Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

Buttery puff pastry filled with a delicious mixture of roasted chestnuts, lentils and mushrooms – these Vegetarian Sausage Rolls are the perfect party food snack.  This tried and tested recipe is a family favourite and I can never make enough! They’re easy to make and they taste amazing! 

Every single time I make these vegetarian sausage rolls they disappear in a flash! The whole family loves them. Even my kitchen smells delicious when I make these! And the best thing about them is that they’re just as great cold as they are hot. They are the perfect party food, great for snacking and great for popping into school or work lunch boxes.

A tasty mixture of roasted chestnuts, mushrooms, puy lentils is cooked with herbs and garlic to make the perfect filling for these sausage rolls. Wrap that mixture in a buttery puff pastry and you have the tastiest veggie sausage rolls. 

Why This Recipe Works

• The filling is really delicious! It’s packed with mushrooms, lentils and roasted chestnuts – so festive!
• Crispy butter pastry – no need to make your own (this recipe calls for pre-rolled pasty).
• Perfect hot or cold – these party snacks are great for lunch boxes too!

What You’ll Need

These are made with a few simple ingredients, store-bought pastry, mushrooms, chestnuts and herbs.

How to Make Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

This is a two-step process, make the filling then assemble the sausage rolls. This is just a quick visual guide please see the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and detailed instructions.

Step 1 – Make The Filling 

1. Add the onion to a skillet and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes.
2. Once the mixture has reduced by about half, add the herbs and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Next, add the lentils and the chopped roasted chestnuts to the mushrooms. You’ll need to stir this well so everything is combined.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock, I use a vegetable bouillon for this, it’s low sodium and vegetarian.
5. Next, add the red currant jelly. Cook the mixture over a low to medium heat until the juices evaporate.
6. Now stir in the breadcrumbs, mix it well then leave it to cool. You can check your seasoning now.

Step 2 – Assemble The Sausage Rolls

1. Once the filling has cooled roll out the pastry. Cut the pastry in half lengthways, you should have four long rectangles. Divide the filling in four then place it on the pastry and shape into a long sausage, leaving more room on the side you will be turning over the filling.
2. Fold over the pastry, wrapping the filling in the pastry. Brush the edges of the pastry with milk then seal the edges with a fork. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Once chilled take the sausage rolls out of the fridge and place on two baking trays lined with baking paper. Cut the sausage rolls into small rolls, brush with egg wash. Then use a sharp knife to make a couple of slits in the pastry. Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
3. The sausage rolls should be a deep golden brown colour and the pastry should be crisp when they are done. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly on a wire rack.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Puff Pastry – I use all-butter puff pastry, it will give you a lovely buttery pastry. But you can also use regular puff pastry and get really great results too. The pastry I used was pre-rolled, once unrolled it measured approximately 12 inches x 10 inches (30cm x 25cm). You will need two rolls.
• Roasted Chestnuts – Store-bought roasted chestnuts are perfect for this, I used a pack of loose chestnuts, they are better than the vacuum-packed ones you can get. If you can’t find chestnuts then you could add walnuts instead. 
• Lentils – Puy lentils are best for this recipe, I used store-bought pre-cooked lentils. If you can’t get these then you could cook your own the night before.
• Mushrooms – Chestnut mushrooms are more flavourful than white button mushrooms so I always use these. But, you can of course use white mushrooms instead. I would avoid using large portobello mushrooms though.
• Herbs – Fresh is best here, and rosemary and thyme are the perfect combinations for these veggie sausage rolls. You could switch it up to sage if you wish.
• Red Currant Jelly – Also known as red currant sauce (US) is an English condiment. It can be found in all larger supermarkets. It adds a lovely depth of flavour to these sausage rolls. So I recommend using it. If you can’t find any then I would add a little red wine to the mixture instead. If you do add wine, make sure and cook it down until it is absorbed into the mixture. I would add it when I add the garlic and herbs.
• Breadcrumbs  – I used store-bought dried fine breadcrumbs. Dry breadcrumbs work really well here as they soak up any juices and help bind the mixture. If you can’t find these then homemade white or whole-grain breadcrumbs will work well too.

