Plant-Based Italian Sausage Crumbles

These are the best Plant-Based Italian Sausage Crumbles you’re ever going to put on your pizza! Savory, with all those yummy sausage-y spices; fennel seed, Italian seasoning, and just the right amount of red pepper flakes. Add these quick and easy crumbles anytime you want to enhance lasagna, spaghetti, stuffed shells, pizza, or soups. Heck, you can even roll them into Italian meatballs!

Ingredients

1 - 8-ounce package fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 small yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup walnuts

1 - 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoon water

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a skillet to medium heat adding mushrooms, onion, garlic, and saute for 5 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and ground black pepper during the last minute. Let cool for a few minutes.

2. Place walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Add rolled oats in with the walnuts to chop them up a bit. Add the beans, water, sauteed vegetables, and pulse until just combined (don’t overmix or it’ll turn into a paste). Taste for your preferred seasoning, adding additional based on your preference. I like to add a bit more fennel seeds.

3. Gently spread mixture onto a parchment paper or silicone mat-lined baking sheet, leaving the natural chunks that have formed.

4. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, gently turning over the mixture halfway through the baking time. Check the crumbles at the end of the baking time, you may need a few more minutes. You want the crumbles to be golden brown and slightly crispy.

5. Serve as a topping on pizza, sprinkled on spaghetti, between layers of lasagna, in stuffed shells, or roll into meatballs prior to baking using 2 tablespoons of the mixture prior to baking and bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes.