Vegan Sausage Rolls: The Ultimate Guide to the British Classic

From vegnews.com

Vegan sausage rolls are tasty, filling, and easy to cook. Here’s everything you need to know about making and serving them

Nowadays, when you think of sausage rolls, you probably think of the UK or Ireland, where the meat-stuffed pastry has been a lunch, party, and quick-bakery snack staple for many decades. In fact, the first documented mention of sausage rolls in England was in 1864, in The Times newspaper. But really, the idea of wrapping meat in rolled pastry isn’t unique to any one country. Historians have traced the concept back to the Classical Greeks and Romans, and it was also common in 19th-century France.

Origins aside, however, there is no doubt that the UK is home to some of the biggest lovers of sausage rolls now. Greggs, the country’s biggest bakery chain, has a lot to do with the nation’s obsession, as it sells around 2.5 million of them every single week. Usually, sausage rolls contain pork, but animal meat isn’t a necessity. Lately, vegan versions have also soared in popularity, which, again, is partly thanks to Greggs. In 2019, the bakery chain launched its vegan sausage rolls for the first time, and it was so successful, it helped to push profits up by 58 percent. 

If you’re intrigued by this hearty British classic and want to learn more, including how to serve and make them yourself (vegan, of course), we’ve got you covered.

What is a vegan sausage roll?

In a nutshell, a sausage roll is a savoury roll of pastry with sausage meat wrapped inside. In the US, the closest equivalent are pigs in blankets, which feature small hot dogs wrapped in pastry. (In the UK, pigs in blankets are sausages wrapped in bacon.)

When it comes to the meat inside a sausage roll, there are no rules. In traditional recipes, pork sausage meat is used. But chicken, beef, and turkey are also alternative options. And, of course, you don’t need to use real animal meat at all.

Vegan sausage rolls are exactly the same as pork sausage rolls. They feature the same puff pastry outer layer, only instead of pork or another type of animal meat, the stuffing is made with plant-based protein or whole food ingredients, like mushrooms.

Greggs

Are there different types of vegan sausage rolls?

There are a few different types of vegan sausage rolls available, although they all feature a filling wrapped in pastry. Some contain plant-based meat, like Greggs’ version, for example, which features sausages from vegetarian meat brand Quorn. But some options, like those made by UK brand Jack & Bry, contain jackfruit instead. Mushrooms are another popular filling and are particularly good at mimicking the taste and texture of sausage meat.

Who makes vegan sausage rolls?

As you would expect, in the UK, it’s easy to find vegan sausage rolls. Not just from Greggs, but also from most mainstream supermarkets, like Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s, and popular brands, like Wall's. South African brand Fry’s also offers its own vegan meat-stuffed sausage rolls, and so does Birds Eye’s meatless range Green Cuisine.

In the US, it’s a little bit harder to come by vegan sausage rolls on supermarket shelves, and that’s because sausage rolls in general are less common. But that said, if you want to try the savoury dish for yourself, you don’t have to miss out, because you can make them for yourself at home.

How to make vegan sausage rolls

If you’re feeling inspired to get in the kitchen and get cooking, sausage rolls are super simple to make. Plus, they’re delicious and filling, too. So it’s a win-win! Whether you prefer whole-food ingredients or plant-based meat products, here are a few different ways you can make vegan sausage rolls from home.

Simply Ceecee

1Mushroom Sausage Rolls

This tasty, savoury-sweet recipe comes together with just a few ingredients. First, you’ll need the vegan puff pastry (of course), and then for the filling, you’ll need mushrooms (try oyster for a super meaty texture), onions, and cashew nuts (or walnuts, if you prefer). Then all you need to do is cook up the filling, load up the pastries, and bake. Plus, for an extra crunch on top, add some sesame seeds.

