On Christmas day many years ago, we all wanted some kind of gluten-free vegan ‘nut roast’ type thing to enjoy with vegetables, roast potatoes and gravy. It seemed like a good idea to make a Seed Roast Loaf since the ingredients were less expensive. I rose to the challenge, feeling inspired to use sunflower seeds, rather than nuts.
We were thrilled with the appetising result and the Seed Roast Loaf has been a firm favourite ever since.
This vegan seed loaf roast…
- Super simple with easy ingredients
- Is a perfect alternative to vegan nut roast
- Keeps in the fridge for up to a week
- Freezes, making it ideal for batch baking or for people who live alone
- Tastes delicious
- Super budget friendly
- Gluten-free & vegan
This seed roast is not just for the festive season, but excellent all year long! In fact, it is now one of the most popular recipes on my blog. People tell me that it is their favourite for family get-togethers, Xmas dinners, lunches and for lunch boxes.
You will find that it is surprisingly light and easy to digest. For dinner, it serves perfectly with the Tamari & Onion Gravy recipe and roast veggies.
And as an added bonus – it freezes really well.
Seed roast loaf is a reader’s favourite
I am bowled over by the amazing feedback from both friends and readers over the last few years.
It seems to have become a favourite for lots of people. People make it for special occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving, as well as regular meals throughout the year.
As well as making it a centre-piece of a super healthy meal, it also is great served cold, the next day. For lunch, you can enjoy it with salad and a dip.
I originally published this seed roast loaf recipe in my first cookbook. All of my recipes are totally plant-based, wheat-free, gluten-free and refined-sugar-free. My books are full of tasty dishes, healthy breakfasts, hearty salads, dips, pates & dressings, nutritious main meals, nourishing soups, tasty side dishes, and delicious desserts.
You can find my books here: Anastasia’s Books
Enjoy!
I created a recipe tuition video so we can go through it step by step, to make sure you come out with a perfect loaf! I made it a good few years ago (and have since changed my name) but the recipe still works exactly the same way.
This Seed Roast Loaf partners perfectly with my easy Vegan Gravy here:
'Seed & Carrot Roast Loaf' - super healthy, gluten-free, vegan
Ingredients
- Carrots 3 large sized (or 400g approx)
- 150g ground sunflower seeds (1 cup)
- 150g ground pumpkin seeds (1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 heaped tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 heaped tablespoon fresh parsley (or 1 heaped teaspoon dried)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Chop the (unpeeled, but scrubbed) carrots into small pieces. Boil or steam until soft. Drain and then mash.
- Grind seeds in a nut mill to make seed meal.
- Crush garlic and finely chop rosemary and parsley.
- Mix seed meal, carrots and all other ingredients together.
- Firmly press mixture into a loaf tin (lined with parchment paper). A 1kg loaf tin works well (approx 20x10x6cm). Make sure that you press really firmly to encourage the binding process – if you are too timid, it tends to fall apart. If you get it just right, then it magically forms into a perfectly sliceable loaf.
- Bake in a preheated oven at gas mark 6 (200˚C/400˚F) for approximately 45 minutes.
- Gently lift from the loaf tin by pulling out the loaf along with the parchment paper. Turn over onto a bread board and slice with a bread knife.
- Big bonus - it freezes really well (just slice up before you freeze and either grill or bake when you take back out again after defrosting). Yay!
Notes
Grinding the seeds works best with a seed/nut/coffee grinder, although you can use a blender to roughly chop the seeds instead. If you roughly chop the seeds, then add a heaped tablespoon of spelt flour to the mixture to encourage the binding process. The other alternative is to use a pestle and mortar.
If you have neither a grinder nor a blender, you can substitute the ground seeds for pre-ground nuts or seeds.
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i prepared this loaf and was absolutely delicious.
thanks for showing me into vegan cooking.
love,
Zsófi
Thanks for sharing that Zsófi. It’s a joy for me to share – you are very welcome.
x
This loaf is definitely a winner, my family loved it.A bonus as well as tasting delicious, t avoids all of their intolerances. Definately on our Christmas must do list for this year. Has anyone tried freezing the loaf before cooking? I’d like to make it in advance, possibly add cranberries?
