Looking for a vegan main course for Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving this year? Then why not try this tasty no turkey festive roast?

Vegan No Turkey Festive Roast for Christmas Dinner

Name: Vegan No Turkey Festive Roast for Christmas Dinner
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: British, Vegan
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 400g (14 oz) firm tofu, drained; 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (nooch); 2 tablespoons white miso paste; 2 teaspoons onion powder; 1 vegetable stock cube mixed with 6 tablespoons boiling water; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or agave nectar) #; 1½ teaspoons salt; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; ½ teaspoon dried rosemary; ½ teaspoon dried sage; 60g (1/3 cup) cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (tinned, jarred or soaked and cooked from dried, cooked weight); 50g (½ cup) gram flour (chickpea four); 310g (2 ½ cups) vital wheat gluten flour; 5 tablespoons vegan butter, melted; ¼ - ½ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon (heaped) soft brown sugar; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon dried sage; 1 teaspoon dried rosemary; 1 teaspoon dried tarragon (optional); ½ teaspoon garlic powder; ½ teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon paprika; Rice Paper Sheets

If you're looking for something impressive and tasty with festive flavours for your Christmas (or Thanksgiving) dinner, this vegan turkey roast would make the perfect centrepiece.

A crispy spiced rice paper skin on the outside and a juicy tender middle, make this sliceable alternative to a vegan wellington a good choice for the festive season.

Serve it with crispy roast potatoes, vegetables and lots of vegan gravy or cranberry sauce if you prefer the fruitiness to the savoury favour of gravy.

The perfect holiday dinner to serve to family or friends.

And any leftovers are the perfect sandwich filler for Boxing Day.

A Very Vegan Christmas

This sensational vegan holiday roast comes from a new mini cookbook from Viva called A Very Vegan Christmas.

Viva! is the UK’s leading vegan campaigning charity, specialising in undercover investigations and high-profile animal campaigns.

Founded in 1994 by Juliet Gellatley, they have spent more than 30 years creating a kinder, more sustainable world for humans and animals alike.

And this year they have created a fabulous mini cookbook full of some big plant-based ideas, to help you plan the perfect Christmas for your family and friends this year.

There are 96 pages full of beautiful photographs of all the recipes you'll need this Christmas season.

This cute little cookbook comes with a cute little price too, only £5 from the Viva website.

Bargain my friend!

What can you look forward to?

This little cookbook is absolutely packed with 30 gorgeous vegan recipes for the big day.

Here are the recipes you could be enjoying.

Picky Bits & Starters

Smoked 'Salmon' Blinis
Easy Festive Pate
Baked 'Camembert' Parcel with Cranberry Burst
Cauliflower & Chestnut Soup with Cheesy Apple Croutons

The Main Event

No Turkey Festive Roast
Chestnut, Mushroom & Red Wine Pithivier
Nut Roast Wreath with Sage Crisps
Butternut, Walnut & 'Blue Cheese' Filo Pie

Sides & Trimmings

The Ultimate Roast Potatoes
Lemon Brussels Sprouts
Crispy Maple Roasted Parsnips
Sticky Cider & Orange Carrots
Traditional Braised Red Cabbage
Sage Onion & Hazelnut Stuffing
Cauliflower 'Cheese'
Easy Yorkshire Puddings

Sauces

Caramelised Onion & Red Wine Gravy
Creamy White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Leftovers / The Day After

No 'Turkey' Brioche Bun with Vegan Crackling & Apple Sauce
Bubble & Squeak Cakes with Vegan Fried 'Eggs'

Desserts

Easy Biscoff No-Bake Cheesecake
Best Ever Tiramisu
Fluffy Chocolate Mousse Cake
Classic Bakewell Tart

A Little Bit Extra

Christmas Cake Pops
Traditional Mince Pies

Sharing Dishes

Prosecco Fondue
How to Crreate a Spectacular Vegan Cheese Board

Drinks

Luxury Hot Chocolate
Vegan Irish Cream Liqueur

Quite a list of delicious recipes, I think you'll agree.

A Very Vegan Christmas Mini Cookbook is available now from Viva for only £5

Is this vegan turkey roast a type of seitan?

Yes, this vegan roast is made with vital wheat gluten, which is steamed before it's baked, so it is a type of seitan.

Seitan is an excellent meat alternative for a plant-based diet and provides a good source of protein as well as being very satisfying to eat.

It can be cooked without steaming, see my vegan pepperoni, or sundried tomato deli slices, however it is usually steamed before it is cooked in the oven.

What is vital wheat gluten?

Vital wheat gluten is a special type of flour where most of the starch has been removed and it's high in gluten which helps to make a very stretchy dough.

This stretchy texture makes the perfect base for vegan meat replacements like seitan and this vegan 'turkey' roast.

