To me, there is no great Christmas eve dinner without a good roast as the centerpiece.
This festive roast has all the flavors of Christmas, it's filled with spinach, sautéed mushrooms and lentils, wrapped in a tender tofu crust. This is not your basic tofurkey with little to no filling, this one is loaded with a flavorful and protein-packed filling.
Did I mention everything is made from scratch?
The "crust" is a blend of firm tofu, white miso, spices and nutritional yeast that are processed until you get a smooth paste. Unlike some other roasts recipe, I didn't want to press the tofu or drain it with a cheesecloth so I added some rice flour to absorb some of the moisture. Do you know what? It worked perfectly!
The filling consists of three layers: spinach with garlic, sautéed mushrooms, and smoky lentils/brown rice with cranberries and pine nuts.
Assembling the roast is where the fun is! You start by spreading an even layer of the tofu mixture into the bottom of a cake pan, place the spinach, sautéed mushrooms on top and last but not least, the lentil and brown rice mixture, that has the texture of ground meat.
Covering the filling with the remaining tofu is the most delicate step but don't be afraid, it's totally doable. Since the tofu mixture is soft and sticky, you will have to use wet hands to cover the filling little by little.
This tofu roast is protein-rich, each slice is packed with 18g of protein for only 275 calories! It can be served with mashed potatoes, green beans and your favorite gravy.
Even meat eaters will love this tofu roast, it's tender, flavorful and make the perfect Christmas center dish.
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe and tag @fullofplants on Instagram if you take a photo!
Ultimate Christmas Tofurkey Roast
Ingredients
Roast crust
- 21 ounces firm tofu
- 2 tablespoon white miso
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ⅓ cup rice flour
Filling (makes enough for 2 roasts)
- ½ cup dry green lentils
- ½ cup brown rice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 and ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 clove of garlic chopped
- ½ cup chestnuts cooked
- ½ red bell pepper
- ¼ cup fresh parsley or basil
- ¼ cup dried cranberries or raisins
- ⅛ teaspoon pumpkin spice optional
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
Spinach layer
- 6 cups spinach chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- salt, pepper to taste
Mushrooms layer
- 10 cremini mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- pepper
Instructions
Roast crust
- Place all the crust ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process for about 1 minute, until everything is well incorporated and looks smooth. You will end up with a slightly wet, very soft dough. Transfer to a large bowl, cover and set aside while preparing the filling.
Filling
- Combine the green lentils and brown rice with the water and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 25 minutes until the lentils are cooked and almost no liquid remains. Drain excess water if needed.
- Place the rice and lentils in the bowl of a food processor and add the maple syrup, soy sauce, tahini, tomato paste, liquid smoke, onion, shallot, garlic, chestnuts, red bell pepper and fresh parsley. Process for about 15 seconds until everything is roughly chopped and has the texture of ground meat. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cranberries and pine nuts. Set aside.
Spinach
- Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped spinach to the skillet and allow to cook for 5 minutes until the spinach has softened. Add the chopped garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the spinach to a colander and squeeze excess liquid by pressing with the back of a spoon. Set aside.
Mushrooms
- In the same skillet, sautée the mushrooms until they become tender and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the skillet with the soy sauce and continue to cook until no liquid remains. Set aside.
Assemble
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Once you have the crust and fillings ready you can start assembling the loaf.
- Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Transfer about 1 cup of the tofu mixture in the bottom of the pan. Using wet hands, spread the mixture into an even layer. You can also place a piece of parchment paper on top and use the bottom of a glass to spread the mixture evenly. Be careful, the tofu mixture will be sticky and very soft.
- Place the cooked spinach on top of the tofu mixture, leaving about 1 inch on each side. Top with the sautéed mushrooms. Spread about 2 cups of the lentil/brown rice filling on top of the mushrooms, pressing lightly.
- Once you have placed the filling it's time to cover it with the remaining tofu mixture, this is the most delicate step. Using wet hands, take a small amount of the tofu mixture in your hands and carefully cover the filling, little by little into an even thickness, making sure to press on the edges to enclose the filling. When the filling is fully covered, carefully rub it with wet hands to smooth the top.
