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    Home » Vegan Recipes » Vegan Main Courses » Festive Butternut Roast - vegan & vegetarian Christmas dinner

    Festive Butternut Roast - vegan & vegetarian Christmas dinner

    Published: Dec 21, 2015 · Modified: Feb 6, 2021 by Kate Ford · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Festive Butternut Roast
    JUMP TO RECIPE JUMP TO VIDEO
    Vegan Christmas Dinner

    This Christmassy butternut roast is the ultimate vegan & vegetarian Christmas dinner. Jam-packed with festive flavours , it can be made ahead and reheated on the big day, so no last minute rush!

    🍽 Why you will love this recipe

    This easy vegetarian Christmas centrepiece has wow-factor and tastes amazing, packed full of festive flavours with cranberries, pistachios, red wine, garlic, rosemary and thyme.

    It is so easy to make, and perfect for making ahead - you can easily make it and refrigerate for up to 2 days, then just pop in the oven to reheat on the big day.

    A stunning visual centrepiece to your Christmas dinner, it is a lovely vegetarian and vegan roast to carve at the table - just watch the meat-eaters tuck in too!

    Jump to:
    • 🍽 Why you will love this recipe
    • 📝 What you need
    • 👩🏽‍🍳 How to make your Festive Butternut Roast
    • 🎄What makes a great vegan or vegetarian Christmas Dinner?
    • ⭐️ Reader Testimonials
    • 👩🏽‍🍳 Top Tips and FAQs
    • If you liked that...
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments and Reviews

    📝 What you need

    Ingredients for vegetarian christmas dinner

    Ingredients

    Butternut Squash Aim for a fairly big squash which will be easier to scoop out and stuff. The long skinny ones with a big bulb at the end will make the job a bit tricker!

    Puy lentils Using dried lentils in this recipe gives the roast filling a lovely texture and a bit of 'bite'. I would recommend using dried rather than tinned or pre-cooked lentils to preserve this lovely texture.

    Cranberries You can use either frozen or fresh cranberries.

    Red Wine If you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it! But of course, any full-bodied red wine will be fine here, there's no need to spend a fortune or choose anything special.

    👩🏽‍🍳 How to make your Festive Butternut Roast

    For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.

    Halve and roast the butternut squash

    Halve and roast the butternut squash for 40-45 minutes until golden and tender. Meanwhile, fry the red onion then add puy lentils and cranberries.

    Simmer lentil mixture with red wine and stock until tender.

    Add red wine and vegetable stock, then rosemary, thyme and nutmeg. Simmer for 30 minutes. Roughly chop the pistachios and spinach and stir into the mixture. Season well.

    Scoop out flesh of butternut squash then stuff.

    Scoop out the flesh of the butternut squash, mash the flesh into the lentil filling, then stuff it into the empty squash halves.

    Tie squash roast up with string then bake

    Place the two halves together then tie with up with string. Bake for 10 minutes until piping hot throughout.

    🎄What makes a great vegan or vegetarian Christmas Dinner?

    For me, a great veggie Christmas centrepiece should be:

    • Be full of festive flavours and ingredients I've had Christmas menus including 'Penne with a tomato and Mediterranean vegetable sauce', and 'Asparagus and sun-dried tomato risotto'. These are not Christmassy! Delicious, I'm sure, but give me cranberries, walnuts, nutmeg, port, rosemary and sage any day.
    • Create some theatre at the table The turkey turns up at the table to oohs and ahhs, and is ceremoniously carved, whilst you plate up your sorry looking nut roast to pitying looks from around the table…. sound familiar?  This Christmas, make some drama with your veggie option too.
    • Avoid all the veg you will be eating with it I've had some really tasty spiced winter root vegetable pies as the main event for Christmas dinner, but realised that I was eating potato, parsnip and carrot in a pastry crust, with potato, parsnip and carrot next to it as side dishes. Don't overdo the root veg!
    • Indulgent, but not too heavy! Save some space for all the trimmings, Christmas pudding and custard afterwards, and some Vegan Christmas Cake later in the day!
    • Relatively simple to make-ahead I'm a great believer that everyone should enjoy Christmas Day from start to finish, including whoever is doing the cooking.  Getting as much prep out of the way in the days beforehand means less stress on the big day itself.  So choosing a veggie option that can sit happily in the fridge for a day or two then simply be re-heated 10-15 minutes beforehand is a very good idea.

    ⭐️ Reader Testimonials

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "My partner made this veggie option for me for xmas dinner and it was sooo amazing I'm having it again this year. It was delicious!" Natalie

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "I *highly recommend* this stuffed butternut squash. It's hearty, easy, and has all of those festive flavors! Thanks for this awesome recipe 👍🏼 I used dates instead of cranberries and added sage for extra flava flaves!" @thehealthycamper

    👩🏽‍🍳 Top Tips and FAQs

    Simmer the filling until all the liquid has bubbled away. It should be fairly dry so that it keeps its shape when stuffed into the squash.

    Don't scoop out too much squash. Leave a border all around so that the squash keeps its shape and slices well.

    Don't over-fill the squash. If you have too much filling, leave some out and serve it on the side.

    Vegetarian Christmas Dinner

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can I make the butternut roast in advance?

    Yes! The roast can be made a few days ahead, wrapped in foil and kept in the fridge, then just reheated in the oven for 10-15 minutes before serving.

