Italian Sausage Crumbles {Vegan}

Day 362.

In preparation for following along with Kelly’s Get Real series in 2012, I decided I really need to pin down a homemade Italian sausage crumbles recipe made with whole food that I’ll like. Italian sausage is one of those things that I never really ate, but I hear such good things about it I had to create my own. I came up with this recipe basically through trial and error and a lot of taste-testing. I think they turned out really well and could actually make a great party appetizer on their own.

Italian Sausage Crumbles
Ingredients for about 2 cups crumbles or 4 dozen tiny sausage balls

• 1 cup Lentil and Rice Ground Beef Substitute
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree (or other egg substitute)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• House seasoning or salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Mash all ingredients together in a zippered bag or medium bowl until combined.

Crumble “raw” over pizza or into soup.


OR preheat oven to 350. Roll sausage into 1/2-inch balls (about the size of a chickpea) and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes until golden and slightly crisped on the outside. Serve with marinara or your favorite dipping sauce.

The Results
I really like the flavor and the texture of these. They don’t have any of that funky processed flavor of the pre-packaged sausage and I can adjust the seasonings however I like. A definite winner. The kids both loved these (Bug a bit more than Goose) and my meat-eating husband thought they were pretty good, too.

This post is shared with Real Food Wednesday, Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s on Your Plate?, What’s on the Menu Wednesday, Let’s Do Brunch, Works for me Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, Recipe Link Party, Foodie Wednesday and Bake with Bizzy.