An easy recipe for a mushroom nut loaf and a simple tomato sauce to serve with it. Baked in a loaf tin, this vegetarian roast is wonderful sliced and served with roast potatoes, vegetables and tomato sauce for Sunday dinner, Thanksgiving or for Christmas dinner. 

What is a nut loaf?

Nut loaf is a vegetarian roast baked in a loaf tin and served in slices.

The base of a nut loaf is as you might imagine a mixture of nuts and sometimes grains too, baked into a loaf. Cheese is usually added, but a vegan nut loaf can be made without cheese or with vegan cheese.

Vegetables and herbs can also be added for extra flavour.

Nut loaf or nut roast as it is also known is usually baked in a loaf tin, but can also be baked in a casserole dish in the oven.

Once baked it should be crisp on the outside, have a good substance with a bit of crunch and it should have lots of flavour and smell wonderful when you cut into it.

How do you serve nut loaf?

A nut loaf is usually served like a roast with roast or mashed potatoes and a selection of vegetables.

As nut roast, while flavourful can be quite a dry mixture it is usually served with a sauce or gravy.

Try this homemade mushroom gravy or this red pepper nut roast sauce.

Mushroom Dauphinoise Potatoes are perfect as a side with this nut roast.

Gravy or sauce?

Nut roast is even more special when served with a sauce or gravy. 

There is no correct answer to this one.

You could serve nut loaf with a creamy whisky sauce like the one I serve my vegan haggis and red lentil loaf, or you could serve it with a rich onion gravy, a creamy mushroom sauce or a simple homemade tomato sauce, which compliments the flavour of this nut roast to perfection.

Homemade tomato sauce

I gave you a few ideas for sauce or gravy that could be served with this nut loaf, but I would highly recommend serving it with this delicious tomato sauce.

It's a simple sauce of tomatoes and basil with some basil for flavour and a little sugar to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes and remove any bitter edge.

You could also add some fresh or dried chilli to this sauce, if you want something with a bit of a kick.

This sauce is also delicious served on freshly cooked pasta.

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Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce

Nut roast or nut loaf is something we avoided for years as vegetarians as it was such a cliche, but I have to say we really enjoyed this nut loaf. It was really tasty and so easy to make. 

It was a bit of an experiment after looking at a whole host of other recipes, but it worked first time and we loved it.

I will definitely be making it again.

We served it with the fresh tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli, but I will leave you to decide what you will serve it with.

It would make a great Christmas main course, if you are not sure what to make. I would serve it with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, vegetables and onion gravy for a festive meal.

Also try this vegan miso mushroom nut loaf.

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dinner

British, vegetarian, vegan

Yield: 12 slices

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce

An easy recipe for a mushroom nut loaf and a simple tomato sauce to serve with it. Baked in a loaf tin, this vegetarian roast is wonderful sliced and served with roast potatoes, vegetables and the tomato sauce for Sunday dinner, Thanksgiving or for Christmas dinner.

prep time: 10 Mcook time: 45 Mtotal time: 55 M

ingredients:

Nut Load

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 300g mushrooms, finely chopped
• 200g cashew nuts
• 200g brazil nuts
• 100g grated cheddar cheese (or vegan cheddar)
• 100g freshly grated parmesan (vegetarian or vegan)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten (or a flax egg - see notes)
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 115g whole-wheat breadcrumbs
• salt & freshly ground pepper

Tomato Sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp dried basil or 1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
• salt & freshly ground pepper

instructions:

How to cook Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce

Mushroom Nut Loaf

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/350f/gas mark 4.
2. Grease and line a loaf tin. I like to use liners.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms until soft.
4. Whizz the nuts in a food processor until fine, but with a few chunks of nuts left. You don't want it too smooth.
5. Combine the cooled mushroom mixture, chopped nuts, cheddar, parmesan, egg, parsley and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Mix well and season to taste.
6. Press into the loaf tin and bake for 45 - 50 mins. It should be firm when baked.
7. Leave in the tin for 5 or 10 minutes then turn out and slice.
8. Serve with fresh tomato sauce (recipe below).

Tomato Sauce

1. While the loaf is baking, make the tomato sauce.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic, cook until soft, but not brown.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar and 1/4 cup water.  Simmer gently for 20 mins until thickened.
4. Add the fresh basil and season with salt and pepper. If you are using dried basil add it at the same time as the tomatoes.
5. Serve poured over slices of nut loaf.
6. Enjoy!

NOTES:

Flax Eggs - for a dairy free or vegan nut loaf use a flax egg to bind instead of a regular egg.

Whizz or grind flax seeds (also known as linseeds) to a powder. Mix 1 tablespoon of flax seed powder with 3 tbsp of water in a small bowl. Pop it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes until it has thickened. Add instead of egg.

Cooking Time - ovens can vary, so do give this longer if you think it needs it.

Cutting Nut Loaf - a sharp bread knife is the best knife for cutting nut loaf. Don't worry if your slices break as you are pouring tomato sauce over it, so no one will notice.

Freezing Nut Loaf - yes bake it first and slice it. Freeze the slices in a freezer bag and reheat in a pre-heated oven, covered with foil. Slices with take less time to heat through than a whole loaf.

Calories - are per slice with tomato sauce.

Calories
324.19

Fat (grams)
21.27

Sat. Fat (grams)
7.61

Carbs (grams)
24.30

Fiber (grams)
4.81

Net carbs
19.49

Sugar (grams)
5.19

Protein (grams)
13.22

Sodium (milligrams)
369.35

Cholesterol (grams)
30.92

Created using The Recipes Generator