Vegan Walnut Sausage Bites

Walnuts as sausage… I know it sounds crazy, but walnuts are a great meat substitute. This recipe combines toasted walnuts with sundried tomatoes and some sausage-esque spices to make a very tasty crumble. Wrap the walnut sausage crumble in pizza dough and you have yourself a delicious snack. 

As long as you have a food processor, walnut sausage crumbles are easy to make. Put all your ingredients in the food processor and turn on (or pulse) until you create a uniform crumble. The pieces should be very small and stick together when you pinch between your fingers, but you don’t want a totally blended paste (see the picture below).

Once you have the crumble, well there are a lot of things you can do with it… add to pasta or top pizza, but today we are making sausage bites. I like to cook the crumbles with a little tomato sauce for extra moisture and wrap them in pizza dough. You can use store bought or homemade. One pizza dough can get you 8-9 bites. After you divide the dough, flatten it into a round and place a spoonful of the mixture into the center. Wrap the dough around the filling and roll into a ball. Place your sausage filled dough balls in a dish and bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Serve them with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping! These are a great appetizer if you are entertaining, game day snack or served up with a little salad for a satisfying and delicious vegan meal. 

Enjoy!

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Walnut Sausage Bites

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 55 Min

Ingredients

• 2 cups walnuts
• 1 cup sundried tomatoes (NOT packed in oil)
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons agave
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup plain tomato sauce
• 1 pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)
• marinara sauce for serving

Instructions

1. TOAST: Place the walnuts in a skillet over medium heat. Let them toast, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until they are lightly browned and fragrant. 
2. COMBINE: Add the walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, nutritional yeast, onion, garlic, agave, salt and herbs to a food processor. Turn on and allow all the ingredients to become well combined and evenly chopped into a small crumble. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides. (You want to create a crumble that holds together when you pinch it between your fingers). 
3. COOK: Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the walnut mixture. Cook until the crumble starts to turn golden brown. Add the tomatoes sauce and mix together. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. ASSEMBLE: Place your pizza dough on a floured surface and divide into 8-9 equal pieces. Flatten out eat piece into a round. Scoop a spoonful of the walnut mixture onto the dough round and wrap the dough the edges of the dough around the filling. Roll the filled dough between your hands to create a ball. Place the ball in an oiled pan. Repeat until all your dough is filled. (you will probably have extra walnut filling). 
5. BAKE: Preheat your oven to 450. Bake the filled dough for 30-35 minutes until golden browned on top. Allow to cool slightly when the come out of the oven and serve with marinara sauce fro dipping.  

I hope you enjoy these walnut sausage bites as much as I do! If you make them don’t forget to tag me @poppiesnprosecco on instagram or leave a comment below. Thanks!