GET THE RECIPE

The Veg Space

2Sage and Red Onion Sausage Rolls

For stress-free sausage roll making, it’s always best to buy pre-made pastry. (But if you like, you can make it from home yourself—you’ll just need to set aside the time to do so.) In fact, for this recipe, you can basically buy everything pre-made from the shop - vegan sausages and cheese included. It’s ideal for when you’re in a rush and don’t want to spend too much time fiddling about with raw ingredients.
GET THE RECIPE

Feast Glorious Feast

3Greggs Copycat Vegan Sausage Rolls

If you don’t live near a Greggs bakery, don’t worry, you don’t have to miss out on the taste of the chain’s iconic sausage rolls. You can follow this recipe and mimic them from home using just three ingredients: vegan sausages, puff pastry, and plant-based milk. Easy peasy!
GET THE RECIPE

Plant Based Folk

4Kidney Bean Sausage Rolls

If you’re not a vegan sausage fan, then this recipe is well worth trying. It’s all the savoury, pastry-wrapped goodness, only without the super meaty texture. Instead of store-bought sausages, opt for a nutritious, satisfying filling of kidney beans, mushrooms, and onions.
GET THE RECIPE

How to serve vegan sausage rolls

When it comes to serving vegan sausage rolls, there are no hard and fast rules. If you’re just snacking, they’re great eaten on their own, or with dipping sauce (ketchup, mustard, and barbecue are go-to choices for many). But if you’re eating them as part of a bigger meal, you could also serve them with fries, salad, baked beans, chutney, baked potatoes, coleslaw, potato salad, or a simple side of vegetables. They’re so versatile, they go with most things, so let your creativity run wild.

https://vegnews.com/vegan-guides/cooking/vegan-sausage-rolls-ultimate-guide

 

Meatless Farm moves into savoury pastries with vegan sausage rolls

From thegrocer.co.uk

Meatless Farm has entered the battle for vegan sausage roll dominance.

The plant-based pioneer has launched a microwaveable sausage roll – its first foray into the savoury pastries category – made from its plant-based protein.

It will put the brand at loggerheads with the likes of Ginsters and Wall’s, both of which already sell chilled vegan sausage rolls in the supermarkets.

The brand has also added a range of plant-based sausage patties, which it claimed were a first for UK retail.

The sausage rolls will hit Sainsbury’s from 12 April, while the patties roll into Tesco from 29 March.

                                 Source: Meatless Farm

Demand for plant-based sausages had surged since the onset of the pandemic, said the brand, adding meat alternatives were becoming ”the fastest-growing area of the chilled savoury pastries sector”.

“We see breakfast and savoury pastry as two of the biggest opportunities and innovation is one of the core ways we can continue to grow the category,” said the brand’s chief growth officer Michael Hunter.

The launches mark the first in a swathe of 10 planned launches from the brand over the coming year.

It comes amid a massive expansion for Meatless Farm, which recently launched a completely separate wing of its business dedicated to supplying plant-based ingredients across the world.

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/new-product-development/meatless-farm-moves-into-savoury-pastries-with-vegan-sausage-rolls/654625.article

Birds Eye launches vegan sausage rolls

From veganfoodandliving.com

Frozen food specialists Birds Eye has launched its first fully vegan sausage roll in its plant-based Green Cuisine range

We might not be able to get our Greggs sausage roll fix right now, but Birds Eye is helping vegans to get their pastry fix as it launches vegan sausage rolls in its Green Cuisine range.
The plant-based pastry features a pea protein filling encased in a flaky puff pastry and has been developed to ‘replicate the much-loved succulent taste and texture of traditional Birds Eye Homebake frozen sausage rolls’.

A four-pack of Birds Eye’s Meat Free Sausage Rolls is currently priced at just £1.50 or 38p per sausage roll in Sainsburys, making them a cheaper option that Greggs’ sausage roll too.

In a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living, Anne-Marie Gayer, Senior Brand Manager at Birds Eye said: “We know that sausage rolls are one of the nation’s favourites snacks, so we wanted to create a meat-free version that perfectly replicates the taste and texture of high-street outlets, but with the convenience of being able to cook at home straight from the freezer.

