Vegan Lentil Meatloaf: A Plant-Powered Twist on a Classic Comfort
Meatloaf, with its hearty and comforting appeal, has been a staple at family dinner tables for generations. But what if we told you that you could enjoy all the savory goodness of meatloaf without the meat? Enter Vegan Lentil Meatloaf, a plant-powered twist on this beloved classic that's as satisfying as it is compassionate. In this culinary journey, we'll explore a recipe that packs a punch of flavor, nutrition, and all-around deliciousness.
To make this easier to follow I have added asterisks and I highly suggest reading through everything first because this is a recipe that you can really make a lot of subs and omissions and it will still come out great. I know it’s annoying when you have to go to the store for one ingredient so I do my best to really help you think through what I cook.
Meatloaf Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 cup cooked split red lentils (measured after cooked)- do not overcook the lentils. They should be just soft. Red Lentils don't take long to cook at all and if they are overcooked and soggy it will make the meatloaf soggy. Here’s a link on how to cook lentils.
1 cup cooked green lentils (measured after cooked) Here’s a link on how to cook lentils.
3 cups mushrooms , finely chopped (measured after chopping). White, button, cremini (brown) or portobello are all fine to use
1/2 cup walnut pieces , To make nut-free you can sub the walnuts for half a cup of oats or half a cup of sunflower seeds
4 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 cup bread crumbs (panko is fine)
1 cup oat flour, rice flour, spelt flour or whole wheat flour**
1 tablespoon Tamari (or soy, coconut, anything soy like works)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 cup water if necessary
Gravy Ingredients
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons tamari , or soy sauce
1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch (or just regular all purpose flour)
2 cups mushroom broth , or 2 cups of water and 3 mushrooms
Meatloaf Directions
Preheat oven to 370°F.
Make sure the onion, garlic & mushrooms are chopped finely. If you have a food processor I would highly recommend using it as it cuts the onions up perfectly small and it helps allow the recipe to stick together with more ease.
Put them in a large bowl then add all other meatloaf ingredients except the water.
Mix very, very well together. There is a lot of it and it is hard to mix with a spoon so it's much easier to get your hands in there and squish it all together well.
You need it so that it sticks together nicely when you squeeze it with your hands. If it does this easily then don't add any water. If it's still a little crumbly and won’t come together add water very gradually until it just starts coming together. I often need no water at all. Definitely don't add more water than it needs or it will make the loaf soggy.
Lay a strip of parchment paper down the length of a loaf tin with enough length either end to act as handles for pulling the finished loaf out ( my tin is 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches. Any tin roughly that size will be fine)
Spoon in the meatloaf mixture and pack down really tightly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes. Keep an eye on it towards the end. You want it to go a bit crusty and brown on the top but not too dark. You can cover it with a piece of foil if it does start going too brown.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin, covered tightly in foil for at least 15 minutes but up to 30 is ok. Then remove and slice with a sharp nice. Don’t use serrated or it’ll tear the loaf apart.
To Reheat: Turn oven on to 350F. Cook for 7-10 minutes in a cast iron skillet. Cover with tinfoil to keep in that moisture!!!
Gravy Directions
Saute diced onions for 3-5 until translucent. Adding a little bit of salt helps really draw out that moisture and make beautiful onions
Side note but you can add a couple cloves of minced garlic if you want, I almost always throw it anything I am making just out of habit. You will want to cook those until they start to brown and you can really smell that aromatic cooked garlic goodness.
Next add mushroom broth, nutritional yeast, and soy and simmer for 6-8 minutes
Turn heat down low and add arrowroot powder to thicken your gravy. You will want to whisk this!! I promise you this is going to make all the difference here.
When the sauce begins to pull away from the sides it is ready to go!
Notes from the Chef!
I did not have red lentils on hand the first time I made this and subbed some precooked lentils from Trader Joes which is now my go to sub when I am out of red lentils. Score cuz they’re already cooked!
I did not have mushrooms on hand when I made this recipe and just added a cup more of lentils
I did not have walnuts and so I added some sun dried tomatoes and it was awesome!
Don’t know how to make oat flour? Click here for a lesson.