Looking for a holiday main dish to keep the meat-eaters happy? This Vegan Holiday Roast has got you covered. It’s loaded with savory Fall flavor and absolutely delicious. This holiday seitan roast will leave you feeling stuffed and satisfied.
“Oh, no! What are we to do? There’s no giant dead bird on the table. Whatever shall we eat?” All the meat-eaters are so confused. It’s hilarious. They don’t know whether to scratch their watch or check their butt.
But, in order to curtail everyone’s anxiety about vegan food simply make this amazing celebration roast. No feathers, no bones, and no high cholesterol. All the good and none of the bad. It’s time to flip the bird because this is a dish everyone can actually be thankful for.
Let’s make it!
How To Make Vegan Holiday Roast
This is so easy to make and requires only about an hour of your time. Follow the recipe card at the bottom for specific details and instructions. Let’s make some vegan food.
First things first, preheat your oven to 350˚F. Then, add the kidney beans, soy sauce, tomato paste, and 2 Tbsp. of the leftover bean juice from the can to a food processor and blend until everything is smooth.
Using a large mixing bowl, add the vital wheat gluten, onion powder, garlic powder, sage, thyme, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Whisk until everything is well combined. Then, add in the bean mixture and stir to mix it all up.
The dough will still be fairly dry with some lumps. Don’t worry that’s what supposed to happen.
Next, pour in the low sodium vegetable broth or water. Mix the dough until it has a stretchy elastic texture. Once everything is well combined, knead the dough for about 2 to 3 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add a little wheat gluten. If it’s too dry, add a little more water or broth. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes after kneading.
Roll out the dough and make a log that’s about 8-10 inches long. Wrap the log in parchment paper then roll it up in aluminum foil.
Place it on a baking sheet bake the vegan holiday roast for 1 hour flipping it over every 15 minutes. Remove the vegan holiday roast from the oven, carefully remove the foil and parchment paper, and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. Slice it up and serve.
This Vegan Holiday Roast is sure to please anyone sitting around your Thanksgiving table this year.
I also believe this is one of those vegan recipes that have the ability to help change people’s minds about vegan food. The texture, taste, and smell are amazing!
What Are Some Good Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
This wonderful vegan Holiday Roast goes great with any traditional Thanksgiving side dish. But, just in case you need some inspiration here are a few suggestions.
- Wild Rice Stuffing
- Cranberry Sauce
- Easy Vegan Brown Gravy
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- The Best Vegan Mac & Cheese
- The Best Vegan Mashed Potatoes
You are going to LOVE this Vegan Holiday Roast! It’s…
- Filling
- Savory
- Easy to make
- Loaded with protein
- Low in fat
- Perfect for November
- Full of flavor
- & Delicious
If you’d like more amazing side dishes, be sure and check out my Vegan Scalloped Potatoes, Easy Cornbread Dressing, and wonderful Skillet Green Beans.
See? It keeps getting better and better.
If you make this recipe please leave a comment below with a star rating. And, be sure to share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #shaneandsimple. I want to see it!
Vegan Holiday Roast
- Prep Time: 15 mins.
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup low sodium or no salt added red kidney beans
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 cups vital wheat gluten
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoon. of nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp. sage
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 ½ cups low sodium veggie broth or water
Instructions
- Prehat your oven to 350˚F
- Add the kidney beans, tomato paste, soy sauce, and 2 Tbsp. of the leftover bean juice from can to a food processor and blend until everything is smooth.
- Using a large mixing bowl, add the wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, sage, thyme, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Whisk until everything is well combined. Stir in the bean paste and mix until well combined. The dough will still be very dry with a lot lumps.
- Pour in the low sodium veggie broth. Mix the dough until it has a stretchy elastic texture and becomes thick. Once everything is well combined, knead the dough with your hands for about 2 to 3 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add a little wheat gluten. If it’s too dry, add a little more water or broth. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes after kneading.
- Roll out the dough and make a log that’s about 8-10 inches long. Layout enough aluminum foil to get at least two wraps around the roast and overlap on the ends. Take out a piece of parchment paper the same size of the aluminum foil. Wrap the log in parchment paper first and then roll it up in aluminum foil.
- Set the roast on a baking sheet, place it in the oven and bake the roast for at least 1 hour. Flip the roast every 15 minutes. A good pair of tongs work well for this.
- Remove the roast from the oven, safely remove the foil and parchment paper, let sit for 10-15 minutes, then slice and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 232
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 454.9 mg
- Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.6 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 30.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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I made this using gluten free flour and xanthan gum. It turned out quite good, despite the fact that I didn’t save the liquid from the beans, so I used a bit of water instead. Can it be frozen? Also, I would like to have some mushroom gravy with it. 🙂
THIS is the BEST! I have tried numerous loaves, tofu hams, etc and nothing compares!!! I rounded each measure of the seasonings and used garbanzo beans, blended very smooth. Also baked about 1:45-2:00 hours. The good test was the parchment loose from the roast, Just unwrapped and rewrapped to test. Let sit about 10 minutes to firm up.
