By Bohemian Vegan Kitchen · Published: · Updated: 156 Comments This post may contain affiliate links.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Getting kids to eat a healthy breakfast can be difficult.
I mean, one trip down the cereal aisle with children is enough to make me go insane. No, we are not getting “frosted” anything. Those puffs are LITERALLY nothing but sugar. Look, put down the chocolate crispies or else. And when you’re outnumbered 3 to 1, getting everyone to agree on plain bran cereal is close to impossible.
Enter this vegan breakfast sausage, which is something everyone can agree on without throwing a temper tantrum.
Because when you get to enjoy a classic breakfast with a vegan spin, everybody wins. These meat-free sausages are made using lentils, rolled oats, and ground flaxseed as the base, then mixed with a collection of sausage-worthy spices to bring the flavor on point. It’s seriously the best vegan breakfast sausage recipe EVERRRRRRR.
(And if you like this healthy vegan breakfast, you can also check out my amazing savory oatmeal recipe and the ultimate vegan omelette.)
Table of contents
- A vegan sausage muffin that’s actually healthy
- This vegan lentil sausage recipe is easy to make and use all week long
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to make vegan lentil sausage patties + video
- Pin It!
“Wonderful recipe! We love the fennel, maple syrup, cayenne– well, EVERYTHING! I made a double batch for quick breakfasts for the week! Thanks for sharing this recipe!” -Sherry
“I am sold on these breakfast sausages…” -Stefani
[convertkit form=1787489]
A vegan sausage muffin that’s actually healthy
Perhaps my favorite thing about these vegan breakfast sausages is that they’re actually healthy.
When I was a kid, I would beg my parents to pretty please take me through the breakfast drive-thru so I could get a sausage and cheese muffin, which was loaded with sugar and God knows what else. Even though eating one would send my stomach into convulsions and sometimes I would crash from a sugar coma before 10 am, I still wanted them.
Food can be one crazy drug.
But now, I can actually enjoy my sausage muffin, because I control what goes into them. No crazy amounts of sugar or chemicals that make my stomach do back flips.
I love using lentils as the main base for these sausages, since they are easy to work with + easy to manipulate the flavor. Plus, lentils are a good source of vegan protein, making this sausage muffin a healthy breakfast choice.
What’s more is that my kids LOVE sausage muffins, so a batch of these will keep their tummies satisfied.
“This recipe is the truth! It’s sooo good, smells amazing & not time consuming! Loved it sooo much!” – C
This vegan lentil sausage recipe is easy to make and use all week long
So the next time you’re battling your children in the cereal aisle, forget the boxed junk and make some of these instead.
They’re a snap to pull together, taking only 20 minutes to boil lentils + 15 minutes to bake. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge so your kids can access them all week long.
And if you really want to take it to the next level, you can make a double batch of these and freeze individually-wrapped patties. Defrost with a quick reheat in a non-stick skillet. You’re welcome.
“I froze my batch. They were perfect when reheated on a skillet for a few minutes. I just recommend covering the pan so the inside of the patty warms up. Really delicious with avocado on an English muffin! And seriously these are so much more wholesome and cheap than the frozen pre-made veggie patties from the store. Really loved this recipe.” -Kayla
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you really need 1 cup of ground flaxseed for this recipe?
YES. I know, it seems like a lot, right? But the flaxseed is part of the magic of this recipe. It not only works with the lentils to help bind the patties together, but keeps these patties healthy + gluten-free.
Let’s talk lentils. Can I use canned lentils or green lentils? And do I need to drain the lentils before adding to the bowl?
The lentils in this recipe are important because they provide the moisture that helps keep these patties wet enough to shape into patties. You can use any variety (even canned), but just keep in mind that this could change the texture, taste, and consistency of the mixture. I’ve made this recipe countless times, and this is why I always boil brown lentils from scratch– the lentils are the perfect texture and contain enough moisture to shape into firm patties.
My sausage patties keep falling apart and my mix seems dry– how can I hold them together?
