Neat foods plant-based sausage crumble and patty mixes are promoted as a soy-free/gluten-free/GMO-free/guilt-free alternative to meat. Their mixes are a base of pecans, garbanzo bean flour, gf oats, and sometimes cornmeal.

I received a package of their breakfast sausage mix in my September Vegan Cuts‘ subscription and was beyond excited to try them out. What tofu scramble or roasted vegetable medley doesn’t want to be accompanied by a good plant-based sausage?

One package is what the recipe calls for, though you could figure out a ratio to make individual servings. I’m interested in that.

To make breakfast crumbles → mix water, 2 egg (or 2 egg replacers), and the mix.

To make breakfast sausage patties → mix 1 egg (or egg substitute), 1/4 cup water, the mix, and 1/2 cup diced vegetables.

Celery, pepper, onion, and the Neat mix

Formed patties

Delicious textures

I think celery, peppers, and onion were a perfect combo. What else could be good? What would you use?

Thoughts on finished product

• Heat temperature isn’t specified on the breakfast package, so I used medium heat. I would use medium-low next time and maybe cook a little bit longer.
• I think the diced vegetables are a great addition and almost make the dish. Diced-size were good, but I would either pre-dry sauté them or mince and follow the recipe next time.
• I wish the egg replacer was just built-in (like the use of their ‘neat egg’) so all you had to add was water.
• A good flavor, but it didn’t stand out for me. I love the base for its nutritional prowess, but I would add a little ground fennel to the mix next time. It’s a flavor I’ve really grown to love when I make tempeh breakfast crumbles.
• I can’t speak specifically about the texture (see below), but it had a pretty good mouthfeel.

*Admission of guilt. I didn’t see the patty recipe called for 1/4 cup of water, so I only added 1 tablespoon. It definitely makes a difference. Still good, but would’ve improved the finished texture.

Not-So-Fried Curried Bananas

Not-So-Fried Bananas are the easy way to get a plantain-like meal +plus+ you get all the benefits of curry.

To go with the patties I decided to keep it simple and serve it with leftover sweet potato and the curried banana—which could easily be doubled or tripled.

If I’m not steaming sweet potatoes, I’m roasting them (recipe coming soon). I took a half, split it, and warmed it up in the same pan face down to crisp the soft side.

We drizzled the whole plate in maple syrup and I even used a little ketchup. xx