Roast dinner vegetarian main ideas please that would also be suitable for Christmas

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We’ve friends coming over for the day on Sunday. Whilst they are decent cooks, they have never cooked a roast dinner but love them. When I asked them over, friend said ‘one of your roasts would be great’
One person doesn’t eat red meat so will be doing turkey if I can get one else chicken. Will also do pigs in blankets, stuffing, roast pots and lots of veg - so heading towards a Christmas dinner.
One of the friend’s DCs is vegetarian so am looking for ideas for their main to go with all the other dishes. Not a nut roast as I made one last time they came. Will cook some vegetarian sausages anyway since they won't be having pigs in blankets We might also have a different vegetarian guest at Christmas so a good opportunity for a trial run of something Christmas Dinner appropriate. Preferably something that can be made ahead.
Thank you

DD is vegetarian and for the last three Christmases we have had the following:

Mushroom Wellington
Chestnut and shallot tarte tatin
Vegetarian apassage wellington

The mushroom Wellington was by far the best.

Do make sure you have vegetarian gravy and that your roasties are not cooked in any kind of animal fat. You can make perfect crispy roast potatoes with vegetable oil.

Puff pastry mushroom parcels always go down well. Something along these lines www.jusrol.co.uk/pastry-recipes/wild-mushroom-and-camembert-parcels/

Whatever M&S are putting on for their veggie Christmas main.

A heartier veg side like cauliflower cheese.

Vegetarian toad in the hole

Mushroom wellington

Thank you. These all sound great, any tried and tested recipes?

I always use Trex for roast potatoes, even for us meat eaters, a tip from mg late MIL. Best roast potatoes ever.

For this family, I will use Bisto beef gravy granules for the vegetarian - it is vegan, who'd have thought it!! It was this family that told me about it. For Christmas, I'll make a vegetable gravy ahead of time.

Make sure you ask them what they like as there's many options and many people have their 'achilles heel' of something they hate but always seems to be on offer.

Eg lots of people don't like mushrooms. Roast butternut squash is another common option that a lot of people will dislike, likewise a Quorn roast.

I don't want a pastry thing with a roast because if you've already got stuffing, roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings it's already stodgy enough.

Most packet gravy is vegan these days, not sure if it's always been but certainly the last few years since dd went veggie. Top tip to make instant gravy different is to add a teaspoon sage (dried is fine) and a tablespoon of redcurrant jelly

https://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/m/mushroom_and_chestnut_puds_with_a_rich_red_wine_sauce.html

This is the top favourite requested by our veggies and vegans.

I add mushroom ketchup to the sauce and some dried herbs to the suet crust.

You can cook in advance and re-heat in the day.

When I was a veggie I'd have the aunt Bessie vegetarian toad in the hole for a roast - it came with a Yorkshire pudding so it was a good option for me!

My mum does a lot of nut roasts for our veggie family members

Cheat's mushroom Wellington.

Pack of short crust pastry glaze with milk and cover with some sesame seeds.

Pack of mixed mushrooms, onion, saute add merchant gourmet puy lentils and a thick veg gravy with plenty of yeast extract & some port added.

I do pretty much this, but with Merchant Gourmet sweet chestnuts as well.

I’d do a layered suet (veg obv!) pudding for the vegetarian. Mushroom is lovely but you could layer up pretty much anything. Really pretty and you can make it in advance.

Check the veggie like mushrooms! As one I hate them
I just always love a roast with all the potatoes and vegetable's. My 14 year old made a roast yesterday all by herself and I have roast potatoes, mash, honey carrots and parsnips, peas and homemade Yorkshire pudding. I honestly couldn't have eaten anything on top of that.

They all sound great. I get a little tired of mushrooms but have had a great beetroot and caramelised onion wellington in the past

Make sure though that the other guests don't just see it as another side dish, be sure your veggie guest has enough plus seconds if they wish. Also cauliflower cheese sounds ace as a side.

I know the guests well, they eat both mushrooms and butternut squash but can appreciate that they must have these a lot so good to try to find something different.
Won't be making Yorkshires so I think pastry based would be ok.

I have seen some filo pastry dishes that would be posh enough for Christmas. Try the Sainsbury’s & Waitrose websites. Good Housekeeping always has lovely veggie recipes too.

Good idea, sounds delicious.

A caramelised onion open tart would go well with a roast dinner, as would spanakopita. Or as you've mentioned vegetarian sausages, perhaps an individual sausage and onion toad in the hole would be simple to do for this meal, with something more celebratory at Christmas.

Delia’s Parsnip & Parmesan Roulade is tremendous. Doesn’t sound (or look) very exciting but it’s perfect for a veggie Christmas lunch.

perhaps an individual sausage and onion toad in the hole

I did think about this but then thought everyone else would feel like they are missing out on Yorkshires. But will think about that as would be simple!

Lots of other lovely ideas too, thank you.

Roast baby cauliflower with plant based smoky bacon flavouring.

Seconded. It also freezes very well and is delicious eaten cold or reheated a day or two later.

Don’t use actual Parmesan though as that’s not vegetarian.

Toad in the hole as others suggested is my go to veggie Xmas/ roast dinner main. So glad cauldron sausages have gone back to being Vegetarian rather than vegan as I think they’re the best. I do a few different fancy stuffings too that are all veggie and can be made ahead. (Jamie Oliver has a really good mushroom stuffing) And a big cauliflower cheese.

Parsnip is a marmite vegetable so it would be a good idea to check with the vegetarian first. I loathe parsnips.

I have a fabulous recipe for a cheese and lentil loaf. It slices like a meat loaf and would be perfect with all the accompaniments.

I made a really lovely butternut tart for veggie guests last Christmas.

I am trying to remember exactly what I did but basically, I pre-roasted the butternut in slices. Then I baked the puff pastry. Then, I used a mix of goats and cream cheese which I flavoured with some sage and oregano I think, and put that on the tart, topped with the butternut slices. my trial version included some walnuts scattered around and a drizzle of honey over the top before being baked again but it turned out one guest was allergic to nuts so I ditched that.

The big differentiator was I made a dressing of honey, mustard and lemon to pour over.

It was really good.