Vegan Sausage & Peppers Over Polenta

Yes you read that right…vegan sausage! Did you even know there is such a thing? And get this…it’s actually really tasty. I don’t eat meat substitutes often because we don’t need them nutritionally in our diet. Their purpose is more about tasting good than anything else. But I think this is a great dish for people who are just flirting with the idea of trying out a plant-based diet. Vegan sausage tastes so much like real sausage that this is a great transition dish if you’re interested in plant-based eating but not ready to give up meat. This is also a great dish if you’re entertaining vegetarians and omnivores at the same meal. It’s a meal that can please many diets!

I have made this dish with two different plant-based sausages. My favorite is the Tofurky Italian Sausage with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Basil, which is so delicious. It is a little peppery, which I like, but keep that in mind if peppery foods don’t suit your palate! And my second favorite is the Tofurky Kielbasa Sausage, which is delicious but not peppery like the Italian Sausage.

Oh and before we get to the recipe…my friend Lauren called this dish “Vegan Sausage & Peppas!” in her Jersey accent and now I can’t stop calling it that. So here you go…enjoy those “peppas!” 🙂

Vegan Sausage & Peppas!

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 4 bell peppers (I prefer red, yellow or orange)
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 large onion
• 4 vegan sausages (1 package)
• 2 Tbsps olive oil
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup polenta
• 1/3 cup vegan Parmesan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º.
2. Dice garlic. Then cut peppers and onion into ½ inch strips.
3. In a large bowl combine garlic, peppers, onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
4. Pour contents of bowl onto a rimmed baking sheet. Cook for 20 minutes, mixing veggies half way through.
5. While veggies are cooking, slice sausages into ½-1 inch pieces, diagonally.
6. After veggies have cooked for 20 minutes add sausage to baking sheet and mix with the veggies. Cook for another 15 minutes.
7. While sausage and veggies are cooking, in a large pot bring vegetable broth to a boil. Once boiling, slowly add polenta to broth, stirring while doing so. Return to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
8. Remove polenta from heat and stir in vegan Parmesan, mixing well.
9. Once done cooking, remove sausage and veggies from the oven. To serve top polenta with veggies and sausage.

Enjoy!

P.S. Here are some additional cooking tips for this recipe:

• There are two ways to buy polenta. Either in grits form or precooked solid form. For this recipe you want to be sure to buy polenta in grits form. I used De La Estancia Organic Polenta.
• If polenta seems too thick you can always add more broth.