Vegan Stuffed Roast: 24g Protein, No Seitan Taste
Intro
Tired of spending over $25 on a plant-based roast that you end up disappointed in? Us too, which is why we created this recipe! Ever since we developed it, it’s become our go-to for pretty much every major holiday, from Thanksgiving to Christmas and even Easter.
We’re not fond of traditional seitan roasts because they just taste too much like seitan. Some people really like that flavor, but we’re not big fans. This recipe does use some vital wheat gluten, but it’s not the main ingredient. It’s really just there as a chewy binder. We absolutely love the flavor of this roast, but we also feel really good about eating it because it’s made with minimally processed ingredients, and the nutritional profile of a single serving is pretty incredible.
If you’re gluten-free, check out the FAQ and notes sections below for substitutions.
Now let’s get into the nutrition, since that’s something that’s really important to us.
Nutrition
This recipe makes about five large servings (162g each). Every serving has 249 calories, 24g of protein, 10.3g of carbs, and 9.3g of fat, which is almost 2g less fat than a smaller portion of tofurkey.
Where this recipe really stands out is the vitamins and minerals. A single portion has over 100% of your daily B vitamins (besides B5), plus a large amount of folate, calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, and fiber. It also has notable amounts of vitamin A, vitamin K, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc, as well as healthy omega-6 fats. Check the nutrition panel in the recipe card for the full breakdown, because the nutritional difference between this roast and the leading store-bought plant-based roasts is staggering.
Now let’s get into the ingredients that make this roast so delicious:
What You’ll Need
This recipe uses pantry staples that most plant-based households already have stocked up. The roast itself is made from soy in two forms, soy curls and tofu.
- Soy curls: one of our favorite ingredients for meat substitutes because they’re minimally processed and packed with protein and fiber. We rehydrate them in no-chicken or vegetable broth with white miso, nutritional yeast, poultry seasoning, white and black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.
- Tofu: blended with the rehydrated soy curls (just until mixed) to give the roast its tender, meaty base.
- Vital wheat gluten: used as a chewy binder to hold the roast together, not as the main ingredient, so it doesn’t taste like seitan. See the FAQ for gluten-free swaps.
- The stuffing: onions, garlic, mushrooms, pecans, sage, and thyme sautéed in a bit of broth, then mixed with more broth and finely diced bread.
- The glaze: soy sauce, maple syrup, smoked paprika, and turmeric. After steaming, we bake the roast for about 10 minutes on each side with the glaze.
Tips for Success
- Rehydrate your soy curl and seasoning mixture for at least 10 minutes so you don’t end up with hard pieces of soy curl in your tender roast.
- Blend your tofu pretty well before adding the soy curl mixture, then blend again just until combined. You want to keep some large chunks of soy curls because they add great texture to the finished roast.
- Seal your roast really well after stuffing to keep the inside moist and delicious. We find that wrapping it in parchment paper, then double wrapping in foil, works best. If you don’t have parchment, just make sure the “meat” portion has no cracks and use a stovetop steamer.
- When slicing, let the loaf cool for at least 10 minutes then use a serrated knife to cut it, otherwise it can be difficult to cut cleanly through the loaf.
- If you’re doubling the recipe, you can steam the roast in the oven. Place the roast, double wrapped in foil, on a baking sheet with a wall, fill the sheet with water, cover with foil, and steam at 375°F (190°C) for 60 minutes.
How to Store
This roast is best eaten the day it’s glazed, but leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or pop it back in the oven, just be careful not to dry it out.
If you want to freeze it, do it after the steaming step and before glazing. Freeze the whole roast for up to 3 months (we haven’t tested it any longer than that).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this recipe be made gluten-free?
We haven’t tested a gluten-free version of this recipe ourselves, but like many of our meat substitute recipes, the vital wheat gluten can be replaced with a gluten-free flour and a starch. For this recipe, replace the vital wheat gluten with 3 tablespoons of chickpea flour, 2 tablespoons of potato starch, and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Swap the diced bread for gluten-free bread (or skip the bread and the additional broth entirely), and use a gluten-free substitute like liquid aminos instead of soy sauce. Keep in mind this will change the texture, making it slightly less elastic and chewy than the vital wheat gluten version.
Can this recipe be made ahead of time?
Yes! Make the roast and steam it, then refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. If freezing, defrost in the fridge 24 hours before using, then bake with the glaze and enjoy.
Can this recipe be made soy-free?
Unfortunately not. The main ingredients are soy-based (soy curls and tofu), and there are no substitutions for those in this recipe. For a soy-free option, there are plenty of seitan roast recipes online.
What if I don't have anything to wrap my roast in?
If you're missing parchment paper and foil then coat the roast in oil and either steam directly in a steamer basket on the stove for 60 minutes. If you have foil, you can use the oven steam method just coat it in oil before wrapping in the foil and doubly wrap it so no water enters.
Ready to give it a try? Here’s the full recipe:
Vegan Stuffed Roast: 24g Protein, No Seitan Taste
Skip the $25 store-bought roast. This stuffed vegan roast has 24g of protein per serving, no seitan taste, and is made with simple pantry staples.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 hr
- Cool
- 10 min
- Total
- 1 hr 30 min
- Servings
- 5 (162 grams each)
- Difficulty
- Medium
Ingredients
Roast
Stuffing
Glaze
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and fill a rimmed baking sheet half way with water and set aside.
