Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Nut Roast (just mix + bake!)

When it comes to vegetarian dishes for Christmas, it’s hard to beat a traditional British nut roast. It’s such a classic vegetarian dish here in the UK – in fact, it’s probably considered pretty retro these days. But there’s a reason the nut roast has stood the test of time. It makes a perfect vegetarian main course for a holiday feast or a cosy Sunday dinner, sliced up and served with a few side dishes.

A vegetarian nut roast on a board with a slice cut off.

My easy nut roast is made with so many tasty ingredients, which all bring different flavours and textures to the loaf – each slice is packed with a little bit of everything (including a little bit of festive flair from the dried cranberries!).

And best of all, this recipe couldn’t be simpler to make. There’s absolutely no pre-cooking required – just mix all the raw ingredients together in a big bowl, then press it into a loaf tin, and let the oven do the rest. I do love a no fuss meal!

What is Nut Roast?

If you’re unaware, a nut roast is a hearty loaf made from nuts, vegetables, and whatever other tasty ingredients you like, mixed together and baked to golden perfection. It’s a British recipe, and here in the UK, it’s been a vegetarian favourite for decades, and sometimes it’s probably unfairly considered to be a bit old-fashioned. But I say it’s time to bring back this old favourite!

It’s really hard to beat a nut roast that contains so many wonderful textures and flavours – a soft crunch from the nuts, aromatic herbs, plenty of vegetables, and little pops of festive sweetness from the dried cranberries. It’s wonderful.

A slice of nut roast on a plate with broccoli and potatoes.

What Makes this Nut Roast so Easy to Make?

Many nut roast recipes call for a long list of (in my opinion) unnecessary steps: pre-cooking vegetables, boiling lentils, blitzing up breadcrumbs…

My version, on the other hand, is all about simplicity. There’s absolutely no pre-cooking required, so no hassle… just deliciousness. It’s such an easy recipe – if you can mix ingredients, you can make this easy nut roast.

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Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for an easy vegetarian nut roast laid out with text overlay.

nuts – I used cashew nuts and peanuts (which happened to be red peanuts, but any type will do!). Nuts can be quite expensive, so honestly, I would just choose whatever nuts make sense to you. If you can find another kind of nut more cheaply, that’s totally fine.
vegetables – I used carrot, mushrooms, and red onion. Make sure you chop your veggies nice and finely (or grate them, if appropriate), so that the nut roast holds together nicely.
tinned lentils – using a can is so much easier than boiling dried lentils (but you can do that instead, if you prefer).
rolled oats – a quicker, and more nutritious, alternative to breadcrumbs.
grated cheddar – use a nice mature cheese for extra flavour.
eggs – to help hold everything together.
fresh sage – brings a Christmassy flavour. Use dried sage if you prefer, though I do like having the whole leaves to garnish the nut roast.
dried oregano (or any other dried herb you like)
garlic – I used minced garlic from a jar because it’s quick and easy, and I hate chopping fresh garlic.
dried cranberries – you can skip these if you’re not a fan, but they really do bring a nice touch of sweetness to the nut roast.

This recipe is quite versatile, so you could swap out some of the ingredients, if you’d like to. For example:

Most other kinds of nuts will also work just fine – use whatever you like. Walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, etc. will all be great. You don’t have to only choose two. I used plain, unroasted and unsalted nuts, but roasted nuts will also work. If yours are pre-salted, don’t add any additional salt to the nut roast.
You can swap out the vegetables I chose (mushrooms, carrots and red onion) if you like – just make sure you chop everything quite finely, as big chunks of vegetable may stop the loaf from holding together strongly. Grated parsnip, chopped bell peppers, or finely chopped broccoli should all work okay. I’d avoid anything too wet, like tomatoes or zucchini (courgette), or you might end up with a soggy loaf.
The herbs can be swapped for any other herbs (fresh or dried) you have on hand. Nut roast is a great opportunity to use woody herbs, like thyme or rosemary, but fresher herbs like parsley will also work well.

Becca’s Top Tip

If you’re using woody herbs like sage, thyme or rosemary, make sure you remove any tough stalks before chopping.