Tips For Making The Best Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

• Make sure the filling has cooled before you place it on the pastry. If the filling is too hot, it will heat up the pastry and it will be harder to work with.
• Always preheat the oven. You will get the best results for the pastry when you put it in a hot oven.
• A good all-butter puff pastry gives the very best results, but regular puff pastry works very well too. Nobody in my family has turned their noses up at these when I used a regular puff pastry.
• Brush the edges of the pastry with milk to seal the rolls.
• Pro Tip – Dip the fork into the milk then press the fork down on the edges to seal the pastry. The milk on the fork will stop it from sticking to the pastry.
• Be generous with the eggwash, I brush it underneath as well. This gives the sausage rolls a beautiful golden colour.
• Don’t forget to make the slashes in the pastry, this will let any steam from the filling escape and avoid a soggy pastry.
• You can make these big or small it’s up to you. If we’re having these for a party I will cut them smaller, into 16 pieces per roll. If I’m making these for lunch then I’ll cut them into larger sausage rolls. Then I’ll have 8 per roll of pastry.

FAQs About This Recipe

How long will these keep for? These vegetarian sausage rolls will keep in the fridge, for 2 to 3 days.

Can I freeze vegetarian sausage rolls? Yes, you can freeze these if you need to. Freeze the uncooked sausage rolls when they are filled and cut into individual rolls, place them on baking trays, place them in the freezer for a couple of hours, then when they are frozen take them off the trays and place in labelled freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months, defrost and brush with egg wash before cooking. Make sure you buy chilled puff pastry that is suitable for freezing if you want to freeze them.

Can I make these ahead of time?  Yes, you can make the filling a day before if you wish, leave it to cool and store it covered in the fridge until you are ready to make them. You can make and cook the sausage rolls the day before if you wish, just keep them in the fridge once cooled and use with 2 days.

Can I make this vegan? To make this vegan you will need to buy a vegan puff pastry, swap the butter for a plant-based butter. You will also need to swap the milk for plant-based milk to seal the sausage rolls and to use as an egg wash.

How To Serve Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

These veggie rolls really are best served warm, and we like them with a little ketchup, but I know some of you like mustard with your sausage rolls so whatever rocks your boat. I quite like spicy beetroot ketchup with these too. You can also enjoy these rolls cold.

More Tasty Vegetarian Party Food:

• Feta & Sun-Dried Tomato Swirls with Pesto
• Puff Pastry Mince Pies – deliciously festive!
• Loaded veggie nachos with easy homemade guacamole
• Cherry tomato bruschetta – perfect little bites!
• Ricotta Crostini with roasted cherries sweet, creamy and delicious.
• Stuffed mini portobello mushrooms

Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

Vegetarian sausage rolls filled with a delicious mixture of mushrooms, lentils and chestnuts. Perfect party food for entertaining over the holidays, really tasty and easy to make.

5 from 4 votes

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings: 32 sausage rolls

Calories: 125kcal

Author: Michelle Alston

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium ( 170g/ .60z) brown onion finely chopped. Yields 1¼ cups
• ▢ 150 g / 6.4 oz of chestnut mushrooms wiped clean then roughly chopped. Yields 1 cup once chopped.
• ▢ 1 tbsp butter
• ▢ 1 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves
• ▢ 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• ▢ 2 cloves of garlic minced
• ▢ 250 g / 1½ cups cooked Puy lentils
• ▢ 180 g / 1 cup of cooked roasted chestnuts roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 tsp vegetable bouillon
• ▢ 150 ml ½ cup + 2 tbsp of freshly boiled water
• ▢ 2 heaped tbsp red currant jelly
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp sea salt plus more for topping the pastry
• ▢ 40 g / ⅓ of a cup of fine dried breadcrumbs white or wholewheat is fine
• ▢ 2 x 320g / 12" x 10" sheets of chilled all-butter puff pastry cut each sheet in half lengthways
• ▢ 2 tbsp milk
• ▢ 1 medium egg whisked
• ▢ 1 or 2 tsp sesame seeds optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C fan/356F, 200C/392F conventional oven.

  Line 4 baking trays with parchment paper.

  If you don't have 4 trays you can do this in two stages. So line two baking trays cook the sausage rolls and then repeat.

