Savory vegetarian sausage is cooked with onions, garlic, herbs and spices and enveloped in a creamy white sauce to produce a vegetarian version of one of the most beloved American comfort dishes. This Vegetarian Sausage Gravy recipe is so deliciously creamy and rich in flavor, even the most avid carnivores will love it!
Here is the dialogue that took place between me and my husband after I handed him a plate of this vegetarian sausage gravy and biscuits without saying a word about it being vegetarian:
Him: “Very, very good. Better than most sausage gravies you find in restaurants.”
Me: “Really?
And I have to agree: when it comes to flavor this vegetarian sausage gravy doesn’t miss a beat. And the silky creamy texture of this sauce drizzled over your favorite flaky biscuits makes for an utterly irresistible meal.
We’ve always been a very health-conscious family, emphasizing eating whole foods and lots of homegrown veggies, cooking from scratch, limiting junk food, and avoiding certain things altogether. And that desire to eat healthy also includes not eating a ton of meat and regularly incorporating meatless dishes into our meal plan. I developed this recipe in an effort to “clone” one our favorite dishes into a meatless alternative and I’m happy to say it was a success.
When I was developing this recipe I tried several options and my favorite for flavor and texture was the sausage patties from MorningStar Farms. That was several years ago and no doubt there are additional options on the market now. Use your favorite vegetarian sausage.
Sausage gravy is a quintessential American comfort dish that is enjoyed for any mealtime, whether it’s breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. Serve the gravy over freshly made biscuits with a piece of fruit for breakfast or with a veggie or salad for lunch or dinner. For the best flaky biscuits, be sure to try our BEST EVER Buttermilk Biscuits!
Vegetarian Sausage Gravy Recipe
Let’s get started!
Finely chop up the veggie sausages, onion, garlic, parsley, sage and thyme.
Heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onions 8-10 minutes until golden and beginning to brown.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the veggie sausage and cook for 4-5 minutes until lightly browned.
Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, stir to incorporate, and cook for a minute.
Pour in the milk (and heavy cream, if using), stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
Stir until smooth and add the vegetable bouillon, salt, pepper and cayenne. Bring to a simmer, stirring regularly, and cook until the sauce is thickened.
Add the parsley, sage and thyme and simmer for another minute. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately over freshly baked biscuits and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Enjoy!
Vegetarian Sausage Gravy
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium yellow onion , finely diced
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 8 ounces vegetarian sausage (I'm using Morningstar Farms Original Veggie Sausage Patties, thawed and finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk or combination of milk and cream , vegans use cashew milk or non-dairy milk of choice
- 2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon base or 1 cube vegetable bouillon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage or 1/4 teaspoon dried ground sage
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 8 buttermilk biscuits , cut in half (click link for our biscuit recipe)
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onions 8-10 minutes until golden and beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the veggie sausage and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to incorporate, cooking for another minute.
- While stirring constantly to prevent lumps, pour in the milk and heavy cream. Stir until smooth. Add the vegetable bouillon, salt, pepper and cayenne. Bring to a simmer and stir until thickened. Add the parsley, sage and thyme and simmer for another 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.Serve immediately over the biscuits. Garnish with some additional chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet July 8, 2014
Anonymous says
I’ve been making this recipe for years and my friends and family beg me to make it. I never had the fresh herbs on hand, but today we got them special and it made a huge difference. I make it with oat milk now, which works nicely, and today found it a little too salty – so we added a splash of balsamic vinegar and it brought a whole new world of flavor in! I’ll be doing that every time going forward. Thanks for this wonderful recipe and many happy tummies over the years <3
Daniel says
What would you think of adding a little nutritional yeast and/or a splash of soy sauce to further up the umami factor? I have a good friend who makes *amazing* biscuits, and I’m looking forward to whipping up a batch of this and having him over!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’d say go for it, Daniel! Happy cooking! :)
Barbara says
We love this recipe and I’m so happy that you created it! I’ve been using it for several years and I serve it to everyone, vegetarian or not, and they all love it!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Barbara, I’m happy it’s become a regular!
Ryann says
This recipe is AMAZING. I’m just tasting it as I’m finishing it up and my mind is blown. I feel so accomplished because it’s just so delicious! Thank you for sharing!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Ryann, I’m thrilled to hear that!