Recipe Video

Equipment

To make this easy nut roast, all I used was a large mixing bowl, and a metal loaf tin.

If you have one of those fancy vegetable choppers (like these ones on Amazon US / Amazon UK), that would speed you up, but it certainly isn’t a necessity.

Printable Instructions

A vegetarian nut roast with a slice cut off.

Easy Nut Roast

This easy nut roast is the perfect vegetarian main course for Christmas or Thanksgiving! Just mix and bake – no pre-cooking required!

Course Main Course

Cuisine British, English

Diet Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 25

Servings people

Calories 480kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

170 g (~ 6 oz) carrot (1 large or 2 small)
185 g (~ 6 1/2 oz) mushrooms
1 red onion
120 g (~ 1 cup) cashew nuts
120 g (~ 3/4 cup) peanuts
50 g (~ 1/3 cup) dried cranberries (optional)
2 sprigs fresh sage
100 g (~ 1 cup) rolled oats
100 g mature cheddar cheese, grated (~ 1 cup when grated)
400 g tin lentils, drained (265g, or ~ 1 cup, when drained)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano or thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 eggs

Instructions

First, grate the carrots (I didn’t bother peeling mine), and finely chop the mushrooms and the red onion.
Roughly chop the nuts. You don’t need to be precise about it – it’s actually quite nice to have a bit of variety in size (and therefore texture). You could even leave a few of the smaller nuts whole.
Chop the dried cranberries into smaller pieces. Remove any woody stems from the sage, and finely chop.
Heat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4 / 350°F). Line a loaf tin (mine measured 9 x 5 inches) with non-stick baking paper, and lightly spray it with oil.
Add all of the previous ingredients to a large mixing bowl, along with the rolled oats, grated cheese, drained tin of lentils, garlic, dried herbs, and salt and pepper.
Mix everything together very thoroughly. It’s worth taking a bit of time over this – spend a few minutes mixing to make sure everything’s evenly distributed. Then add the eggs, and continue to mash everything together very thoroughly. You may even find it easier to use (clean!) hands to get everything well mixed.
Scoop the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, pressing down firmly in between scoops to ensure everything is well compacted. You can use a smaller spoon to press down right to the edges and corners of the pan. Try to make the top of the loaf as level as possible (not heaped), as this will end up being the base of your nut roast.
Place in the centre of the oven, and roast for up to an hour. Ovens do differ, so keep an eye on it – it’s ready when it is firm and golden brown.
Carefully turn the nut roast out of the tin (loosen the edges with a knife, if needed). Slice to serve.

Video

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

How to serve nut roast?

I love to serve nut roast with some sort of sauce, like a dollop of cranberry sauce or a vegetarian gravy. However, it’s not a necessity.

How should I reheat any leftovers?

I like to reheat slices of leftover nut roast in the microwave (thin slices are amazing in a post-Christmas sandwich!). You can also reheat in the oven, or even pan fry individual slices on the stovetop.

Can I prepare this recipe in advance?

Yes – ideally, you’d assemble the whole nut roast the day before, then store it in the fridge, and bake it just before serving. Bear in mind that if it’s cold from the fridge, it may take a little longer to cook.

Can I freeze my nut roast?

Yes. Once it’s cooked and cooled, store it in a freezer-safe container, and freeze. Defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating in the oven. Cover it with foil or a lid to ensure it doesn’t dry out.

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Easy Nut Roast (just mix + bake!)

Slow Cooker Corn Casserole

Easy Cheesy Potatoes Anna

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Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Tex-Mex Tortilla Roll-Ups

I usually plan out my dinners for the week, but lunch is often an afterthought – and it shouldn’t be! With these easy tortilla roll-ups, lunch will be something you look forward to all through the morning. They’re quick and easy to make, and they make such a nice change from a plain old sandwich!

Vegetarian tortilla roll-ups on a plate.

Just add your chosen fillings in strips along your tortilla, and roll! Make sure you roll across the strips of ingredients, not along them, so that you get a bit of everything in each bite.