Hi Joan – I am delighted to hear that you and your family love these.
The addition of cranberries sounds like an excellent xmasy thing to do 🙂 Creative and festive!
I freeze this often. Usually by cooking it first in the oven as usual and then slicing up any leftovers, and then baking or grilling (broiling if in USA) when I take out of freezer.
FREEZING BEFORE COOKING THOUGHTS:
I imagine, however, that freezing the loaf (pre-cooking) and then allowing to defrost fully first would also work well. in fact, I do the same with the Easy Vegan Kind Earth Burgers (which are VERY similar ingredients – seed and carrot) – I make those up regularly and freeze (without cooking) – I line with parchment/baking paper to stop them sticking together – and then pop them in the freezer so that I can batch make.
Trinity,
this looks ABSOLUTELY delicious! I think it would go fabulous with some vegan gravy….thanks for this recipe, I’ll be bookmarking it 🙂
Thank you for the kind words Amrita 🙂
Indeed… I love serving this with mushroom gravy. Thanks for tuning in.
Hai Trinity, is your book also in other languages, like Dutch?
I hope so, it would be much easier for me haha.
Ahhw – I wish it was – I do often get asked this. I have no plans to have it translated yet – it;s a massive job and I’d need quite a lot more demand for it in foreign languages first.
I tried to contact you but was unable to send my message because the kapcha wouldn’t allow me to enter anything in the box. I’m in the United States and would like to order your cookbook but I was wondering if the entire book is only in metric? I’m an older woman and would find that difficult. Loved the recipe. I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for a long time. I shared this delicious dish with members of an orchestra I play with, and directed many people to your website. Julia Digaetani
Hi Julia,
Firstly, I am absolutely delighted to hear that you had a great experience with the recipe 🙂
The book is in metric, although I have a four page conversion chart in the back of the book. If you usually work in cups, then it’s probably a bit of a stretch for you.
Thanks for letting me know about the captcha – that is the 2nd time someone has said that in the last few days – the settings must have changed when I updated my website.
Trinity
x
Thanks for this recipe! I tried it out this Christmas and it worked really well, was very simple! My variations, I don’t have any allergy so I used a little less of the seeds and added some hazelnuts. I also used dried rosemary as I didn’t have it fresh. Still worked fine!
You are very welcome Dee. So pleased to hear that you got to enjoy this seed roast during the festivities this year. I love the sound of hazelnuts and how great to hear that your dried rosemary worked well.
Shine on.
I really loved this loaf!
to be honest i was kinda like, yes this is just gonna taste like carrots and not gonna be that nice but ok it will look nice. BUT NO. It was marvelous, glorious and wonderful <3
Instant Christmas hit!
Oh and i added some sauted onions 🙂 Also dried rosemary user here, but it tasted wonderful (and i don’t normally even really like rosemary?)
Delighted to hear it. I know sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and the result can be deliciously surprising. I am really impressed that you gave it go, especially given that you don’t normally like rosemary 🙂 Well done!
From now on I am in love with Rosemary! thanks for the recipe 🙂 I was amazed that with ‘simple’ ingredients I can make something so tasty!
Awesome – you are in for a real treat. Rosemary has tonnes of health benefits too. Check out my article about rosemary here…
Rosemary’s Amazing Health Benefits
Greetings, I am so excited about trying your recipe! I love your site. I was searching for the mushroom gravy recipe but could not find it. Can you post the link please? Thank you!
Glad to hear that you found this 🙂
I haven’t actually published the mushroom here it’s only available in my book at the moment.
A delicious success, thank you! Will be making this recipe all year long 🙂
Delighted to hear it Caitlin.
This is so beautiful! I love the short ingredient list and I would love to try this! I can’t believe it holds together?! Amazing. Just subscribed to your blog
Kind thanks. It holds together wonderfully as long as you press it down firmly 😉
This is just like my Nut Roast that I had growing up every Christmas. I love this recipe. I am going to try it. The Cave Woman.
Hi Cave Woman. Delighted to hear that – and how blessed you were to get nut roast growing up too.