To Make The Filling

• Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.

  Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent and springy about 10 minutes.

  Add the mushrooms and one tablespoon of butter and cook for another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms release their juices. Now add the thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes.
• In a small jug mix the hot water and one teaspoon of vegetable bouillon. You can use half a stock cube if you prefer.

  Add the lentils and the chestnuts to the mushrooms then stir in the vegetable stock and the red currant jelly. Cook over a low to medium heat until the juices evaporate.

  Once the juices have evaporated stir in the breadcrumbs.

  Check the seasoning now. You may need to add more salt depending on the stock you use.

  Set the filling aside to cool.

To Assemble

• Once the filling has cooled unroll both sheets of the pastry.

  Cut the pastry in half lengthways, you should have four rectangles.
• Divide the filling into four then place the filling along each strip of pastry and shape into long sausages, leaving more room on one side.

  Fold the pastry over the filling, wrapping the filling in the pastry. Brush the edges of the pastry with milk then seal the edges with a fork.

  Place the rolls in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes take the sausage rolls out of the fridge and place on two baking trays lined with baking paper.

  Cut the sausage rolls into small rolls, one long sausage roll will yield 8 small sausage rolls.

  Using a sharp knife make a couple of slits in each sausage roll.

  Sprinkle a small pinch of sesame seeds and a little sea salt on each sausage roll.

  Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
• The sausage rolls should be a deep golden brown colour and the pastry should be crisp when they are done.

  Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly on a wire tray.

  Repeat with the remaining sausage rolls.
• Serve warm with good quality tomato ketchup or a little English mustard.

Notes

• Quantity - One roll of puff pastry will yield 16 sausage rolls. Two rolls will yield 32. The filling listed is enough to fill two rolls of pastry. You can easily halve the quantities listed to make 16.
• Pastry - All-butter puff pastry will give you the best results, I have also made this with non-butter pastry and the results were very good too. Each sheet of pre-rolled pastry measured in at 12" x 10" (30cm x 25cm) once rolled out. Each sheet weighs approx 320g. I used two of these. Each sheet is then cut into two before being filled. So you should have four rectangles.
• Filling - Make sure the filling has cooled before you place in on the pastry. If the filling is too hot, it will heat up the pastry and it will be harder to work with.
• Lentils - Puy lentils give the best results for this, I used a pack of pre-cooked puy lentils. You can cook your own if you wish. I would do this the day before to save time.
• Chestnuts - I used a packet of pre-cooked chestnuts for these sausage rolls. If you can't get chestnuts then walnuts are a good substitute.
• Pro Tip - Dip the fork into the milk then press the fork down on the edges to seal the pastry. The milk on the fork will stop it from sticking to the pastry.
• Egg wash - Be generous with the eggwash, I brush the underneath of the sausage rolls as well. This gives the sausage rolls a beautiful golden colour.
• Don't forget to make the slashes in the pastry, this will let any steam from the filling escape and avoid a soggy pastry.
• You can make these big or small it's up to you. If we're having these for a party I will cut them smaller, into 16 pieces per roll which will yield 32 pieces all together. If I'm making these for lunch then I'll cut them into larger sausage rolls. Then I'll have 8 per roll of pastry.
• Can I make these Vegan? Yes, swap the butter for olive oil, use vegan puff pastry and in place of the egg wash try a vegan eggwash, try 2 tablespoons of non-dairy milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of maple syrup then brushed over the pastry. 
• Can I freeze these? Yes, freeze them when they are filled and cut into individual rolls. Place them on baking trays, place the trays in the freezer for a couple of hours, then when they are frozen take them off the trays and place in labelled freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months, defrost and brush with egg wash before baking.
• Nutritional Information - is calculated using an online nutrition tool and is approximate. Calories are per sausage roll.
• Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible.

Nutrition

Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 13.4g | Protein: 2.7g | Fat: 7.2g | Saturated Fat: 1.2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 2.8g | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

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*This recipe first appeared on this blog on December 7 2017. It has been updated with new process shots, new photographs, a step by step guide and more nutritional information. Updated December 7, 2020, for housekeeping, new photos and added additional information and tips.