Vegan Sausage Hoagie Sandwich

Ginny McMeans

Published:

November 7, 2020

Last Modified:

June 29, 2026

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Spicy vegan sausage links are slow-simmered in a rich crock pot tomato sauce, then piled high on warm hoagie rolls. Topped with melty vegan cheese, this vegan sausage sandwich hits that comfort food spot!

2 vegan sausage hoagie sandwiches are topped with tomato sauce and vegan parmesan cheese

This vegan hoagie is easy to throw together, and it all gets cooked in the slow cooker. The vegan sausage is store-bought, and my favorite is Field Roast. This isn’t a sponsored post. I think Field Roast is the best for quick, hardy sandwiches.

Chipotle Sausage was used for this hoagie sandwich, but there are apple sage varieties plus others, and they will all be delicious with this sauce. I’m just usually partial to spicy so that’s what I used this time around.

The sauce is made with tomatoes and seasonings, and the flavors are wonderful. Here again, because it is all made in the crock pot, the process is really easy.

The plant-based sausage loosens up as cooking but still holds its shape and offers up a nice tender filling. Scoop out the ‘meatballs’ and lay into your favorite long bun.

Ingredient Notes

Vegan sausage links – I recommend going with either a spicy or sweet Italian sausage for these sandwiches. There are so many really delicious plant-based sausage links out there now. I got to try a lot of them when we did our Best Vegan Hot Dogs taste test & review, so be sure to check that out for more details on my favorites! Anything I’ve tried from Field Roast is wonderful. Beyond Meat hot Italian sausage is especially good for this spicy hoagie sandwich recipe, and Whole Foods 365 brand makes some great vegan Italian sausage as well.
Crushed tomatoes + Tomato paste – A simple can of crushed tomatoes will form the base of your rich tomato sauce, but it needs a little help to become the richly flavored sauce that can support all of that spicy vegan sausage! This is where the tomato paste comes in. A hearty scoop of this ultra-concentrated, umami dense ingredient added to the crushed tomatoes will take your sauce from bright and light to deep and robust.
Fresh chili pepper – A little bit of fresh chili pepper added to the sauce itself echoes the spice of the sausage links nicely, but if that’s enough heat for you, feel free to skip it. If you do like it spicy (like me!), feel free to use any type of fresh chili pepper you like: red, green, orange, mild, or blazing!
Balsamic vinegar – Balsamic vinegar and tomatoes are best friends, so adding a little drizzle into your sauce as it simmers will release a series of rich flavors. Tangy, sweet, funky, and savory notes that balance and enhance the natural flavors of the tomatoes perfectly.

Hoagie sandwich toppings

You can enjoy this vegan hoagie just as it with only sauce or include a variety of toppings.
To make the hoagie sandwich as in the photos – lay a slice of dairy-free mozzarella on the bun, scoop in the plant based sausage and sauce – sprinkle with parmemsan. I love this Nut Free Parmesan Recipe that’s made with hemp hearts.
Lay the cheese down (or not) place your favorite lettuce or spicnach leaves on that. Sprinkle with chopped red onion and then scoop on the ‘sausage’ and sauce.
Thinly sliced black olives would go great on the sandwich.
Quartered artichoke hearts would add more Mediterranean flavors.
Don’t forget about diced green bell peppers. They’d be a great addition too.

Vegan sandwiches

Sandwiches are one of my meals. They can be served for lunch or dinner and the choices are endless. There are about 24 very different sandwiches on this blog but I’ll share just a couple with you right here.
For something very different and very delicious give this Vegan Muffuletta sandwich a try.

vegan sausage hoagie sandwiches are served on split top buns with vegan parmesan

Step-by-Step Instructions

Remove casings. Carefully peel the casings from the vegan sausages. They may be more delicate once removed from the casing, so be gentle but keep in mind you’ll be slicing them anyhow! Peeling the casing will allow your spicy tomato sauce to really soak into the sausage as they simmer.
Slice sausages. Slice the sausage into large chunks; I usually cut each link into 4-5 pieces. This will give you the illusion of a ‘meatball’, especially after they’ve been simmered in that wonderful sauce.
Combine sauce. Combine the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, diced chili pepper, garlic, balsamic vinegar, oregano, and salt in your slow cooker.
Cook. Stir to combine and set your cooker on high, then cover. Let your sauce cook for about 3 hours.
Add sausage. Add your sausage chunks to the slow cooker, gently stirring them into the bubbling sauce so that they don’t fall apart. Replace the lid and continue cooking on high for 1 more hour. Keep an eye on it; if the sauce seems to be getting too thick you can add water, a few tablespoons at a time, to fix the consistency.
Build sandwiches. After 1 hour, your sausage chunks will have soaked up tons of spicy tomato flavor and will have a softened, more meatball-like texture–perfect for hoagies! Toast your hoagie rolls, then line each with a slice of dairy-free mozzarella or vegan provolone cheese. Add a few sausage pieces to each hoagie bun, then top with as much rich tomato sauce as you like. Sprinkle with dairy-free parmesan cheese!

Note: for firmer sausage, if you’d like the sausages to be more solid, there is a trick. Fry them in a little oil after you have cut them, as in the photo below. They will be forced to be firmer. I like them both ways but don’t fry them very often. It’s all for the sake of speed since they taste just as delicious either way.

By the way, that oval pan is 14″ wide, not counting the handles, so you can see the pieces are a good size.

If you choose to brown the pieces then add oil to a large skillet and heat to medium-high. Add the sausage to the pan and brown on all sides.

When done, set aside to cool and then put in the refrigerator.

Tips From Ligia

I would lay down all of the added vegetables first, into the bun, and then put the crockpot sandwich filling right down the middle.
Don’t slice the bun all the way through. That will hold all of the goodies inside the bun for your big bite.
Have a stack of napkins. My happy place can be yours.