To be honest, you can stuff your tortilla roll-ups with whatever you like. Since I’m a huge fan of anything Tex-Mex (I have a huge collection of vegetarian Tex-Mex recipes!), I went for the classic combination of black beans, cheese, and guacamole – plus some jalapeños and black olives for an extra pop of flavour.

How to Serve Tortilla Roll-Ups

Just like a humble sandwich, these tortilla roll-ups are super versatile. They can be served in all sorts of ways:

Make them at home for a quick and easy lunch (sometimes I don’t even bother cutting them into pieces if I’m busy working!).
Pack them into a lunchbox to take to work or school (my kids love them, although I do adjust the fillings to their taste).
Cut them into bitesize pieces and serve them on a vegetarian platter for a party (they can easily be adapted to suit either kids or adults!). I would double or triple the recipe if you’re serving a crowd – you can easily prepare as many as you need.

Tortilla roll-ups in a lunchbox with fruit and crisps.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

tortillas – use flour tortillas, and go for the biggest ones you can find, as they will give neater slices.
black beans (canned, for convenience)
guacamole – to stick the roll-ups together. I used shop-bought guacamole for speed, but homemade would be even better.
grated cheese – I used cheddar
black olives
pickled jalapeños – I used red ones as they’re a little sweeter than green.

A close up image of Tex-Mex tortilla roll-ups.

Other Roll-Up Filling Ideas

These tortilla roll-ups can be customised however you like, depending on what you have in the fridge. I’d recommend choosing one ingredient from each of these categories:

A spread (I used guacamole) – this is important to help to ‘glue’ the roll-ups together. If you don’t like guacamole, you could use hummus, sour cream, pesto, or any other kind of spread.
A cheese (I used grated cheddar) – you could also use crumbled feta, soft goat cheese, thin strips of grilled halloumi, etc. Just avoid using huge pieces of cheese, as it might stop the roll-ups from holding together as well.
A lean protein (I used black beans) – you could swap these for any other kind of bean, or use chickpeas or lentils instead. Canned legumes are quick and convenient to use.
One or two ingredients for extra flavour (I used jalapeños and black olives). You could also use finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, finely chopped peanuts or toasted pine nuts, or sliced spring onions.

Becca’s Top Tip

Avoid using any ingredients that are particularly wet (e.g. fresh tomatoes or cucumber), as they can make the tortillas a little soggy and can stop them from holding together properly. Or, if you really want to use these ingredients, remove the seeds first, as this is the wettest part.

Recipe Video

Overhead shot of tortilla roll-ups on a plate.

Printable Instructions

A plateful of vegetarian Tex-Mex tortilla roll-ups.

Easy Tex-Mex Tortilla Roll-Ups

Tortilla roll-ups are a quick and exciting lunch option, or to serve on a platter at parties. These cheesy Tex-Mex ones are so tasty!

Course Appetizer, Light lunch

Cuisine Mexican, Tex-Mex

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings people

Calories 464kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

2 large flour tortillas
4 tbsp guacamole
75 g (~ 3/4 cup) grated cheddar cheese
120 g cooked black beans (1/2 a drained 400g tin, or ~ 2/3 cup)
Few pieces pickled jalapeños (I used red), finely chopped
2 tbsp sliced black olives

Instructions

Lay out the large tortillas, and spread them all over with guacamole.
Sprinkle grated cheese in a strip along the centre of each tortilla, as well as the black beans, finely chopped jalapeños, and black olives.
Roll each tortilla tightly, making sure you roll across your strips of filling, to ensure each ingredient appears in every piece. Cut the rolled tortillas into pieces. The curved end pieces can be a little messy, so if you need your tortilla roll-ups to be particularly neat, you can remove the ends first. I usually get 4-5 good pieces from each tortilla.
The roll-ups are best served straight away, but if needed you can store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving.

Video

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare these tortilla roll-ups in advance?

Ideally, you’ll prepare the roll-ups soon before serving. However, if you’re making them for a party and you want to be ready beforehand, they can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance, and stored in the fridge. They can get a little soggy if left for too long.

Can I make these tortilla roll-ups vegan / gluten-free?

Sure – just customise the ingredients to your own needs (e.g. use your favourite vegan cheese, or your favourite gluten-free tortillas).