Meat-free sausage roll facts for kids

A tasty meat-free sausage roll

A meat-free sausage roll is a yummy snack that doesn't have any meat in it. You might also hear it called a vegetarian sausage roll or a vegan sausage roll. It's a savoury (not sweet!) pastry that's a great choice if you don't eat meat, or just want to try something different. These rolls are a popular alternative to regular sausage rolls, which usually have pork or beef inside. You can find meat-free sausage rolls in shops and bakeries, ready for you to grab and enjoy!

What's Inside a Meat-Free Sausage Roll?

Meat-free sausage rolls are usually made with light and flaky puff pastry. This pastry is wrapped around a special filling that tastes like meat but isn't. This filling is called a meat substitute. Once the filling is wrapped in the pastry, the rolls are baked until they are golden brown and delicious.

Popular Meat-Free Fillings

The "meat substitute" part can be made from different plant-based ingredients. Some common ones include:

• Soya: This is a plant-based protein often used to make meat-like textures.
• Mycoprotein: This is a protein made from a type of fungus, like the one used in Quorn products.
• Vegetables and pulses: Sometimes, the filling is a mix of vegetables like mushrooms, carrots, or onions, combined with pulses like lentils or chickpeas.

Who Makes Them?

Many food companies and bakeries now make meat-free sausage rolls because they are so popular.

Linda McCartney Foods

One well-known company that makes these rolls is Linda McCartney Foods. They create their meat-free sausage rolls using soya as the main ingredient for the filling.

The Greggs meat-free sausage roll, baked at home

Greggs Bakery

In the UK, the famous bakery chain Greggs launched their own meat-free sausage roll in 2019. Their version uses a mycoprotein mixture from Quorn for the filling. This new snack became incredibly popular very quickly! It was so successful that it became one of Greggs' top five best-selling products. The meat-free sausage roll even helped Greggs increase their profits significantly that year.