Biscuits and Vegetarian 'Sausage' Gravy

My vegetarian sausage gravy is, of course, easily made vegan with soy milk and vegan ground sausage. It was the biscuits, paradoxically, that proved a problem when I tackled this recipe, because the original version called for a 16.3 ounce can of refrigerated biscuit dough. The most common brand is Pillsbury, of course, but their biscuit dough and every other brand I could find were chalk full of things like buttermilk, eggs, and um... beef tallow. Eeew.

I finally admitted to myself that I wouldn't be able to find convenient pre-made vegan biscuits, but my next option was to scare up a quick easy biscuit recipe online and work a little vegan magic on it. So here is a recipe for simple biscuits:

Lightly spoon 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour into measuring cups, leveling with a knife. Combine the flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt.

Cut in 3 tablespoons of vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), cut into small pieces - you can use a pastry blender, two knives, or the back of a fork - until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup plain soy milk (such as Silk) and 1/3 cup plain soy yogurt (such as Whole Soy); add to the flour mixture and stir just until moist.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead about 3 times. Pat into 1/2-inch thickness, and cut into 8 biscuits using a 2-inch biscuit cutter. I had to get a little creative here, because the cookie cutter I have at home is only about 1-and-a-half inches across, so I sort of doubled up my biscuits in two smaller circles each., and had to regather the scraps of my dough and re-pat it out a couple of times.

Place the 8 rounds on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly brush the tops with 2 additional teaspoons of soy milk. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.

Now onto the gravy!

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 of a 14-ounce package of Lightlife's Gimme Lean meatless ground sausage, and cook for 3 minutes (I broke it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooked). Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then break further down into about 1/2-inch big pieces. Return to the pan.

Lightly spoon 1/4 cup all-purpose flour into a measuring cup and level with a knife. Combine the flour with 3 cups soy milk and whisk until smooth. Add the soy milk mixture to the pan, along with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

My gravy still wasn't quite thick after those 3 minutes, so I uncovered and cooked about 2 minutes more, stirring frequently, and then it seemed thick enough.

Slice your biscuits in half, and place 2 halves on each of 8 plates. Spoon 1/3 cup gravy over each plate.

These are best served immediately, so the gravy doesn't make the biscuits soggy. Each serving is 270 calories. They make a great breakfast, or side dish.

Cost:
meatless fat-free sausage $3.69
plain soy milk $2.49
plain soy yogurt $1.39