Vegan Sausage Crumbles for Vegan Sausage Pizza
These vegan sausage crumbles are perfect for vegan sausage pizza, pasta sauce, Italian-style meals, or soups! It’s so simple to make your own homemade vegan sausage from TVP!
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You can whip it up in less than 5 minutes to use as a pizza topping or fry up and add it to vegan lasagna, stuffed shells, goulash, baked ziti, stuffed peppers, Zuppa Toscana, and more.
Why you will love this recipe
- TVP sausage is super easy to make!
- It tastes great on or in just about any savory dish that you would want a sausage flavor.
- You can adjust the spice level or herbs that you put in to suit your taste.
- It saves you a ton of money when you make your own!
Great recipe! I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make vegan sausage! I used it on pizza this time. I’m so excited to make a vegan sausage lasagna!
—Kevin
Ingredients and substitutions
- Water– or low-sodium broth for more flavor if you choose.
- Soy Sauce – for flavor. You can also use Bragg’s Liquid Amino or Tamari instead.
- Oil – any neutral-flavored cooking oil will work.
- Salt – just a little for flavor.
- Oregano – or an Italian herb mix.
- Fennel Seeds – for flavor. Fennel seeds are important to give the vegan sausage crumbles an authentic flavor.
- Cayenne – just a dash for some spice.
- TVP – stands for textured vegetable protein. This is a dehydrated soy product that has a meaty texture and flavor when rehydrated. You can find it at most major grocery stores or order it online. Read my post all about TVP for more information.
What can I use instead of TVP?
If you don’t have TVP you can use tofu instead. You won’t need as much water since tofu is already hydrated. Be sure to follow my tofu sausage crumble recipe if you want to substitute tofu.
How to make TVP sausage crumbles
Make the sausage-flavored broth
- Put boiling water, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, (or soy sauce), some spices, and oil in a heat-safe mixing bowl and give it a stir.
Re-hydrate the TVP
- Add the textured vegetable protein (TVP) to the broth and stir it around.
- Let it sit for about 3-4 minutes to soak up the broth.
If using the TVP sausage for pizza
Sprinkle on pizza before cooking. No need to precook it. It will cook along with the pizza.
If adding it to sauces or soups
Cook in a skillet – Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the bottom of a skillet and fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes until a little crispy and slightly browned.
How to make a vegan sausage pizza
- Use your favorite vegan pizza crust recipe or buy a pre-made one from the store to make it fast and easy.
- For a gluten-free crust option, we love to use my low-carb pizza crust made with tofu instead of grain. I also love this easy quinoa crust recipe from Simply Quinoa. (I usually double the quinoa crust recipe to make enough for my family of four).
- Top with about 1/2 cup of vegan pizza sauce. (This will vary depending on the size of your pizza).
- Sprinkle on your favorite vegan pizza cheese.
- Then sprinkle with the vegan sausage topping!
- Bake at 425° F for about 12-15 minutes until the crust is cooked and the cheese is melted. (You can put the oven to broil for the last 2 minutes of the cooking to get the cheese melted completely and the sausage slightly crispy).
Pro Tips
- This makes an Italian-flavored sausage. You can add different spices to achieve the flavor of other sausages if you would rather have a different flavor.
- Adjust the spiciness by adding slightly more or less cayenne pepper.
More vegan sausage recipes
More TVP recipes
- Vegan Bacon Bits
- Mock Tuna
- Vegan Tuna Sandwiches
- Vegan Bolognese with Veggies
- TVP Tacos
- Vegan Ground Beef
- Vegan Sausage Rolls
Vegan Sausage Crumbles – For Pizza, Pasta, and Lasagna
Ingredients
For the vegan sausage crumbles
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 1 tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos , or soy sauce (soy sauce is not gluten free)
- 1 tablespoon canola , or mild tasting oil- for a richer flavor (optional)
- ½ teaspoon oregano flakes, or 1/4 tsp ground oregano
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 dash cayenne
- ½ cup TVP, (textured vegetable protein)
For the Pizza
- 1 large pizza crust, use a premade or your favorite recipe
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce of choice
- 1 cup shredded vegan cheese
Instructions
For the vegan sausage
- Boil the water.
- In a bowl add Braggs, oil, oregano, fennel seeds, cayenne, salt, and boiling water. Stir well.
- Add TVP, stir, and then let it sit for about 2 minutes before stirring it 1 more time.
Assemble the pizza
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Place the pizza crust on a cookie sheet or pizza stone.
- Spread vegan pizza sauce evenly over the dough.
- Top with your favorite vegan cheese.
- Sprinkle with the sausage toppings.
- Bake at 425°F (220°C) until the pizza is cooked. Usually about 12-15 minutes.
- Turn the oven to broil for the last 2 minutes of baking to melt the cheese and crisp up the sausage.
Notes
- This makes an Italian-flavored sausage. You can add different spices to achieve the flavor of other sausages if you would rather have a different flavor.
- Adjust the spiciness by adding slightly more or less cayenne pepper.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
Looks wonderful and eager to try, but have two questions – can I freeze it after I cook it,and how does it hold up in soups? Should I add it right before serving, or can it sit in the broth for leftovers the next day
Monica! Hats off to you for this fantastic recipe. I made pizza last night and surprisingly, it really tastes like pepperoni with a meaty texture. And….it was super easy. I often make pepperoni with seitan, but this was just as good, maybe better. LOVED IT! People, don’t forget the fennel seeds, because without that ingredient, it will not taste like pepperoni.
Bravo!
This is delicious! I added about 1/4 tsp sage instead of fennel seeds as I don’t care for the flavour of fennel, and added a little splash of apple cider vinegar for a slightly tart flavour. Cannot comment as to the taste without my adjustments, but for me the flavour was spot on! Texture is perfect.
I’m glad that you liked the recipe, Kristin.
It would never occur to me to use TVP for this. I tried it, I wanted a more breakfast sausage flavor so I used a little bit different spice mix. I added brown sugar and about a tablespoon of maple syrup. Too sweet. It was fine in a breakfast burrito with tofu scramble and mushrooms thought. Next time I’ll leave out the sugar. It’s great to find a versatile recipe that uses such inexpensive ingredients. Looking forward to making a batch for pizza too.
I’m glad that you liked the recipe. 🙂 I have a recipe for making it into breakfast sausage crumbles in my breakfast burrito recipe. I usually use a little maple syrup for the sweetener. Here is that post if you are interested. https://thehiddenveggies.com/vegan-breakfast-burrito/
Hi Monica, did you drain the tvp first. I didn’t see it in the notes.
The TVP comes dry and you rehydrate it in the broth. If you let it sit for a few minutes it will soak up most of the broth mixture. It’s kind of wet after this, but some of the water evaporates during the cooking process which gives it the right texture once that it’s cooked.
we have no textured protein in our area so i can’t make this
Buy it online! Bob’s Red Mill brand is available on Amazon.
I didn’t have cayenne pepper laying around so I subbed red pepper flakes, and that turned out great.
Thanks for a phenomenal recipe!
You’re welcome, Erin! I’m so happy that you liked it! 🙂
You are a blessing. I had so much trouble finding the TVP but kept searching and glad I did. I say the actual taste is a 4 but because it’s so easy to make and quick it brings it up to a 5. I’m going to put this in my spaghetti tonight but made this first to see if it was even tasty. I had to stop to give a review just in case others stumble across your recipe and are not sure. Thank you for sharing.
I’m glad that you found some TVP and that you enjoyed it! 🙂
We made this last night as I dropped processed meat 6 months ago but found that our pizzas were just missing something. This was delicious! We really enjoyed the flavoring. It’s an 80-85% match on flavor with sausage crumbles, but, it tastes delicious in it’s own right. I let the pizza cook a little longer so it charred up a bit. I also tried it with the cayenne and without and found that 2-3 shakes of the bottle was perfect for just little bite but not spiciness. Thank you so much, we will be using this with our regular pizza habit!
You’re welcome, Andy! I’m so happy that you liked it! 🙂
I used it ths weekend to make a baked ziti for a family gathering. I haven’t made an issue about being vegan with my husband’s family but knew there would be nothing I could eat including the salad. I made the sausage the night before so flavor could intensify. I had my omnivore husband try it and he thought it tasted good. I was surprised how much was eaten by our family who I didn’t tell it was vegan. I was also disappointed how much I didn’t have leftover for lunch next week. Excited to try the sausage in gravy, soup, burritos and pizza. I am at a lose as to what cheese to use on the pizza, any suggestions?
I’m so happy that the sausage recipe worked for you! Vegan cheese is a hard one. Most people have one brand that they like and hate the others. I like to make my own for things like pizza and quesadillas. You can find the recipe here: https://thehiddenveggies.com/vegan-grilled-cheese-cheese-that-melts/
Great recipe! I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make vegan sausage! I used it on pizza this time. I’m so excited to make a vegan sausage lasagna!
I’ve never made my own “meat” but so excited to try this. Bet it’s better than anything store-bought.
I hope that you like it as much as we do! 🙂