Vegan Pinto Bean Breakfast Sausage Recipes

SAUSAGE-FLAVORED BREAKFAST BEANS AND GRITS

Steps:

• Heat a large non-stick pot or skillet. Add the onion, sprinkle it with the baking soda, and immediately stir in one tablespoon of water or vegetable broth. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion changes color and begins to soften, adding more water if it starts to stick to the pan. Add the chopped pepper and garlic along with another tablespoon of water or broth. Cook for 2-3 minutes, adding another splash of water if necessary and making sure that the garlic does not burn.
• Add the drained beans, vegetable broth, and all seasonings. Cover tightly, reduce heat to very low, and cook for at least 30 minutes, adding broth if it starts to dry out. The longer and slower you cook them, the more flavorful the beans will be.
• While the beans are cooking, prepare the grits according to package instructions. (I used 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill organic grits cooked in 3 cups of water.) Keep warm until beans are ready.
• Check the beans, and if they seem dry, add a good splash of broth. (The beans should have a little liquid around them, but not as much as a soup or stew.) Increase the heat to medium, add the spinach, sprinkle with smoked salt if you want, stir well, cover tightly, and cook until the spinach wilts. Serve over the grits.

BEANY BREAKFAST SAUSAGE PATTIES

Steps:

• Fit a food processor with a chopping blade and turn it on. Drop the garlic into the running blades to mince. Add the onion and carrot and pulse several times to chop fine. (Or mince all by hand.)
• Heat a small non-stick skillet and add the vegetables from the food processor along with the fennel seed. Cook until carrots soften, about 4 minutes, adding water by the tablespoon if needed to prevent sticking. Scrape into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
• Put the pinto beans into the food processor and pulse until they are mostly broken down, but not at paste. Add to the vegetables in the bowl. Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir well. If the mixture seems too runny, add extra flour.
• Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, add bean mixture and press it in until it's not quite to the top of the cup. Invert it over the prepared baking sheet and tap lightly, if necessary, to get the mixture to come out. Repeat for remaining bean mixture. Flatten each sausage slightly with a fork or the back of the measuring cup.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until crispy on the outside but moist inside. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the baking sheet and serving.

VEGAN PINTO BEAN BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onions, mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the onions and mushrooms are soft and thick almost like a paste, about 6 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and remove from the heat. Let cool.
• Put the drained beans, chickpea flour, onion-mushroom mixture and 1 tablespoon oil in a food processor and pulse until the beans are finely chopped and hold together when squeezed, but not a smooth paste. Add the sage, thyme, maple syrup, rosemary, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and pulse until combined.
• Divide the bean mixture into 12 even portions. Roll each out into a cylinder about 4 inches long, then roll up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to secure.
• Set up a steamer and arrange the rolled up sausages in it (you may have to do this in batches). Heat the steamer over medium heat and once steaming, cover and steam until the sausages have plumped up, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover and refrigerate the steamed sausages until firm, about 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap the sausages and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook, turning them as needed, until browned and crisp all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until heated all the way through, about 5 minutes.