Easy Vegan Breakfast Sausage Patties Recipe

Vegan Breakfast Sausages are a super easy way to transform tofu into amazing breakfast protein. With (optional) fresh ground fennel seeds and a pinch of maple syrup, all you need is a bowl to mix all the ingredients together and form the patties. This recipe can be made in a pan, air fryer, or oven. Plus, you can meal prep it ahead of time for when you need a quick breakfast in the morning.

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Hey Internet, let's all wake up to an awesome vegan breakfast with this brand new recipe. We've made plenty of vegan meat recipes since starting ZardyPlants, but most of them have been either savory recipes, like our Vegan Carne Asada, or more general, like our Instant Pot Seitan. We've been craving some breakfast options and these vegan sausage patties are our first creation for breakfast vegan meat.

We actually already have a tofu-based Vegan Sausage Crumbles recipe on this site, but we wanted to make a patty version! We just love adding these to English muffins or Vegan Bagels with some vegan egg and/or vegan cheese for a delicious vegan breakfast sandwich (coming soon!).

The base for this vegan breakfast sausages recipe uses super firm tofu as the protein source. With a little coaxing, you can transform tofu into a lot of different vegan meat and cheese replacements. You can blend it up to make a Mousse, shred it into meat for Quesadillas, or you can cube it into Crispy Tofu. 

Today we are going to crumble it! We can make patties quite easily thanks to a wholesome binder (flax eggs, but you can find other options below). We can't decide which is the best part of this recipe, the flavor or how easy it is!

Our tofu breakfast sausage recipe is also easily made gluten-free (with gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce) and uses no vital wheat gluten. We do use vital wheat gluten in a fair number of our Vegan Meat Recipes as it's useful for making seitan, but we wanted this recipe to be an option for folks who cannot have gluten.

This recipe is super simple. All you need is a large mixing bowl and either a frying pan, an air fryer, or an oven to make this. You could use a food processor if you don't want to work with your hands, but we don't recommend it as you'll lose the uneven bits that give it an excellent texture. Texture is just as important as flavor when trying to make vegan versions of things!

Our vegan breakfast sausage would go really well with a side of tofu scramble, but if that's a little too much tofu for you, it would also be excellent in a bowl with some veggies, maybe hash browns or rice, and a little vegan cheese if desired! Use it in any way you like!

So let's whip up this sausage mixture and add some next level flavor to your breakfasts!

Why You'll Love This Vegan Breakfast Sausage Recipe

• Easy to Make: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and combine until you can start forming patties. Then just cook them and they're ready to eat!
• Super Flavorful: With sage, fennel, smoked paprika and more, you'll get that sweet yet savory taste that you've been missing with your breakfasts.
• Vegan Protein: With 16 grams of protein in each serving, it's a great option as a part of a balanced breakfast. It's lower fat (and has none of the cholesterol) than that of a traditional sausage too.
• Easy Meal Prep: Make a double batch and you'll have plant-based breakfast protein for days! These freeze very well too! 
• Cost Effective: These vegan sausage patties are easy to whip up in large batches (you can bake them and fill a few trays at a time if you like) and freeze individually (we recommend initially freezing on a plate or small tray and then wrapping each in freezer paper and sticking a bunch of them in a freezer-safe storage bag). They're a great way to prep some vegan proteins for your freezer but they're also a lot less expensive (and healthier) than a lot of store-bought options. Plus YOU control the ingredients, not someone else!

Ingredients

Pick up the following simple ingredients for this tofu sausage the next time you're at a grocery store. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutrition information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician, registered dietitian, or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs or need to meet certain daily values of any nutrient). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!

