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Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce

An easy recipe for a mushroom nut loaf and a simple tomato sauce to serve with it. Baked in a loaf tin, this vegetarian roast is wonderful sliced and served with roast potatoes, vegetables and tomato sauce for Sunday dinner, Thanksgiving or for Christmas dinner. 

Mushroom Nut Loaf in a loaf tin

What is a nut loaf?


Nut loaf is a vegetarian roast baked in a loaf tin and served in slices.

The base of a nut loaf is as you might imagine a mixture of nuts and sometimes grains too, baked into a loaf. Cheese is usually added, but a vegan nut loaf can be made without cheese or with vegan cheese.

Vegetables and herbs can also be added for extra flavour.

Nut loaf or nut roast as it is also known is usually baked in a loaf tin, but can also be baked in a casserole dish in the oven.

Once baked it should be crisp on the outside, have a good substance with a bit of crunch and it should have lots of flavour and smell wonderful when you cut into it.


How do you serve nut loaf?


A nut loaf is usually served like a roast with roast or mashed potatoes and a selection of vegetables.

As nut roast, while flavourful can be quite a dry mixture it is usually served with a sauce or gravy.


Mushroom Dauphinoise Potatoes are perfect as a side with this nut roast.


Gravy or sauce?


Nut roast is even more special when served with a sauce or gravy. 

There is no correct answer to this one.

You could serve nut loaf with a creamy whisky sauce like the one I serve my vegan haggis and red lentil loaf, or you could serve it with a rich onion gravy, a creamy mushroom sauce or a simple homemade tomato sauce, which compliments the flavour of this nut roast to perfection.



bowl of homemade tomato sauce



Homemade tomato sauce


I gave you a few ideas for sauce or gravy that could be served with this nut loaf, but I would highly recommend serving it with this delicious tomato sauce.

It's a simple sauce of tomatoes and basil with some basil for flavour and a little sugar to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes and remove any bitter edge.

You could also add some fresh or dried chilli to this sauce, if you want something with a bit of a kick.

This sauce is also delicious served on freshly cooked pasta.


pin it for later

Christmas Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce makes a tasty vegetarian or vegan Christmas main course. It would also be good for Thanksgiving. #Christmasnutloaf #nutloaf #nutroast #Christmasmaincourse #vegetarianChristmas #veganChristmas #easyChristmasrecipes #nutroast #mushrooms #nuts



Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce


Nut roast or nut loaf is something we avoided for years as vegetarians as it was such a cliche, but I have to say we really enjoyed this nut loaf. It was really tasty and so easy to make. 

It was a bit of an experiment after looking at a whole host of other recipes, but it worked first time and we loved it.

I will definitely be making it again.

We served it with the fresh tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli, but I will leave you to decide what you will serve it with.

It would make a great Christmas main course, if you are not sure what to make. I would serve it with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, vegetables and onion gravy for a festive meal.


nut loaf, mushroom nut loaf, vegetarian nut loaf, vegan nut loaf, nut roast, vegetarian nut roast, mushroom nut roast, vegan nut roast, Christmas nut loaf, Christmas nut roast, vegetarian Christmas, vegan Christmas
dinner
British, vegetarian, vegan
Yield: 12 slices
Author:

Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce

Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce

An easy recipe for a mushroom nut loaf and a simple tomato sauce to serve with it. Baked in a loaf tin, this vegetarian roast is wonderful sliced and served with roast potatoes, vegetables and the tomato sauce for Sunday dinner, Thanksgiving or for Christmas dinner.
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 45 Mtotal time: 55 M

ingredients:

Nut Load
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 300g mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 200g cashew nuts
  • 200g brazil nuts
  • 100g grated cheddar cheese (or vegan cheddar)
  • 100g freshly grated parmesan (vegetarian or vegan)
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten (or a flax egg - see notes)
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 115g whole-wheat breadcrumbs
  • salt & freshly ground pepper
Tomato Sauce
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 2 tsp dried basil or 1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
  • salt & freshly ground pepper

instructions:

How to cook Mushroom Nut Loaf with Tomato Sauce

Mushroom Nut Loaf
  1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/350f/gas mark 4.
  2. Grease and line a loaf tin. I like to use liners.
  3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms until soft.
  4. Whizz the nuts in a food processor until fine, but with a few chunks of nuts left. You don't want it too smooth.
  5. Combine the cooled mushroom mixture, chopped nuts, cheddar, parmesan, egg, parsley and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Mix well and season to taste.
  6. Press into the loaf tin and bake for 45 - 50 mins. It should be firm when baked.
  7. Leave in the tin for 5 or 10 minutes then turn out and slice.
  8. Serve with fresh tomato sauce (recipe below).
Tomato Sauce
  1. While the loaf is baking, make the tomato sauce.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic, cook until soft, but not brown.
  3. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar and 1/4 cup water.  Simmer gently for 20 mins until thickened.
  4. Add the fresh basil and season with salt and pepper. If you are using dried basil add it at the same time as the tomatoes.
  5. Serve poured over slices of nut loaf.
  6. Enjoy!

NOTES:

Flax Eggs - for a dairy free or vegan nut loaf use a flax egg to bind instead of a regular egg.

Whizz or grind flax seeds (also known as linseeds) to a powder. Mix 1 tablespoon of flax seed powder with 3 tbsp of water in a small bowl. Pop it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes until it has thickened. Add instead of egg.

Cooking Time - ovens can vary, so do give this longer if you think it needs it.

