How to Cook a Vegan Easter Roast Dinner (+ downloadable shopping list)
The daffodils are out, and the first signs of sunshine and mild weather are here – thank goodness! That means it’s nearly Easter time.
If you’re looking to create a delicious plant-based feast, this step-by-step guide will walk you through everything you need to know to make a comforting vegan roast dinner. I know that cooking a traditional roast can sometimes seem a a little overwhelming so I’ve created a super easy to follow guide on how to put together your vegan Easter meal. Plus, you’ll find a printable shopping list to make your Easter meal prep even easier.
From crispy roast potatoes to rich, flavourful gravy, I’ll break down the entire process, including a detailed cooking timeline to ensure everything comes together perfectly. Whether you’re cooking for a fully plant-based crowd or introducing vegan dishes to friends and family, this guide will help you create a meal that everyone will love.
A key part of getting this right is to read through the recipes and instructions first. So have a good scroll through this post, get all of the recipes open in your tabs and understand how you’re going to be making each part before getting stuck in.
Take your time and don’t rush through the steps. Most importantly, enjoy!
Vegan Easter Roast Dinner: what’s on the menu
Vegan Mushroom Wellington served with My Mum’s Best Ever Roast Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic, Maple Roasted Carrots, Vegan Parmesan Roasted Parsnips and Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic, Pecans and Cranberries
For dessert I’ve got my super easy and very popular Nutella Cheesecake.
I’ve also included some extra treats to cook up before hand if you want to start the day with some Vegan Hot Cross Buns or Vegan Easter Chocolate Nests.
To start with you’re going to want to make sure you have everything on the shopping list below. This is enough to serve 4-6, so either half or double the recipe depending on the size of your family. I’ve also created a shopping list with all the ingredients you need to cook a vegan easter roast dinner. You can either save to your phone or print.
Shopping List
Vegetables, Herbs & Fruit
- 1 onion
- 1 leek
- closed cup/chestnut mushrooms (a handful, thinly sliced)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 portobello mushrooms
- 500g brussels sprouts
- 4 parsnips
- 100g spinach
- 1 orange
- 500g carrots (about one large bunch)
- fresh parsley
- fresh rosemary
- sprig of thyme
Nuts
- pecans (generous handful)
- 60g pecan nuts
- 180g roasted chestnuts
- 1 tbsp pistachios
- 60g cranberries
Fresh
- ready-rolled puff pastry
- plant-based milk
- 25g vegan feta
- vegan cheddar (grated)
Other
- olive oil
- balsamic glaze
- vegan butter
- maple syrup
- cinnamon
optional (Nutella cheesecake)
- 250g lotus biscuits
- 75g vegan margarine
- 400g vegan Nutella (I used Nature’s Store)
- Handful of chopped nuts (almonds or hazelnuts work well)
- 500g vegan cream cheese
- 60g icing sugar
Download printable shopping list
If you want to include the Nutella cheesecake dessert then you will need to either make this the night before or the morning of as it requires four hours (or overnight) to cool in the fridge. It’s super easy though and only takes about 15-20 minutes to put together.
Getting started
Now, you’re going to want to start this around 1-2 hours before you want to serve your Easter lunch or dinner, depending on how quick you are at chopping!
To start with I’d suggest getting all your ingredients out and chop up the vegetables in preparation. That means:
- Brussel sprouts: Remove any tough outer leaves and score a cross with a knife on the base of any larger brussel sprouts. Put aside.
- Carrots: Chop the carrots into strips.
- Potatoes: Peel and cut up in half or into quarters (depending on the size of the potato).
- Parsnips: Chop the parsnips into strips.
- Wellington: Chop up one onion and thinly slice your leek. Thinly slice the closed cup/chestnut mushrooms, chop 2 garlic cloves, and remove the thyme from its stem. Roughly chop/break a large handful of pecans and crumble up the chestnuts. Add all these chopped vegetables to a bowl. Remove the stalks of the portobello mushrooms and put these in a separate bowl.
2 hours to go
Follow the instructions for the cooking of the filling which takes about roughly 25 minutes and then leave to cool for up to 30 minutes.
Follow the instructions for making the vegan parmesan if you aren’t buying some.
1 hour to go
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Roll out your puff pastry onto a chopping board and spoon in the mixture from one short end to the other, leaving around an inch of space at each end of the pastry.
Pack it down with your hands to start creating a log shape (see video for more detail on how to do this). Pat the mushrooms dry with a kitchen towel to remove any moisture and then place them along the mixture stem side up.
Top the mushrooms with the rest of the mixture, patting down again with hands until the mixture is compact and evenly covering everything.
Brush soy milk around the edge of the pastry and then bring each side of the pastry up over the filling, sealing together in the middle (think of it like wrapping a present).
Fold the ends up to seal the pastry together, again like a present. Prepare some parchment paper and roll the pastry over onto the paper, so that the seal is on the bottom. Brush the top with soy milk all over and gently score a crisscross pattern with a knife.
45 mins to go
Bake the wellington in the oven for 30-45 minutes (depending on your oven it may take less or more time).
Now you can boil the parsnips and potatoes. Bring 2 pans of water to the boil and simmer the potatoes for 10 minutes and the parsnips in another pan for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the oil and vegan butter (2-3 tbsp rapeseed oil & 2-3 tbsp vegan butter) to 2 baking trays and put in the oven.
35 mins to go
Now, it’s time to start getting the vegetables in the oven. Drain the potatoes & parsnips if you haven’t already, shaking well to fluff up the sides.
For the potatoes, sprinkle over 2 tbsp semolina and gently place in the hot baking tray you were heating in the oven. Leave the parsnips for a few minutes as they take slightly less time in the oven.
For the carrots, add the carrots to one side of a baking tray with 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp maple syrup.
Put them in the oven with the potatoes and set a timer for 30-35 minutes.
30 mins to go
30 mins to goMeanwhile, get a bowl and mix in the vegan parmesan you made earlier (or bought), chopped rosemary and season with salt and pepper.
Try and do this part relatively quickly as the steam will help the coating stick to the parsnips. Toss to coat evenly. Remove the baking tray with carrots on from the oven and add the parsnips to one side. Cook for 25 minutes.
15 minutes to go
15 minutes to goTake out the vegetables and turn them over.
10 mins to go
When the timer has 10 minutes left check your wellington (remove from the oven if cooked or leave in for up to 15 mins more).
Melt the butter, maple syrup and cinnamon in a pan over a low heat until melted.
5 minutes to go
In the last five minutes, grate over some vegan cheese on to your parsnips, return to the oven to roast for a final five minutes.
Now it’s time to check all of your vegetables and wellington (if not taken out yet) to see if they are ready to come out of the oven.
Serve up your vegetable sides and mushroom wellington. I like to serve mine with a nice vegan gravy but you can just use vegan gravy granules.
Dessert
If you’d like to follow your vegan Easter roast lunch with a dessert then follow the recipe for my Vegan Nutella Cheesecake. You’ll need to make in the morning or night before as it requires four hours (or overnight) cooling time in the fridge.
But it’s super easy, and I always prefer being able to make the dessert ahead of time so I can just concentrate on the main course.
Sweet Treats
Sweet TreatsIf you want to go to town and add some Easter treats to your day of amazing vegan food, then I’ve also got some great options for the morning to enjoy with a mid morning cuppa tea.
Vegan Chocolate Easter Nests
Ultimate Vegan Hot Cross Buns
TIP! Got chocolate coming out of your ears? Try my EPIC vegan hot chocolate or the easy 3-ingredient version to use up some of your vegan Easter egg chocolate.
I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know in the comments how you get on with your own vegan Easter lunch.
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