Vegan Cocktail Wieners Recipe (gluten free)

Make vegan Cocktail Wieners at home out of simple ingredients such as tofu, (gluten-free) flour, starch, and seasonings! These plant-based mini sausages are inspired by Meica's Mini Winis, which were always present at birthday parties during my childhood in Germany. They are also comparable to cocktail wieners, or little smokies. So enjoy these meatless sausages covered in BBQ sauce or on its own during New Year's. Serve as an appetizer on game days, birthday parties, or potlucks!

💡 The recipe in a nutshell

• Vegan (eggless and dairy-free)
• Gluten-free
• Plant-based sausages made from scratch
• Healthy homemade meat alternative
• Smokey, crowd-pleasing and delicious

👩🏽‍🍳 How do you make vegan cocktail sausages?

Making vegan cocktail sausages at home is super easy! This recipe is on the base of tofu, so all you need to do is drain and press your tofu.

I do recommend using a tofu press since it makes this process super easy and mess-free. Otherwise, you can press it by putting it in between paper towels and placing heavy objects such as books onto it for pressing or squeezing it in a cheesecloth.

Once your tofu is prepared add all ingredients to a food processor and blend for 30-60 seconds until a thick paste has formed. Next, you will form small sausages out of a tablespoon of tofu paste, using a small piece of plastic wrap. In this video, I show you how it is done. As an alternative technique, you can also use a sausage mold and then wrap the tofu.

Once all your vegan cocktail wieners are formed and wrapped, place them in a bamboo steamer and steam for 12 minutes. Unwrap and enjoy!

I actually learned this technique from Full of Plants blog. This recipe is a gluten-free spin on their recipe!

Equipment

• Tofu press (optional, but highly recommended)
• Food processor (or blender)
• Plastic wrap (or parchment paper)
• Bamboo steamer
• Skillet (must be at least 1 inch wider than your steamer)

Ingredients

• Extra-firm tofu
• Tapioca starch
• Cassava flour (if you don't care for gluten free, you can use regular all-purpose too)
• Avocado oil, or other vegetable oil of choice
• Agave syrup
• Tomato paste
• Tamari, or soy sauce
• Liquid smoke
• Salt, or alternatively miso paste
• ½ teaspoon of each: black pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, yellow mustard

🤔 Can I shape these into regular size sausages instead? 

Yes, you can. However, depending on the size of your steamer you might be able to only fit 3-4 sausages into it, so you will have to steam in several batches. Steaming time stays the same, as long as you're not making them crazy huge.

🌭 What goes with cocktail sausages? Serving ideas

These vegan mini sausages taste great on their own, but are super versatile! You can dip them in sauces, cook, grill, or fry them. You can even serve them in other meals such as stews, soups, and stir-fries (they won't fall apart).

• Dip or coat in BBQ, sweet chili sauce, mayonnaise, aioli, ketchup, or mustard
• Make pigs in a blanket
• Grill and enjoy!
• Add to your favorite vegetable stew, soup, or stir-fry
• Serve as is, or as part of a charcuterie board

🥣 Storage

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If moisture builds up in the container, pat dry with a paper or kitchen towel.

📖 Recipe

Vegan Cocktail Wieners Recipe (gluten free)

Jacqui Wormington

Make vegan Cocktail Wieners at home out of simple ingredients such as tofu, (gluten-free) flour, starch, and seasonings! Enjoy meatless sausages covered in BBQ sauce or on their own during New Year's, or as an appetizer on game days, birthday parties, potlucks, and more!

5 from 9 votes

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Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, German, Gluten-Free, Vegan

Servings 32 sausages

Equipment

• Tofu press (optional, but highly recommended); Food processor (or blender); Plastic wrap (or parchment paper); Bamboo steamer and skillet (must be at least 1 inch wider than your steamer)

Ingredients

  

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• ▢ 2 blocks of extra-firm tofu (ca. 600g)
• ▢ 1.5 ounces tapioca starch (45g)
• ▢ 1 ounces cassava flour* (30g)
• ▢ 2 ½ tablespoons avocado oil, or other vegetable oil of choice (35ml)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons agave syrup (30ml)
• ▢ 4 teaspoon tomato paste (20ml)
• ▢ 1 tablespoons tamari (15ml)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• ▢ 1 tablespoons salt, or alternatively miso paste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon of each: black pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, yellow mustard

Instructions

 

• Drain and press tofu overnight. 
• Add all ingredients to a food processor, and process until thick paste forms.
• Cut 8 eight 4x4.5-inch squares of plastic wrap* and place them on your counter. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the tofu mixture and roll it gently into a ball using slightly oiled hands. Place the ball on one of the plastic wrap rectangles. Repeat with 7 more balls.
• Then roll each ball tightly into the wrap while slightly pressing with your fingers to create a short log/cocktail sausage shape. With the palm of your hand gently roll the sausage back and forth to lengthen it. Then twist the ends of the wrap tightly to seal them. It will look kind of like wrapped candy. As an alternative use sausage molds. Place the sausages in a small to medium-sized bamboo steamer basket and repeat this step until you have used all of the mixtures. To protect your steamer from taking over any food flavors always lay it out with a small piece of parchment paper and put food on top of it. You should end up with approx. 32 cocktail sausages.
• Fill a shallow pan with 1-2 inches of water (2.5 - 5cm). The pan should be at least 1 inch wider than your bamboo steamer. You don’t want it to touch the sides of the pan, to prevent it from burning. Then bring water to a boil. Once boiling, place the bamboo steamer basket into your pan and steam the sausages for 12 minutes. Do not open the lid.
• Remove from heat, open the lid and let cool for 5 minutes. Unwrap each sausage while still warm, and transfer them to a plate. Use further as wished (grilling, frying, cooking), serve warm, or store in the fridge up to 5 days.

Video

Notes

*Can I use something else than plastic wrap? Yes, if you want to skip the plastic use parchment paper. It just won't give it such nice sausage-like-looking endings, as the plastic wrap does.

*Can I use regular flour instead of cassava? Yes, regular all-purpose flour works too - it is just not gluten-free, and I wanted this recipe to be gluten-free friendly. 🙂

The provided nutritional information is an estimate. Accuracy is not guaranteed.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment & tag @thesimplesprinkle on Instagram

This recipe was inspired by Full of Plant's vegan frankfurter sausages recipe.

PS: Don't forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment on your experience - this helps improve my recipes and serves you with the best instructions, tips, and substitution ideas. Plus, I love hearing about your takes on my recipes! Tag me on Instagram @thesimplesprinkle to show me your pictures.