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
Cooking 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.
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.
So good!! I would like to make this but in a bigger potion, maybe doubling or even tripling the recipe to make for a larger group. What temp/time would you suggest for a 9×13 casserole dish? Thank you!!
Also curious for this answer. I’d like to double as well but am not great with temperature adjustments when changing cooking vessels. Thanks!
Erin, I would keep it at the same temperature and just start checking it for doneness around 40 minutes.
This is so good! Made it for dinner today. I think it would make excellent burgers (the flavour is so great) and with that sauce slathered on it as well.
Will definitely be making this again.
SandraM, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
I’ve made this twice now and absolutely loved it both times!
I haven’t been able to find heart of palm so used carrots instead. I also left out the celery and put in half walnuts and half cashews.
Delicious. It will definitely be a recipe I use again and again!
Cayllysrainbow, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for your feedback.
I made this last night. It s strikingly similar to the lentil loaf on the Simple Veganista website. It is a very good recipe, and i have tried many versions to locate a terrific lentil loaf. I used the Veganista’s glaze which is so simple with 3 ingredients: 3 T ketchup 1 T balsamic vinegar 1 T maple syrup. I think it’s better to bake the loaf with the glaze.
With the exception of leaving out celery and parsley, and using Organic carrots in lieu of hearts of palm, I closely followed Michelle’s recipe. I also used quinoa flour instead of grinding oat flour. I used 3/4 pepitas and 1/4 walnuts.
This loaf makes for a very tasty entree. Enjoy. Thank you.
Barbara, that’s so cool. I really thought mine was very unique, I’m so happy you were able to adjust it to make it your own. I also love how you substituted the oat flour for quinoa flour, a great suggestion for those who are sensitive to oat flour. Thank you so much for sharing your adjustments with us.
Another hit! This was the best vegan loaf I’ve eaten! I’ve attempted others but they come out wet or the flavors just weren’t good. I prepared this loaf according to the instructions but without the sauce. After it cooked, I stored it in the fridge covered for 5 days after reading in the post it gets better as it sits. Then I reheated it on 350 for 30 minutes as instructed, but that wasn’t long enough for me. So I increased the temperature to 375 for another 20 minutes and internal temp was just right. Served it with vegan mac and cheese and salad for a great night of comfort food.
This is the absolute best lentil loaf we have ever done! My husband and me LOVED it. Thank you so much for sharing this Michelle. God bless you.
Karla, I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Really nice texture. Great taste. I will defenitely make it again but with some extra meatloaf spices for my not so vegan kids…..
Melina, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Greetings! This recipe is great. Is there a substitute for the nutritional yeast?
Thank you Danielle, you can leave it out and it will still taste great.
What can be used instead of olive oil and walnuts for an oil free, no nuts, fat free diet?
Patty, leave out the oil since there is vegetable broth and you can substitute the walnuts for sunflower seeds. Hope this helps.
Made this for dinner tonight. Delicious! Best lentil loaf ever!
David, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for your feedback.
Making this meatloaf for the second time because my husband couldn’t get enough of the first one! Last time I used carrots. This time I’m prepared with the hearts of palm.
Thanks again Michelle for another delicious recipe! You are AMAZING! Just a matter of time before you are featured on Food Network and everywhere else!
Quesa, I’m so happy you and your hubby enjoyed it. Hope you enjoy it with the heart of palm as well. Thank you for your kind words, always encouraging me.
This was absolutely delicious, I’m making it again for Thanksgiving!
Made this last night and it had such a great flavor, and the sauce was delicious. Any tips on what to do if it is still mushy? I even cooked it for 2.5 hours. I followed the recipe exactly except I didn’t have any celery so I substituted a carrot. I even made sure to drain the Hearts of Palm and that all the water was soaked up from the lentils, because I read that would be a reason. Could it be the lentils, because I had the same issue when following your meatball recipe. I will try the Trader Joe steamed lentils next time, because determined to get this to work. But wondering if you have any other tips. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
Hello Monica, thank you for your feedback. I’m happy you loved the flavor, that’s very strange because I have never had this issue with both recipes. I suggest you add some breadcrumbs to the recipe, personally, I use gluten-free but you can use whatever kind you have. You can even make your own by whizzing bread in a food processor. Hope this helps.
Thank you for the reply. In case it was something I did wrong with the lentils I went and got the vacuum steamed ones from Trader Joe’s you mentioned in one of the recipes. How would I convert the 17oz pre-cooked package quantity for this recipe that calls for 1.5 cups of lentils prior to cooking?
Hello Monica, I haven’t used those vacuum steamed packets but what I would do is drain as much liquid as possible using a strainer. Add it to the recipe and add extra breadcrumbs and make sure the loaf comes together like when you are making a burger pattie. If it doesn’t add extra breadcrumbs. Bake as directed, then allow the loaf to cool slightly in the pan after removing from the oven. This will help the loaf to further firm up. Hope this helps.
I found that the loaf was much much better after I allowed it to cool for for several minutes in the fridge (approx. 20-30 minutes). I then sliced it and warmed it in the mw. It sliced just like a real meatloaf. The next day the loaf was even better. Great recipe!!!
Really good! I didn’t have any nuts so I used one cup of carrots crushed in my ninja blender.
Jeanette, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Love the idea of substituting with carrots.Thank you for your feedback.
Great dinner idea
I’ve made lentil loaves and walnut loaves (just last week actually) but never thought to combine the two. Great idea because I like the taste of the walnuts more, but they can be expensive. Thanks!
This recipe looks so delicious but I am allergic to nuts any other thing I can substitute it with. Thanks Lin advance.
Desiree
Desiree thank you, you can substitute the nuts with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
Would it be the same if we used canned lentils to save time?
It should definitely be the same, just make sure you drain well the lentils
This looks so delicious. What advice would you have for some that wanted to add vegan meals to their lifestyle?
Telish, thank you so much! My advice would be for the person to go ahead and start and come to my website to get amazing mouthwatering, flavorful recipes perfect for beginners!
I’d like to try it. Look delicious. You have a * after oat flour in the ingredients list. Did you intend to make a note? What would be a suitable substitution for oat flour? Thank you.
Awesome Lee, yes I needed to share how to make your own oat flour from rolled oats, thank you so much. You could substitute with any flour gluten-free flour of choice.