The Classic Cranks Vegan Nut Roast
Looking for a delicious and hearty dish to serve at your next gathering? Try out this vegan nut roast recipe that is sure to impress even the biggest meat-eaters at the table. Packed with a variety of nuts, vegetables, and flavourful seasonings, this nut roast is a perfect alternative to traditional meat dishes. Serve it with a side of gravy, and mashed potato, or a fresh salad for a complete and satisfying meal.
I love nut roast. It holds the fondest memories of when I first became veggie, back when I was 12 or 13, and my mum would use a packet mix to bake one to have with our Sunday roast. It tasted rich and nutty and the crispy edges were so delectable.
This made-from-scratch version I eat it straight from the dish, cold or hot. If I’m serving as a meal, of course mashed potato and a green veg, something like savoy cabbage or spring greens, the iron tang being a delightful counterpoint to rich, nutty roast.
This recipe comes by way of Cranks, a London-based vegetarian restaurant that opened in 1961. Sadly, after years of being successful in the 70s and 80s, the restaurants closed in 2016, but there is a legacy of cookbooks, recipes and a whole ethos around wholefood eating that remains to this day. Their cookbook, The Cranks Recipe book, is considered a classic in it’s field.
What makes this nut roast recipe so good is that it is incredibly adaptable. If you don’t have walnuts, use pecans, or hazelnuts or any other (non-salted) nuts that you have. Use white bread, or sourdough bread (or gluten-free). Mix up the fresh herbs, or use dried. Providing you have the right consistency: not too wet and not too dry, you’ll always have a delicious nut roast.
Another win, if I haven’t won you over already, is that this takes no time at all to prep, making it the perfect mid-week supper dish for those cold winter nights.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- nuts, I used a mixture of brazils and walnuts.
- brown bread crumbs
- marmite
- onion, garlic and parsley
Instructions
Place the nuts and bread in a food processor and mix to a fine mixture.
Sauté the onion until soft and tender.
Processed nuts and breadcrumbs
Place all the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl, along with the processed nuts and breadcrumbs.
Mix well until you have a firm, cohesive mixture.
Press the mixture into a lightly oiled baking tin and bake at 180c for 35-40 mins.
Once baked, the nut roast should look a rich, dark mahogany colour, but still be soft and yielding underneath.
Substitutions
- Nuts – if you have a nut intolerance or allergy, you could use a mixture of toasted seeds instead, such as sunflower seeds, chia, pumpkin, hemp.
- Marmite – use any yeast extract paste or a vegan Worcestershire sauce
Storage
Store the baked, cooled loaf in the fridge, covered. Good for 2-3 days. Reheat in the oven, or microwave. Not suitable for freezing.
Cranks Vegan Nut Roast
Equipment
- 1 Shallow baking dish, lightly greased I used a large metal pie dish
Ingredients
- 225 g Nuts - I used walnuts and brazils
- 3 slices Brown bread
- 1 Onion - medium, peeled and diced finely
- 2 tbsp Butter - vegan
- 1 tsp Marmite
- 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tbsp Parsley - fresh, finely chopped
- ½ tsp Black pepper
- 300 ml Vegetable stock - or hot water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180c.
- Dissolve the marmite in the hot stock.
- Sauté the onion in the butter until soft and translucent
- Using a food processor or mini chopper, grind up the nuts and bread until it is quite fine but not pulverized. Add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the nutritional yeast, black pepper, cooked onion and parsley to the mixing bowl.
- Add the marmite stock to the bowl with all the other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Pour into your greased baking tin (the mixture is quite slack) and bake for 30-40 minutes or until starting to turn golden and crisp on top.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes to set up a little before serving.
Please note that where the recipe asks for milk, butter or yogurt, this refers to any plant-based version that you prefer.
