Vegetarian Dishes
Classic Christmas Nut Roast
Recipe No. 0665
A festive loaf of chestnuts, toasted walnuts, hazelnuts and cashews, mushrooms cooked until dry, red lentils and fresh herbs, baked until firm enough to slice and topped with a sharp, glossy cranberry and orange glaze. It is vegetarian, easy to make vegan, and can be made the day before.
- Serves 8
- Vegetarian (vegan option)
- 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin
- British
- Hands-on 40 min
- Bake about 1 hour at 180°C
- Make 1 day ahead or freeze
Method
Before you start
- Cook the lentils first so they have time to cool. The nut mixture can be made and packed into the tin up to a day ahead (see Make ahead).
- Take the eggs out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead so they mix in evenly.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan), 350°F, gas 4; you will use it first to toast the nuts.
- Butter the loaf tin and cut a strip of baking parchment to line the base and long sides.
- Have the probe thermometer and a warm serving plate ready.
Put the rinsed lentils (100 g) in a small pan with the water (300 ml) and the bay leaf. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer gently for 12–15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils have collapsed and soaked up the water to a thick purée. Stir for the last few minutes so they do not catch. Take out the bay leaf and leave to cool.
Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan), 350°F, gas 4. Spread the walnuts (75 g), hazelnuts (75 g) and cashews (50 g) on a baking tray and toast them for 6–8 minutes, until they smell nutty; watch them, as they catch quickly. Rub the hazelnuts in a clean tea towel to loosen the skins, let all the nuts cool, then chop them roughly in the food processor with a few short pulses, leaving some pieces chunky.
Melt the butter (30 g) in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft but not browned. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute.
Turn the heat up a little and add the mushrooms (250 g). Cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring often: they will release their juice and then dry out again. Keep going until the pan is dry, because a wet mixture makes a crumbly roast. Stir in the thyme, sage and soy sauce (1 tbsp), cook for 1 minute more, then take off the heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Tip the mushroom mixture into a large bowl with the lentils, nuts, chopped chestnuts (180 g), breadcrumbs (100 g), parsley, lemon zest and nutmeg. Season well with about 1 tsp salt and plenty of black pepper, and taste now, before the egg goes in. Add the beaten eggs (2 eggs) and mix thoroughly with your hands or a big spoon. A handful should hold together when squeezed.
Butter the loaf tin and line the base and the two long sides with one strip of baking parchment, leaving the ends overhanging to lift it out later. Press the mixture in firmly, especially into the corners, and level the top. Cover the tin with buttered foil.
Bake for 40 minutes, then take off the foil and bake for another 15–20 minutes, until firm to the touch and browned at the edges. A probe thermometer pushed into the centre should read at least 75°C.
While it bakes, make the glaze. Put the sugar (50 g), orange juice and port (2 tbsp) in a small pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the cranberries (150 g) and simmer for 6–8 minutes, until most have burst and the glaze is thick and glossy. Stir in the orange zest.
Leave the nut roast in the tin for 10 minutes so it firms up, then run a knife round the ends and lift it out with the parchment onto a warm serving plate. Spoon the hot glaze over the top and cut into 8 thick slices with a serrated knife.
Tip: tap a step to tick it off as you cook.
No food processor?
- Nuts. Chop the toasted nuts on a board with a large knife, rocking the blade, until most pieces are the size of a pea with a few larger ones.
- Mushrooms. Slice them, then chop across finely with the same knife.
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Make it vegan
- Butter. Use 2 tbsp olive oil for frying and oil the tin instead.
- Eggs. Whisk 3 tbsp gram (chickpea) flour with 6 tbsp cold water until smooth and use it in place of the 2 eggs. The roast will be slightly softer, so give it the full 10 minutes in the tin before turning it out.
- Bread. Check your loaf: some contain milk or butter.
- Port. Not all port is vegan, because some is fined with animal products. Use orange juice instead, or check the label.
- Probe. With no egg in it, bake until it is firm and piping hot in the centre (at least 75°C).
Make ahead, freeze and reheat
- The day before. Pack the mixture into the lined tin, cover and chill. Bake straight from the fridge, adding about 10 minutes to the covered time.
- Glaze. Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a week. Warm it gently with a splash of water before spooning it over.
- Freeze. Cool the baked roast completely, wrap it whole or in slices and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat. Wrap in foil and heat at 180°C (160°C fan), 350°F, gas 4: about 35–40 minutes for a whole roast, 20–25 minutes for slices, until piping hot (75°C in the centre). Glaze after reheating.
- Leftovers. Cool quickly, keep covered in the fridge and eat within 2 days. It is very good cold in a sandwich with a little of the glaze.
Keeping a nut roast moist
- The lentils do the work. Cooked to a purée, they hold moisture inside the loaf, so it slices without being dry or crumbly.
- Cover first, then brown. The foil keeps the steam in for most of the cooking, and the last 15–20 minutes uncovered give a crust.
- Don’t over-bake. Once the centre reaches 75°C it is done. Longer just dries it out.
- Rest before slicing, and serve with plenty of gravy.
Serve it with
- Roast potatoes (roast them in sunflower oil for vegetarian and vegan guests) and roast vegetables.
- Bread sauce and cranberry sauce.
- Gravy: our Onion Gravy made with vegetable stock instead of beef stock, leaving out the Worcestershire sauce, which contains anchovies.
See also
Chef’s notes
- Use any mix of nuts you like, keeping the total at 200 g. Pecans or almonds both work. Avoid salted nuts.
- Toasting the nuts is the step that makes the difference: raw nuts taste flat and a little soapy once they are baked inside a loaf.
- Soy sauce brings savouriness without meat, the way a little stock would. Use tamari if you need it gluten-free, along with gluten-free bread.
- Nut allergy at the table? This one is not for them. Our Jewelled Squash, Chestnut and Mushroom Wreath can be made without pecans or pistachios.
- Cook the turkey and the nut roast in separate tins and keep separate serving spoons, so the vegetarians at the table get a truly meat-free plate.
Shopping list for 8 portions
Fruit & veg
Dairy & eggs
Tins, jars & stock
Baking
Oils, vinegars & sauces
Wine & drinks
Fresh herbs
Store cupboard (check you have)
A Cookeryonline original recipe, November 2026.