Chelsea says
I very rarely take the time to review recipes, but this definitely deserves the effort! I made it for a party and everyone enjoyed it, including the vegetarian hostess who requested the recipe.
For the liquid portion, I used the milk + cream option, and the texture was lovely – even despite the fact I only had 2% milk.
The only things I did off-book were to the veggie sausage: I massaged a little MCT oil into it to add back some of the fat that was lost from my milk being 2%. And because the flavor of these patties is good, but not quite ‘real sausage’ good, I rubbed it with a little extra sage, paprika, and black pepper (sprinkled it with probably no more than 1/8 tsp of each) before adding incorporating it into the gravy mixture.
The texture of Morningstar worked really well here. I also purchased Beyond patties as an accompaniment; they worked well as biscuit toppers, and while I’ll have to try it to be sure, my expectation is that they won’t work as well in the gravy as Morningstar because Morningstar inherently has a softer texture that lends really well to this application. It plays its part in the gravy, but doesn’t overpower it or feel like a separate component.
Lastly, the spice combo and measurements that the creator used here are just top notch. I had concerns about the chopped onion being too clumpy/noticeable in the mixture, but it blended very well with the sausage and the liquid to solid ratio was excellent. Apart from the spices I rubbed on the sausage itself (which wasn’t a necessary improvement so much as my approach to veggie sausage in general; I’ll have to make this again without them to know if they contributed any meaningful value, lol), I genuinely did have to add ANYthing else for flavor – not even salt! It was a weird moment when I tasted the finished product and just turned off the burner to prepare it for travel because I was completely satisfied with how it turned out.
Bonus: This recipe was super simple to double since all the units were single part. I even found the Morningstar patties in a 16 oz. box! And the directions (both written and photo) were very clear clear easy to follow.
5/5 will definitely make again!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Chelsea, I’m thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe and really appreciate you taking the time to leave this feedback – thank you!
Neil J says
Delicious! Great recipe to reduce my meat sausage consumption. Thank you😀
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Neil, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Jessica says
If u have acid reflux like me use less cayenne. I learned the hard way. Also the sauce wasn’t thick so I had to add a mixture of water and cornstarch to thicken up. Aside from it being too spicy it was good
Margo says
We had been looking for something to fill the biscuits and gravy void after going vegetarian and this recipe was PERFECT! We doubled the amount of cayenne and used vegan chickenless seasoning salt and breakfast sausages from Trader Joe’s. It was delicious! Would highly recommend it to anyone.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Margo, thank you!
Brin says
I used cashew milk and avocado butter… It turned out great! This is a keeper.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Brin, thanks so much!
Chris W. says
I’m not vegetarian but my wife is. I make these for her every now and then and it has become a tradition to “make those veggie biscuits and gravy” now! She loves them and I can’t even tell that they’re vegetarian! Awesome!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Chris, I’m so glad you both enjoy this recipe, thank you!
Anonymous says
AMAZING! it’s a family fave now
Susan O says
I had a taste for B&G, but I am trying to get to a mostly plant-based diet for hubby and me. I usually use a recipe triangulation involving the most stars combined with the most reviews. Seldom do I trust so few reviews: there are so few good vegiterian/vegan recipes that ACTUALLY taste good. THIS RECIPE IS AWESOME!! Hubby agrees. I’ve already passed it to family who like to cook. I’ll have to inspect this site for more awesomeness. If this recipe was that good, I hope to find more! I’ll be testing with non-dairy milk-products to make it vegan. Some tummies don’t like the dairy in this house.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that, Susan, thank you so much!
Susan O says
I made this the second time using almond milk, it was super-duper and NO GUT BUST! I kept the butter, but if made with a plant-based butter alternative can easily be made vegan. I encourage everyone to try it!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
So awesome, Susan, thanks so much!
LAURA says
Amazing recipe, easy to make and tasty spices, yum! My meat eating husband was scraping his plate clean. Exactly the recipe I was looking for, Thanks :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Laura, I’m so glad you both enjoyed it, thank you!
Elizabeth says
Delicious! This is going to be the go to gravy recipe in our house. So good!
I used a beef bouillon cube since that’s what I had, and it ended up being a touch overwhelming. I’ll probably only use part of a cube next time.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Elizabeth, I’m happy you enjoyed it!