Cutting Nut Loaf - a sharp bread knife is the best knife for cutting nut loaf. Don't worry if your slices break as you are pouring tomato sauce over it, so no one will notice.

Freezing Nut Loaf - yes bake it first and slice it. Freeze the slices in a freezer bag and reheat in a pre-heated oven, covered with foil. Slices with take less time to heat through than a whole loaf.

Calories - are per slice with tomato sauce.
Calories
324.19
Fat (grams)
21.27
Sat. Fat (grams)
7.61
Carbs (grams)
24.30
Fiber (grams)
4.81
Net carbs
19.49
Sugar (grams)
5.19
Protein (grams)
13.22
Sodium (milligrams)
369.35
Cholesterol (grams)
30.92
Created using The Recipes Generator

30 comments

  1. Ooh, tasty. You won't have to worry with rushing your cookbook back to the library, just use the Magical Loaf Generator. It's for vegan nut loaves, but just add an egg where it has the word "binder" and add a cup of cheese for where it calls for "protein" and the rest of it will basically work out correctly for a loaf. I've heard of loaves that use oat groats in them soaked in cider, too. YUM.

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  2. Happy V-Day to you and Graeme :D My mom used to make nut loaves for my dad, or, more precisely nut cakes. We ate them as well and they were pretty good :D

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  3. I've never heard of a nut roast before, but it seems interesting and all of those textures and flavors seem well suited to each other. Looks tasty!

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  4. Hmmm, Nut Roast is a senisitive topic for us men but I'd try this out, seems filling and healthy with all those nuts.

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  5. Cool idea Tadmack!

    Hi Val! Thsnks, we have had a great evening, unfortunately it draws to a close as we both have work tomorrow!

    Hi Mike, the flavours were what got my attention. I am a sucker for mushrooms!

    Thanks David!

    Hey Pete, as usual, I am left quite speechless!

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  6. Lovely looking nutroast - although I have never met a nutroast I didn't love! I think you are right that mushrooms are great in a nutroast. RE slicing it, sometimes I find that nutloaves can be very crumbly and hard to cut but still taste great - depends on how chunky the mixture is (which varies from recipe to recipe). You nutroast looks fantastic!

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  7. Thanks for that, Johanna, I was a tad concerned!

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  8. That mushroom nut roast sounds really good!

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  9. i've never heard of a nut roast, but it looks yummy! hope your first v-day as a wife went well!

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  10. I'm saving this vegetarian delight right now, love it!

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  11. As a vegetarian, I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've never eaten a nut roast, but this looks so good, I might just have to try it.

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  12. First time for me, too, Holler, but I can tell it is delicious!

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  13. Happy first married Valentine's Day :o)

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  14. I've never tried anything like this, but it certainly sounds tasty. And you know how much I love mushrooms too!

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  15. Hmm... I've never had nut roast, but it sounds and looks delicious!

    Hope you had a happy V-day! :)

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  16. I made a lentil-y kinda nut roast thing once. It went badly - but more because I think I got the measurements wrong...

    But this looks and sounds rather tasty, so maybe it's time to give it another shot!

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  17. Thanks Kevin!

    It did go well Mary, we had a lovely evening! Did you do anything special?

    Well, Nicisme, remember that it is crumbly and don't be alarmed!

    Hi Lynn, I hadn't either, so you are in good company!

    It was good Patricia, it needed that contrst in flavour and texture with the sauce though.

    Thank you Chocolate covered vegan!

    Hi Lisa, Mushroom lovers unite!

    Thanks Jenny!

    I enjoyed it for a change Jen, but I don't think it will be a weekly staple! I will probably just have a notion for it, now and again!

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  18. Oh my that looks good! I've never heard of a nut roast and now I want to try it.

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  19. Hi Holler,

    Your Nut Roast is similar to my Nut Balls which you commented on. Once you get the basic recipe it's just a matter of adjusting the flavoring to your liking and playing with the presentation: balls, squares, loafs, burgers, etc... Tadmack's suggestion of the Magical Loaf Studio is a lot of fun to experiment with.

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  20. Hey Holler. I have nominated you for another award my dear. Check it out when you have the chance!!

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  21. Hi Ashley, It is worth giving it a go, but make sure you have a sauce with it.

    Hi Lisarene, I am going to go back and have another look at your nut balls. Boy, that sounded quite rude! Well you you what I meant anyway!

    Hi Val, Aww thanks! You are always thinking of me! What a good chum!

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  22. After a week away eating and drinking with the family and friends, good to come back to something that really looks delicious!

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  23. Hi Deb, welcome back! I can't wait to hear all your news! Bet you had a great time with you brother and friends!

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  24. Mmmm, mushrooms and nuts! Perfect combination....

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  25. My level of excitement about this post is practically unholy. I love hearty dishes like this, and I am a huge fan of both nuts and mushrooms. Plus the lack of hard-to-find ingredients is a plus.

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  26. This is great, thank you! I've made it twice now. The first time the Parmesan was too much for me, it made it taste bitter for some reason, so the second time I only used a tablespoon, and added more mature cheddar instead. I used oil instead of butter to grease the tin the second time and it stuck and crumbled everywhere :( third time lucky!

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    Replies
    1. It's all a learning curve isn't it? I am glad you are still trying though. I haven't made this in such a long time. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

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  27. Would this be ok to make the day before and leave at room temp overnight before serving on Christmas Day?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry just spotted this. With the ingredients used it should not be a problem.I'd keep it in the fridge though.

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