favorite vegan roast or loaf recipes

I'm looking for a vegan nut roast or (meatless) loaf recipe. Our parameters are even crazier than normal vegan restrictions in that I'd also like it to be:
1. soy free (no tofu)
2. gluten free
3. lower in legumes (some legumes would be okay)

I've made a lentil-nut loaf from The New Laurel's Kitchen (albeit, that's an old cookbook now!) several times to fairly okay reviews with folks here at wheaton labs. Though now I'm looking for something better.

I'm looking at these three Jamie Oliver roasts, who, while not exactly known for vegan/vegetarian meals, does seem to put together flavors that I like. Though I'd have to substitute in some areas to make soy free or GF. Then there are the walnut balls that look interesting, too.

Jamie Oliver's vegan nut roast

Which is more of a savory tart than a loaf shape, though it does sound good.

Jamie Oliver's Incredible Nut Roast

A vegetarian recipe that could be made vegan - lots of positive comments about doing this there.

Jamie Oliver's Best Ever Cranberry & Pistachio Nut Roast

For this one, I'd want to sub maple syrup or date sugar for the brown sugar in the topping. I just can't seem to handle cane sugar.

Oh She Glows' Lentil Mushroom Walnut Balls with Cranberry-Pear Sauce
(Somehow, this one wouldn't let me copy the image address for the lovely photo of these.)

So....do you make something like one of these? Or, have you tried one of these? Which one would you make soy free and gluten free?

It's a first world problem of too many choices! Ha!

I had one vote (offline!) for the lentil mushroom walnut balls though I'm leaning toward the "incredible nut roast" so far.

Usually, for vegans or vegetarians at Thanksgiving I make stuffed squash - made with rice, nut, mushrooms and other savory veg in the stuffing part.

What are others doing for a vegan Thanksgiving?

Of the three Jamie Oliver ones you posted, I think the incredible nut roast looks the best, too.  

A flax egg (I Tbsp ground flax and 3 Tbsp water, mixed and let to sit until goopy) works well as a substitute for bird eggs in vegan roasts.  I saw some comments on one of those recipes that without the eggs the roast was a bit crumbly, so I wouldn't want to omit the binder altogether, as the recipe suggests.

What will you use for the breadcrumbs to make it gluten free?

I have a lentil walnut loaf recipe my (not vegan or vegetarian) husband really likes, but it's heavier on the lentils and breadcrumbs than what you're looking for.

As far as other Thanskgiving recipes go...

Definitely not gluten free, but everyone (none of them vegan) who's eaten this apple chestnut stuffing has raved about it.  Instead of bacon I use a few dried shiitakes, rehydrated.  I also add a bit of liquid smoke and extra olive oil to the mix.  The soak water from the shiitakes helps make up the veg stock I use instead of chicken stock.  I use olive oil instead of butter.  When I haven't had chestnuts, I've used cooked chickpeas successfully.  I usually cut the recipe in a third when I make it.

The cheeze sauce from ohsheglows is really good I've recently discovered.  It could be a good way to jazz up some veg.  I often eat that on a big bowl of steamed cauliflower and/or broccoli.  My husband mixes a bit of salsa in and uses it as a tortilla chip dip or puts it straight up on rice.  I had to make it a few times and tweak it a bit for my taste.  The type of miso you use matters; I settled on this one as my favourite for this sauce.  The lightest and darkest types of miso don't work so well, I think.   I use a really funky, assy-tasting coconut vinegar instead of the lemon juice, and tahini for the butter.  Oh, and tapioca starch cause it gives it a little bit of a stretchy texture.

I haven't tried any of them yet, but there are a few walnut-miso sauce recipes floating around out there that sound really good for another veg jazzer.

Well, we did end up making Jamie Oliver's "Incredible Nut Roast" and it was good. Maybe not incredible, but good. I might have rushed a couple parts, so I think it could be better if made by someone a bit more patient than me.

Jan, we subbed "flax eggs" as you called it, which helped some. I used brown rice in place of both the quinoa and the bread crumbs (for lots of reasons). I think that negatively affected the texture because the rice was chunkier than quinoa or bread crumbs would be. I keep organic instant mashed potato flakes on hand to use in place of bread crumbs (*not* for mashed potatoes - yuk!!) for my usual GF substitute, though we wanted to avoid potatoes this time.

The first pic is how the nut loaf looked. It's a lousy pic, though it only looked a little better than this.

Then, we wanted something different for the sweet potatoes, so we made this Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe. Fred and Paul loved the lemony tumeric tahini sauce so that was definitely a keeper for these.

