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Vegan Mushroom and Chestnut Stuffed Seitan Roast with Gravy is perfect for the holidays.
Be prepared for the longest recipe ever! Sorry, but this seitan roast today is not going to be one of those 30-minute meals, however this awesome, hearty seitan roast is definitely worth the time. This dish is so festive and full of amazing flavours and textures, just what you need for a Christmas dinner to amaze your vegan and not-yet-vegan friends and family.
I’m one of those lame vegans who is perfectly happy if there are enough side dishes on a holiday table, in fact side dishes and salads are my favourite foods. However I understand that most people prefer a real centrepiece, something hearty, meaty….and let’s just say – not lettuce.
This year we have invited my boyfriend’s family for Christmas Eve, which means we have to forget about our little light salads and serve something fancy and appropriate for them. I truly believe seitan roasts are the best way to convince non-vegans how delicious and satiating cruelty-free food can be. And this mushroom and chestnut stuffed seitan roast is for sure one that everybody would love.
The filling is a tasty mixture of shiitake mushrooms, prunes, chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, red wine and a good amount of fresh and dry herbs, then it’s stuffed in protein-rich, extra meaty spiced seitan. The roast tastes wonderful with this simple, silky vegan gravy, and here it comes….my favourite part: it tastes amazing with every kind of side dish! Woohoo!
A few things to remember when you work with seitan:
- I personally prefer a less meat-like and more doughy finish, but if you want your seitan to be a lot like real meat, omit the beans, tomato paste, mustard, etc., and simply mix the vital wheat gluten with broth and spices.
- Sometimes seitan roasts can get a bit too dry, so feel free to spoon broth over the roast before serving.
- I like to keep my roast oil-free, but you could add 1-2 tablespoons of oil to the seitan dough to make it softer.
- This recipe serves 4 very hungry people on Christmas Eve, but normally it should be enough for 6-8 person.
- Cheat version: If you are afraid of homemade seitan or simply want a quicker holiday roast, wrap your filling in puff pastry instead of seitan. You can also decorate the puff pastry to make it even prettier.
- Cheat version II: Still puff pastry, but first lay a few very thin slices of homemade or store bought seitan on your puff pastry, then add your filling and close the roast. This is a super satisfying and delicious version without all the effort with the seitan.
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎
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Mushroom and Chestnut Stuffed Seitan Roast with Gravy
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 4-8 1x
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup of walnuts
- 1/3 cup of hazelnuts
- 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds
- 1,5 cup of cooked chestnuts
- 2 cups of mushroom (I used shiitake)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp barbecue sauce
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup of red wine
- 1 cup of chopped prunes
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp fenugreek
- 3–4 fresh sage leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary
- 1 cup of fresh parsley
- pinch of cinnamon
- 1–2 tbsp vegan butter (optional)
- salt, pepper
For the seitan
- 1,5 cup of vital wheat gluten (250 g/8.8 oz)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp za’atar
- 1 tbsp dried marjoram
- 1/2 can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup of vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- dash of hot sauce
- salt, pepper
For the gravy
- 1,5 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp flour of your choice (I used oat flour)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 cup of plant milk of your choice (I used oat milk)
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- salt, pepper
Instructions
Filling
- Add onion and garlic to a large pan and sauté over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. You can sauté them on vegan butter or a few tablespoons of water.
- Meanwhile add walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, chestnuts, mushrooms, fresh and dried herbs, and spices to a food processor, and pulse until it has a coarse texture. You want everything to be finely chopped and well combined, but not puréed.
- Once onions are translucent, add nut mixture, tomato paste, barbecue sauce, vinegar and red wine, and cook for 10 more minutes, until all liquid absorbs. Add chopped prunes, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Seitan Roast
- Combine vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powder, curry, za’atar, marjoram, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Add rest of the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Add mixture to dry ingredients and mix with a spoon. Then knead for about 2 minutes, until everything is well incorporated and seitan is elastic.
Assembly
- Roll out seitan to a 20×30 cm/8×12 inch rectangle. Try to make seitan as thin as possible. I like to use a rolling pin but you can also flatten the dough with your hands.
- Place the filling in the middle of the rectangle, leaving about 5 cm/2 inches of space at each side. Make sure it is not too full or otherwise you can’t close the roast.
- Very carefully roll the seitan over the filling until you have a log. Press down and pinch together the edges to seal.
- Wrap a foil around the roast. At this point you can shape your roast a little bit, but make sure it’s very tight.