If your mixture seems too dry, it’s probably because the lentils do not have enough mositure (maybe they were cooked too long?). To solve this, simply add a couple tablespoons of water, and a touch more if necessary. You’ll know you have a good patty when you can roll it into a ball and it doesn’t fall apart. To see this process in action, check out the helpful step-by-step video below.
Can I freeze these patties?
Absolutely! I have done this (as well as readers of BVK) with great success. I suggest wrapping each patty individually, and defrosting by frying lightly with oil in a frying pan. I do not use a microwave, but I imagine that would work fine too:)
Do I have to use smoked paprika?
Nope! If you can’t find smoked paprika, regular paprika will do. The smoked paprika adds a bit of flavor, so if you want that smoky sausage feel, you can always add 1-2 teaspoons of your favorite liquid smoke.
Allergy Information & Substitutions
- These breakfast sausages are 100% vegan, meaning they are meat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free. They are also naturally nut-free, oil-free, and gluten-free (if you want your muffins GF, make sure to purchase gluten-free English muffins).
- Make them soy-free by omitting the tamari OR using coconut aminos instead. Just remember that this may change the flavor.
- I topped my sausages with Daiya American cheese, but you can use another vegan cheese of your choice.
- See the FAQs for more on creating these vegan sausage patties.
“These vegan breakfast sausages were amazing!! They smells SO good the whole time that I slapped a piece of Daiya cheese on one as soon as they were out of the oven and ate it standing at the stove! They are WAY better than the real thing!!!! Yummy spices without the grease and gristle and you can taste them to adjust spices before they are cooked! Thank you for the recipe, I will be making these again and again!” -Christine
How to make vegan lentil sausage patties + video
What you need (for exact measurements, check out the recipe box below). To see the video, make sure your ad-blocker is disabled.
- Lentils. I use classic brown lentils for the best texture + flavor.
- Broth or water. For extra flavor, use a vegan beef or chicken bouillon cube.
- Rolled oats. The smaller the oatmeal, the better your patties will hold together.
- Ground flaxseed. This helps bind your patties and keeps them healthy and gluten-free. Yes, you really do need to use a whole cup.
- Maple syrup. This adds a touch of sweetness, but is totally optional. Just keep in mind that if you leave it out, you may have to substitute with a splash of water.
- Tamari sauce. You can also use soy sauce– tamari just keeps this gluten-free. If trying to do soy-free, swap this out for coconut aminos.
- Spices: fennel seed, smoked paprika, sage, thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. These bring the flavor + feel of traditional sausage.
- Extras: vegan cheese slices and English muffins complete this breakfast sandwich, but are totally optional.
Vegan Breakfast Sausage (Lentils, Healthy, Gluten-Free)
Randi Tisdall
This is seriously the best vegan sausage recipe EVERRRRR. Great on it's own or served on English muffins, now you can enjoy this classic protein-packed breakfast without all the junk. Naturally healthy, cruelty-free, nut-free, and gluten-free.
4.39 from 198 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 35 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Breakfast
Servings 12 patties
Calories 171 kcal
Ingredients
For vegan sausage patties:
- 1 cup dried brown lentils
- 3 cups broth or water (I like using vegetable or vegan beef/chicken broth)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons tamari sauce
- 2 teaspoons fennel seed
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt ( I use Himalayan pink salt)
Extras:
- vegan cheese slices, optional
- 12 English muffins, toasted
Instructions
Rinse and sort lentils. Add to medium pot with broth and bring to a boil; cook on medium high for 15-20 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and lentils are cooked through.
Transfer cooked lentils to a medium mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix until combined well. The mixture should be moist (for more on this, check out the video in post + the FAQs for tips).
Preheat oven to 400°. Using your hands, divide mixture into 12 balls, then shape into patties. Transfer patties to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. If melting cheese on top, remove patties from oven after about 14 minutes and add cheese; return to oven for 1-2 minutes. Serve by themselves or with English muffins!
