Publised on 01/10/2022. Last Updated on 02/10/2022 by Richard
My vegan turkey roast is ideal for a vegan thanksgiving, plant based Christmas or even a vegan Sunday roast! Made from seitan and packed with herby stuffing!
Here she is, your vegan turkey roast - the ideal vegan meat for the perfect vegan thanksgiving dinner, vegan Christmas dinner or even a simple Sunday lunch! This vegan turkey roast is succulent, meaty and packed full of flavour (and vegan stuffing of course!) ideal for serving with all your fave veggies.
Every year at Christmas and thanksgiving I search the entire interweb for the perfect vegan centrepiece for a big slap-up dinner, but this year I just decided to make it myself. And look where we ended up!? With this magical roast in the middle of the table. It's even got a crispy, flavoursome skin - what more could you actually want!?
Vegan meat can be a pretty spooky thing to make, but if you follow my instructions, I guarantee you'll be fine. You may have already made my vegan chicken, or my vegan roast beef, so you may well be familiar with the process. Essentially we're making a large seitan roast which we'll stuff with stuffing and cook in delicious broth to make sure it stays flavoursome.
And in terms of sides, you're also gonna wanna whip up some vegan mashed potatoes and some vegan gravy for with this vegan turkey roast. You know - all the trimmings, as we say!
What is seitan?
If you thought vegan meat was a new thing, you're very wrong! Seitan is a plant-based substitute to meat, made from wheat protein, which originated in China in the 6th century. Wheat protein is also known as gluten (so sorry, this recipe is not coeliac friendly) and has a very stretchy gummy texture before it's cooked.
However, once cooked, seitan becomes super meaty and makes a wonderful substitute to anything from chicken to beef AND NOW TURKEY! Seitan itself is doesn't have a huge amount of flavour. This means that we can tweak flavours with herbs and spices to make our seitan taste like pretty much anything.
How do I make this vegan turkey roast?
Hey guess what!? FULL RECIPE for my vegan turkey roast is at the bottom of the page – feel free to skip down there if you're in a rush to be getting on with your vegan roast dinner.
Alternatively, here's a step by step breakdown!
1. Make your vegan turkey roast spice rub
Remember when we said we can make seitan taste like kinda anything?? Well here's where we make it taste like a turkey roast! This turkey rub is the first step! We're going to be rubbing this blend of herbs and spices on the outside of the vegan turkey while it roasts, so we're starting immediately with the big flavours!
We're talking onion powder, paprika, thyme and sage! All the classics from a roast dinner and more!
2. Blend up the seitan
This is where things get meaty! When we add vital wheat gluten to the wet ingredients, we get a very high-protein dough. You now have two options: you can knead the vegan turkey dough by hand OR you can blend it in a blender (my favourite). When you use a blender or a food processor, it slices the dough and helps to align all the protein molecules into long strands. This gives the seitan a stringy gummy texture when raw, but once cooked it becomes VERY meaty.
I use this technique in other vegan meat recipes too, particularly where we're trying to emulate a roasted piece of meat with plant based ingredients.
3. Stuff and roll the seitan
Once the seitan is suitably blended, it's time to stop, stuff n roll! By this I mean remove the seitan dough from the blender, press it into a rectangle and fill with a roll of prepared vegan stuffing. You then need to roll the dough around the stuffing and seal off the edges. Easy peasy!
4. Wrap the vegan turkey roast in rice paper
Our next step in home-made vegan meat is to wrap the seitan in rice paper! These are the rice paper wrappers used in Vietnamese summer rolls. Once dunked in water, they'll begin to soften and will stick to the seitan quite easily. You want to wrap the entire vegan turkey roast as this layer will emulate the skin of the turkey.
It's fine to double up the layers in some places. You'll find that as the seitan cooks, the rice paper will turn to a sticky paste anyway, so don't worry about being too neat with the arrangement.
5. Add the vegan turkey spice rub
Remember the vegan turkey roast spice rub we made like 500 years ago? Well it's HER turn to shine now! Sprinkle and rub the entire mixture all over the vegan turkey roast and have a nice sniff while you do it! Things are gonna start smelling amazing very soon!
6. Double wrap the vegan turkey roast
When you cook seitan, it likes to expand, kind of like bread. Our aim is to not let this happen! When you constrict seitan during the cooking process, it makes your vegan meat much, well, MEATIER! First layer should be greaseproof paper, as this will come into contact with the super sticky rice paper coating. Next wrap again in muslin or cheese cloth and tie up with chef's twine or natural string.