- Place the roast in a baking dish or on a baking tray and bake at 200°C/400ºF for about 80 minutes, rotating it every 15 minutes.
- Unwrap the foil and let it bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Gravy
- Sauté onion and garlic on vegan butter for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add flour and soy sauce to form a smooth paste, then slowly whisk in the milk.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickens. Add nutritional yeast, and season with salt and pepper.
Serve
- Let the roast cool for 10 minutes, then slice with a sharp knife. Spoon more broth over the slices if they would be too dry. Serve with gravy on the side. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Main
I’ve never had a seitan (I also believe this might be the first recipe I’ve seen), but this dish looks and sounds scrumptious, festive, and stunning, Evi! The stuffing is just the hit. How did you manage to put all my favorite things? Nuts, seeds, prunes, mushrooms, chestnuts, and herbs? That’s just the perfect combination!
Hahaha, thank you so much, Ben! I actually used to hate seitan for such a long time (it was too ‘real’ for me), but nowadays I started to enjoy it. It definitely helps when you make them yourself 😀
that’s a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG list of ingredients…but it looks totally worth all the efforts.
I know, I know! I would never even look at a recipe normally with so many ingredients 😀
This looks great, Evi! I know your boyfriend’s family will love it 🙂
Thank you so much, Sarah 🙂
This is the first seitan recipe I’ve seen that doesn’t require boiling it in broth before doing anything else with it! Awesome!
Thanks, Rachael! I really love baked seitan, it’s a bit drier than the cooked ones, but I actually prefer the texture like this 🙂
That looks amazing. I never cooked seitan before, but I would love to try and I will save your recipe for later. xx
Thanks, Anca 🙂
I wouldn’t miss meat at all if I had this. It looks really impressive and delicious!!!
Hihihi, thanks, Adina!!
I can see how much effort you have put in there to make this recipe. Simply awesome Evi…. 🙂
Thanks, Puja 🙂
I make seitan weekly by baking in a covered pot, with veg broth. So I’ll be trying this recipe with that baking method tho limiting the broth a bit and maybe basting with walnut/olive oil a few times.
Hi Liese,
then you must be a seitan expert, I actually rarely make seitan 😉
The olive or walnut oil sounds like a very great idea, I’ll try it next time that way too.
Let me know how you liked the recipe. Happy Holidays! 🙂
Best seitan I’ve made and I’ve tried a few recipes. Thank you so much 🙂
Wow, what a compliment, I’m so happy you liked it, Kira! <3
Love this! Thanks for posting. I will make this for Thanksgiving. I would be my first time making this. Could you clarify for me one little thing? If I want it a meaty texture, what exactly should I omit from the recipe? Thank you so much. Will definitely post pics when I make this.
Hi Dawn, so exciting you are planning to make this for Thanksgiving!
I haven’t had any meat for almost 20 years, so I can only tell you what my BF said, whose memories of a meaty texture is a bit more vivid than mine. He says that seitan tastes a lot more meatier, if we omit the beans and tomato paste, and only use the liquids and spices. You might need to adjust the consistency that way to get the perfect texture. 😉
Also, he says that he finds that you can reach the meatiest texture if you first just mix together the ingredients, then wait 15 minutes, and then start to knead the seitan.
I really hope it will turn out great for you, can’t wait to see your roast 🙂
Thank you sooo much for answering me!!!
Will let you know how it goes over!!!!
Can’t wait to see what you make 🙂
I did it and it was wonderful everyone, vegan and non-vegan, loved it. Worth the effort! Happy Thanksgiving, and thanks again for posting.
I’m so glad to hear that, thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi, Lose the look of this recipe. But what are the red small berry like ingredients in the picture. I can’t see them on the ingredient list?
Hi Annie,
those are rose peppers. They give a lovely little crunch, plus look so pretty, I love to use them for festive dishes 🙂
If I were planning on wrapping the seitan in the puff pastry what would you recommend for cooking time?
Hi Sarah, I made that version last year for Christmas, it was really nice. I baked the seitan first without the puff pastry for about an hour at 200°C/400ºF (cooking also works), then another 20-30 minutes with the puff pastry. It’s done when it’s nice and golden brown, you’ll see it. 🙂
Let me know if you try the recipe and how you liked it!