Notes
- These breakfast sausages are 100% vegan, meaning they are meat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free. They are also naturally nut-free, oil-free, and gluten-free (if you want your muffins GF, make sure to purchase gluten-free English muffins).
- Make them soy-free by nixing the tamari OR using coconut aminos instead. Just remember that this may change the flavor.
- I topped my sausages with Daiya American cheese, but you can use another vegan cheese of your choice.
- See the FAQs + video above for more on shaping these patties.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 271mg | Potassium: 320mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 214IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe? Tell me about it + share!Comment and let me know how it was! Then follow BVK on Pinterest @bohemianvegankitchen
Pin It!
Thank you for taking the time to invest in your health and happiness!
« How to Impress Muggles With Amazing Harry Potter Vegan Cupcakes
Vegan Chef Boyardee »
About Bohemian Vegan Kitchen
I believe that wellness starts in your kitchen, but it doesn’t have to be complicated or boring! That's why I'm dedicated to sharing the best vegan comfort food and healthy recipes. Because at the end of the day, you should feel good about what you eat and how you feel, regardless of health restrictions or crazy schedules. Bohemian Vegan Kitchen has been featured by VegNews, Delish, Beyond Meat, MSN, and HuffPost.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Erin
While I eat more plant-based foods than many, I am neither vegetarian nor vegan. I still have made these multiple times and love them. They are also great make-a heads for the week so you can set yourself up for breakfast success. They can be dry but when I add the warm beans directly to the already mixed other ingredients, along with some of the cooking liquid, they turn out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Reply
Holly
I do like the basis of this recipe. After reading all the comments, I added about a tablespoon of oil and extra water to make a very moist paste and omitted the syrup. The spices I completely changed to suit my taste. After letting the lentil-oats-flaxseed meal mixture sit overnight, I added some toasted sunflower seeds to add texture. I got 20 good-sized patties that baked for 23-27 minutes. The addition of oil and extra water made a moist patty that held together really well. I might try to brown in oil a couple of cooked patties, to see if I can get a little bit of a crust on them. If you remember that this is a lentil patty, not a pig or turkey patty, you will be happier in trying these. They are not going to taste, look or cook like an animal product. They are very good and I will make them again.
Reply
Kristie
3 cups of broth made the mixture very soupy! I kept adding oats till I got something that wasn’t too runny, but still couldn’t make balls, had to drop puddles of soupy mixture onto baking sheet! We’ll see if they set up and are edible.
Reply
Laura
Love these. I put the entire mix into the food processor and pulse it a bit to give it more of a sausage texture. I cook up some JustEgg and put that, the sausage and some vegan cheese on an English Muffin … delish! M
Reply
Kimchi
I absolutely % ♥️ this recipe. It was so easy and quick to make. I am the only vegan in my family, so I froze the rest of the patties to use later. BTW, we made homemade pizzas last night and I kept enough of the recipe back so I could put it on my pizza. Mmmm . I also used some of the sausage recipe In my sausage gravy this morning over hashbrowns. I like my sausage more on the savory side rather than sweet so I added more fennel seed, smoked paprika and for more kick a little more cayenne pepper. Thank you so very much for this recipe.
Reply
JE
Made these this morning. My only changes were I used molasses instead of maple syrup, I ground my fennel seed, and I left out the peppers since I am not a pepper person. I did put all the ingredients in my food processor to really meld everything together and I did have to add 2-3 T of water to moisten the final product to get the right consistency.. Another ‘fake’ sausage recipe I have made has you ‘fry’ these in a skillet. I decided to put my patties on the griddle on Medium heat and let them cook through and get slightly browned. They turned out really well. I liked the flavor, as well as the texture is closer to a sausage patty than the other ‘fake’ recipe is. I will be making these again. Thanks for posting
Reply
Latasha Williams
Today was my first day making theses & I agree with Danica H on them being dry. Is there a way to make them a bit more on the moist & meat texture side? I will be making them again, but I think I will have to tweak the recipe a bit. I’ll post an update when I make them again.
