Recently, I have had a bunch of requests for vegan sheet pan dinner options. I’m more than happy to oblige. A sheet pan dinner is when everything (protein, veg, some type of carbohydrate) gets roasted on one baking sheet with oil, salt, pepper, and a seasoning blend. One and done! With this veggie sausage sheet pan dinner, we combine diced up vegan sausages, chickpeas, fennel, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and olives as our base. All of these flavours work so beautifully together!
My one criticism of sheet pan meals: they can be a “one note” in terms of overall flavour. While the roasted vegetables and vegan sausage work in the oven for this one, we make up a simple vegan pesto cream sauce that’s also great on grilled veggies. You just whisk together some vegan pesto (store bought is great!), cashew butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and water. So easy.
I’m often trying to dream up different meal ideas with vegan sausage. They’re quick to cook and extra satisfying–especially if you’re cooking for meat eaters. My favourite vegan sausages are Beyond Meat’s Hot Italian or Field Roast’s Italian Garlic and Fennel. Both options cook up great in the oven.
It’s important to use a large enough baking sheet so that you can spread everything out. This allows decent browning on the veggies and sausage! When everything is tightly packed in together, you get a bit of a soggy steaming effect, which we don’t want. Use the largest baking sheet you’ve got (or two smaller ones) and give all the bits as much space as you can.
The whole thing takes about 30 minutes in the oven. I like to serve this vegan Italian sausage sheet pan dinner on top of some baby arugula and with some ciabatta bread on the side for a little extra satiation. The caramelized edges of the fennel and red onion really do highlight the extra robust and savoury flavours in the veggie sausage. Bursts of acidity from the tomatoes and little salty bites of olive mesh beautifully with the pesto cream. And the chickpeas make this weeknight-appropriate dinner extra hearty.
I hope that you give this one a try soon! Let me know if you’re fully on the sheet pan dinner train 🙂
Veggie Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner with Pesto Cream
Vegan veggie sausage sheet pan dinner with pesto cream is loaded with vegetables and plant-based protein, super flavourful and satisfying, and it comes together in about 40 minutes–all in the oven!
Servings 4
Ingredients
Veggie Sausage Sheet Pan
- 1 (398 ml) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 large fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 small red onion, halved and sliced
- 1 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes
- ½ cup pitted olives
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes (optional, or to taste)
- 4 vegan sausage links, cut into 1-inch slices
Pesto Cream
- ¼ cup vegan pesto
- ¼ cup cashew butter or tahini
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup water, plus extra
To Serve
- baby arugula
- ciabatta bread (or other bread of choice)
Notes
- Any Italian-style veggie sausage links should work here. I like Beyond Meat (Hot Italian–shown in photos) and Field Roast (Italian Garlic & Fennel) the most.
- If you have a jar of sun dried tomatoes in oil on hand and open, I recommend using some of the oil from the jar in place of the olive oil here. Extra flavour bump!
- You can use homemade pesto or store bought for maximum ease. I love the vegan pestos from Sunflower Kitchen and use them often. The Gotham Greens one is good too!
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425°F. Set out a large baking sheet (or 2 smaller ones).
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Dry off the chickpeas with a clean kitchen towel as thoroughly as you can. Transfer the chickpeas to the baking sheet.
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Add the following items to the baking sheet as well: sliced fennel, sliced red onion, cherry tomatoes, olives, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried thyme, and chili flakes. Toss everything until all vegetables and chickpeas are coated in oil and seasoning. Spread everything out as much as possible on the baking sheet.
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Place the sliced veggie sausages on top of the chickpeas and vegetables. You can drizzle the sausage pieces with a bit more olive oil if you like–I tend to use Beyond Meat brand vegan sausages, which do not need the extra oil.
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Slide the baking sheet into the oven. Roast the chickpeas, veggies and sausage for 30 minutes, flipping and tossing everything gently at the halfway point. When it’s done, the fennel and onions should be slightly caramelized on the edges, the tomatoes will have burst, and the sausages should have good browning as well.
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While the chickpeas, veggies, and sausages are roasting, make the pesto cream. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegan pesto, cashew butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and water. It should be thick and creamy, but also pourable. Add more water if necessary.
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To serve, place a couple handfuls of baby arugula in each serving bowl. Transfer ¼ of the chickpeas, veggies, and sausage over the portions of arugula. Finish each serving with the pesto cream and some bread on the side if you like.
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