Vegan Turkey Roll

Yum

Whaaat?! Yeah, you read that right… this is a Vegan Turkey Roll, and it’s gluten free too! This is one of my absolute favorite recipes, and I’ve been making this Vegan Turkey Roll for my family, friends, students, and clients for over 20 years! Many people prefer this to store bought tofu or seitan ‘turkey’, as the texture is more pleasing (it’s not chewy or spongy). When I went gluten-free in 2012, I filled this with gluten free stuffing, and it’s still just as good (no one even noticed!) If you aren’t gluten free, you can stuff this with any vegan stuffing.  So what is this? What we’re talking about here is well seasoned, firm tofu rolled around stuffing (gluten free if needed), baked till firm, sliced and served with gravy. This vegan turkey roll makes a beautiful centerpiece for a main course, and no one will miss the bird! You can also make this in advance and refrigerate or even freeze it and just warm it up when it’s time. It’s a hit with vegans and non-vegans alike, and it is the prefect main course for any holiday meal! Just in case you are looking for the Best Vegan Gravy Ever, I have you covered! Click here for the must have recipe for the Best Vegan  Gravy Ever (with gluten free option), to serve with this Vegan Turkey Roll. It’s a match made in heaven!

So let’s just right into how you can get this deliciousness to your table and start impressing all of your guests with your vegan chef skillz!! You are going to start off by preparing the stuffing, so I’ve included a recipe for gluten-free version in the this post.  If you (and your guests) don’t need gluten free stuffing, feel free to stuff this with any stuffing you please, or use regular bread with my recipe. You will probably be able to use more broth, as regular bread is usually more sturdy than gluten free bread. That being said, I’m the only person in my family that has to maintain a gf diet, and since I’m the chef here, I make gf stuffing, and no one even cares or realizes that they are eating an entirely gf feast. 🙂

Light and Dark, Cubed Gluten Free Bread

For the stuffing, I like to use two kinds of bread, because I like the contrasting colors. I think it makes a more beautiful stuffing. This time, for the light bread I used Ener-G Tapioca Loaf (it’s a lot better than it sounds!), because it’s slightly sour, like a sour dough bread. For the darker bread, I used Kim and Jake’s Peasant bread found in the frozen section at Whole Foods. It’s hardy and the texture is pretty amazing. Both of these breads stand up really well to adding the broth you need to in order to make a good stuffing. I’ve also used Schar Bakery Deli style slices in the past, and it worked well too. I cut the bread into small cubes and bake it in the over at 350* for about 25 minutes to dry it out.

After the bread is dried out a bit, you can saute some celery, chopped onion, thyme, rosemary, and sage in some olive oil, then we add in vegan margarine, salt and pepper, and some vegan ‘chicken’ broth. I like to use Imagine Foods No-Chicken broth for this recipe, because the flavor is great, and it’s ready to go. Follow my step by step instructions for making the stuffing in the recipe below. It will come out great! I get a lot of questions about the pot in the picture above. I LOVE this pan and use it a lot. It’s the Lodge Cast Iron Enamel Dutch Oven. It’s 6 Qts., and it works great for this (and so many other things – and besides, who can resist RED?!) Here’s what it looks like with the lid…

How yummy does this stuffing look?

Now that your stuffing is done, you’re going to make the tofu for the vegan ‘turkey’ roll. For the ‘turkey’ we’re going to start with the firmest, driest tofu you can find. For me, that means Wildwood vacuum sealed tofu, but other brands of vacuum sealed tofu will work just as well. If you must buy tofu in a tub, I recommend pressing it for a couple of hours before using it. Here’s a link for a great tofu press on Amazon.  Do not buy silken tofu, you want texture in this recipe.

From Left: Firm Tofu, Nutritional Yeast, Cornstarch, Pink Himalayan Salt, Agar, Onion Powder and Garlic Powder

You are going to combine all of the ingredients above in a food processor and blend until smooth. Resist the urge to add water, it will come together and form a stiff, thick paste. A word about agar. Agar is made from a type pf seaweed and can be used to gel everything from vegan cheese to icing, to vegan gelatin type desserts, and we are using here to firm this up when we bake it. This recipe calls for powdered agar, which you can find in some stores, or on Amazon. I find that the flakes are easier to come by though, so what I did here was take a package of agar flakes and grind them in a (clean!) coffee grinder until it formed more of a powder. Agar flakes and agar powder are not always interchangeable in a recipe, but it works fine here. After you process all of this until it’s smooth you are ready to start forming the roll. 