Hi,
Thanks for the great recipe, made this today for our Christmas dinner tomorrow…. Mmmm had a pre dinner taste and it tastes fantastic
Hi Linda,
I’m so glad to hear you liked the recipe! 🙂
Happy holidays ❤️
I made this today for Thanksgiving, and we loved it. I made it with puffed pastry to save on time. I cooked it wrapped for the same amount of time as the recipe indicated, but less time unwrapped since it was already golden brown and I didn’t want it to get too dark. I’ll be trying more of your recipes!
I posted a comment earlier tonight about trying this recipe and I have some questions. Where do you find cooked chestnuts or how do you cook them? I bought uncooked ones and after looking up how to cook them, boiled them in water, cut them in quarters and then cut off the skins on them. It took a long time and I had to keep the chestnuts in hot water in order to have an easier time cutting off the skins. Is there a simpler way to do this? I also thought it was too sweet with the amount of prunes in the recipe and think I will cut the amount in half. If I do that next time, should I increase another ingredient?
Hi Lorna,
I’m so glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
I live in Germany, and here they sell cooked chestnuts in almost every store. I actually never cooked chestnuts myself before, I either buy them this way, or roast them for a snack. However according to this article, you could microwave them or simply boil them. They say to cut them in half or cut an X into one side, that way they’ll be easier to peel later.
If you find the filling too sweet, cutting the amount of prunes in half is a good idea, or you could also totally omit them. Since prunes don’t have a special purpose in this recipe (such as holding things together), I think you could add a bit more of anything there for volume. More sunflower seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, mushrooms, or chestnuts, whatever you like. You could also add some cooked beans or lentils for extra texture, if you like.
Hello Evi, I tried this recipe tonight as a test run before serving it at Christmas and the seitan came out very dry, almost rubbery. I must admit that due to a planning error, I made the seitan about 4h before actually using it and stored it in the fridge in between. I also rolled it very thin (0.5cm give or take). Don’t know if the combination of those 2 things caused it? I assume that normally the seitan is supposed to be firm but still moist? It’s the first time that I make seitan so a bit unsure… The filling is delicious though!
Hi Aäron!
I’m not sure about if preparing the seitan a few hours earlier makes any difference or not, but if you make it very thin it can definitely become too dry. I know I mentioned in the recipe to roll out as thin as possible, but to be honest I never manage to do it thiner than 1 cm, so that could be definitely the problem here. Maybe you have to adjust the baking time next time if you make a very thin seitan, so it won’t dry out too much. Also make sure to spoon a good amount of vegetable broth over the baked roast, it usually helps with even the driest seitan.
You can also add a few tablespoons of tahini or vegetable oil to the seitan mix, those things always help with the texture. 🙂
Let me know if it worked better the second time 🙂
Hi Evi, thanks for the tips! I might have gone a bit overboard with rolling out the seitan! Will definitely add some tahini to give it a bit smoother texture and flavour!
The second time will be 2 days from now on Christmas eve, and will wrap it in puff pastry, so wish me luck 😁
Alright, Christmas came and went and the roast was a success!
Forgot the tahini, but rolled the seitan straight after making it and kept it a bit thicker. After 80 in aluminium foil I wrapped it in puff pastry and it came out great! Everyone was enthusiastic and second helpings were requested! 😁
Oh yeah, the chocolate salami has met raving success as well!
Hey Aäron!
I am so happy to hear it turned out all well at the end 🙂
And so cool you liked the chocolate salami too!
Hope you enjoy the rest of the holidays!
Hey Evi, I’m trying this for Christmas. The prunes make it too sweet for my liking, but sadly I’ve thrown all in at once. Any idea how to even that out? I’ve thrown in more chestnuts and mushrooms. And Parsley. Still seems too much.
Next time I’ll be more careful. Every other ingredient works nicely.
Hey Anja!
So sorry for the late reply, I didn’t check my comments during the holidays at all. Did anything helped at the end?
Usually if something is too sweet I add some acid (such as vinegar or lemon juice), and/or something fatty (like soy yogurt, tahini, cashew butter, etc), plus more spices, things like chili, smoked paprika helps the best. Or as you mentioned try to add more of the savory ingredients…
I will be attempting this for Christmas. Is this something I can mage the day before? If so, where in the recipe do I stop and pick up again the day of serving?
Hi Cynthia,
I’ve never tried, but I would say you could completely assemble the roast a day earlier, and keep it wrapped in foil in the fridge. Then just bake it on the day of serving.
Let me know how you liked it. Have a nice Christmas 🙂