• 1 Block of Super Firm Tofu: I’m talking about the kind in the vacuum-sealed plastic, not a tub full of water. Not all grocery stores have it, though. If you only have firm or extra firm tofu (that comes in water), you can still make this deliciousness. Drain all the water from the package and then use a tofu press or two plates or cutting boards, paper towels, and a heavy weight (like books or a cast iron pan) to press the tofu for 20-30 minutes. Otherwise the tofu may turn out soggy. 
• ⅓ Cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce: This recipe is easy to make gluten-free by using gluten-free tamari instead! It's a one-to-one substitution. You could also use a little vegan Worcestershire sauce but I wouldn't use a whole third cup of it as it's much too salty.
• 2 Tablespoons Neutral Oil: We used avocado oil for this recipe, but you could also use grapeseed oil or vegetable oil. You can even use coconut oil if you prefer.
• 1-2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 2-3 Tablespoons Oat Flour: We grind this ourselves by throwing rolled oats in the blender and blending until fine. You can store it in the freezer for a long time!
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Flax Seed and 4 Tablespoons Water: This is to make flax eggs to hold the sausage patties together. They are easy to make! We also have substitutions below.
• 1-2 Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast is a nutty tasting ingredients that a lot of vegans use to help make vegan cheeses. It's really tasty!
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Fennel: We like to take whole fennel seeds and grind them up in a spice grinder. It has so much more flavor!
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• ½ Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• ½ Teaspoon Fresh Cracked Pepper
• ½ Teaspoon Ground Cumin
• ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, or To Taste (or you can add a little bit of chili flakes)
• ½ Teaspoon Ground Sage
• ½ Teaspoon Salt, Optional

Substitutions

• Tofu: You could potentially use drained and rinsed canned beans such as pinto beans, white beans, or black beans (or even cooked green or brown lentils) for this recipe. The thing is, I'm not sure how it would change how much moisture you need, so you'll have to play around with the recipe if you're looking to replace the tofu.
• Soy Sauce: Gluten-free tamari is a great choice to replace the soy sauce. You could also try coconut aminos. In a pinch, you could also use vegetable broth, but you may need to add some salt to the recipe.
• Maple Syrup: Agave is a super simple substitution for this recipe and so are other liquid sweeteners. You could also use brown sugar but I'm not sure it will really meld together fully.
• Flax Eggs: There are other vegan eggs (such as chia eggs) that you can use for this recipe. Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer is an easy option to replace the flax eggs.
• Oat Flour: Almond flour, Rice Flour, and even All-Purpose Flour will work in place of the oat flour.
• Cayenne Pepper: Red Pepper Flakes are another great spicy option for the sausage flavor. Or if you don't like spicy things, don't add any spicy stuff! If you feel your mixture still need as little bit more flavor after removing the pepper, try adding a little tomato paste.

How to Make These Vegan Breakfast Patties

1. Add Liquids: In a large bowl, add the soy sauce, oil, and maple syrup. Whisk briefly to combine them fully.
2. Add the Dry Ingredients: Place the oat flour, nutritional yeast, and spices into the bowl.
3. Crumble the Tofu: Grab your super firm tofu and crumble it into the bowl by hand. Mix everything together, then add the flax eggs and mix again. Taste test: taste a tiny bit of it. Add a bit more salty stuff if needed (but don't add too much more liquid).
4. Form Patties: Grab a bit of the mixture and roll it into a ball in your hands. The size of the ball will determine the size of your patties. Then press it down into a puck shape. Set each aside on a plate until you have formed all your patties.
5. Pan Frying Method: Add a bit of oil to your pan and heat it on medium high. Once ready, add your patties and cook each side until golden brown. Note: Be patience as turning them too soon may cause them to collapse.  
6. Air Frying Method: Add a piece of parchment paper to your air fryer, making sure the paper doesn't go too high up the walls of the basket. Add your patties and then cook for 8 to 10 minutes with a shake alarm. Flip them half way through if you are able to.
7. Oven Method: Preheat Oven to 350 F (175 C). Add parchment paper to a baking tray and place your patties on it. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes or until patties are desired golden color.

Storage Instructions

To refrigerate the patties, add them to an airtight container and then place them in your fridge. They should last 3-5 days. To freeze them, either place them on a tray and wait for them to freeze before adding them to a bag, OR wrap each one of them in parchment paper and then adding them to a bag. These two methods will prevent them from sticking together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Vegan Breakfast Recipes To Pair with Your Sausages

• Vegan French Toast Sticks
• Vegan Egg Muffins with JUST Egg
• Plant Based Pancakes
• Vegan Omelette
• Vegan Quiche with Hash Brown Crust
• Super Easy Tofu Waffles
• Vegan Cheesy Grits Breakfast Bowl with Crispy Chickpeas

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