Made the seed and carrot loaf last night,could not believe how tasty was,and how it was so easy to make,already planning to have this for Christmas dinner,next year,was so impressed.I have just ordered you book,Trinitys Concious Kitchen,can’t wait for it to arrive.This loaf will also be great to take to work cold,for my lunch.
Delighted to hear that Susan 🙂
I didn’t see an order for your book here, otherwise it would have been with you already – so hopefully whoever you ordered it from will send it very soon. Enjoy.
x
Thanks for the reply,I ordered from The Book Depository,before I realised I could have ordered it from you,sorry about that.x
Aloha Trinity!
Wow! What a delicious recipe! I paired it with a simple mushroom gravy, roasted radishes and steamed green beans. Thanks so much for sharing, we’ll definitely be having this one again!
Aloha April! Delighted to hear it.
Roast radish and steamed green beans sound like the perfect accompaniment along with mushroom gravy 🙂
I love these seed loaves.
I freeze slices and cut cubes for using as croutons for a soup or a salad and I am getting my nutrition and plenty of taste and variety all the time.
I also use them as my portables. I carry a slice of that and a slice of life changing bread with dip, and I have a good supply for the day. I am never hungry as I used to be.
Mushroom gravy sounds good for that dinner of the week!
Thank you for your kind comment Airyfairycelt 🙂
Freezing it and cutting cubes is a fab idea for this. I am thinking of doing a new recipe video for the gravy – thanks for the reminder.
x
This loaf is delicious. I like to cut it into squares and freeze then thaw it out by sitting it in the oven for about 10 minutes which thaws it out and browns the outside slightly. Thanks for a great recipe
Wonderful! Yes, this one freezes well doesn’t it. Thank you for your comment.
This is excellent! And so easy. Thanks for sharing!
I made this last night as I was looking for a nut roast to take with me to family on Christmas day. As I’ve made a number of your recipes I was pretty confident that it would be lovely and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Great to know that it freezes as well because that was something I was wondering 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing such great recipes. Merry Christmas.
So pleased to hear that you liked it Maureen.
Thank you for sharing.
x
Hi ? I just made it and my family loves it. Just one question. What other herb instead of rosemary can I use ? My sister didn’t line rosemary ?
Also you think I can use butternut squash or sweet potato as a binder instead of carrots? If the answer is yes ;what herb to use with them ?
Thanks in advance ?
Hi Sonia,
Delighted to hear that you and your family love it. You could directly sub sweet potato for the carrot, although it might yield slightly different results. I would have to slightly change the recipe if it the carrots were swapped for squash though (would have to try it out first to see).
Rosemary really makes this one fantastic, but if your sister wanted to try something else parsley or even basil (lots of!) would work fine. Coriander leaves (cilantro) and a spoonful of ground coriander would also be a nice swap – if needed. I do recommend the original recipe though, because it’s perfectly balanced flavour-wise.
Good luck.
thanks for your quick answer .most of the times i dont get answers in other blogs i really apreciate it 🙂 i will make it whit sweet potato and let you know, but personally i looove the original recipe;)
Great – enjoy and do let me know how it goes 🙂
This sounds yummy and pretty easy to do. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
You are very welcome Stephanie – thanks for tuning in 🙂
This looks amazing. I’ve got 3 vegans and a nut allergy sufferer for Christmas so was looking for something like this 🙂
Wonderful! Enjoy x
I was blown away by a) how easy this was and b) how delicious it was. Thanks so much. I have been Vegan for 5 days now, and so far so GREAT! 🙂
Delighted to hear it Annalisa. Good luck on your journey of eating compassionately!
I have to admit, I was a little skeptical that this could taste like anything greater than the sum of its parts, but oh my goodness, was I ever surprised by the flavor. I have been cooking vegetarian and vegan food for over 20 years. It takes a LOT to surprise me.
I served it with my favorite cashew gravy. Perfection. I may try adding some nettles to the loaf one of these days.
I shared this link with a local cooking group last week. Two people have since made it, and they also have rave reviews, and have said that this will be part of their regular meal rotation. Mine too! Thank you so much for creating this easy, delicious dish, and sharing it with us all.
Wonderful – delighted to hear that.