On my trial run for Thanksgiving, we served with some German mustard.
Fabulous!!! Way to go Shane!!
What is the best way to reheat the roast?
Microwave or warm the oven to 200˚F and reheat for 10-15 minutes.
If I make this in advance, what is the best way to reheat it? I love your recipes and am excited to try this!
Microwave or heat your oven to 200˚F and reheat for 15 minutes or until heated through.
Can this be prepared ahead of time?
Absolutely!
Hi Shane, the recipe sounds great and I am anxious to try making. I am gluten free and unable to use the wheat gluten listed in the recipe. Thoughts on how to get around this?
Hi, Cindy! Sadly, there is no sub for gluten. But, you could take all the seasonings and marinate some tofu…we’ve done that and it turned out wonderfully. Hope this helps.
Hi Shane,
I made the roast for Christmas and it was really good. Plus it’s unbelievably easy to make. I ended up baking it for 1 1/2 hours and the texture was great. I don’t think I’ll be buying the pre-made frozen vegan roasts anymore. Thank you so much for an incredibly tasty recipe :).
Wow, that’s so great and so glad you enjoyed it. (makes great sandwiches;)
Can’t wait to try this! Can you please describe how to tell if it’s done or needs to go back in the oven? Thank you.
It should be slightly firm to the touch. If not, place it back in the oven and cook checking every 15 minutes.
Delicious! This is the second time I have made this. This time I used black eyed peas that I had cooked earlier in the week. I also used the broth from the black eyed peas and added 1 1/2 tablespoons of your vegan bouillon. The dough was very moist so I cooked it for 1 hour and 15 minutes. This recipe is genius!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Awesome! And, love the black eyed peas idea.
I’ll be making your vegan holiday roast for the first time tomorrow. I read comments about having to cook it for 2 hrs. How can I tell if it’s done? Thank you
Hi, Eva! It should be slightly firm to the touch and will firm up as it cools. I would cook the alotted time up to 1 1/2 hours to start.
I made this last weekend as a trial run for Thanksgiving. It was really good. I’ve decided to make it for the holiday dinner, but with a few changes. I’m going to add sautéed mushrooms, onions, and celery into the bean mixture. I’m also going to put the spices in the bean mixture so I can adjust the taste. I felt the original trial was a little understated. Wish me luck! Thank you Shane…your recipes are all amazing. I’m also making your Banana bread (muffin style) with added pumpkin for my holiday gift baskets. Everyone just loves them ((:
Easy and good; well flavored;
I cooked for an extra 15 minutes;
Hi Shane,
Trying out more of your recipes since I found your site. This is one of the best tasting Vegan roasts I have tried so far! A lot of Vegan seitan roasts or Vegan turkey seitan recipes, etc., I tried from others, I ended up discarding as did not like the taste. Regarding your roast recipe, I did as another commenter posted, where I baked the roast another extra 45 mins (1 hr & 45 mins total) as the underside of the roast seemed undercooked as well as some of the middle inside even though I flpped it every
15 mins (top was fine.) It then came out perfectly done on the underside and better in the middle inside. Of course, I checked & flipped it every 7 or 8 mins for each 15 mins when baking the extra 45 mins. I also always use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer and dough hook if a seitan recipe calls for kneading for 2-3 mins. I put it on speed “2” (in case helps others.) Going to freeze some of the roast. I use a vacuum sealer so always freeze in vacuum sealed bags whether placed in a container first, or straight into the bag. Will defrost, reheat & serve with your Vegan gravy recipe I recently tried and loved. Blessings,
Another winner! Served it with polenta dressing and your Brussels sprouts recipe! Delicious!
Thank you!
We made this for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious! We froze half of it and enjoyed the rest of it at Christmas. We’re planning to make it again and wondering how to check for doneness before removing it from the oven. I think it was under-baked as it was a little doughy in the middle.
Every appliance is different. So, I would simply let it cook a little longer and then allow it to sit for a bit before cutting into it.
Beth…cook it until you can feel the parchment paper loose around the roast when you squeeze it. It also gets firm when it’s done. Hope that helps.
Hello Shane,
I am excited to make this for Christmas but need some clarification. Step 5 says “Roll out the dough and make a log that’s about 8-10 inches long”. Roll it out how thin? And then roll it into a log shape?
Thanks,
Mark
Hi, Mark! I may need to change the wording. A more accurate way of saying would to be to “form the dough into a log that’s about 8-10 inches…” Roll is really meant in “circular” shape as opposed “rolling it flat.” Sorry about that. Make sense?
Perfect, thank you Shane.
My pleasure.
This was mine and my husbands first WFPB holiday. We kept it just the two of us and I decided to try this loaf for my hubby as he is having a harder time with the transition. I made this roast and a lentil loaf…this one was the winner by a mile! I think the only thing I may do next time is add a sauce (like ketchup or BBQ) to it at the end…the lentil loaf had ketchup on it and the hubby said that was the only thing he thinks could make it even better. TY and Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you so much! Get crazy and experiment. I just provide the road map:) Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I took a leap of faith making this recipe for our first vegan Thanksgiving and I was NOT disappointed! It was a huge hit!! Thanks for the imaginative recipe.
