Vegan Tempeh Breakfast Sausage Patties

5 from 2 votes

This vegan tempeh breakfast sausage patties recipe is made with meaty tempeh crumbles, and vital wheat gluten can be pan-fried, baked, or air fried.

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Total Time45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 238kcal

Cut the tempeh into small cubes or crumble it with your hands. Add the tempeh, vegetable broth, and soy sauce to a medium pot. Bring the broth to a slow simmer, cover the cooking pot, and simmer the tempeh for 20 minutes.
Prep the dry ingredients while the tempeh simmers. Add the vital wheat gluten (seitan), thyme, marjoram, rosemary, sage, nutmeg, smoked paprika, black pepper, and red chili flakes to a medium bowl.
Once the tempeh is done, drain it over a colander. Use the back of a spoon to press excess moisture from the tempeh.
Add the tempeh, onion, garlic, mushrooms, maple syrup, soy sauce, and vegan Worcestershire sauce to a food processor or blender. Blend until the tempeh and other ingredients are broken down. You don't want a smooth paste.
Add the tempeh mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon until the ingredients are moist and blended.
Use your hand to form a ball of sausage mixture. If the ball crumbles, the sausage mixture is too dry. Add a little water. If the ball melts into your hand, it is too moist. Add a little vital wheat gluten (seitan).
Separate the sausage mixture into small balls and form about ¼ an inch thick. If you are going to pan-fry them, keep them on the thin side so they thoroughly cook in the middle. The number of sausage patties depends on how big you make them. I ended up with 9.

Heat a non-stick pan or large skillet and add the sausage patties. Cook them for about 5 minutes until they brown on the bottom. Flip the patties until they are firm and golden brown on both sides.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. and place the sausage patties on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Bake the patties for 10 minutes or until they start to brown. Flip them and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes.

Preheat the air fryer to 375 F (190 C). Place the patties in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Fry for 5 minutes. Flip the patties and fry for another 3-4 minutes until they are browned and firm.

The best substitute for vital wheat gluten (seitan) is high-gluten flour, such as wheat flour. Start with the same amount of flour and add more if necessary. You can also use gluten-free chickpea or oat flour to make vegan sausages.
Tempeh crumbles can be 2 days ahead or frozen for 3 months. If you make the sausage mixture ahead, wait to add the vital wheat gluten until you are ready to cook the sausages. In my experience, when vital wheat gluten (seitan) is mixed with moist ingredients and stored overnight, it expands and gets quite chewy.
Store cooked sausage patties in an airtight container wrapped in plastic or foil. Keep them in the refrigerator for 4 days. You can also freeze them for 3 months.
The best way to reheat sausage patties is either in the microwave or foil-wrapped in the oven. You can also steam foil-wrapped sausages.
Vital wheat gluten and seitan are often used interchangeably. But they are two different things. Vital wheat gluten is a dry, flour-like ingredient made from processed wheat flour. Basic seitan is a vegan meat alternative made by mixing vital wheat gluten with water or another liquid. This mixture is then cooked.