The sweet potatoes are the second pic. We were out of fresh avocados, but had some plain guacamole we tried instead, and I think the fresh avocados would have been markedly better in this dish.

Besides a green salad, we made this, https://food52.com/recipes/32483-vegan-eggnog, which was very rich and delicious and made the meal feel more festive! I might have added a touch of tumeric for a more golden color.

Saveur's Roasted Vegetable Terrine:

This is similar but not the same as the original saveur veg terrine I tried many years ago (can't find it anymore - maybe they took it down). Just omit the dairy and this should fit the restrictions.

the nut roast looks very delicious

I'm glad you were able to find a good recipe that worked for you last year, Jocelyn!

This is my favorite vegan site for healthy/gf food (although it might take some adaptation to fit the needs you outlined):

http://www.straightupfood.com/blog/

Last year for Thanksgiving I made her lentil-rice loaf, quinoa holiday dressing and spicy beans and greens.  I haven't decided what the menu will be for this year yet but will probably try at least one thing from her site as it's always reliable.  (I have family members who swear by her lasagna - even for meat-eating gluten eaters.)

Thanks for the tip on a good vegan/gf site, Sonja!

Here's the loaf I think you recommended:  http://www.straightupfood.com/blog/2013/12/19/lentil-rice-loaf/.



It looks lovely!

Yes, that's the one!

Between this thread and the pie thread, I'm getting antsy for Thanksgiving.  :)

I found a link with links to more loaves:

https://www.nutriplanet.org/2018/12/vegan-christmas-dinner-recipes/

I think the sweet potato/seed one looks interesting.  And no legumes!

......this post has been edited after the final demise of the beloved Vegan Loaf Generator (Magic Loaf Studio) that was part of Vegan Lunchbox.

It`s not the same, but a similar "omnibus loaf recipe" can be found here, and this is a great site for vegan recipes anyway.
Custom Vegan Meatloaf

I love a hazelnut, rice/quinoa, and sautéed veg stuffed squash for a winter holiday meal, but this one just might be on the menu for vegan family members some time soon.

https://www.thewondersmith.com/blog/2020-firroastmushrooms

I've made this lentil "meat"loaf a couple of times and it's delicious. Perfect for Thanksgiving. https://veganheaven.org/recipe/vegan-thanksgiving-lentil-loaf/

Tori Randall wrote:I've made this lentil "meat"loaf a couple of times and it's delicious. Perfect for Thanksgiving. https://veganheaven.org/recipe/vegan-thanksgiving-lentil-loaf/

Welcome to the forums, Tori - that looks like a great version of a lentil loaf!

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but this is copied from a McDougall forum recipe swap (https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=60171). If you sub gluten-free breadcrumbs, I think it might fit the requirements:

pine-nut loaf with herb stuffing.

Ingredients:

1 small onion, peeled and chopped small
Stock or water to sauté onion
1/2 pound pine nuts or a mixture of pine nuts, almonds and cashews, chopped
4 tablespoons non dairy milk
2 cups white bread crumbs (I use white sourdough made with no oil or homemade)
egg replacer – equivalent of 2 eggs(use flax seed or commercial “no-egg”)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
lots of grated nutmeg

For the stuffing layer:
3 cups brown bread crumbs
grated rind and juice of 1/2 small lemon
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 heaped tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Egg replacer (or flax) – equivalent to one egg
(dried herbs is fine if necessary)

Garnish (optional but looks nice)
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly dry roasted
parsley springs
lemon slices

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8x4 inch non-stick loaf pan with a long strip of waxed paper, or cooking parchment to cover the narrow sides and bottom of the pan; grease and sprinkle with dry bread crumbs [or use a silicone pan] -- this helps the loaf to come out of the pan cleanly.
(or silicone)

Sauté the onion for 10 minutes in the stock or water, until soft.

Take the saucepan off the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes or so then mix with the rest of the ingredients, season well with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg.

Next make the stuffing layer by mixing all the ingredients together and seasoning well.

To assemble the loaf, first spoon half the white nut mixture into the prepared pan. I press down quite firmly. Then, with your hands, press in a layer of stuffing mixture, then add the remainder of the white nut mix to make the three layers

Smooth surface and cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Remove the foil and have a look at the nut loaf; if you think it needs to be a bit browner on top, pop it back into the oven, uncovered, for a further 10-15 minutes. If possible, let the loaf stand for a while (5-10mins?) after you take it out of the oven -- this helps it to "settle" and come out of the pan more easily. Then slip a knife down the sides of the loaf, turn it out of the pan onto a warmed serving dish and strip off the piece of paper. Garnish with the roasted nuts, parsley and lemon.

Delicious cold.