Thank you so much!!!
Can you use a different bean? I would like the roast to be lighter in color.
Sure. Chickpeas work well, but just be sure and puree them really well.
I can’t wait to make this for Thanksgiving, thank you! Do you think I could steam this instead of baking it? Also, trying to minimize sodium so how much is the minimum of soy sauce/tamari I could use? I can’t eliminate it can I? Thank you!!! 🙂
It’s all about preference. So, yes, you could eliminate it if you wish.
You out did yourself, Shane. Did a test run with this for my Thanksgiving meal. It is awesome.
In fact, I cooked several of the holiday recipes. Everything turned out great. Thank you for sharing with us.
Thank you so much, Lisa! Have a great Thanksgiving!!!
This was so tasty and easy ! Thanks for the great recipe I will be sharing in my social media !
We’re definitely making it for Easter! It’s a winner.
Wow! This was very, very good! We’ve tried several recipes and this one is the best! Thank you! Very good flavor. We had to cook it about 45 mins. longer until the parchment paper didn’t stick to the roast. Vital wheat gluten isn’t easy to find at this time but luckily we had some in the house. Stay well!
That’s great, Linda! I’m glad it worked out and you enjoyed it. Stay well to you too:)
Moist & flavorfully delicious! I love the chewy texture. Ty!
Thank you!
Shane, so that I’m sure I read this correctly…you need a food processor for the beans, but then everything else is just done in a bowl/by hand. I just want to make sure that I didn’t misread. Do you think I could prepare the loaf in advance, refrigerate for a couple days, and then cook?
Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous recipes with us.
Hi, Shannon! The kidney beans, tomato paste, soy sauce, and 2 Tbsp. of the leftover bean juice from the can go in the food processor. Then you will mix everything by hand. And, yes, you can make ahead of time until you’re ready to cook. Hope you enjoy it and thank you for your kind words. Merry Christmas!
Thanks, Shane! Merry Christmas to you and yours. 🙂
Wanted to add a rating on this one. As always, Shane, your recipes never disappoint.
The kids liked it, planning on making it again this weekend. \
I do have one question…do you think this loaf can be rolled/coated in bread crumbs or would I totally ruin it? The kids like the crunchy texture of the TJ’s loaf we got this year, was hoping to recreate that texture for them.
Thanks so much for all you do!! 🙂
Shannon, that’s so great to hear. I’ve never tried it with the bread crumbs but see no reason why it shouldn’t work.
I am not a fan of nutritional yeast. Is it in there for flavor only, or does it serve another purpose? I’m wondering how leaving it out will affect the recipe.
It is for flavor but more preference. It will not affect how it cooks. You can leave it out if you wish. Merry Christmas!
Is there a substitute for the wheat gluten? i could not find it anywhere
Unfortunately, no, Benjamin. Gluten is what gives it the texture. Here is a link where I purchased mine. Hope this helps. PURCHASE: https://amzn.to/3f6HDnq
I don’t see in the recipe where we are supposed to add the nutritional yeast…
Sorry, Chris. I updated the instructions. It goes in with the dry ingredients. It should show up now. Thanks for letting me know.
Have you ever tried making this recipe into burgers?
We really enjoyed it as a roast, and look forward to having it for Christmas.
Not yet. But, so glad you enjoyed and glad you’re making it for Christmas! Happy Holidays!
Made this as a part of our first wfpb Thanksgiving and it was certainly a hit. Easy to put together, savory, great texture, and wonderful aroma while in the oven. Thank you Shane!
Gayle, that is so great. Thanks for letting me know and for rating it. Blessings.
Hi Shane,
I plan on 3X this recipe. Should I bake more than an hour to ensure it’s done?
I would make three loaves and not one BIG loaf or combine 3x the ingredients then divide the dough into 3 parts and bake. I’m not sure how it would turn out otherwise. And, I’d hate for you to be the guinea pig:)
This looks very good……but will make a lot for 2 people. Curious about freezing?
Absolutely! Simply place it into a well-fitting, sealed container and freeze. You can also slice it up into cutlets and place in a ZipLoc freezer bag then freeze. Let it thaw by placing it in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready to eat it place it in a baking dish with veggie broth and warm it up in the oven. Happy Thanksgiving!
This looks delicious. Is there a way to make it gluten free?
Thanks
Margaret, unfortunately, there is not. Gluten is wheat protein and it’s what creates the “meaty” texture. I do have a couple of vegan meatloaves if you’re interested. There on the website: Chickpea Vegan Meatloaf and one made with lentils and oats. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving.
First time making this ever and was delicious!
Delicious! Happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Shane. I want to try this. Can I knead with my stand mixer and dough hook? Would it be for the same amount of time?
Yes, the amounts would be the same. I don’t see any reasons why it wouldn’t work. Hope you enjoy it! Happy Thanksgiving!