[Recipe] Sweet and Spicy Italian Tempeh Sausage

Ingredients

• 16 oz tempeh (2 packages) cut into cubes
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground fennel (I have whole seeds and use my spice grinder to grind it up)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 - 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos (you could use soy sauce or liquid aminos, but they are much higher in sodium and lose the gentle sweetness)
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax mixed with 2 1/2 tbsp water)

Instructions

1. Prepare a baking sheet with a non-stick silicone baking sheet
2. Steam the tempeh for 15 minutes in a steamer basket
3. While the tempeh is steaming, gather and measure all your spices (basil through black pepper) into a small bowl
4. Once cooled, crumble the tempeh into a large bowl
5. Add the spice mixture to your crumbled tempeh, mix well
6. Stir the flour, aminos, and flax egg into your mixture. Stir well to combine
7. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pack in the mixture and place the apportioned mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Press into a patty shape.
8. Repeat to make approximately 10 patties
9. Chill the patties in the refrigerator for 1 hour
10. Preheat the oven to 400
11. Bake the sausages for 15-20 minutes
12. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, they will firm up more during cooling

Why Coach Harry Likes It

Like I talked about in my longer blog post, my family eats sausage and peppers for Christmas Eve dinner. In the past years, I've had to eat imitation meat or skip the meal, this is my attempt at a whole food, plant-based version of the sausages. Read the post to see what I'll try differently next time!