Because it's high in gluten, any recipe which includes this vital wheat gluten is not suitable for a gluten-free diet and there is no gluten-free alternative.

If you are gluten-free, scroll down to near the bottom of this page for a list of other Christmas main courses which can easily be made gluten-free by using gluten-free pastry or gluten-free oats.

Can you use all purpose flour or strong bread flour instead of vital wheat gluten?

There is no direct alternative to vital wheat gluten.

You can't use plain flour or bread flour and add something to make an alternative to vital wheat gluten flour.

There is no swap you can make that will work.

Vital wheat gluten is available from health food shops and online.

If all else fails, try on Amazon, you will definitely find it.

No 'Turkey' Festive Roast serve with vegetables, roast potatoes, gravy and red wine.

What you need to make this festive roast

Here are the ingredients you need to make the best vegan turkey roast.

No Turkey Roast Ingredients

Garlic
Firm tofu
Nutritional yeast - also called nooch
White miso paste - the mildest miso
Onion powder
Vegetable stock cube
Lemon juice
Maple syrup - or agave nectar
Salt
Black pepper
Dried rosemary
Dried sage
Tinned chickpeas - jarred chickpeas or soaked and cooked chickpeas
Gram flour - chickpea flour (world food aisle of supermarkets)
Vital wheat gluten flour

No 'Turkey' Roast Rub

Vegan butter
Salt
Brown sugar#
Dried thyme
Dried Sage
Dried tarragon - optional
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Paprika

No 'Turkey' Roast Skin

Rice paper sheets - buy in supermarkets, Asian supermarkets or online

Make sure you use firm tofu

When making this wheat protein plant-based turkey make sure you buy firm tofu.

Don't buy extra firm tofu, which is pre-pressed.

And definitely don't buy silken tofu as this is soft and creamy and used for sauces and desserts.

The firm tofu just needs to be drained for this recipe, there is no need to press it, as it will be blended with the other ingredients.

Don't have a steamer basket?

As I said, this seitan roast is steamed before it is baked.

If you don't have a steamer baqsket, you can use a double-handled colander, if you have one where the handles will balance on the lip of a pot and not fall inside.

Then just add the water, bring it to a simmer (below the colander, not touching) add the parcel to the colander, then pop on the lid.

If your colander is smaller and fits inside the pot, balance it on an upturned bowl then once again make sure the simmering water is below the colander and add the lid to steam.

Can you skip the rice paper skin?

The crispy spiced rice paper skin adds lots of flavour and makes it a bit special.

However, you could serve this plant-based roast without the skin.

It will still make a good slice to pour gravy over and give you that meaty texture.

How to serve vegan turkey roast on Christmas Day

Slices of this roast are best served with crispy and fluffy roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy, but here are some options to choose from.

I hope it gives you some ideas. Just choose a few.

Potatoes

Roast potatoes - try my crispy air fryer roast potatoes with garlic
Mashed potatoes - if that is your thing
Potato dauphinoise - try this mushroom potato dauphinoise, but skip the mushrooms and just use cream and no mushroom sauce

Vegetables

Roast parsnips - I like to roast them with maple syrup, salt and pepper
Roast carrots
Boiled or steamed carrots - cut on the diagonal and tossed in vegan butter, fresh coriander, salt and peppr
Tenderstem broccoli - or broccoli, boiled or steamed
Fine beans - lightly cooked
Brussels sprouts - if you like them, I do not like them

Sauce

Onion gravy - I use Bisto gravy granules
Cranberry sauce - try this delicious cranberry sauce made with frozen cranberries

Storing leftover roast

Leftover roast is the perfect filling for Boxing Day sandwiches.

Slice the leftover roast once cool and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Serving leftover roast

Serve any leftover seitan roast in sandwiches with vegan cheese and mustard or with salad and cranberry sauce.

Or serve slices with chutney, pickles (try this quick pickled cabbage or pickled red onions), olives and vegan cheese as a deli board.

It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Can you freeze seitan?

Seitan can be frozen.

Once cool, slice the roast, then layer up with freezer- friendly parchment paper or baking paper to separate the slices.

Place in a labelled freezer bag or tub and store for 3-4 months in the freezer.

To defrost, take slices out of the freezer and leave on a plate in the fridge overnight.

More plant-based Christmas dinner main courses

Here are a few more Christmas Day centrepieces.

For more easy Christmas recipes, head over to my Vegan Christmas page where there are lots of recipes for Christmas dinner, drinks and treats including desserts and puddings.

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vegan roast, vegan turkey, vegan turkey roast, vegan Thanksgiving, vegan Christmas dinner, plant-based roast, seitan turkey roast

Dinner, Christmas, Sunday dinner

British, Vegan

Yield: 4-6

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum