Mini Butternut Squash Nut Roast Cups with Cranberry Sauce (Vegan GF)

Muffin-sized nut roast cups packed with the classic wholesome flavours of rosemary and thyme with sweet dried cranberries and roasted chestnuts, these savoury cups are naturally vegan, gluten-free and are a great vegan roast dinner option.

Nut roast season is well underway, and I love how many different recipes there are for the classic nut roast and it can be difficult to pick just one. I don’t like my nut roasts to be too nut heavy, as I think they become very dense and a bit too filling. So, I make my nut roasts with a lot of vegetables, the lovely warming festive herbs and seasoning and crunchy chestnuts and other nuts, too.

I am certainly not an expert, but I did write up a few top tips for the Perfect Nut Roast over on Form Nutrition if you want to check that out. And then come back here to make these brand-new Mini Butternut Squash Nut Roast Cups with Cranberry Sauce! They are a new favourite of mine and I cannot wait to make them for Christmas Day.

The ingredients are quite similar to that of my Roasted Chestnut Cranberry Stuffed Squash as all of the flavours just worked so well together that I had to make something else with them.

• Butternut squash: this is the main bulk of the recipe and just requires you to roast the squash until tender then mash up with a fork to a puree. You could similarly use mashed sweet potato or pumpkin, too.
• Quinoa or bulgar wheat: or any other grain, really. You could try with brown rice or millet, just make sure it is GF where needed. This helps to combine the filling together without making it too heavy.
• Mushrooms: fry the mushrooms until tender and they are so good inside the nut roast cups. They are slightly juicy still while adding great umami flavour and richness.
• Fresh herbs and garlic: thyme and rosemary are classic herbs for roast dinners, and I love them. They work perfectly for this Mini Butternut Squash Nut Roast Cups with Cranberry Sauce, but you could use dried herbs if needed.
• Chestnuts: I also use pre-roasted vacuum-packed chestnuts for my savoury dishes as the texture and flavour is something special! You can find these in most supermarkets.
• Dried cranberries: another classic roast dinner ingredient but you could use another dried fruit like chopped dried apricots, raisins or even dates.
• Tamari soy sauce: this adds a lot of richness and savouriness to the mixture.
• Nutritional yeast: this is optional, but I think really heightens all the flavours. The cups don’t taste “cheesey” as a result, but you can skip this one if you don’t have any.
• Chia or flaxseed: this is key to help bind the cups together. I like to grind my own chia or flaxseeds at home to a flour-consistency as they absorb the liquid better to form a smoother binding gel.
• Hazelnuts: these add a great crunch to the nut roast cups. I love the sweetness and aroma of hazelnuts, but almonds, cashews or pumpkin seeds would also work.
• Oat flour: this helps to absorb some of the liquid in the cups without drying them out. I like to grind my own oats into a flour or you could use spelt, GF or plain flour.

Once the squash has been roasted, the mushrooms fried and the grain cooked, stir the mixture all together to form a sticky dough and then press into greased muffin cups. I like to also add 2 strips of parchment paper into each cup so you can them out more easily. 

Bake these Mini Butternut Squash Nut Roast Cups with Cranberry Sauce until golden brown and crisp on top and then serve with all the classic roast dinner components: roasted new potatoes, balsamic glazed Brussel sprouts, sticky roasted carrots and parsnips and the cranberry sauce.

The recipe below is one that I have been making for years but have never written it down to share online. You only need 4 ingredients (cranberries, agave or maple syrup, orange juice and a pinch of nutmeg) and you have the tastiest sauce ready in 20 minutes. It’s a lot less sweet than store-bought varieties but that is no bad thing!

I hope you will enjoy these Mini Butternut Squash Nut Roast Cups with Cranberry Sauce at your next roast dinner, they make such a great centrepiece. They are packed with vegetables, warming savoury flavours, fresh aromatic herbs and crunchy nuts while being light enough so you can enjoy all the other goodness of the roast dinner.

If you are looking for other vegan roast dinner options, how about my:

• Roasted Chestnut Cranberry Stuffed Squash
• Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash Nut Roast
• Wild Rice Stuffed Butternut Squash with Glazed Walnuts and Tahini Cream
• Veggie Nut Roast
• Hassleback Sweet Potato and Chickpea Traybake with Tahini

Mini Butternut Squash Nut Roast Cups with Cranberry Sauce (Vegan GF)

• Servings: 12 cups
• Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Muffin-sized nut roast cups packed with the classic wholesome flavours of rosemary and thyme with sweet dried cranberries and roasted chestnuts, these savoury cups are naturally vegan, gluten-free and are a great vegan roast dinner option.

Ingredients

For the Squash:
• 1 medium butternut squash
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
Filling:
• 100g quinoa or bulgar wheat (or half and half)
• 100g mushrooms, small dice
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 100g chestnuts, chopped
• 50g dried cranberries
• 1 tbsp tamari
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp ground chia or flax seeds + 6 tbsp water
• 100g hazelnuts, chopped
• 60g oat flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180Fan/200*C and slice the squash in half. Rub with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast, cut-side up for 50-60 minutes until really tender. Allow to cool slightly, scoop out and discard the seeds and mash the flesh – weigh out 300g.
2. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa/bulgar wheat according to packet instructions. Fry off the mushrooms and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil for 10 minutes, then add the thyme, rosemary, chestnuts, dried cranberries, tamari and cooked quinoa/bulgar wheat. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Stir the chia/flax seeds with the water and leave to form a gel for 5 minutes.
4. Place the mashed squash in a bowl and add in the mushroom-grain mix. Pour in the nutritional yeast, chia/flax gel, hazelnuts and oat flour. Stir really well to a thick mix.
5. Grease 12 muffin holes with butter/oil and place two strips of parchment into each hole so you can lift out the cups.
6. Divide the mix into 12 pieces, roll into balls and press into the muffin holes. Press down to compact the cups and bake for 25 minutes until golden and crisp.
7. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before carefully removing from the tray. Serve with lots of homemade cranberry sauce and other roast dinner essentials. These will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days or freeze well.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce (Vegan GF)

• Servings: 1 jar (400g)
• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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A lightly spiced and zesty homemade cranberry sauce with only 4 ingredients. It’s sticky, juicy and packed with flavour and is naturally lower in sugar, refined sugar-free, vegan and gluten-free.

Ingredients

• 300g cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• 50g agave or maple syrup
• 120ml orange juice
• A pinch of nutmeg

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer with a lid on for 15-20 minutes until really sticky and the sauce has thickened. Make sure to stir the sauce occasionally.
2. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container for jar for 1 week.

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Mini Butternut Squash Nut Roast Cups with Cranberry Sauce and hope you will enjoy them at your next roast dinner. Let me know in the comments below and tag me in your dinners – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With nut roast cups of love x