7. Roast the vegan turkey
For a super succulent vegan turkey, we're going to roast it in an enclosed dish, half filled with veggie broth and a bunch of other flavoursome ingredients. Half way through you'll need to rotate the roast so the other half is submerged in the broth too.
Then finally, when the roast is cooked through, you're going to remove all the wrappings, baste the roast with the remaining broth and return it to the oven with no lid to brown and crisp up!
8. Serve and enjoy!
Let me tell ya! This guy's a WHOPPER! It'll serve a good 8-10 people WITH leftovers for turkey sandwiches the next day. So don't be greedy - invite your mates and neighbours round for a big Sunday lunch or thanksgiving dinner. Actually, the occasion doesn't matter because you've got a MASSIVE VEGAN TURKEY ROAST!
And there it is! Looking for more vegan thanksgiving recipes? You can find my full list here or head straight to my favourites, like vegan Yorkshire puddings, vegan cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes or my exciting vegan roast beef!
As always, it helps me MASSIVELY if you can rate and review this recipe below. This blog is here because people like you actually use it and cook these recipes!
Alternatively, take a picture and pop it on instagram! You can follow me here if you don't already, or use the hashtag #schoolnightvegan when you post!
Vegan Turkey Roast - Seitan
Equipment
- 1 High Speed Blender
- muslin or cheesecloth
Ingredients
For the Turkey Rub
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt
- 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon dried thyme
- ½ tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
For the Turkey
- 700 g silken tofu
- 6 tablespoon vegetable oil make sure it's neutral flavoured: sunflower, rapeseed, canola will do
- 2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 2 tablespoon white miso paste
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar alternatively use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 380 g vital wheat gluten
- ½ batch of vegan stuffing see notes below for recipe link
- 4 sheets of rice paper the kind used for summer rolls
For the Roasting Broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 4 sprigs of rosemary
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock boiling hot
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 head of garlic sliced in half
- 1 onion quartered
- 1 carrot peeled and quartered
- 2 stalks of celery quartered
Instructions
To Make the Turkey Rub
- In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the turkey rub and set aside.1 tablespoon flaky sea salt, 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ tablespoon dried thyme, ½ tablespoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried sage, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder
To Make the Turkey
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C.
- Place all the turkey ingredients except for the vital wheat gluten, stuffing and rice paper in a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth. If your mixture isn’t quite smooth, pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any chunks.700 g silken tofu, 6 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, 2 tablespoon white miso paste, 2 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Return the blended mixture to the blender and add the vital wheat gluten. Blend until you have a rough dough then stop the blender and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Blend again for around 2 minutes or until the seitan is stretchy and gummy.380 g vital wheat gluten
- Remove the seitan from the blender and press into a rectangle. Add the stuffing in a line down the centre of the flattened seitan then roll into a cylinder. Set aside.½ batch of vegan stuffing
- Fill a wide bowl with water and dunk a sheet of rice paper a few times until lightly moistened. Lay the rice paper over the rolled seitan. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of rice paper until the seitan is completely covered.4 sheets of rice paper
- Being careful not to remove the rice paper from the seitan, sprinkle the surface with the turkey rub and gently spread across the entire surface with your fingers.
- Cut out a rectangle of baking parchment and a larger rectangle of muslin or cheese cloth. Carefully wrap the seitan in the baking parchment and twist the ends to seal, like a christmas cracker. Next, wrap the seitan again in muslin or cheesecloth like a burrito then tie up around the length and width with chef’s twine or natural string as though it were a regular turkey roast.
- Place the vegan turkey roast in a large dutch oven and add all the roasting broth ingredients. Cover with a lid and place in the oven to roast for 45 minutes.3 bay leaves, 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, 4 sprigs of rosemary, 1.5 litres vegetable stock, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 tablespoon light brown sugar, 1 head of garlic, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 stalks of celery
- Lift the lid and rotate the vegan turkey roast so the opposite side is submerged in the broth. Cover with the lid again and roast for another 45 minutes.
- Remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully remove the vegan turkey roast. Use scissors to snip the twine and unwrap the muslin. Return the vegan turkey roast to whatever broth remains in the dutch oven. Use a brush to baste the top of the seitan and place back in the oven for a further 20 minutes without the lid.
- Serve the vegan turkey roast sliced thinly with your favourite vegetables and gravy.
Notes
Nutrition
WANT MORE VEGAN MEAT!?
Why not try:
Jeroen
My experience with seitan so far has been a bit iffy and I would be a little nervous to have one shot at it. Do you think this could be made ahead of time?