- In a small bowl, combine one tablespoon of maple syrup with one tablespoon of soy sauce. Brush the tofurkey with the glaze.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 50 minutes. Bake uncovered for another 5 minutes until the top is golden brown, let cool 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve with green beans, mashed potato or peppercorn sauce. I found the roast tastes even better the next day.
Notes
- You will only use about ⅓ to ½ of the filling for one tofurkey roast, you can freeze leftovers or use it to make veggie steaks, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- To serve in a baking dish (optional): Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large baking dish, combine 1 and ½ cup of water with 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Add one finely chopped shallot, 6-8 small onions, one carrot cut into matchsticks, some chestnuts and ¼ teaspoon oregano. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the cooked tofurkey in the middle of the baking dish, cover with foil and bake for another 15 minutes, just to reheat the tofurkey. The tofurkey roast will absorb some of the sauce and the tofu crust will be softer, even more delicious!
Nutrition
Looks so perfect and innovative..loved the combination ..Pinned !!!
This is a must try. I am wanting to find easy ways of making Seitan, whilst this isn't Seitan, it's easy, and that is what I am looking for in a recipe.
I can't wait to make this...
Thank you so much for the recipe...
I don't have rice flour. But I do have several bean flours (white, black and chickpea), also allporpose or oatflour. Can I use any of those instead?
Looks amazing by the way!!
Chickpea or all-purpose flour should work well here!
Thank you! I am going to make this tomorrow for our christmas eve dinner. Super excited.
I am in Australia and my Grandchildren are vegans and I would like to make your recipe for Christmas
I have one problem what is liquid smoke I have no idea what this is
Hi,
Liquid smoke is smoke in liquid form, it is used as a flavoring to give food a smoky flavor. You can leave it out.
Can you make this ahead of time? If so how should i warm?
Yes, you can. I would cover with foil and warm in a preheated oven.
Awesome!!! My first meatless roast. It was a hit with everyone I used pecans instead of pine nuts. The texture was very pleasing.
Thanks so much for your feedback Wanda! Glad everyone liked your roast 🙂
Definitely want to make this,
When you say 'cooked chestnuts' do you just mean chestnuts that have been boiled with their skin removed? Or do you mean roasted as well?
Yes, I mean boiled with skin removed, or roasted and with skin removed should work well too.
I am very excited to read this recipe and very much happy to make this tofurkey roast for this coming christmas. Looking for more such recipes in future too. Thank you.
Just eaten this having made it yesterday and cooked today. A few tweaks for me (left out the fruit as family isn't keen, forgot the pine nuts, swapped the chestnuts for hazelnuts) and also made mine a little taller as that was the shape or the dish I had (and had more filling).
It's excellent and lots of opportunities to experiment changing filling and flavouring for the crust.
Family had got a bit bored or nut roast and this really is excellent! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your feedback Richard 😉
Made this, it's soo good! Both vegans and meat eaters loved it. I didn't have miso or red pepper flakes, added smoked paprika and smoked pepper to the filling. Delicious! Also the next days <3
Thanks for your rating Tine!
Tasted amazing.
However, the loaf fell apart and the tofu was a bit mushy, did not keep its form. I used firm tofu, slightly pressed. Should I have used extra firm or firm tofu with no pressing or more pressing?
Thanks Rachel,
If your tofu is very soft, then yes, you should try to remove some moisture. I didn't do it as my tofu was very firm.
Tried making this last night. Taste was good, but texture was off. The crust was very mushy and liquid pooled in the bottom of the pan. We're going to try again with the rest of the filling ingredients. Should we press the tofu before making the crust?
Thanks for the recipe.
Sorry to hear that Roy! I would assume your tofu was a bit too soft, try removing excess water by pressing it in a press, or in a nut milk bag.
I am so excited to try this for Thanksgiving! Can it be frozen?
Unfortunately I have never tried freezing it, but I think it should freeze pretty well.
can I make this for thanksgiving thanks
Has anyone tried freezing this? I’d like to do as much prep work as possible and if I can make this ahead of time and freeze it that would be excellent! Any feedback is appreciated!!