I just had my first bite of this loaf and it is amazing!! I’m making it as part of my weekly sahoor meal prep for this Ramadan. The seeds will really feel me up and it’s such a great nutritional and mood booster! For each meal, I will be pairing it with roasted cauliflower ‘rice’ and roasted tofu and vegetables.
I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes 🙂
I am happy to hear that. This is definitely a favourite of ours too.
I feel honoured to be a part of your special journey.
I have decided on this recipe for my dinner party of 8 in one week’s time as it looks so mouth-wateringly yummy! Would I be better to make 2 loaves to feed 8 people, or could I just make a taller amount in the one glass pan? Any other changes I’d need to be aware of if I just double the recipe to bake one loaf?
Also, I have to say Trinity, I came across your site and immediately fell in love with just about every recipe you had posted. This never happens for me. I’m so excited to be getting my ‘Trinity on’ in the weeks and months to come. Thank you!
Hi Gillian,
I would definitely use two loaf tins (or the glass alternative) if you are doubling the amount. That would give it the opportunity to cook through on the inside whilst having the correct baked texture on the outside.
I am so thrilled to hear that you resonate so much with what I am sharing here – and I look fwd to seeing you around here.
warmest blessings
Trinity
The loaf was a hit at the dinner party by vegans and non-vegans! We served it with the mushroom gravy, assorted roasted veg and some parsley potatoes. For those not liking mushroom gravy, there was arabiata sauce which also paired well we thought.
I shall definitely make this again!
Thanks again for sharing your great recipes, Trinity! X
would it be alright if i put some dried cranberries in here?
That’s a really good question.
I am actually not sure about that – would have never occurred to me. Sounds interesting.
Might be worth a try if you are feeling it 😉
Thanks for the recipe. I made it for Thanksgiving. Of course, I had to throw in a few extra things. I added sage, onion powder, and garlic powder. I added a tablespoon of chia seeds and a tablespoon of flax seeds. Ground them with the other seeds. I left out the salt and used Braggs instead. It came out really good. I did serve it with my own gravy. My meat eating relatives gave it 2 thumbs up. I thought it was even better the next day. Next time I make it, I think I will mix everything the night before and put it in the fridge so the flavors have time to marry. Thanks again for sharing your recipe. God bless.
I made three loafs for Christmas Day this year, went down a treat, really delicious. Fun to make too as a straight forward recipe and the video really helped me, thank you. Very impressed and I’ll be making this again. Thanks very much for sharing the recipe. Yum.
Delighted to hear it – thank you for sharing that with me Ruth.
x
Delicious! 🙂
Hi, Can someone describe the taste and texture of the finished product?
Can this be a good alternative for bread? Does it taste like bread?
What variations can one make with the spices?
Hmmm good question. It’s a soft moist loaf – similar to a nut roast. It hold together nicely to serve on a plate but would crumble if you tried to handle like you would bread (and would be hard to slice thin enough). It works well in thick chunky slices, drizzled with gravy or sauce – so not a good alternative to bread.
In this recipe, the rosemary works particularly well to dance with the rest of the ingredients. You could always experiment if you want to try alternative herbs and spices – there are so many different combinations you would try.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for this, I cooked it up for a Vegan Wedding served it with Sunday Dinner Roast and steamed vegetables, and Onion Gravy Sorry I took all the credits.
Its now on my pub menu and is popular with both Vegans and Carnivores
Thanks again
Colin
Delighted to hear that it’s going down well.
Tell me which pub it is and if I am in town I will come and visit 🙂
The Boat House
14, Bridge Street
Barrow upon Soar
LE12 8PN
Leicestershire
You would be welcome to visit
This is the best of our family favourite roasts. GF, easy to make with ingredients always to hand, so nutritious and tasty hot and cold! Beautiful recipe Trinity. Thank you. 🌱
Wonderful and also yes, serves so nicely cold too.
Thanks for your comment 🙂
I should have added 5 stars to that recipe! Sorry! 😊
This was absolutely fantastic.
You might want to think about adding “nightshade free “ somewhere.
My husband is a vegan, and I am gluten and nightshade intolerant . As the primary cook in the family finding new recipes to try can be quite tricky.