Richard
Hey Jeroen! Yes! That was sort of my idea releasing this recipe so far in advance of the holidays. It freezes great once fully cooked, just don’t forget to leave time for it to defrost overnight!
Suzi
So excited to try this recipe! I am going to make ahead and freeze - what reheating method would you recommend please?
M
This is flavorful and has a great texture. I substituted 1/2 of the tofu with chickpeas and added some nutritional yeast. I also had to add another layer of rice paper before the last, uncovered roast because the first layer came off when I took off the wrapping.
Sara
Yes please, and how to reheat without drying it out? Or maybe save the 20-minute unwrapped crisp-up for post-freezer? Help!
Jason Gonzales
Is 700g of silken tofu a typo? That seems to be too much imo.
Glyn
I am going to make this for my Xmas lunch, with regards making ahead and freezing it. What would you then recommend for reheating. Would make a huge difference making in advance.
Virginia Smith
Did anyone figure out a rehearing method?!
Ksenia Forde
I have made this recipe 3 times now, and every time it has turned out perfectly.
Shari
Hi. I am also requesting information on freezing and reheating temperature and time. I also had the problem with the rice paper and herbs coming off upon removing the parchment paper. Please, please answer these questions for us! I made this about a month ago and it was bare, but very good. I want it to be even better for our daughters thanksgiving! Thank you.
JGL
Had to toss it. Terrible.
GDW
What was terrible about it?
Elizabeth Treznoski
Nailed it!
Emilie
Sumptuous
Michelle
what can replace the wheat gluten? we my husband has to be gluten free or he gets very sick
Emily
There is no replacement for gluten in seitan, it is the main ingredient.
Rachel
The recipe took around 3 hours to make (I am not sure why it says prep time 10 minutes). The stuffing was the highlight. The seitan was tasty but incredibly tough and gummy to eat. Unfortunately the leftovers will not be eaten (I will mince it without the stuffing and try to use it in a chilli). Very disappointing after so much work.
Jaya
Cannot wait to try this out. Rice paper as skin= genius
Corey
Decided to have the holidays early in light of this recipe drop and ho-ly heck… This. Is. So. Good!!! Using the blender (or food processor in my case) is brilliant because the texture can’t be beat. See ya later tofurkey!
Jobie
Just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving. Thank you. I look forward to gobbling this up.
Gina
I'm so happy about this recipe! Tofurky doesn't appeal to me, so, Thanksgiving has always been only about the sides for me. This is the first time I'm excited to try making a main dish!
Debi Tynan
hi Richard
I have been vegan since 2017 due to health reasons and I love to cook fresh most of the time BUT I am struggling to find a cheese I like. I dislike Violfe immensely, I have tried as couple but I waste my money as I am throwing the cheese away, please help me, because I won't eat pizza with vegan cheese and other items of food which cheese enhances the flavour. I am stuck in mud with nowhere to go
Inès
Hi Debi, you should try the brand Follow your heart! I dislike Violife too, and I'm always very happy with that one.
mary
looks great
Nicole
I made this for Thanksgiving dinner and it was so good! My first time making DIY vegan "meat" but it wasn't too tricky. My non-vegan family members all tried it and they said it was very good too!
Mandy
I absolutely LOVED that I could make my vegan family something that tasted great and had all the nostalgia of a traditional turkey (gross) roast! This recipe was easier to cook than a meat turkey, and no fear of giving everyone salmonella….so that’s a win win in my books!
Heather
You are the best thing ever!
Gerard
Thanks Richard
I came so close on this one, the rice paper just never worked out for me (didn't brown or go crisp like, but the rest was really good and tasty. I'm not usually a big seitan fan, maybe as it usually has chickpea flour also in it and it overpowers, but this absorbed more of the flavourings.
I know where I went wrong on a few bits and I'll put them right and this will be a regular staple of ours. Just like you're vegan scouse is ☺️
Amy
I can't wait to try this recipe, it looks sooo good! I'm curious, if I make it a day or two prior and refrigerate, what settings and for how long would you reheate it at so it doesn't get dry? Or would you unwrap and cook/crisp it up for the last 20 minutes the day of? Thank you!
Felicitas
What size of dutch oven/ oven dish you’re using for this roast?
Matt
Hello - my wife and daughter have a soy allergy is there any alternative to the Tofu and miso that I could use to make this?
