Spicy and flavorful Andouille-Style Vegan Sausage is easy to prepare and incredibly 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 usually those were 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 foods, 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 7 or 8 inches long). 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 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.
TIP: Wrap the sausages nice and tight! They need to be securely wrapped to help them snap into shape and to maintain their moisture. - 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!
Baking vs Steaming
I've also cooked these sausages by steaming them, but I preferred their texture when baked. The contact with the hot baking pan browns them like a skillet, and the overall texture and firmness was 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 spicier 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
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Vegan Andouille Sausage
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 ¾ cups vital wheat gluten (330 g) - Use a scale to weigh flour or "whisk and fluff," then spoon into measuring cup.
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 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
- 1 tsp sea salt
Wet ingredients:
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3 Tbsp olive oil - For oil-free diets, sub 2 Tbsp tomato paste.
- ¼ cup 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 7 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 350 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, and press them into the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a flat surface and knead for several minutes or until it becomes stretchy and firm. Feel free to tear and squish/squeeze the dough with your hands combined with more traditional kneading.
- Shape the dough 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 50 to 60 minutes, flipping at the halfway point. When the sausages are done they will feel 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
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
ERIN
After trying your pepperoni, I need to try some other sausages now! Please formulate a recipe for chorizo + italian sausages!
Kristin Leary
Tried this today for a low country boil and they are amazing! One exploded in the oven, but it still tasted great!
Lauren
Good taste. Absolutely horrendous presentation. Do yourself a favor and blend your beans before adding to the mix. My beans would not mix in. Sausages literally look like poops because of the bean chunks throughout. Hope this will save someone else the headache!
Lori
Lauren, If the beans wouldn't incorporate during all of the kneading then they were likely undercooked. In step 5 you mash the beans with your hands and continue to knead for several minutes. But yes, blending the beans into the wet ingredients with a blender or food processor is another option.
Glad you liked the flavor!
Kristi Lewis
Has anyone tried to steam for half the time then bake the rest of the time?
Lori
I haven't tried that, but I think it's a great idea!
Ivonne
Hi, I had a thought come into my mind and wanted to see if it could work! I’ve made vegan vital wheat gluten ribs once but I know it can be time consuming making these products. What do you think about combining the wet ingredients with the spices and soaking vegan hot dogs or vegan sausages from the store in this for a while and then cooking them 🤔 do you think it could work?
Thanks!
Sebastian
Hey there. Found your recipe because i want to make some andouille for my gumbo. The main question ia have is: could i also steamcook the sausages instead of baking them in the oven? Maybe you have any kind of experience with steamed saitan 🙂
Btw, your sausages look soooo yummy 😀
Lori
Thanks, Sebastian! Yes, you can steam them; it will take about 50 to 55 minutes. Hope you enjoy them... I need to make some gumbo! 😀
Sarah
I haven't made these yet, but I want to! I extremely allergic to wheat, what can i use instead of the VWG?
Thanks!!
Lori
Hi Sarah, unfortunately the vital wheat gluten is crucial for this particular recipe, but I have seen other ways of making vegan sausages online. You could take a different, gluten-free base and add the Andouille spices to it! I just came across this one: https://elavegan.com/vegan-sausage-recipe/
I hope that helps!
Rebecca Bates
I just made these! They turned out really well. I used some baked beans that I made a while back instead of pinto beans and omitted the oil. I love the browned bits on the sausages as it adds a fun different texture. This is the first time I've ever baked seitan(I usually boil it) and it's definitely an easy and delicious beginners recipe!
Jodi
I will leave a Recipe Rating once I make these, which will probably be today. One thing, though: I do not have molasses. Can something else be substituted?
Lori
Sure thing! If you have maple syrup that's the easiest swap. Or one small (or half of a large) medjool date could also be blended up with the other wet ingredients. Another easy option is 2 teaspoons of brown sugar plus 1 teaspoon of water. Hope that helps!
Jodi
I still have not made this, but I have one more question, if you please! Can I use black beans instead of the pinto beans? I've used other beans, including chickpeas, for Isa Chandra's Italian sausage, and they've turned out just fine. But can I do that here?
Lori
Hi! Yes, other than it changing the color of the sausages black beans should be fine.
Bill Sexton
Hi Lori,
I am making this recipe again for the 3rd or 4th time. This will again be used for my gumbo. I am kicking it up a bit using 4 tsp cayenne, and adding 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp onion powder. I am thinking about adding some cooked rice to mimick the appearance of pork fat. Have you ever tried that? Thanks again for the recipe that we all love.
Lori
Hi Bill,
Sorry for the delayed response! In the busyness of Thanksgiving this comment must have slipped right past me. I LOVE that rice idea! Brilliant. I also love that you're bumping up the spices. The next time I make these I'll implement both of your ideas and report back. Thanks, Bill!
Bill
I made these today and they were easy. I worried about their stability in the vegan gumbo I made but they held up fine. I will add extra cayenne next time to make them stand out more in my very flavorful gumbo.
Thanks for the great recipe. My first vegan meal I have ever made! Will definitely make again!!
Lori
Wow, that gumbo sounds fantastic, Bill! Thanks so much for your comment. Glad you enjoyed them. 😀 Here's to many more vegan meals!
Teresa
These look amazing! I can't wait to try them!
Lori
Thanks so much, Teresa. Hope you enjoy!