Reply
Lisa B.
Will red lentils work?
Reply
Randi Tisdall
Hi there, I do not recommend red lentil because they will get really mushy. Brown or green work best!
Reply
Tina
These were amazing. I only had sprouted brown lentils but they were perfect. I didn’t have flax seed so I used chia seed. Little less than a cup though. Didn’t have syrup so I used agave. I didn’t have fennel but I had a pepperoni spice that had fennel so I used that. I used fresh sage and thyme. I didn’t see to use smaller oats and mine were, well, huge. I added mushroom powder for more umami and lots of cayenne. Garlic too. Ok so…when I tasted the mixture, I was so pleased. My son even liked it and he doesn’t care for mock meats. Great recipe even though I had to make executive chef changes! Yum!
Reply
Melissa
Flavor was there just too dry. Will definitely make these again. I am thinking maybe use a food processor to blend lentils, oatmeal, and flax.
Reply
Brittany
Great basic recipe, I like to add to vegan hash with sprouts and onions. In a pinch I used canned lentils which makes this super easy, adding veggie bullion for more flavor. Freeze well.
Reply
Maren
If you are making these to freeze and reheat but want to add cheese, should I add it in the initial baking process like it says in the recipe? Or melt it on when I reheat it somehow?
Reply
Randi Tisdall
Hi Maren, if reheating by baking, I would begin without cheese, and then halfway add cheese to finish. Hope this helps!
Reply
Tim
one cup of flaxseed? is this a mistype?
Reply
Randi Tisdall
nope, that is the correct amount!
Reply
Megan
I love this healthy recipe! I modify it a bit (as I do with all recipes)… I add some black strap molasses, nutritional yeast and I don’t use fennel. I taste the recipe as I add in spices so I can adjust as needed to get the taste I want. It is so good on an English muffin with vegan cream cheese and avocado or vegan hollandaise sauce.
Reply
Laurie
I’m glad to see someone else left out the fennel and liked the end result. I’m not a fan of fennel and plan to leave it out when I make this.
Reply
Danette Russell
This is the best vegan breakfast sausage recipe I’ve made. The seasoning is perfect. Thank you for sharing
Reply
Danica Hubacheck
I’ve made these twice now and have been disappointed both times. They are very dry, and don’t have a sausage texture at all in my opinion.
Reply
Latasha Williams
I agree 100%
Reply
Tiffany
Could I use chia seeds in place of flax?
Reply
Maria
I’ve made these twice and the flavor was good but texture was quite dry. The second time I made these I even added some of the liquid from cooking the lentils. This improved the texture a little but not enough to make me enjoy these sausage patties. They are very healthy and have no fat which contributed to the dry texture. If I try to make these again I might add a small amount of oil to the mixture.
Reply
Darcey
Excellent recipe. Not dry at all. When cooking the lentils I leave some of the water and don’t over-cook the lentils so it will have a great texture!
Reply
Patricia G
******* An EXCELLENT breakfast patty! Many thanks!
One variation – I have different sized scoops for burgers, meatballs, mini-muffins, etc. I used a medium scoop for each patty, then flattened them with a fork – easier to keep the size consistent, and may be easier than by hand. Also, it gave me 14 patties
Reply
Shelley
These came together very well and I had high hopes! But the fennel overpowers the other flavours and that was disappointing. I’m a fan of fennel but I wanted to taste the sage and thyme as well. They were also very dry after baking. I think a TBS. of oil in the mix might help with that ♀️. I wanted a slightly juicy burger, if that’s even possible…but this was more like a dry biscuit texture. I like that it doesn’t taste like a bean burger though so I think it has potential.
Reply
Kassandra
This recipe is alot better than some of the others I have tried
I did use canned lentils had to add a tablespoon or two of water
They were delicious!!!
Now I have the reasonable expectations that it is NOT SAUSAGE
it’s not gonna be exact it never is
But nonetheless DELICIOUS
THANK YOUReply
« Older Comments
