This Vegan Lentil Loaf recipe is so easy to prepare, it is incredibly delicious, it is the perfect Thanksgiving and Christmas main, as a matter of fact, I have made it so many times already and it’s not even Thanksgiving as yet!
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It is by far the best vegan meatloaf recipe, it has a more classic meatloaf flavor than chickpea loaf or tofu. I served it with my VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE recipe and my SOUTHERN STYLE COLLARD GREENS.
Originally published Published on: Nov 19, 2017. I decided to redo the long-awaited featured photo.
How To Make Vegan Lentil Loaf
I can’t tell you how delicious this easy lentil loaf was, it had the perfect texture and I used an ingredient that is unique to this recipe but you can easily be substituted with carrot or radish. The heart of palms with the lentils give a great texture.
I used the hearts of palms that you can purchase from Trader Joes or any supermarket here in the USA or ONLINE.
I have tested the recipe with both carrots and radishes and they were delicious!. This vegan meatloaf gets firmer as it cools and the result isn’t mushy. A great recipe to make the day before and reheat in a preheated oven at 350 F for 30 minutes.
Tips For Making The Best Lentil Loaf
- Make sure your lentil is are cooked but all the liquid evaporated, which might mean cooking for longer or adding extra vegetable broth to ensure the lentils are tender.
- Make your own oat flour, process rolled oats in a high-speed blender or food processor.
- It is even better the next day, so it is the perfect make-ahead recipe.
- Substitute homemade ketchup for store-bought.
- Use only green or brown lentils and not red or black lentils.
Homemade Vegan Ketchup
For the topping, I made a homemade ketchup glaze from tomato paste and maple syrup which was quite delicious! You can substitute with your favorite sauce, such as a barbecue or tomato ketchup.
I made a delicious sandwich with the leftover loaf, with vegan mayo, red onions, lettuce and it was so yummy!
You make can make the vegan meatloaf ahead and refrigerate for 3-5 days or freeze without the sauce then just ad the sauce when reheating!
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Categories
- Categories: Gluten-Free, Vegan
- Course: Main Course
- Cuisines: American, Italian
- Seasons: Christmas, Thanksgiving
Nutrition
(Per portion)- Energy: 255 kcal / 1066 kJ
- Fat: 12 g
- Protein: 13 g
- Carbs: 27 g
Cook Time
- Preparation: 40 min
- Cooking: 50 min
- Ready in: 1 h 30 min
- For: 8 slices
Ingredients
Lentil Loaf
- 1 cup green lentils, or brown lentils
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth, or water
- 1 cup heart of palms, or carrot or radishes, finely chopped or processed in a food processor
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups walnuts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- 2 teaspoons parsley
- 1/4 cup Bragg's liquid aminos, or Tamari sauce
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1/3 cup oat flour
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Homemade Ketchup Glaze
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- Pinch of garlic powder
- Pinch of onion powder
- Pinch of allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Lentil Loaf
- Sort and rinse lentils, add to a medium saucepan with vegetable broth or water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until all liquid has evaporated and lentils are mushy. Transfer to a large bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher and set aside.
- Meanwhile, finely chop or process heart of palms or radishes in a food processor followed by walnuts until crumbly, transfer the heart of palm/radish to a small bowl and the walnut to the bowl with lentils.
- Preheat oven 375 F. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high, add onions and cook until soft about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, celery, heart palm or radish, thyme, paprika, and parsley. Cook stirring frequently until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer cooked vegetables to lentils, stir to combine adding Bragg's liquid aminos, nutritional yeast flakes, oat flour, ground flax seeds and salt.
- Transfer to a 9x5 loaf pan lined with parchment paper hanging over rims for easy removal, spread top with homemade tomato ketchup or your favorite sauce and bake in a preheated oven for 50 minutes,
- Allow the loaf to cool for about 30 minutes before slicing so the loaf will firm up.
Homemade Ketchup Glaze
- Combine tomato paste, water, maple syrup, lemon juice, molasses, garlic powder, onion powder, allspice and salt in a bowl, mix well. Pour into a saucepan and cook for 5 minutes to thicken. Allow to cool and spread over the top of the loaf.
Hi Michelle I’m going to make this for our Thanksgiving dinner.
I wanted to know if I could sub ketchup for the tomato paste when I make the glaze. Thanks
Chris, that actually sounds great, Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for your support.
Michelle I made the lentil loaf and added the glaze it looks amazing. How should I reheat it? Thx
WOW…this lentil loaf was amazing. I made it for Thanksgiving dinner the day before. I just had to reheat it in the microwave . I made your vegan brown gravy which was really delicious too. Husband wasn’t sure he liked the walnuts though, maybe next time I will just grind them a little longer. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for sharing this recipe
Just starting my vegan cooking adventures. If I use canned lentils for this recipe what volume would I use? Still One cup as you indicated for the dry brown or green lentils
Welcome Wendy, 1 cup dry lentils = about 2 ½ cups cooked lentils. Make sure to drain the can lentils properly. Hope you enjoy!
I’m obsessed. My only variations were carrots in place of the heart of palm and soy sauce instead of liquid aminos. I don’t have a loaf pan so I smushed it into a loaf-ish shape on a baking sheet and it was still perfect. This will absolutely become a staple. Thank you for the recipe!
Ash, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your adjustments with us.
This looks amazing! I would love to try it but do you think it can be done without the flax seeds? Thank you!
Charlie, thank you. Yes, it will be fine without.
I made this last week and it’s so good! Not all lentil loafs are made the same, and this one was really tasty! Bonus: My 7 month old ate it up too! The mods I made were:
I never have celery or parsley on-hand, so I left those out…and I used carrots instead of hearts of palm. I also used The Simple Veganista’s glaze because it’s so simple (3T ketchup, 1T balsamic vinegar, 1T maple syrup) and I put the glaze on before baking.
All in all, I was very happy and will definitely be making this again!
Katie, thank you very much for sharing your adjustments with us. I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious!! I’ll be making this again for sure.