“As the pastry is only cooked once, it results in a lighter and flakier pastry compared to just warming through a chilled sausage roll. We’ve also ensured that our recipe has the perfect ratio of seasoned vegan sausage to flaky pastry. We can’t wait to hear what people think.”

Inspired by the popularity of Gregg’s sausage roll, retailers and brands have been keen to tap into the success with the launch of their own vegan sausage rolls.

Marks & Spencer estimates that it sells roughly five thousand packs of its Plant Kitchen No Pork Sausage Rolls every week, and large pastry companies including Ginsters and Walls have launched their own versions.

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/products/birds-eye-launches-vegan-sausage-rolls/

The flakes are high! Ginsters launches VEGAN sausage roll to rival Greggs

From dailymail.co.uk

Cornish pasty giant Ginsters is bringing out its own vegan sausage roll in April

It is partnering with Quorn to create a 'bespoke meat-free, high-fibre sausage'

The product will challenge Greggs, whose meat-free roll was launched last year 

Cornish pasty giant Ginsters is rivalling Greggs by bringing out its own vegan sausage roll. 

The Cornwall company is partnering up with Quorn to create the plant-based snack, which will role out from April 15 with an RRP of £1.25.

Ginsters say their new Vegan Quorn Sausage Roll which weighs 130g would 'attract vegan and flexitarian consumers to the savoury pastry and chilled meat-free categories'. 

The new product looks set to delight vegans in the UK and will challenge Greggs, whose meatless sausage rolls were launched in January last year to roaring success, amid high consumer demand for plant-based alternatives. 

They described the creation as a 'bespoke meat-free, high-fibre sausage, peppered with herbs and spices, in a light puff pastry'.

This marks the second time Ginsters and Quorn have teamed up together, after they released the Ginsters Vegan Quorn Pasty in September. Alongside its Quorn Pasty, Ginsters also has a Vegan Moroccan Vegetable Pasty, containing butternut squash, chickpeas and red piquanté peppers.  

The Greggs sausage roll costs 5p less than Ginsters' version at £1.20, although it also weighs 29g less at 101g. It also comprises a Quorn filling and was 'designed to mirror some of the sausage roll's classic features,' according to the company. 

The success of the Greggs sausage roll led to a second plant-based product, the vegan steak bake, which was launched last month.  

It comes after M&S began selling hot plant-based sausage rolls in stores around the UK for £1.50, made from a soya filling, seasoned with sage, thyme, mace and black pepper in a dairy-free puff pastry. 

Wall's Pastry is another example of a company cashing in on the turn away from meat, after they released their first vegan range, which includes its own vegan sausage roll, Wall's Vegan Jumbo Roll. 

The Wall's range uses the stalks of oyster mushrooms for its innovative vegan mince.  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8017131/Ginsters-launches-VEGAN-sausage-roll-rival-Greggs-cash-plant-based-fad.html

How did the vegan sausage roll get so popular?

From bbc.com/worklife

A few years ago, vegan fast-food choices were limited – yet now the vegan sausage roll is a high-street staple. What’s behind its meteoric rise?

Blair Azzopardi knows his sausage rolls – those British staple snacks that are essentially sausages inside a baked pastry log. He ate his fair share of the flaky, savoury pastries as a child, which inspired him as an adult to try making them for his family. Azzopardi, a 46-year-old quantitative analyst living in the English county of Kent, has been vegan for six years. But that isn’t an obstacle to his sausage roll consumption.

Of course he’s tried the vegan sausage rolls from bakery chain Greggs, which debuted early in 2019 and caused an immediate sensation. There are plenty of other options too; off the top of his head he can name several supermarkets and cafés selling vegan sausage rolls, while his homemade version – store-bought sausages wrapped in ready-to-roll puff pastry – is simple and tasty.

It’s a far cry from Azzopardi’s early days of veganism, when choices were much more limited.

