about one minute or until well combined. Mash the beans with your fingers.
- Transfer the dough to a flat surface and knead for several minutes or until it becomes stretchy and firm. You want to be more vigorous than if you were kneading bread dough. Feel free to tear and squish/squeeze the dough with your hands combined with more traditional kneading.
- Shape the dough roughly into a rectangle. Cut the dough into four equal-sized pieces, then cut each of those in half so that you have 8 links/logs. The dough will look bumpy and rough but will snap into shape inside the foil while cooking.
- If using parchment, wrap a sausage link in parchment. Then place that on a piece of foil and wrap tightly. Twist the ends like a tootsie roll wrapper so that the sausage is completely sealed within the foil (to keep moisture in). If not using parchment, simply place each sausage link on the foil and wrap as described above.
- Place the foil-wrapped sausages on a baking sheet, and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, flipping at the halfway point. When the sausages are done they should feel fairly firm when pressed with tongs. You can also check by carefully unwrapping one foil package. There should be some browning on the outside and the sausage should be firm when pressed.
- Unwrap each sausage and allow to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