Jennifer
Probably no replacements for this recipe, but I’m sure there are other things you can make. I did a nut roast one year. So much work, but very tasty. It did need gravy though. Very dry. Or maybe I just overlooked?
awwfalafewaffle
Not a fan of seitan but maybe this denser version of it will hit different. The photos are super nice!
Noelle
This was very good. I looked at a lot of the other comments and had the same question— when/how/can I resume cooking/reheat??
This is what I did —
I made the roast and stuffing a day before, I rolled it and roasted it 45 min/side. Then I put in the fridge. The next day, I went to heat uncovered (the recipe says 20 min). Obviously, this should be when it is already hot, so I kept it in longer — much longer. I used a thermometer to check the internal temp, I cooked for about an hour. I’m not sure if upping the temp would reduce the cooking time and for how long, but it did turn out very good. The flavor was very good.
Damaris Mrozek
I made my own vegan stuffing with impossible sausage, apples, cranberries, celery, carrots, garlic, walnuts, and fresh thyme. It was INCREDIBLE!
Rebecca
Erm HELLO. This is fantastic. I’m practicing now for Christmas!
Kyla
Made this but when I unpeeled it after baking 45 min 2x the rice paper that was rubbed was completely stuck to the parchment layer and so now my Turkey looks “naked” any ideas on why that happened and how I could recreate that skin? Maybe I could add a layer of rice paper before baking on thanksgiving? Planning to freeze these for a few days until then!
Katie
I had the same problem, but I was curious to know why it happened. Have you or has anyone had the same experience?
I am an American living in the UK now and I want to make this next week for my friends for Thanksgiving.
Sam Lawrence
I made this for thanksgiving and my mother who is a Serious Cook™️ loved this recipe.
Eagle Lucy
Hi any answer on the reheating after defrosting questions. I was going to freeze after first stage of cooking. Removing grease proof paper and muslin. The. Defrost and do the final 20 mins crisping/warming through. Has anyone done that. Cheers. Lucy.
SARAH BEECH
Can substitute soy for anything?
Lola
I cannot believe how well this turned out. My mum actually thought it was turkey haha! Delicious in taste, might add leek and cranberries in the stuffing next time to add another texture. Thank you you are amazing and every recipe I’ve tried from you has been unbelievable ! Merry Xmas 🙂
Cathy
First time on this site, looked in Pinterest for vegan turkeys and this one looks beautiful. Am wanting to try before Thanksgiving this year and am wondering why so many questions about how to reheat have gone unanswered?
Michelle
This roast is amazing!! I love Tofurkey, but this was better. It will definitely be a holiday staple.
I made it the day before and then reheated the roast in the broth in my slow cooker. Lost the crispy texture, but it was soooo good!
Dan
I made this for Xmas day. It was a very awesome change up from a nut roast. I did a test run before Xmas day for a lot of meat eaters, it went down well.
Justine
Hi Richard. Found you online. It took me a lot longer than was stated but the recipe was so delicious. I’ve missed a family turkey dinner,
Amy
This looks amazing! If I sub the tofu with chickpeas, will that work okay?
Priscilla
I am planning to fly to New York before Thanksgiving with the dish still frozen and reheat it at my parents' home. I have some questions - at what stage should I freeze the roast? And how can you reheat the turkey roast (once thawed) after being frozen? What's the best method? Thanks!
Keith
If I wanted to half this recipe, how would it change the roasting time? Assuming I would not need to do 45 minutes on each side?
Hugo
I'll be making this for Thanksgiving this year, but I don't want to stuff it, how will that change the roasting time? I'm thinking because it will more dense it will take a bit longer to cook through.
Gerald
Good recipe, everything tastes great. Other than my blender which started smoking while blending the seitan everything went smoothly. 🙂
Rameca
Can this be done inside an instapot
Kaye
I gotta say I was nervous to make this because I have never made my own seitan before and it’s such a time investment. But I should have known I could trust you. This turned out AMAZING! It’s so tender and juicy it blew me away. And using rice paper as a skin around the whole thing?? You were so insane for this and I love it.
I have SO MUCH leftover and I dare say that after sitting in the fridge overnight, it’s even better.
PS I added MSG to both the dough and the rub… don’t tell anybody 🤫
JR
Delicious. Lots of steps but reliable outcome when followed. A lot of folks asked about reheating. I made a day ahead and refrigerated the loaf and extra broth separately. The next day I put both back into the covered dutch oven and reheated for 40 minutes at 350 F.