Bring 3/4 cup No-Chicken/Vegetable Broth to a boil.
In a mixing bowl combine 4 oz Soy Curls, 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast, 1/2 tbsp Poultry Seasoning (see notes for homemade), 1/2+ tsp White/Black Pepper, 1/2+ tsp Garlic Powder, 1/2+ tsp Smoked Paprika and 1/2+ tsp Salt.
In a small bowl, mix together the boiling broth and 1 tbsp White Miso Paste. Stir to combine then pour it into the soy curl mixture and let sit for at least 10 minutes to re-hydrate the curls.
While your soy curl mixture is re-hydrating finely dice, 1/2 Small Onion, 2 oz Mushrooms, 3 Garlic Cloves, 2 tbsp Pecans, and 1/4 cup Bread.
Add half of the 1/4 cup No-Chicken/Vegetable Broth (divided) into a pan on medium heat, add your diced onions and mushrooms then sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the chopped pecans and garlic cloves along with 1/2 tsp Sage and 1/2 tsp Thyme then cook about 2 more minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
Turn off the heat then add your diced bread, and the remainder of the broth to the pan. Stir to combine and then set aside to rest.
In a blender or food processor, blend 8 oz Extra-Firm Tofu until all the big chunks are broken up and it's more of a paste then add the soy curl mixture to the blender and blend just to combine. You still want the mixture to have larger pieces of soy curls remaining for texture.
Pour the soy mixture into a mixing bowl then stir in 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten (see notes for gluten free substitutes). The dough should be workable with your hands, if it's too sticky add a tablespoon more of the wheat gluten.
Place a large piece of parchment paper down, and roll/press the soy mixture into a rectangle on the parchment paper. Add your stuffing mixture to the center of the rectangle leaving the edges free to be folded inwards to enclose the stuffing.
Fold the soy mixture length wise over the stuffing until the ends meet (you can use the parchment paper to help fold it), then crimp the pieces together. Then fold the ends inwards, crimp and use the parchment paper (or your hands) to smooth it. It should form a round log.
Wrap the entire log in parchment paper and twist the ends then double wrap the log in aluminum foil, we like wrapping it twice so it's extra sealed so no water can enter. If you don't have foil, see the notes for alternative cooking methods.
Place the wrapped roast in the baking tray that's been partially filled with water then wrap the top of the tray in foil (we're creating a steam chamber). Place the entire tray in the pre-heated oven and steam for 60 minutes flipping the roast halfway through (being careful to not hurt yourself with the steam/water).
While the roast is steaming, make the glaze by combining 1 tbsp Maple Syrup, 1 tbsp Soy Sauce, 1/2+ tsp Smoked Paprika and 1/4 tsp Ground Turmeric in a small bowl.
Once the roast is done, take it out of the oven and bring the oven up to 400°F (204°C). Let the roast cool until it can be handled then unwrap the roast, removing the foil completely, but keeping the parchment paper to line the baking tray with.
Brush the entire roast with your glaze, making sure to cover completely then bake for 20 minutes, flipping the roast half way through and applying more of the glaze as needed. The roast should be a dark golden color with a slightly crispy exterior.
Let the roast cool for about 10 minutes before slicing. Slice with a serrated knife for the cleanest slices then enjoy!
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories
- 249 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 10.3 g
- Fat
- 9.3 g
- Fiber
- 7.5 g
- Sugar
- 4.5 g
- Sodium
- 736 mg
- Vit. B12
- 6 mcg
Notes & Tips
- You can make your poultry seasoning using a combination of herbs and spices (just search the internet for a poultry seasoning recipe).
- For gluten free make the following substitutions:
- Soy Sauce: Replace with a GF one like coconut aminos or tamari.
- Bread: Swap with a gluten free bread of your choosing.
- Vital Wheat Gluten: Replace with 3 tbsp chickpea flour, 2 tablespoons potato starch and 1 tablespoon cornstarch (or just 3 tablespoons potato starch). Swapping this ingredient out definitely changes the texture so it's more delicate after cooking so we'd recommend letting it cool slightly before slicing.
- Our favorite mushrooms for this recipe are shiitakes because we like the flavor of them the best. You can use pretty much any mushroom in this recipe though so whatever you have on hand works. Also if you don't like mushrooms, feel free to omit entirely. We tend to chop them so finely you can't even tell there's mushrooms in the roast, it just adds the umami flavor.
- You can use pretty much any nut in this recipe, so if you don't have pecans feel free use an alternative that you do have. You can also omit entirely, we just like the crunch the nuts add to the roast.
- If not doubling/tripling the recipe, you can also steam the roast on the stove using a traditional steamer basket (or in an Instant Pot using a trivet). Simply boil your water and steam for 60 minutes letting cool before handling.
- If you're missing parchment paper and foil then coat the roast in oil and either steam directly in a steamer basket on the stove for 60 minutes. If you have foil, you can use the oven steam method just coat it in oil before wrapping in the foil and doubly wrap it so no water enters.
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