When I was little, my mom cooked the BEST meatloaf in the world. Although this was before we all became plant-based, I remember a meatloaf sandwich in my lunch box the next day. Despite everyone in the family wanting their meatloaf sandwiches covered in ketchup, mine was covered in yellow mustard. In order to bring back my magical childhood, I created this vegan meatloaf recipe. Most vegan meatloaf recipes come out dry and honestly, gross. This new recipe I’ve developed cracked the code – which I’ve coined Vegan Meatloaf with Lentils! Lentils are the secret.
Despite being made of lentils and vegetables, vegan loaf tastes just like mom used to make. Not only does it have the texture and flavor, but this vegan meatloaf with lentils is loaded with vegetables and high fiber lentils to make it much better than mom’s version.
Mistakes I Made Making Vegan Meatloaf With Lentils:
Of course, creating vegan meatloaf took a lot of trial and error. In fact, my multiple failures always produced a dry loaf, or a wet and crumbly loaf. Also, my other loaves stuck to the pan and tasted bland. In looking back at my mistakes, my lentils were either too wet after cooking, which made my loaf soggy.
Another mistake I made was over blending the mixture of vegetables and lentils, again causing an overly soggy loaf. Ironically, I found cooking the vegetables before making the loaf was much better than leaving the vegetables raw.
Instead, I suggest using lentils that are fully drained and not overly cooked. Or use vacuum-sealed pre-cooked lentils from the produce section. Trader Joes, for example, sells pre-cooked vacuum-sealed lentils which work perfectly for this recipe. Sometimes, a short cut like this saves a lot of time.
Looking back, I suggest sautéing the vegetables prior to make the loaf, reducing the amount of water released while cooking. Not only does this make the loaf sturdy, but it also sticks together better when removing from the pan. Furthermore, I use a silicone bread pan to prevent sticking. If you don’t have a silicone bread pan, you can use parchment paper, so the loaf lifts easily from a bread pan.
Finally Solving The Vegan Meatloaf with Lentils Dilemma:
Finally, after many trials, I mastered the vegan meatloaf recipe. First, I focused on the combination and amounts of flaxseed meal, bread crumbs, and quick oats. As simple as that sounds, it has been a struggle for me. But once I figured it out, the better my results.
Since my mom always served mashed potatoes with her meatloaf (sadly not vegan meatloaf), I decided it fitting to do the same. So, I served my Skinny Miso Vegan Mashed Potatoes on the side. As a kid, we used to dip our meatloaf in the mashed potatoes. When I watched my husband dip his vegan lentil loaf in his mashed potatoes, it brought a smile to my face.
After some thought, I realized this mixture is not only a great lentil loaf, but it can also be used to make meatballs for vegan spaghetti and meats. Or use vegan meatloaf inside red or green peppers for stuffed peppers.
If you are a former meatloaf fan from the past, try this Vegan Lentil loaf Recipe cause wow!
Looking for more ways to eat lentils? Try my Spicy Vegan Lentil Wrap with Baja Sauce or Skinny Lentil Gyro Bowl with Vegan Taziki; both are packed with lentils! Check Vegan Meatloaf Recipe.
Vegan Meatloaf - "Meatless" Lentils!
Full of veggies, lentils and flavor, this lentil loaf is worth every ingredients. Make it the day before and enjoy it for dinner and lunch for the week.
Ingredients
LENTIL LOAF
- 2 cups prepared brown lentils
- 1/2 cup white or yellow onion, diced (1/2 onion)
- 1 large carrot, diced (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 cup red pepper, diced (half a red pepper)
- 1 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
- 2 cloves, garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon bbq sauce of choice
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I used Dave's Bread and made my own), but prepared bread crumbs is fine
GARNISH
- Extra bbq sauce for the top after cooking
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350
- Chop onion, celery, mushrooms, red pepper, and carrot (diced). I used the small blade on my favorite Vegetable Chopper
- In a large skillet, cook onion, garlic, mushrooms, carrots and celery and salt and pepper until browned. (You may use a little vegetable broth to avoid sticking )
- In a food processor, pulse prepared lentils, quick oats, flax seed, bread crumbs, cooked vegetables, tomato paste, bbq sauce and parsley.
- The finished product should be chunky; do not over pulse.
- I used a silicone loaf pan or place parchment paper in the base of a glass loaf pan. If you don't have a loaf pan, you may form the dough into a loaf shape on a cookie sheet.
- Place dough into the loaf pan, and gently press the top to form a bread shape on top
- Cover with aluminum foil
- Bake for 35 minutes covered.
- Uncover after 35 minutes, and drizzle additional bbq sauce on top.
- Return to oven for 10 minutes uncovered.
- Remove from oven; recover and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
- I find it easier to remove it from the pan prior to cutting.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 92 Total Fat 1g Saturated Fat 0g Trans Fat 0g Unsaturated Fat 1g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 278mg Carbohydrates 17g Net Carbohydrates 0g Fiber 4g Sugar 4g Sugar Alcohols 0g Protein 5g
When you say prepared lentils, how watery is it to use for the recipe? Is it pretty dry?
I made lentils and they were in the refrigerator. Not watery at all; completely cooked according to directions. Does that answer your question? It wasn’t dry at all. I have made a lot of lentil loaf, and I was shocked how moist it was.
I dislike red peppers, well, any peppers to be honest. What can I substitute for the red pepper in this recipe?
There are mushrooms in the recipe; do you mean instead of the lentils?
You could use anything; more mushrooms, zucchini, etc.
Can this be made without mushrooms? If so, how would you suggest modifying the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Colleen,
Yes, just add another vegetable you like or more lentils?
Hi, what can I replace the mushrooms with?
Thanks. Janet
You can just leave the mushrooms out if you don’t like them. Or, you could add another vegetable you like, like zucchini, or cauliflower.
Why, oh why did I manage to live 72 years thinking I hated lentils? When my cupboard got bare enough that there was little left but a can of organic lentils, I gave in and tried them. They were delicious! Now, there’s always plenty of lentils around!
Jayne, I used to hate broccoli, or at least I thought I did. Now, I could eat it every day.
Looks like a great recipe! Would canned lentils work? I have two cans in the cupboard I want to use up.
Hi Jen, yes; I think canned lentils would work fine. I might drain them first of excess fluid. Please let me know how it turns out.
I made this for my family today and they loved it. I didn’t have any bread so I used Bulgar wheat instead of whole wheat bread crumbs. The meatless loaf is moist and very tasty, yet holds together well. Easy to slice.
Debbie, I’m glad you liked it. Bulgar is a great idea! I will have to try that!
I made this recipe and we enjoyed it very much, thank you. We do not eat bread, so I replaced the crumbs by chia seeds. Made my own bbq sauce without sugar. This wonderful bread will be on the menu very often.
Erica,
Great ideas for substitutions. I’m so glad you liked it.
Best lentil loaf I’ve ever tasted—-hubby loved it as well
Janice, I must say, my husband loved it too. To be honest, I think I made 10 different failed versions until I made one I liked. You can also make meatballs from the same recipe, or stuff it in green or red peppers, or even mushrooms. I know how challenging it is to get our men on board. I’m glad I could help.
Just made this and must say this is the best tasting lentil loaf I have ever had, Thanks for sharing this great recipe, will be making this often😊
Cheryl, Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I tried many times with several failures before I finally got it right. You can also stuff the lentil loaf into peppers, or make meatballs, or even stuff it into large pasta shells. I’m going to try to use the mixture in a lasagna next. I’ll let you know if it works 🙂 .