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Vegan Nut Roast

By Deryn Macey

5 from 4 votes

on Feb 26, 2024, Updated Aug 02, 2024

This delicious vegan nut roast recipe makes a hearty vegetarian main course for the holiday season and a great alternative to lentil loaf.

For another vegan meatloaf, you’ll have to try this popular Chickpea Meatloaf recipe next! For more vegan Christmas recipes, this Stuffed Butternut Squash with Wild Rice and Kale and Best Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie both make a great addition to a holiday table.

Recipe Highlights

• Vegan, gluten-free and oil-free.
• Amazing vegetarian main dish for Christmas dinner.
• Top with balsamic tomato glaze or cranberry sauce.
• Can be made in advance.
• Freezer-friendly.
• “Meaty” texture and flavour.
• Easy to make with minimal prep time.

Ingredient Notes

• Ground Flax: Make sure you use ground flax seed, not whole flax seeds. This acts as an egg for binding, do not omit. I don’t recommend substituting chia eggs.
• Onion: You can use white or yellow onion.
• Mushroom: Adds umami, meaty flavor. They don’t overpower it with mushroom flavor and they’re finely chopped so you don’t really notice them in the final dish. If you’re not a mushroom fan, I still think you’ll enjoy the recipe.
• Dried Herbs: The recipe calls for sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano, cumin and optional cayenne. If you’re missing one of those, that’s ok but use them all if you have them. You can substitute 2-3 tbsp fresh herbs for dried.
• Soy Sauce: Use light soy sauce or for a gluten-free option, gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos.
• Tomato Paste: You can substitute tomato sauce or ketchup.
• Oats: You can use rolled oats or quick oats.
• Nuts: A combination of walnuts and pecans is suggested but any mix of 2 cups such as walnut, pecan, cashew, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds works. I found almonds to hard in this recipe.
• Brown Rice: You’ll need 1 cup cooked short-grain brown rice.

This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Before You Start: If you don’t have brown rice prepared, start cooking that now as it may need up to 45 minutes or even a little longer as slightly over-cooked is actually preferable. I recommend making the rice the day before and storing overnight in the fridge.

When you’re ready to proceed, preheat the oven to 350 F and line a standard-sized loaf pan with parchment paper so it sticks out well over the sides. You’ll need this to lift the loaf out once baked.

Step 1. Mix the ground flax and water and set aside for a few minutes.

Step 2. Get all the veggies chopped up and add them to a large pot on the stovetop with either 2 tbsp of olive oil or vegan butter. You can use water or vegetable broth to cook for an oil-free recipe.

Take the time to properly dicing the veggies into small pieces, you don’t want big chunks in the final loaf.

Cook the veggies for 5-6 minutes over medium heat, then stir in the herbs and cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and tamari and turn off the heat.

Quick Note: While I usually cook oil-free, I like olive oil or butter here to really bring out the flavours. For oil-free, it’s totally fine to use water or broth.

Step 4. While the veggies are cooking, add the oats and nuts to a food processor and blend into a grainy consistency.

Add the rice and flax eggs and pulse briefly to combine. You don’t want to totally pulverize it. Is should be well combined but not too fine and definitely not mushy.

Step 5. Dump the contents of the food processor into the pot with the cooked veggies. Spend a few minutes mixing it all up until it’s very well combined.

If you don’t have a large enough pot, transfer everything to a large bowl and mix.

Step 6. Scoop the nut roast mixture into the prepare loaf pan and spend a few minutes really pressing it down into the pan with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

Top with your choice of glaze, spreading into an even layer with the back of a spoon. The roast can be topped with either a tomato or cranberry glaze. I love the cranberry glaze for holidays but I use the tomato glaze any other time of year.

• Cranberry Glaze: Use 1/2 cup of whole berry cranberry sauce or my quick and easy homemade cranberry sauce.
• Tomato Glaze: Mix 1/2 cup ketchup or tomato sauce with 2 tbsp of maple syrup and 1 tbsp of apple cider or balsamic vinegar.

Bake the loaf for 60 minutes. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes then lift out and onto a cooling rack for at least another 30 minutes before slicing. You can also leave it in the pan until completely cooled if you won’t be slicing it right away. It can be reheated in the pan.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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5 from 4 votes

Vegan Nut Roast

By: Deryn Macey

This vegan roast recipe is perfect for special occasions, a Sunday roast or anytime for a hearty plant-based meal perfect for feeding a crowd.

