Mixed Nut Roast With Cheese

So easy to make and so delicious! This roast loaf filled with nuts is a perfect centre to a vegetarian roast dinner. An easy nut roast recipe with marmite, great for any night of the week.

Some of the best recipes are the sort where you can just throw everything in a bowl and out comes something amazing. Nut roast has the added enjoyment of getting your hands a little messy as you squish everything together at the end. What can I say? I am just a big kid, who loves to get her hands dirty. Food is meant to be fun, right?! So get squishing!

However, there is one special ingredient here, which gives it a great flavour without being overpowering. That ingredient is Marmite. Of course, this is an ingredient that can be quite controversial in cooking and there will be people who refuse, point blank to eat anything containing this salty, sticky substance. The great thing with this recipe though, it is can be pretty hard for people to distinguish that the extra ingredient is, in fact, marmite.

I trialled this recipe out with my partner, who, being Italian, cannot understand the British obsession with Marmite at all and despite trying it on toast, truly cannot stand the smell or taste. I made this recipe, served it up, watched him enjoy it, before confessing that he had unwittingly crossed over into the marmite eaters category. He was pleasantly surprised that there was actually a way he could eat Marmite and not gag. Of course, a die hard marmite hater always has the option to omit this ingredient entirely, but I say, give it a go, you might change your mind. You can deny that cheese and marmite go so well together, these cheese and marmite twists are testament to that.

I love to bring this nut roast recipe out for a family get together, as part of a buffet. It’s easy, you can freeze it, you can serve it hot or cold and everyone always loves it. It’s vegetarian too!

What is a Nut Roast?

A nut roast is a meatless roast loaf, made with a variety of mixed nuts and something to give the loaf texture, such as bread, grains, flours or rice. Nut roasts can include added vegetables, seasonings, herbs and other flavouring extras.

There are tons of different recipes for nut roasts out there, all with varying ingredients. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to make it.

I’ve kept the ingredients here simple. Other than frying the onion first, you pretty much just throw it all in one bowl, shape and bake. Perfect for a healthy meal in a rush. Nut roasts do not need to be overly complicated to taste great.

What to Serve with a Nut Roast

The great thing about a nut roast is it’s versatility and you can pretty much serve it with whatever you like. It goes great as the main dish in a vegetarian roast, alongside cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and vegetables.

You can also make it more casual and serve it up with potato wedges, fruity coleslaw or these tomato flavoured potato cubes.

If you want a sauce to go with it, a creamy bread sauce goes great, as well as a cranberry sauce too.

You can even eat the leftovers, both hot and cold the following day accompanied by a fresh salad.

Recipe Tips and Guidance

You can make it into smaller portions to serve up individually, just reduce the cooking time a little so you don’t burn the outside or dry it out too much.

The key to preventing a crumbly nut roast is to really squish the ingredients together. You want everything compact and not loosely stuck together so don’t be afraid to get tough with your log shaping here. The egg in the recipe will help to bind everything together too, which give it the glue it needs to hold it’s shape.

Use whatever mixed nuts you like, you can buy bags of already mixed nuts and even ones that are already chopped if you like to live life on the simple side. But, if you feel like adding more of one kind, go ahead and try it, you can’t really go wrong with this recipe.

Go for a strong cheddar when choosing your cheese, the combination of marmite and cheese is what gives this recipe it’s great taste.

Don’t attempt to add the onion in to the mixture, raw. It won’t be soft in the nut loaf, which will change the texture. It needs to be fried until soft, left to cool and then added in with the rest of your ingredients.

You can use dried herbs in place of the fresh ones if need be. Just reduce the amount of herbs that you use by about a 1/4.