This has become a favourite!❤️
So happy to hear that this works for you and is a fave.
I will bear the nightshade thing in mind, every now and again someone mentions it.
x
I was wondering if there’s a way to make this into a Wellington? Or do you think it won’t hold? I was thinking to press it into a log with baking paper, firm it up in the fridge (or maybe freezer?) And then add puff pastry. What do you think
We made this for Christmas lunch yesterday, along with mushroom gravy and maple glazed Brussels sprouts ( from other sites). Best Christmas lunch ever. And all 3 were fellow Mediavine bloggers. Thank you , delicious.
Absolutely delighted to hear it and to hear from a fellow Mediavine blogger.
Thank you for tuning in.
Hi, we love this loaf at home and have been making it every week since we discovered this recipe a couple of months ago. We substituted the pumpkin seeds for almonds and it is so good and we prefer it to pumpkin seeds now. So so simple, light and delicious!!
Pumpkin seeds are awesome – my fave seed for this sort of thing infact.
Happy to hear that you enjoyed this.
Tried this recipe with the mushroom gravy and it was very tasty but the loaf was pretty dry. Being new at eating plant-based I’m wondering if the carrots were not large enough. What do you consider to be a large enough carrot? I used 4 carrots as I suspected that 3 wouldn’t be enough. Hard to believe that carrots make this moist enough but I’m guessing that was the issue. Thank goodness for the gravy and both were tasty together with mashed golden Yukon potatoes! Would you suggest adding anything else for additional moisture? Thank you!
This sounds delicious! We have roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Are those ok? Or do I need raw?
Thank you! Can’t wait to try.
Roasted would be fine, although shelled is best.
Enjoy! 🙂
Made this today with what I had available. It was delicious. Served with roast vegetables and home made vegetable gravy. Highly recommend this recipe. Tasty, delicious and full of protein.
Made this loaf. I enjoyed it out of the oven, turned out fabulous. Froze the rest. Reheated a piece for dinner and I preferred it more than fresh out of the oven. Delicious, a keeper.
Wonderful! Thanks for your comment, Denise. I am glad to hear it.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! It’s easy nutritious and really tasty. I served it with a cashew sour cream which complemented the loaf beautifully. It’s a lighter version of a nutroast and equally delicious cold.
This loaf was very yummy! I added a little bit more fresh rosemary and parsley but for the rest, I followed the instructions and it was perfect!
We serve it with mashed potatoes and wild mushroom gravy (my husband and I forage our own mushrooms) and it was amazing!
Thank you for your delicious creativity!
Love from Colorado x
Awesome – I would love to join you with some of your foraged mushroom gravy!!! What a treat to go with this. I went foraging with friends recently as the mushrooms are abundant this year, but unlike my friends, I am not (YET) quite brave enough to identify and eat.
Enjoy your bountiful harvest!
With mushroom foraging, it is one step at a time. The day you’ll start diving more into it, we’ll be the first ones to try all your amazing wild food recipes!
Yum! 😀
It would be awesome to share more wild foraged delights here.
Enjoy yours – I’ll get there haha 🙂
I didn’t have pumpkin seeds so I used pecans instead — and I am a lazy food person so I used dried thyme and rosemary, and squeezy garlic lol. Still came out great, 2 thumbs up from a VERY low-effort vegan.
I’ve made it twice so far (practicing for Thanksgiving) and the second time I put the carrots in the food processor, too (instead of just mashing and mixing by hand) and I preferred the way it came out. Smoother, not as dry, and it held together better. Oh, and I added 35g of dried cranberries the second time which I’ll definitely do again when I make it for Thanksgiving. Thank you for a wonderfully easy and yummy recipe!
Wonderful Katie. I love your adaptations… very exciting to put your own angle on it. Haha you are making my mouth water too. Enjoy!
This turned out really good! I roasted squash seeds in the oven and didn’t have enough so I subbed the rest with old fashioned oats and threw it all in a blender to grind it up. I served it with easy water, starch, onion powder, and soy sauce gravy. Yum!
Would this work with parsnips or a combination of parsnips and carrots?
Absolutely. In fact I made it with parnsips on retreat earlier today. My Mam did the carrot version. Enjoy your pie!