Sausages are one of most people’s favourite foods, and there’s no point pretending that people feast on mungbean salads! Most sausages are from actory farms and even if free-range, we’re moving towards a plant-based world.
Keep sausages away from children (choking hazard). Keep recipes from pets due to onion, mushrooms, faux meats (and fresh dough, if making pastry for sausage rolls. Read food safety for people & pets.
Vegan sausages are actually pretty simple to make. Just have a few attempts then once mastered, you can make your own from then on. Ela Vegan combines beans, nuts, oats and seasons to make an ‘Italian sausage’. It doesn’t taste like meat, but it tastes good!
A Virtual Vegan makes sausages akin to her growing up in England, with a herby peppery taste. Loving It Vegan also has a good ‘meat sausage’ recipe, good with mash or in hot-dog rolls with fried onions, mustard and ketchup. Or go Welsh with these Glamorgan sausages (Gaz Oakley.)
where to buy good vegan sausages
Sausages are one of most people’s favourite foods, and there’s no point pretending that people feast on mungbean salads! However, most sausage meat is from factory farms and even if free-range, we’re moving towards a plant-based world for animal welfare, environmental and health reasons. So whether you’re a fully-fledged vegan or trying to eat less meat, here are some good alternatives. Many of the supermarket own-brand sausages taste nothing like food should taste like. Up your standards!
Moving Mountains make good ones, sold wholesale to restaurants and hotels etc. Sold in plastic-free packaging (they also make hot dogs), the brand was founded by a vegetarian with high cholesterol, who was told he had to cut out dairy to get better. He did, and now runs England’s top vegan food brand.
LikeMeat is a German brand founded by the vegan son of a meat company executive. He asked his dad for funding and his start-up was so successful that now they sell more plants than meat. Still mostly sold in mainland Europe, they are gradually making their way to our shores. And Germans know how to make sausages!
Irish food company Richmond make very good vegan sausages. Some people prefer not to buy from companies that also sell meat, but others say bring them on board. These have a ‘real skin’ and are quick to bake in 20 minutes, and you would not know the difference.
Look in stores for VFC chicken-less sausages! Or for meat-lovers,THIS isn’t Pork Sausage is one for the meat-lovers, as it’s very pork-like and good in sandwiches. They are high in protein and pretty affordable, but do come packed in a lot of plastic (recycle at kerbside or at supermarket bag bins).
This recipe for Rigatoni with Vegan Chirozo Sausage (Meatless Farm) makes use of their spicy vegan chorizo, a spicy sausage replacement that is nice in Italian dishes. Heura is another good (Spanish) brand of vegan chorizo in sustainable packaging. While pasta cooks, fry minced garlic and add sliced sausages, a little vinegar, smoked paprika, Dijon mustard and after a couple of minutes, a little fresh lemon juice. Cook with a little pasta water to make a tasty thick sauce, then serve with the sauce with fresh chopped parsley and chilli flakes, seasoned with sea salt. Serve with vegan Parmesan.
make your own (vegan) sausage rolls
The problem with most vegan sausage rolls on sale is that the pastry contains palm oil. So it makes sense to learn how to make your own pastry (simple with just a few ingredients, and you can freeze the rest). This frees you up to make all kinds of baked treats. Most sausage meat is from factory farms and even if free-range, we’re moving towards a plant-based world for animal welfare, environmental and health reasons. Try these vegan sausage rolls with sage & red onion (The Veg Space).
buy vegan sausage rolls without palm oil
The No Meat Company makes sausage rolls (in cardboard t rays) with sage onion meat-free sausage filling in dairy-free puff pastry. Made with soya and seasonings, find them in Iceland and The Food Warehouse (also online at Ocado). If they can do it – why can’t the others? They also make no-meat pies to serve alongside!
Why does the meda rave about Gregg’s vegan sausage rolls that are high in fat, tasteless and contains palm oil? One French chef says ‘the crust tastes like cardboard that was passed through a food blender, then compressed together into a puff pastry. The sausage feels like mushy gelatin, sometimes it’s spicy. Yet I chewed through it and bite after bite, I could see its intrinsic value’.
France may not be the nation we think of when it comes to vegan food or animal welfare, but we know these folks can cook and know good taste. Perhaps we need to show as much passion, and refuse to spend money on yuk food made for profit, just to keep up with fashion trends (go vegan for animals and planet, not because an influencer tells you to).
There are even online reviews of the Gregg’s vegan sausage roll, as if Lloyd Grossman was tasting a gourmet dish. But they are just a cheap mix of wheat flour, palm oil, textured wheat protein. Make your own (above) and stick them in a reusable lunch box!