Vegetarian brand Quorn, which makes the mycoprotein used inside Greggs’ vegan products, didn’t even have vegan products in the UK until 2015. But today the vegan sausage roll has become a fixture of the British high street; early this year, coffee shop chain Caffè Nero rolled out its own version. It also contributed to a year-on-year sales increase of 13.5% for Greggs, and a subsequent windfall for both shareholders and staff.

So how did the vegan sausage roll come so far, so fast?

The vegan sausage roll has led to a 13.5% sales increase for the supermarket chain Greggs since it introduced the product last year (Credit: Alamy)

Veganising a meaty British staple
The sausage roll is a ubiquitous snack in the UK. “Kids grow up on these types of treats and a lot of young people really wanted something that works with their new ethics, so demand was there,” says Azzopardi of the market for a vegan version.
“It’s one of the staples when someone thinks of fast food,” agrees Chrysostomos Apostolidis, who researches food marketing at Northumbria University in England. It also helps, he points out, that sausage rolls tend to use low-quality meat and that nearly every vegan meat producer has a sausage product. This was ripe for veganising at low cost.

Greggs wasn’t the first UK bakery chain to trial a vegan sausage roll. According to a representative of the smaller chain Poundbakery, they started selling vegetarian sausage rolls in 2016 and a vegan version in 2018. Similarly, the Vegan Antics independent bakery in the English town of Gravesend included vegan sausage rolls on the menu when they opened in 2017.

But it was the move by Greggs – a nationwide chain with over 2,000 shops – that brought the vegan sausage roll into the national spotlight. It had apparently been mulling the idea for a while; Dawn Carr, director of vegan corporate projects at animal rights organisation Peta, says the charity first suggested in 2015 that Greggs roll out a vegan sausage roll. The chain outlined plans for a vegetarian sausage roll in 2018 but its CEO said creating a tasty vegan version with broad appeal was "more difficult to achieve". Hungry vegans responded with a petition, which was signed by over 20,000 people.

Behold, the sausage roll: a staple of British snacking. Its 'veganisation' has taken the country by storm (Credit: Getty Images)

A Greggs representative acknowledges the role of the petition but comments, “our research into the UK vegan market revealed that as few as 20% of Brits would even consider going vegan, suggesting a large majority are still undecided or resistant… Recognising that the vegan sausage roll needed to appeal to people on both sides of the dietary divide to make it, we knew we needed to position it as something much bigger than just another vegan product.”

Part of its success was down to savvy PR. Greggs launched its vegan sausage roll early in 2019, when the company knew the product would make a splash as part of "Veganuary", a UK campaign encouraging people to follow a vegan diet for the first month of the year. The PR team invited plenty of journalists to try the product, with vegan sausage rolls wrapped in faux iPhone packaging, and created a comically over-the-top promotional film.

They also received an unexpected hit of publicity from controversial TV presenter and columnist Piers Morgan, who famously tweeted: “Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns.” The backlash was fierce. Greggs’ social media team mounted a cheeky counterattack, and Morgan was heavily criticised for his overreaction. There was so much resulting goodwill for Greggs that the incident led to a conspiracy theory that Morgan had teamed up with the company to drum up attention.

Greggs’ success has led to a raft of copycats, even a foot-long version at supermarket chain Morrisons. “Leading [British] companies like Tesco, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer are tripping over themselves to release vegan sausage rolls – and global brands like Fry’s Family Food and Linda McCartney are also making the most of this in-demand product,” Peta’s Carr says. “We’ve also spotted family-owned bakeries – from Cooplands in Yorkshire to Coughlans Bakery in Surrey – taking advantage of the hype and offering their own hand-crafted versions.”

New consumers
So far, the market seems to be holding up. Vegan Antics cofounder Grace Apps believes that Greggs’ vegan line is ultimately positive, especially in locations without dedicated vegan businesses. “We personally haven’t felt negative effects of Greggs’ sausage roll launch, as our pastries are still as popular as ever, but it is a future concern as bigger companies introduce more vegan options at competitive prices,” Apps says. After all, a vegan sausage roll from Greggs or Poundbakery (which sells 2 for £1, or $1.31) could be one-third the price charged by an indie bakery.

