Best vegan sausages 2023: Our guide to the best-tasting meat-free bangers
It’s easy to find the best vegan sausages to satisfy your tastebuds
Sausages are so versatile – from sandwiches and toad in the hole, to pasta or a banger chucked on the BBQ, there are countless delicious meals and snacks to make. And, with the best vegan sausages, you don’t need to be a meat-eater to enjoy them. Vegan sausages have come a long way in recent years and there’s now a huge choice on the market of delicious meat-free alternatives.
There are more than seven million people in the UK following a meat-free diet, with around 2 to 3% of the population fully vegan and more planning to join them every day. So it’s no wonder that vegan products have soared in popularity, with more products being added all the time.
We’ve tested a variety of vegan sausages so that you don’t have to and our testers include both meat-eaters and vegans. Our buying guide below will give you pointers on what to look for when it comes to choosing vegan sausages or alternatively, you can just skip straight to our recommendations further down the page.
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Best vegan sausages: At a glance
- Best for a meaty taste: This! Isn’t Pork Sausages
- Best for texture: Beyond Meat Plant-Based Sausage
- Best for BBQs: Future Farm Plant-Based Sausages
- Best for kids: Richmond Meat-Free Sausages
- Best for a unique taste: Gosh! Veggie Sausages
How to choose the best vegan sausages for you
What are vegan sausages made from?
Vegan sausages use a variety of ingredients to either replicate the taste of meat, bind a sausage together or just create a delicious taste. These include:
- Pea protein
- Soya protein
- Beans
- Pulses
- Mushroom protein
- Spices
- Oils
- Vegetable protein
- Wheat
- Wheat rusk
- Seitan
- Nuts
Small side note – the peas in question are yellow split peas, not the traditional green peas you may be thinking of. As well as being high in protein, they have a very neutral taste and can even be used in sweet vegan products.
Are vegan sausages healthier than meat sausages?
Traditional meat sausages certainly aren’t a health food choice, so you’d be forgiven for thinking that the vegan alternatives are a far healthier option. However, they are still processed, so certainly shouldn’t be assumed to be good for you.
What do you need to watch out for? High salt content and saturated fat are the main issues with vegan sausages – most would be classified as orange on the traffic light system, but a few are red.
Protein content generally varies between five to 16g per 100g of sausage. Soya, peas and mushrooms are all good vegan sources of protein, but soya beans are a complete protein, meaning that they contain all the essential amino acids we need.
Are vegan sausages eco-friendly?
In general, vegan sausages are more eco-friendly than meat sausages. They are more sustainable, as meat being farmed leads to higher emissions than you’ll find with vegan substitutes.
However, some soya is linked to deforestation in South America. Most of this soya is used in animal feed but some might prefer to avoid it altogether.
Do vegan sausages taste the same as meat sausages?
In short, some do and some don’t. If you’re looking for a meaty texture and taste, there are plenty of excellent vegan options that will fulfil those criteria. However, not everyone wants that taste and there are also vegan sausages that don’t try to be anything like a meat sausage. We’ve included both on our list.
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The best vegan sausages you can buy in 2023
1. Gosh Veggie Sausages: Best for a unique taste
Price: £2.50 | Buy now from Sainsbury’s
If you’re looking for a vegan sausage that isn’t trying to replicate the taste and texture of a meat sausage, look no further than the delicious Gosh Veggie Sausages. Made with chickpeas, butter beans and green lentils, the sausages are blended with spices, herbs and black pepper for a taste that’s reminiscent of falafel.
We loved the taste and texture of these sausages and thought they had a lovely flavour. They are extremely easy to heat up and can be grilled or oven cooked. Unlike a lot of vegan sausages, they don’t release any fat or spit while being cooked. One downside is that they are a little delicate and occasionally split in half, another is that some people might find them a little dry. However, this means they stand up particularly well when served with a sauce or gravy. Gosh! also do a Smokey Sweet Potato and Red Pepper version of its sausage – perfect if you want something a little bit spicier.
Key details – No. in pack: 6; Dietary Information: Gluten-free, kosher, vegan, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, dairy-free; Protein per 100g: 7.4g; Suitable for freezing: Yes; Buy from: Sainsburys
2. This Isn’t Pork Plant-Based Sausages: Best for a meaty taste
Price: £3 | Buy now from Asda
These sausages taste so authentically meaty that you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve picked up the wrong package. With a miraculously meaty and punchy pork flavour, the sausages have a lovely caramelised sweetness, combined with a savoury undertone. The sausages can be grilled or shallow fried and don’t spit or leak oils.