    Can I freeze this roast?

    I wouldn't recommend freezing this as it will change the texture of the butternut squash. If you really need to, I suggest under-cooking the butternut squash a little, then making sure it is fully defrosted before reheating in the oven.

    What else shall I serve with this for a full vegan or vegetarian christmas dinner?

    For a full Christmas dinner menu, how about trying:
    Starter Creamy Mushroom Soup with porcini
    Main Festive Butternut Roast, Garlic & Rosemary Roast Potatoes, Orange & Maple Carrots and Ginger & Sesame Brussels Sprouts
    Dessert Vegan Christmas Pudding
    Teatime Sun-dried Tomato Vegan Pâté with crackers, Vegan Mince Pies

    If you liked that...

    .... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:

    • Vegan Christmas Cake
      Vegan Christmas Cake
    • Chestnut Roast
      Chestnut Roast with porcini & cranberries
    • Vegan Christmas Pudding
      Vegan Christmas Pudding
    • Christmas Pie
      Vegan Christmas Pie

    You might also enjoy my posts:

    • 34 Vegetarian Sunday Lunch Recipes you need to know about
    • 33 Vegan Sunday Lunch Recipes you need to know about

    Loved this recipe? ⭐️ Leave a star rating below! 📸 Snap a photo of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram, tagging me @thevegspace or #thevegspace 📩 And get all my latest recipes in a weekly e-mail by subscribing to my newsletter.

    📖 Recipe

    Vegetarian Christmas Dinner Butternut Roast

    Festive Butternut Roast

    Kate Ford | The Veg Space
    This Christmassy butternut roast is jam-packed with festive flavours - pistachios, cranberries, red wine, puy lentils, rosemary and thyme. It can be made ahead and reheated on the big day, so no last minute rush!
    4.92 from 35 votes
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    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 50 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
    Course Main
    Cuisine British
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 401 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 large butternut squash
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 red onion
    • 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed or finely chopped
    • 100 g puy lentils
    • 70 g frozen or fresh cranberries
    • 2 stalks fresh rosemary leaves stripped and finely chopped
    • 2 stalks fresh thyme leaves stripped
    • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 75 ml red wine
    • 250 ml vegetable stock
    • 80 g fresh spinach unsalted, finely chopped
    • 50 g pistachios roughly chopped

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
    • Slice the butternut squash in half lengthways, and scoop out and discard the seeds. Brush or spray with a little oil, then bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the flesh is tender enough to scoop out with a spoon. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
    • Meanwhile, in a large saucepan or frying pan with a lid, heat the olive oil and add the onion and garlic. Cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes until softened.
    • Add the lentils, cranberries, rosemary and thyme leaves, nutmeg, red wine and vegetable stock, bring to the boil, then cover and lower to a gentle simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender, (but still have a little bite to them). NB you may need to add a little more water near the end of cooking time if the lentils have soaked up all the liquid - keep an eye on them and stir regularly.
    • Take one half of the butternut squash and scoop out most of the flesh with a spoon, leaving a little all the way around so that the squash holds its shape. Be careful not to tear the skin if possible, (though the occasional hole won't be disastrous!).
    • Add the squash flesh to the pan of lentils, and mash it into the mixture with a fork. Repeat with the other squash half. Taste the mixture, and add salt as necessary.
    • Stir the spinach and pistachios into the lentil mixture, and mix well to combine, then spoon the mixture into both halves of the squash until it is level, there may be a little left over, but keep this aside to serve separately - don't over-fill or you will lose the nice, neat circular shape of your roast.
    • Place one half on top of the other, then tie with string every 3-4 centimetres.
    • Return to the oven for 10 minutes until piping hot throughout.

    Video

    Notes

    Simmer the filling until all the liquid has bubbled away. It should be fairly dry so that it keeps its shape when stuffed into the squash.
    Don't scoop out too much squash. Leave a border all around so that the squash keeps its shape and slices well.
    Don't over-fill the squash. If you have too much filling, leave some out and serve it on the side.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1portionCalories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 61.9gProtein: 12.5gFat: 13.8gSaturated Fat: 1.8gSodium: 97mgPotassium: 1444mgFiber: 15.8gSugar: 10.1gCalcium: 216mgIron: 6mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was! Mention @thevegspace or #thevegspace
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    For more Vegan and Vegetarian Christmas dinner ideas from blogging friends, take a look at:

    • Lentil Roast with Gravy from Wallflower Kitchen
    • Chestnut and Cashew Nut Roast from Thinly Spread
    • Vegan Haggis Stuffed Peppers from Planet Veggie

    Please note that all recipes and images on The Veg Space are copyright protected. If you would like to share the recipe, please use the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or copy and paste the recipe, (even if credited to The Veg Space). Many thanks for your understanding

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    About Kate Ford

    Hi! I'm Kate, vegan home cook and blogger behind The Veg Space and author of Vegan in 15. I'm passionate about creating easy vegan recipes that even a first-time cook can follow.

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    Comments

    1. Brian says

      December 26, 2024 at 1:21 am

      We spent Christmas Day at a friend’s house yesterday and they did a full traditional roast. I made this to go alongside and it was a definite hit. The vegetarians (me!) loved it, but several of the meat eaters also tucked in.
      It looked and tasted great and was a nice easy way to fit in. I’ll be making this again. Very yum!

      Reply
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    4.92 from 35 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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