But who exactly are the people buying these new products? After all, vegans only make up 1 to 2% of the British population, and vegetarians 7 to 10%. And while global demand for plant-based protein has risen dramatically, up from £2.9bn in 2015 to an expected £4bn in 2020, marketing lecturer Apostolidis believes vegans aren’t the only ones propelling meat substitutes in the UK. 
“The media, and probably we as a country, blow things out of proportion when we focus so much on the vegan segment,” he says. “What has grown exponentially is actually meat reducers or flexitarians."

Statistics show that 39% of British omnivores are actively reducing their meat consumption, and indeed half of meat-alternative sales are actually due to meat eaters. Apostolidis calls himself a meat reducer; he’s cut down on red meat, though he finds it hard to let go of bacon. Flexitarians like him are very attractive to food marketers. For one thing, while people over the age of 55 are more hesitant about vegetarian and vegan foods, younger consumers have been leading the change. The customer lifecycle is longer.

The majority of those limiting their meat consumption (over 80% in one study by Apostolidis and a colleague) are motivated primarily by health. This is a key difference to the reasons people go vegan or vegetarian. So while many may profess a desire to help the environment or animal welfare, when it comes to actually replacing meat, appealing to the health benefits is likely to have the biggest impact.

The paradox is that many vegan products that attract a big buzz, like Greggs’ vegan sausage roll, are far from healthy. “Consumers are quite funny,” Apostolidis comments. “Although they claim that they’re trying to reduce meat because it’s unhealthy, at the same time, they’re not willing to give up on the products they are used to or that they like. So when we say that something is meat-free, instantly, they believe that it would be healthier.”

The next big vegan thing
Meteoric though the rise of the vegan sausage roll market appears to have been, it’s not yet possible to accurately determine its size. Sales of meat-free foods in the UK rose 40% from £582m in 2014 to an estimated £816m in 2019, according to market intelligence agency Mintel. Edward Bergen, Mintel’s global food and drink analyst, says, “It’s very challenging to quantify the size of the vegan sausage roll market, because most sales are likely to be unbranded via food service outlets, such as cafés and bakeries, and their sales data is not readily available to people outside their organisations.”

And the Britishness of the sausage roll makes Apostolidis sceptical that vegan sausage rolls will take off overseas. “In the long term, what needs to happen is incorporating meat-free products in… the products that people are familiar with, rather than bringing something that is a bit of a strange product to them.”

That’s what’s happening in the UK; in 2019, 23% of new food products were labelled as vegan, an increase from 17% the year before. And new launches keep coming. “In the first week of January 2020, [café chain] Costa launched its vegan Smoky Ham & CheeZe Toastie, Greggs released a vegan steak bake, and [fast casual chain] Pret [a Manger] introduced a jammy new dairy-free croissant – to name just a few,” says Peta’s Carr.

Yet Apostolidis warns, “What I wouldn’t want to see is this becoming a bubble.” He urges companies to properly commit to meat-free products rather than jump on a bandwagon, by being strategic and devoting sufficient resources to these new items. He sees these as instrumental to Greggs’ success with its vegan sausage rolls.

This kind of strategic thinking would be a win-win-win for customers, businesses and the planet alike.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200202-how-did-the-vegan-sausage-roll-get-so-popular

You can now buy hot vegan 'sausage' rolls at Marks & Spencer

From msn.com

Whether you're vegan, vegetarian or 'flexitarian', Marks & Spencer have some good news for you. Big versions of the retailer's bestselling Plant Kitchen No Pork Sausage Rolls are now available at almost 50 stores around the UK - and they're hot, too!

The popular 'sausage' rolls are completely vegan-friendly and made from a succulent soya filling, seasoned with sage, thyme, mace and black pepper and wrapped up in a flaky vegan puff pastry for that oh-so-delicious crunch.

This is the first time shoppers will be able to snap up a hot version of the popular plant-based rolls.
M&S say they sell around 5,000 packs from their fridges each week, so we're betting this is one that will fly off the shelves.
You can pick up one for yourself at selected stores now, for just £1.50 each.

