Here’s the way I prepare veggie sausage crumbles to use in my favorite meals. These are excellent stand-ins for any recipe calling for Italian or regular sausage and they also work very well in place of ground beef.

A 14-oz. package of Lightlife Gimme Lean Ground Sausage Style Veggie Protein is the equivalent of 1 pound of cooked and drained ground meat. So it’s easy to make many regular recipes vegetarian. Because it’s definitely different than cooking with regular meat, though, I tend to make these veggie crumbles first and then add them in towards the end of cooking.

Here’s how I do it.

Veggie Sausage Crumbles
14-oz. pkg Gimme Lean Ground Sausage Style Veggie Protein
olive oil

Here’s the package ready to go.

Cut into small pieces. This can be really time-consuming. You can just cut quickly into small squares or roll them into “sausage” chunks, the way I like to do it.

Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a heavy skillet.

Add some of the crumbles and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Once the skillet is warmed up this usually takes 5 minutes or so.

Remove with a slotted spoon, draining back into the skillet. Repeat with the next batch, adding more oil if needed.

Enjoy your crumbles!