I’m really fascinated by the abundance of meat substitutes out there. While I am still a full-fledged omnivore, I love cooking for my herbivore and pescetarian friends. One of my best friends whom I met in London before moving and she is now also here with me in the Bay Area really does miss her British foods as much as I do. One of the biggest things she talks about missing is vegetarian and vegan sausage rolls. I am always up for a challenge, and after being invited to a party at her new place, I knew that sausage rolls would be the best surprise for her party. So I worked on making those vegetarian sausage rolls (with a uniquely American twist)! I must also warn you that I am not the measuring-ist of people when it comes to cooking, so I’m going to try my best to give some decent measurements.
So there are two special ingredients you will need for these sausage rolls. First, I’m basically in love with the Beyond Meat Sausages. They come in two flavors: Bratwurst or Spicy Italian Sausage. I’ve only ever used the brats for this recipe, but either will probably work! Even though the sausages have a “casing”, these casings basically melt quite easily so there is no need to remove them before mixing. The sausages are at several locations, but if you aren’t sure where to find them, try their locator here. They are also vegan, so they can be used to make vegan rolls too if you like! If you can’t find them, you can try other vegetarian sausages, but I can’t guarantee how well the sausage rolls will turn out. My second obsession? Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Seasoning. It’s basically all the yummy things you’ll find on everything bagels and I love to topped baked goods with them. It’s basically my secret ingredient for this recipe that gives these rolls their American twist. However, if you can’t find them, feel free to substitute sesame seeds or poppy seeds if you aren’t near a Trader Joe’s.
Finally, I prefer puff pastry for my sausage rolls, but a regular flaky pastry will do. It’s a great opportunity to use any homemade pastry you like, in fact, I’ve made these using homemade puff pastry and they turn out amazingly, so it’s a great opportunity to give making your own puff pastry a try! If they can do it on The Great British Bake-Off/Baking Show, I promise you can do it at home! If you want to make them vegan, use a premade vegan pastry or your own favorite vegan recipe!
Vegetarian Sausage Rolls
Makes 12-18 rolls
This recipe doubles EXTREMELY well. (There are photos of many of the stages below the recipe if you need some visual aids!)
Ingredients:
1 package Beyond Sausages (14 oz.)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2-4 Tbsps fresh sage, roughly chopped
Your favorite pastry (homemade or store-bought)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Egg (for egg wash) or olive oil or coconut oil (to make it vegan)
Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning (or any topping you choose)
Optional: 1/2 cup of your favorite shredded/grated cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. (They do give off some grease, so a baking tray with a lip will save a lot of oven clean-up.)
2. In a medium frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft. Add sage and cook until sage is fragrant. Remove from heat and place in a bowl to cool for 5-10 minutes.
3. Add the Beyond Sausages to the bowl, and the cheese if using. Mix together well with hands until the ingredients are distributed uniformly. Chill for 10-15 minutes.
4. Roll out your favorite pastry. If you are using pre-packaged puff, I only needed 1/2 a package for the recipe, so if doubling, you may only need to use the other half of the package.
5. Form the sausage into a long log the length of the sausage. Wrap the pastry around the dough and seal well at the bottom.
6. Slice the log into 1 to 1-1/2 inch (2.5 – 4 cm) portions. Place the sausage rolls seam side down on the baking tray. Cut a diagonal slice across the top of each roll.
7. Beat the egg and egg wash the top and sides of each sausage roll. (Or use olive oil, coconut oil or your favorite vegan egg wash substitute.) Sprinkle the top of each sausage roll with everything bagel seasoning.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before diving in!