© Marks & Spencer The vegan-friendly rolls are available now in 48 Marks & Spencer stores across the UK.

And if that wasn't enough, the brand are also launching vegan pigs in blankets to satisfy your Christmas cravings this year.
The Plant Kitchen No-Pork Pigs in Duvets (£5 for 12) are made with a lightly seasoned mushroom and soya cocktail 'sausage' wrapped in puff pastry, and are available in store from December 21st.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/foodanddrink/foodnews/you-can-now-buy-hot-vegan-sausage-rolls-at-marks-and-spencer/ar-BBXQnPw?ocid=spartandhp

The Gazette tried the new foot-long vegan sausage roll from Morrisons

From basingstokegazette.co.uk/news

With many supermarkets making a more conscious to cater to people with vegan and plant-based diets, one store has gone supersized.
Less than a year after Greggs launched its first Vegan sausage roll, Morrisons last week unveiled its giant version.
The store is now offering customer a foot-long vegan treat for just £1.

As such the Gazette wanted to see what this supersized pastry was like and what people in the town’s Worting Road store.
A member of staff who was working on the stores quick over section said: “They have been selling really well, I think it is part excitement they are here and part curiosity.”

The Morrisons snack is twice the length of a standard sausage roll and weighs almost four times at much and contains soya mince, wrapped in a golden dairy-free pastry casing. The Gazette asked shoppers what their opinion on the monster sized snack.
Mark Haulage, from Brookvale, said: “I know that a lot of people are going vegan now, but I’m not sure I could stomach a whole foot-long sausage roll, even one that had meat in it.

“But I’m sure there has already been plenty of people who have got one just for the novelty.”
Another shopper added: “It is great that there are now so many vegan alternatives for people, but I have to be honest looking at it on the shelf it doesn’t look the most appetising thing to eat.”

To put the taste of the new plant-based snack to the test, the Gazette team blind taste tested the vegan sausage roll up against a traditional meat one.
With most of the staff being able to taste the difference, they still really enjoyed the taste of the vegan alternative.
Head of News at the Gazette, Katie French said: "I could tell immediately which was which. The cylinder sausage running through the middle was a bit of a giveaway.
"While I'm not a vegan, I actually preferred it to the meaty one! The pastry was lighter, and the filling had a nice herby taste."

Multimedia account manager, at the Gazette, Vikki Hallewell, added: “The vegan one tasted like Paxo stuffing.
“It was nice, but just had a more herby taste than the meat one.”

https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/18024657.gazette-tried-new-foot-long-vegan-sausage-roll-morrisons/

Carrs Pasties Partners With Meatless Farm To Launch Vegan Sausage Roll And Pasty

From plantbasednews.org/lifestyle

'Our aim has always been to produce top quality, healthy products with mass appeal'

Bolton-based bakery Carrs Pasties has partnered with the Meatless Farm Company to launch a vegan sausage roll and pasty.
The eatery, which has three stores in the UK's biggest town, says vegan options were the most popular requested food items.

'Mass appeal'

According to This Is Lancashire, Managing Director of Carrs Pasties, Joe Carr, said: "Even in the early stages of developing our vegan range, our aim has always been to produce top quality, healthy products with mass appeal.

"Rather than rush into a quickly expanding market, we wanted to take the time to find a partner like the Meatless Farm who share our values.

"We always say that we wouldn’t sell anything that we wouldn’t queue up to buy ourselves – so whether you are a vegan, vegetarian, or if you are simply looking to reduce the amount of meat in your diet, please give our new vegan range a try and let us know what you think."

                                   Vegan products were highly requested (Photo: Carrs Pasties)

Samples of the plant-based products, which uses ingredients such as rice, pea, and soy protein, will be available to try from the bakery's original shop on Halliwell Road from August 19.

The items will also be showcased at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival which begins on August 23.

https://www.plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/carrs-pasties-vegan-sausage-roll