Lay out two sheets of parchment paper, about 16 inches each, and over lap them by about two inches. Spread the tofu mixture out onto the parchment paper, forming a rectangular shape that is approx. 8×12 and about 1 inch thick. Try to make sure the thickness is consistent throughout. After that is done, place a mound of stuffing down the center, and shape into a tube. You can do the next part by yourself, but it is really helpful if you can have someone help you. Grab the sides of the parchment paper, and fold the tofu over the stuffing. When the ends of the paper meet, roll one over the other, squeezing the roll. Now smooth the roll together. At this point I usually open the paper and further smooth any part that needs it. If there are any cracks in the tofu just smooth some over it. If it’s a big crack, you can pinch some of the excess off of the ends and use it to repair the crack. Now roll the parchment paper back up, folding the top over, and twisting up the ends (like a big piece of candy). Using two hands, lift the roll and have your assistant slide two pieces of foil under the roll, in the same manner that the paper was laid out. Wrap the foil around the roll, folding the top over again, and twist up the ends. Now pick it up and put it on a cookie sheet. Baking Time!

Here’s a video I made that explains the whole process… (It’s my first YouTube video, so show it some love! Share, like, comment, subscribe, you know – all of that YouTubey stuff! )

If you have any questions at all regarding this recipe or the process, feel free to comment here or on YouTube, or hit me up on social media. I’m happy to help! When your roll is done, let it cool in the wrappings, and serve, or refrigerate until about an hour before your dinner time. Then reheat it for about 30 minutes at 350*, in the wrappings. You can also freeze this. If freezing, you’ll need to thaw it for several hours before you reheat it. After heating, I slice it into 1″ slices, and set the end pieces aside. I dip a couple of pieces of red kale in hot water (to make the colors really vibrant – works with collard greens too), and lay them out on a platter. I garnish with cranberries.

This Vegan Turkey Roll is amazing when served with The Best Vegan Gravy Ever (also gluten free), Garlicky Green Beans (gf), mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce, and anything else you like to eat for a holiday meal!

Here are some other recipes that you might like for a holiday feast! (Everything on my blog is Vegan and Gluten Free)

The Best Stuffed Mushrooms Ever

Braised Kale

Melt in Your Mouth Cornbread

Vegan Chocolate Lover’s Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! I always had wonderful Thanksgivings with my large family growing up. So many memories of my grandmother cooking dinner, and aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings all gathered in my grandparents small house. In my 20’s Thanksgiving was a huge vegan feast at our house shared by all of our Deadhead friends. For the last 15 years or so, Thanksgiving is camping with my husband and kids, my husbands parents, sister and family, and cousins from Vegas. I usually make two of these Vegan ‘Turkey’ Rolls (about a week in advance and freeze them). We all have trailers/motorhomes and we get a bunch of spots together. Even though our family isn’t vegan, they eat a vegan Thanksgiving! We each have jobs that we do to contribute to the meal. We push a few picnic tables together, and my boys help their grandma decorate the tables with festive table cloths, pumpkins and pine cones. We eat in the afternoon before it gets (California) cold (mid 40s- 50s at night). After we eat and clean up, sometimes we go for a walk, and sometimes we go ahead and build our campfire. Then it’s wine, pies, and fireside snuggles. I love making the food every year, and I love how excited the boys are. I hope that your Thanksgiving is fantastic, and that you enjoy this recipe! It’s great for Christmas dinner too! Make great food, and make great memories!

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through, and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission from Amazon. It doesn’t add anything to the price of your products, and it helps me keep the blog running, so if you do purchase after reading my post, that’s awesome, thanks! Most importantly, I just want to inspire you, and be inspired by you.  I never write about products that I don’t use, or don’t believe in. When I do find something that I’m passionate about, I like to share it with my readers.