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr

Servings: 8

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Ingredients 

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For the Nut Roast

• ▢ 1 cup cooked short-grain brown rice, 250 g
• ▢ 2 tbsp ground flax, 14 g mixed with 4 tbsp warm water
• ▢ 2 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil, or water for oil-free
• ▢ 2 cups finely chopped mushroom, 150 g
• ▢ 1 medium white or yellow onion, diced (200 g)
• ▢ 1 cup diced celery, 150 g
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 1 tsp dried sage
• ▢ 1 tsp ground thyme
• ▢ 1 tsp dried rosemary
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• ▢ 1 tsp cumin
• ▢ 1 tsp oregano
• ▢ 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce, 30 mL
• ▢ 2 tbsp tomato paste or sauce, 40 g
• ▢ 1 cup rolled oats, 100 g
• ▢ 1 cup walnuts, 150 g
• ▢ 1 cup pecans, 150 g

For Cranberry Glaze

• ▢ 1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce or homemade cranberry sauce

For Tomato Glaze

• ▢ 1/3 cup ketchup or tomato sauce
• ▢ 2 tbsp maple syrup, reduce to 1 tbsp if using ketchup
• ▢ 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar

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Instructions 

• Cook Rice: If you don’t have cooked brown rice on hand, make that first as you’ll need up to 45 minutes. I would recommend cooking the recipe the day before and storing in the fridge overnight for best results.
• Prepare for Baking: When you’re ready to proceed, preheat the oven to 350 F and line a standard-sized loaf tin with parchment paper so it sticks out over the sides. This will help you easily remove the nut loaf once cooked.
• Mix Flax Egg: Mix the ground flax with the water in a small bowl and set side for 5-10 minutes.
• Cook Vegetables: Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet or dutch oven on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the mushroom, garlic, onion, celery, salt and pepper. Saute the veggies for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
• Add Seasonings: Add all of the herbs and spices, stir well, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the tamari or soy sauce and tomato paste. Turn off the heat.
• Process Nuts and Oats: While the veggies are cooking, add the oats, pecans and walnuts to a food processor and process into a grainy consistency. You don’t want them totally pulverized but they should be fairly broken down. A few larger pieces left behind are ok.
• Add Rice and Flax Egg: Add the cooked rice and flax egg to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Don’t completely pulverize it, we want some texture in the final loaf.
• Combine Mixture: Dump the contents of the food processor into the pot with the cooked veggies and stir well until it’s thoroughly combined. If you don’t have a large enough pot, transfer everything to a large mixing bowl to mix.
• Press Loaf into Pan: Firmly press the nut mixture into the prepared loaf tin, using your hands or the back of a wooden spoon to press and flatten.
• Mix Glaze and Add to Loaf: Either prepare the cranberry sauce or mix the tomato glaze ingredients together in a dish. Spread either the cranberry sauce or tomato glaze evenly over the loaf.
• Bake: Bake for 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Use the edges of the parchment paper to lift the loaf out of the tin and onto a cooling rack.
• Cool: Let cool for an at least another 30 minutes before carefully slicing. The long it sits the firmer it will be and better it will hold together. Don’t worry, it will still be hot when you slice it open! If you’re not slicing it right away you can let it cool completely in the pan then reheat in the oven later. Enjoy right away or see notes for storing.

Notes

• Make Ahead: If you want to prep ahead of time, the loaf can be prepared the day before and stored overnight in the fridge before baking.
• Storing: After baking, let cool then store in the fridge for up to 6 days. I like to slice it before storing so I can just grab and heat a slice as needed. If freezing, let cool then wrap well in foil and store in a freezer-safe bag or container. Foil isn’t totally necessary but it will prevent it from forming ice crystals. You can freeze it whole or in slices. Thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen.
• Reheating: Reheat the baked loaf in the microwave or oven until heated to your preference. Slices can also be heated in a pan on the stovetop.
• Glaze: Cranberry glaze is recommend for a holiday nut roast, otherwise, I like the tomato glaze for everyday use. Both are delicious though!
• Nutrition facts do not include glaze. For a lower-calorie loaf, try my chickpea loaf which has just 200 calories per slice.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 341kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 27g, Fiber: 5g

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