Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties

March 21, 2008 | Reviewer: Abi

Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties Price: $2.59
Serving: 1 pattie, 1.34oz.
Calories: 80
Fat:5%, 3g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 11%, 260mg
Protein: 10g
Carbs: 1%, 3g
Fiber: 6%, 1g
Sugar: <1g
Weight Watchers Points: 2 Points

Morningstar Farms says: Savory, sizzling veggie patties seasoned with herbs and spices.

Abi says: I hesitate to write about these vegetarian sausage patties. It isn’t that I think you’ll all run to your nearest Trader Joe’s to buy them (though you should because at TJ’s they’re half the regular grocery store price). No, I’m worried that my fiance will read this review and finally learn that the breakfast sausage we ate throughout the winter was actually made of soy. This is why I don’t have a photo of the cooked sausage, though it looks exactly the same as the photo on the box.

I know that the Morningstar Farms veggie sausage, which is prone to overcooking, could never be confused with the truly amazing housemade sausage patties at Austin’s Kerby Lane Cafe. But if you’re worried about the amount of Jimmy Dean in your shopping cart, I implore you to try this breakfast item.

Each pattie is already brown, so all you need to do is heat them in the microwave and then crisp them a bit on each side. Burning the patties is easier than you’d think, especially if you’re used to cooking real made-with-meat sausage. Additionally, they have a confusing texture, much like real, slightly overcooked sausage, except they achieve granularity much more quickly than real sausage. I believe this is because vegetarian sausage lacks the connective tissue products one might find in standard sausage products. In addition to lacking tendons and such, each pattie has 1/2 the calories and 1/5 the fat of the same amount of pork sausage.

These ’sausage’ patties, when served alongside a suitably dramatic item (I recommend French Toast Casserole with Pecan-Brown Sugar Streusel), will potentially be mistaken for real sausage. But if you’d like to just make your own homestyle sausage, you can’t go wrong with Homesick Texan’s Sausage Recipe. A warning before you click that link: if you’re a displaced Texas you’ll spend the rest of the afternoon wishing you were back home in the Lone Star State.

comments

18 Responses to “Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties”

Marvo on March 21st, 2008

I have these in my freezer right now and I do buy them when they’re on sale. I do enjoy them, but as you know they are easy to mess up when warming them up.
Rose on March 21st, 2008

I’ve eaten quite a few morning star products, mini corndogs, regular corndogs, regular burgers, the “italian style” burgers, chicken patties, chicken nuggets, weird riblet things…but I have yet to try the sausage, probably because I don’t really eat breakfast, I may have to try these. maybe I’ll make sausage gravy with it, or atleast…attempt it.
Carlos on March 21st, 2008

I eat pork almost every day. I love sausage in (almost) all of its forms, bacon with abandon, and will joyously spend over fourteen hours barbecuing a pork shoulder to make pulled pork. Ham is a food group, and I even love pig ears and feet. That being said I am almost as addicted to these sausage patties as I am to cigarettes. And yes I am a terrifically unhealthy person, but these are incredible for me. Maybe it is the fact I feel a smidge less guilt for eating four of these in one go, or maybe it is the perfect blend of herbs and sweet sweet salt in these, I don’t know. But I love them.

That being said these pale in comparison to the patties morningstar put out 2+ years ago. Though I recall about 1/3 more fat and calories, they were at least twice as much delicious.
Maria on March 21st, 2008

I’m terrified by these things! It’s chalky, clay like in texture, and overall a horrendous option. =( I’m saddened by such a phenomenal review from this site, because now it’s lost my faith. =( Sad, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes.
Sarah on March 22nd, 2008

I’m so glad you gave a shout out to Kerbey Lane. It’s one of our favorite places in Austin! They have awesome pancakes, too.
Crow on March 22nd, 2008

Your fiance had better watch out, first it’s lying about breakfast sausage, then it’s credit card bills, cell phone records, and flower deliveries at work.
danakscully64 on March 22nd, 2008

If cooked right, these are delicious! It’s SO hard to tell they’re not real meat. My omni family likes these too.
danakscully64 on March 22nd, 2008

I forgot to say: They make sausage-style crumbles (like the grillers original crumbles) that are EXCELLENT. Mix them in with hashbrowns or put them in spaghetti sauce for awesome flavor!
anastasia on March 23rd, 2008

Eat these all the time, and, coincidentally, made Homesick Texan’s pork sausage this weekend for my boyfriend (he eats meat). Veggie sausage is definitely a yummy bit of protein with breakfast.
Maywither Dragon on March 23rd, 2008

I bet I’d like these, but my girlfriend would not be fooled
Becka on March 24th, 2008

I haven’t tried these yet but now I intend to. I’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years [and I’m only 25] and remembering how the veg sausages were about 10 years ago when I first dared to try them has made me extremely leery to try them ever since, but after this and the comments I guess I should give fake sausage another try.

“I believe this is because vegetarian sausage lacks the connective tissue products one might find in standard sausage products.”

Ugh. That’s got to be true though.
Katy on March 24th, 2008

I grew up on these. They are comfort food for me. Love them love them LOVE THEM — but rarely buy them because of the expense.

Now I am going to have to buy some soon.
Anne on March 24th, 2008

We love these, too. Great for a weekend breakfast with eggs and/or applesauce. They’re an excellent vegetarian product. Pigs are cute and smart and have feelings. These aren’t and don’t!
Molly on March 25th, 2008

I truly prefer the Boca breakfast sausages to these. In my time as a vegetarian, I have done a tasting of each available breakfast “sausage” and these were near the bottom of my list. The Boca links have a great breakfast sausage flavor and FAR less calories than the Morningstar.
Kim on March 26th, 2008

I have eaten these for many years now, and recommend them to everyone I know. People who smell them (if I make them at work) are always drooling and I always encourage them to try them, BUT I always use this disclaimer:

They are NOT pork sausage and will NOT taste like pork sausage. Go into it open to something new, not thinking “oh, yummy, sausage for less fat grams, yay!” If you think you are biting into your regular old Jimmy Dean, you will be sadly disappointed. But in their own category, they are wonderful.
Margie on March 29th, 2008

These are the best non-meat sausages I’ve ever eaten. Fabulous flavor and not all the grease from the real thing! I don’t care for the Morning Star Farms sausage links, however — I was disappointed in their texture and taste. These patties are wonderful!!
Bonnie on March 29th, 2008

I am a HUGE fan of Morningstar’s veggie sausage. One thing that I love to do with these patties is get a biscuit or English muffin, put a cooked veggie patty on it with a slice of cheese, warm it up in the toaster oven, and you have your very own veggie McMuffin! Perfection!
Trader Joe’s Meatless Corn Dogs : Heat Eat Review : We Review TV Dinners, Frozen Meals, and Microwavable Foods on April 3rd, 2008

[…] that I’m surprised it can’t be replicated with vegetable products. I suspect that my Morningstar Sausage-related hypothesis of the need for connective tissue comes into play here as […]