Adriene
Tried this recipe for the first time while having guests over for Thanksgiving dinner. Thought it was a bit risky, having not tested it out in advance. Well, this recipe was delicious! and worked very well for a nice roast-y main dish. I didn't have any trouble getting the parchment off, as others reported, but I could see where it might happen on occasion... I wonder if spraying the parchment *very* lightly with some olive oil spray would ensure a good release without taking too many of the spices on the rice paper "skin" -- which I agree is genius!
Christina
🐖🐄🐔Just want to THANK so many people for NOT eating animals!
Vegans & Vegetarians that do so for the ANIMAL'S SAKE are truly the MOST special people on this earth!!
This recipe did prove to be time consuming (reading comments ahead of time does help to avoid some mistakes), but the outcome is worth the time spent!
Also, thank you to the (I believe "3" people) who finally offered some suggestions for reheating!!
Don't forget: Animal Lives Matter!!!
(They are infact the TRUE INNOCENTS on this earth!!!)
Linda Jameson
This was amazing - loved it so much and can hardly wait to have it again at Christmas!!!!
Helen
first time at attempting a vegetarian roast. Hopefully it will be successful. I am only doing half quantity so do you still cook for same time. Any tips for taking paper off without taking off rice paper as well? Also best method for reheating after freezing?
Katie
I was so excited to try this since we already weekly rotate through your seitan recipes from your cookbook.So incredibly good! We loved it! My husband raved about the leftovers in a Thanksgiving sandwich for work.😁 Thank you so much for sharing it!
Holly
I’d love to know if this could just be placed directly in the stock and cooked very gently. I’ve done this with other Seitian before I just don’t have a cloth available for wrapping and don’t really feel like I should use foil?
Amanda Mason
I’ve got this cooking in the oven right now! It’s just done the first 45 mins, now onto the second half! Once cooked and cooled, I shall be freezing it and will take it out on Xmas Eve!! It smells so yummy, so excited to try it!
May
Hi, trying to organise as have work. Can I make this roast a. Couple of days before and keep in fridge? Will it heat up whole or sliced is better? Can you help please. Thanks
Agata
The rice paper with spice rub melted in to muslin 🫠
Rachel
The recipe took around 3 hours to make (I am not sure why it says prep time 10 minutes). The stuffing was the highlight. The seitan was tasty but incredibly tough and gummy to eat. Unfortunately the leftovers will not be eaten (I will mince it without the stuffing and try to use it in a chilli). Very disappointing after so much work.
Joe
If the seitan was tough you over kneaded it. Usually seitan recipes have warnings about this. Don’t give up! It takes a while to strike the right balance.
C-Bones
Help! I made this on Christmas (prepped it the day before) and it turned out terribly 🙁 It came out of the oven and went into the compost... well, I did let it cool down to see if the texture improved, then into the compost bin it went. Such a waste of ingredients, but I wanted to try instead of buying a vegan roast this year. I thought I followed this recipe to a T, but my roast turned out all jiggly, it had the texture of a sponge. I wrapped it well with rice paper, grease-proof paper, and cheesecloth so I don't think the broth made it soggy. Maybe I should have used firm tofu? Or did I not knead the dough long enough? I thought my dough texture was 'stringy', but I was little bit unclear on the time and texture instructions so perhaps it wasn't mixed enough. Or too much? Maybe I just need more practice with seitan. Anyways, the texture was unappealing. Please tell me what went wrong that would make the roast so gelatinous. Thank you.
ps- I didn't rate the recipe because maybe I did something wrong. The other comments are mostly all so positive! Although I did share this recipe with my friend who also made it on Christmas. They did the food processor and then kneaded by hand, they said that their roast turned out 'ok', but did not have a particularly palatable texture either. And we are people who are used to vegan roasts and meat substitutes. So perhaps this recipe is not for seitan beginners? Both us of felt like we did something wrong, it did not turn out well on either account (mine worse than theirs).
Katie
Made this for Christmas Eve Dinner, it's incredibly good. We've been enjoying the leftovers in sandwiches, SO GOOD! It took me a lot longer than 10 minutes to prep, but that's really the only part of this recipe that isn't spot on. Thank you for this amazing recipe and for the super clear instructions too.
Anne
This was a real success with my son and I. Please can you confirm if this freezes well. Thank you
Marc Belletete
When you read a recipe and you know in advance that it's impossible for it to turn out like that. So much time and money wasted on making this recipe. I've tried over 100 vegan recipes online and this is the first time the result is just terrible. There are three ways to cook seitan and none of them are used here. It's the first time I've seen someone make their seitan in a blender. Don't bother trying this recipe unless you want to waste your money and time. When they say you can find anything on the web, this recipe is a perfect example of garbage