Spicy Homemade Vegan Sausage

Everyone who tries this homemade vegan sausage recipe prefer these links to commercial brands—and they're a lot less expensive, too. Preparing the mixture in the food processor and baking the sausages in the oven are both time-savers. Once baked, they're ready to brown up in a skillet to enjoy as is or in other recipes. Recipe from Vegan Planet © 2014 by Robin Robertson and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.

Makes 8 links

• 1 1⁄4 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1⁄3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1⁄4 cup tapioca flour
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds 
• 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2⁄3 cup cooked or canned dark red kidney beans,
  rinsed, drained, blotted dry, and lightly mashed
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1⁄2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1⁄2 cup water, as needed

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, combine the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, tapioca flour, paprika, ground fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Pulse to mix.

Add the mashed kidney beans, tamari, oil, ketchup, liquid smoke, and about ⅓ cup of the water and process until well mixed. If the mixture is too dry, add more water, a little at a time, until you have a workable (not wet) dough.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead for about 3 minutes, then divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll and shape each piece into a link about 5 inches long. Wrap each link separately in aluminum foil, twisting the ends to seal.

Arrange the links in a single layer in a shallow baking dish, seam sides up. Pour enough water into the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the links. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake until firm, about 45 minutes.

Remove the links from the pan, unwrap, and set aside to cool, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow them to firm up before using. When ready to use, the sausage links may then be sautéed in a skillet in a little oil until browned.

• Try these tasty sausage links in place of purchased brands in our vegan sausage recipes.
• Shown at top: Garlicky Greens with Seitan and Vegan Sausage.

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