Description
These fun and delicious Vegan Pigs in a Blanket are surprisingly easy to make and are the ultimate appetizer or party food.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegan Mini Sausages
- ¾ cup red kidney beans (or any)
- ~½ cup kalamata olives (see note 1)
- ¼ cup olive brine
- ½ cup vegan beef broth (see note 2)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or agave)
- 1 ½ tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 ½ tsp ground mustard seed
- ½ tsp black pepper (fresh cracked is best)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp sriracha, optional (or more to taste)
- 1 ¾ cup vital wheat gluten
Dough / Blankets
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 - 1 ⅓ cups canned coconut milk (see note 3)
Instructions
- Make the seitan: Add beans, olives and brine, maple syrup, spices, tomato paste, sriracha if using, and broth (basically everything except the vital wheat gluten) to your food processor and blend until mostly smooth. Some specs of the bean skin may remain and that’s OK. Now add the vital wheat gluten and pulse until mostly combined.
- Add the dough to a medium bowl. Press it into one lump. If it looks a little powdery still, wet your hands and smooth the areas. Don’t knead the dough.
- Set up: Set up a station with prepared sheets of aluminum foil (I recommend heavy duty aluminum foil). Each sheet should be about 6” x 9”. A little less or more is fine, but I like to be able to roll the mini sausage a few times to keep it from coming apart later. This recipe makes about 32-34 sausages, so prep at least 30 sheets.
- Form the mini sausages: Start by laying out your first sheet of foil and taking your first portion of seitan. Take about 1-2 tablespoons worth Using your hands, form it roughly into a mini sausage shape. I like to joke about them being the size (and shape) of my fingers, which have always been a little chunky, lol.
- Roll it up: starting at the bottom, roll the sausage and foil up, smoothing the sides as you go. Roll fairly tightly, but don’t be overly concerned about it. Now take the edges and twist them, kind of like a piece of hard candy. Fold the ends in so they stay and repeat this step with the remaining seitan.
- Steam it: In a large steamer pot or pot fitted with a steamer basket, add 1-2” of water to the bottom of the pot. Bring it to a boil without the basket part in. Place your sausages in the basket. If you have a smaller steamer basket, you may need to do two rounds of cooking. You can leave out the wrapped sausages for an hour if you do this, or throw them in the fridge for up to 24 hours. But this is one of the reasons I recommend a large steamer pot (also great for veggies, potatoes, etc.). When the water comes to a boil, place the steamer basket with sausages in the pot and place on a lid. Steam (at full heat) for 20 minutes.
- Let them cool: After the sausages have steamed, remove the pot from heat, take off the lid, and let the sausages cool for 10 minutes in the foil. They’ll settle, so this step is important. After the 10 minutes is up, remove the foil carefully. You can make the dough while they’re cooling.
- Preheat oven: Set the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius).
- Make the “blanket” dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Create a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in your canned coconut milk (using only the white part of the can, not the clear part… Try shaking the can really well before opening, then you should just be able to use whatever is in there) OR melted vegan butter (and non-dairy milk, if you prefer). Mix together with a large wooden spoon or strong spatula until the dough comes together. If it’s just too dry, add a teaspoon or two more of coconut milk. If it’s too sticky or wet, sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour and mix again.
- Roll it out: Add the dough lump to a lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangle-ish shape. It doesn’t need to be perfect, and we can re-roll dough scraps later. Make the rectangle about ⅛” thick.
- Cover the mini sausages: Take one your vegan mini sausages and use it to measure a guide. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut a rectangle that’s the width of your sausage, or just a hair shorter if you want the ends to poke out a little (which is what I did). If you want to make it look fancy, you can cut the strip in half lengthwise as a long triangle, then roll it up. This crescent roll look is optional though. You could also roll the sausage in the dough up until the point where the cut end meets the other side of the dough, cut it there, and pinch the ends. Then place it seam side down on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sausages, re-rolling your dough scraps if necessary.
- Optional step: Lightly brush the tops with leftover coconut milk or melted vegan butter and sprinkle just a pinch of flaky sea salt on top. Delicious! This will also help brown the tops but it’s not necessary.
- Bake: If you didn’t say that in a Great British Baking Show voice, we can’t be friends. Just kidding. :) Bake the vegan pigs in a blanket for 14-18 minutes, until lightly browned. Switch or rotate the trays halfway through.
- Air Fryer Option: You can also cook these in the air fryer! Add them to the air fryer in a single layer, leaving a little breathing space between each one. Cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (or 191 degrees Celsius) for 5-7 minutes.
- Serve: Serve them warm with a dipping sauce like ketchup, mustard, vegan honey mustard, or vegan BBQ sauce. You can also store them in the fridge or freezer for later--just throw them back in the oven to crisp them up a bit!
- Store: These can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To freeze: Freeze them on a tray for an hour, then put them in a freezer bag and press the air out. Can freeze for up to 3 months. If you prefer to use a container, choose one that doesn’t allow a whole lot of extra air in, but doesn’t smash them together either.
Notes
- Note 1: I HIGHLY recommend you not skip the olives. This does NOT make the seitan taste like olives, but rather just gives it an extra kick of flavor. The fat in the olives also helps the texture and mouthfeel of the seitan. Don’t worry, the food processor will blend up the olives so your seitan won’t be chunky. If you really are afraid to use the olives, you could try soaked cashews instead (about 1/2 cup). You may need to add a bit more broth to get a moist dough.
- Note 2: To really make it taste like rich sausage, I highly recommend you use a vegan beef broth. My favorite is Better Than Bouillon Vegan Beef Base--which you just mix with hot water. The Better Than Bouillon brand is much more economical than prepared broth, has better flavor in my personal opinion, and lasts forever in the fridge. However, vegan beef bouillon cubes or prepared vegan beef broth will also work. If you cannot find any of these, just use vegetable broth but you’ll need to go heavier on the other spices--you’ll need to add salt too. I recommend adding a bit of soy sauce for flavor if you use the vegetable broth.
- Note 3: Instead of the coconut milk you could use melted vegan butter (same amount) or melted vegan butter with a plant-based milk (to lower the fat; I’d use ¼ cup melted vegan butter and the rest room temp unsweetened non-dairy milk), but I really like the coconut milk in this recipe. I promise it doesn’t make the dough taste like coconut, it just enriches the dough and makes it nice and soft, making it both easier to work with and more enjoyable to eat.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Snack, Party
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American, Sports
Keywords: Vegan, Oil-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, vegan pigs in a blanket