Texture-wise, the sausages have a good mouth feel and the skin crisps up more than some vegan sausages we’ve tried. However, as with most vegan sausages, we felt that the skin was a little bit softer than traditional meat sausages. And some of our testers felt that the sausages were a little lacking in texture, as there is no rusk substitute in them. As an aside, we’d also highly recommend the This Isn’t Bacon Lardons, which are beautifully salty with an excellent bite. This has got the meaty flavour wrapped up across its range.
Key details – No. in pack: 6; Dietary Information: Gluten-free (but made in a factory that handles cereals containing wheat and sulphites), vegan, vegetarian, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, dairy-free; Protein per 100g: 14.4g; Suitable for freezing: No; Buy from: Most major supermarkets
3. Beyond Meat Plant-Based Sausages: Best meaty texture
Price: £4 | Buy now from Sainsbury’s
The Beyond Meat sausages have the most convincingly meaty texture of all the sausages in our roundup and also taste very much like pork sausages. We think they are also slightly reminiscent of a Cumberland sausage, with a little hint of spice to them. They are also the most expensive on our list, with only two in a packet, but they are far larger and fatter than any of the other sausages we tested – designed to be more a bratwurst shape than a chipolata. One should be enough to satisfy most people.
You can grill, shallow fry or barbecue the Beyond Meat sausages but we did find that they released a lot of oil while cooking and had a strong smell. This may be down to the combination of coconut and sunflower oil used in the sausage.
Key details – No. in pack: 2; Dietary Information: Gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, egg-free, nut-free (but may contain peanuts), soya-free, dairy-free, Kosher; Protein per 100g: 17g; Suitable for freezing: No; Buy from: Major supermarkets
4. Future Farm Plant-Based Sausages: Best for BBQs
Price: £3.90 | Buy now from Sainsbury’s
Future Farm sausages are another vegan offering that have an authentic, meaty pork flavour. The sausage has a slightly salted taste and a good texture, with a nice bite to the central filling. They taste slightly more “bulked out” than some other brands, with more of a rusk flavour. This is most probably down to the inclusion of soy protein and chickpea flour, which gives the sausage a particular flavour and feel. It’s not to say that this is in the slightest bit unpleasant, it’s just different to other meat-style vegan sausages.
One thing we would have liked is clearer cooking instructions. You can grill or barbecue the sausages (and we think this particular sausage is a winner on the BBQ), but the instructions don’t give a specific length of time to cook for, instead suggesting you cook to your liking. We’d also have preferred to see six sausages in the pack as opposed to five. However, we still thought these were another excellent choice if you’re specifically looking for a meat substitute.
Key details – No. in pack: 5; Dietary Information: Gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, egg-free, dairy-free, Contains soya; Protein per 100g: 11g; Suitable for freezing: No; Buy from: Most major supermarkets
5. Richmond Meat-Free Sausages: Best for kids
Price: £2.70 | Buy now from Tesco
Richmond sausages are known for being one of the cheapest, mass-produced brands on the market, so you might not expect much from its vegan sausages. But surprisingly, they’re a revelation. The texture is a real highlight, with a lovely juicy and meaty interior surrounded by skin that crisps up nicely. The sausages can be cooked in the oven or fried on the hob.
These sausages are more subtly flavoured and seasoned than the others on this list, which makes them ideal for kids – even extremely fussy ones. The skin is slightly thinner than on a meat sausage, but they still hold together well and keep their shape. The skin browns up really well during cooking and some testers even thought the sausage smelt like meat.
One downside is that they are quite a bit smaller than most other vegan sausages, so you’ll probably need to cook all eight in the pack for a meal for two. Some customers also commented that the sausages are much softer than other alternatives, which may be a pro or con depending on your tastes.
Key details – No. in pack: 8; Dietary Information: Vegan, vegetarian, egg-free, dairy-free, Contains soya and wheat; Protein per 100g: 8.8g; Suitable for freezing: Yes; Buy from: Most major supermarkets
6. Linda McCartney Vegetarian Sausages with Red Onion and Rosemary
Price: £2.50 | Buy now at Ocado
Long before vegetarianism became mainstream and vegan was still a twinkle in the eye, Linda McCartney was championing meat-free food. The brand’s vegetarian sausages also happen to be suitable for vegans, and are a great staple to keep in the freezer for when you fancy a quick and easy meal.
The Red Onion and Rosemary sausages have a meaty, sweet and interesting flavour that reminded our testers of stuffing. They’d be lovely accompanying a Sunday roast or as part of a vegan toad in the hole. The sausages can be grilled, fried or chucked in the oven and they also cook well on a BBQ. We did feel that these sausages were a little drier than some of the others we tested and they’re not as substantial either. But as a standby to keep in the freezer, they’re hard to beat.
Key details – No. in pack: 6; Dietary Information: Vegan, vegetarian, egg-free, dairy-free, Contains soya and wheat; Protein per 100g: 16.5g; Suitable for freezing: Yes; Buy from: Most major supermarkets