This festive lentil loaf is packed with flavor and makes for a lovely vegetarian main-entree for a holiday meal. Vegan, gluten-free and loaded with fiber!
Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and I know many people are starting to plan their Thanksgiving dinner menu. With that in mind I think I’m just going to deem it Thanksgiving inspiration week here on EBF because I have quite a few holiday worthy recipes to share, including this vegetarian lentil loaf!
So this loaf — it’s kind of like the meatloaf my mom used to make only it’s made with lentils instead of meat, way more veggies and a homemade maple sweetened glaze rather than store-bought ketchup. It’s amazingly flavorful and works beautifully as a vegetarian main-entree for a holiday meal. That said, don’t be surprised if you find the meat-eaters in your life enjoying it as well. I had quite a few meat-lovin’ guys as taste-testers and they all agreed that it was delish!
To make sure the loaf had plenty of flavor I pre-cooked the onion, garlic, carrot and celery and added a variety of spices to the mix. For texture I used chopped toasted walnuts and reserved about 1/2 cup of the lentils to stir in after pulsing the mixture in the food processor.
Ya’ll know I’m all about crispy, crunchy textures so having a bit of texture is the loaf was important to me. Each bite of the loaf has a little bit of crunch rather than being a total mush-fest.
Like traditional meatloaf, I wanted my lentil loaf to have a sweet and savory tomato based glaze, but I also wanted something homemade and free of refined sugar. Maple syrup is one of my favorite natural sweeteners and I knew it’s subtle sweetness would pair nicely with the flavors of the loaf so I started experimenting. It only took four ingredients before I found a combo that I really liked. It gives the loaf the perfect amount of sweetness and a bit of a nostalgic factor for those of us that were served traditional meatloaf as kids. Just remember to use 100% pure maple syrup, not the processed syrups for pancakes. Literally the first ingredient on those syrups is corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup… no thanks!
If you haven’t tried a lentil loaf before and are a little apprehensive, just think of it as a big lentil burger shaped like a loaf of quick bread. That’s essentially what it is. The nice thing about this particular loaf (besides the flavor) is that it holds together really well and doesn’t crumble when you cut it for serving.
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
This festive lentil loaf is packed with flavor and makes for a lovely vegetarian main-entree for a holiday meal. Vegan, gluten-free and loaded with fiber!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry brown (green) lentils
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1/2 large onion (about 1 heaping cup), chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup rolled oats*
- 3 Tablespoons tamari
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Maple Sweetened Glaze:
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
- Prepare lentils by rinsing them and adding to a pot with water and a bay leaf. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat down and simmer covered until all the liquid is absorbed and lentils are tender (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat, discard the bay leaf and set the lentils aside to cool. This step can be done in advance.
- In the meantime toast walnuts by spreading them onto a baking sheet and toasting in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a medium sauté pan and cook onions, garlic, carrots and celery until they’ve softened and become fragrant. About 5-10 minutes. Once cooked remove from stovetop to cool.
- Add lentils (reserve ½ cup for later), cooked veggies, toasted walnuts, oats, tamari, tomato paste, ground flaxseed, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, thyme, oregano, basil, cayenne pepper, ground pepper and sea salt to the food processor. Pulse until mixture is just combined and the texture is to your liking. You want the mixture to be combined enough to stick together, but you don’t want it to be completely pulverized.
- Stir in the reserved lentils and press mixture into parchment lined loaf pan. I used a 9″ x 5″ x 2½”.
- In a small bowl stir together glaze ingredients and spread the glaze over top of the loaf.
- Bake covered with foil for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for about 8 more minutes. Let the loaf rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 306
- Sugar: 6g
- Fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 44g
- Fiber: 18g
- Protein: 17g
Keywords: vegan lentil loaf, vegetarian lentil loaf, lentil loaf, best lentil loaf
If you decide to try the vegan lentil loaf, please let me know how it turned out in the comments or share a photo on social media. Just remember to tag me @eatingbirdfood so that I see it!
This post is part of a partnership with Pure Canada Maple. Maple syrup is one of my favorite natural sweeteners and as always, opinions are my own.
This looks delicious!! I’m sure even meat-eaters would enjoy it. I might have to make this for our Friends-giving!
Thanks Emilie. Let me know if you try it for your Friendsgiving. Ours is this weekend. 🙂
Tried this tonight…it was absolutely delicious! Going to make it again in two days for friends!
Yay!! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the lentil loaf, Gladys. I hope your friends love it too!
What do you usually serve with this dish?
ForI’d serve it with a salad and a veggie side like roasted broccoli, brussels sprouts and/or some potatoes. 🙂
My son has a nut allergy. Is there a way I can make this minus the nuts or are the nuts necessary?
Hi Allyson. The nuts aren’t necessary for holding it together — just flavor and texture. You could try using seeds instead… maybe sunflower seeds? If not, you could also try it without the nuts. Let me know how it turns out it!!
This looks incredible!!! I am sure I con convince my meet eating family to eat this for dinner instead one of these days. Great recipe!!!
Hi, I don’t own a food processor. Is it the walnuts that need grinding up? How to make this without a food processor? Blender? Thank you!
The food processor combines everything and chops the walnuts, but I think you could chop/crush the walnuts small enough without a food processor. I would just mash the lentils (reserve the 1/2 cup as normal so some are fully intact) and then stir everything together really well.
This looks great, and I bet it will go well with some brussel sprouts and potatoes!
Yes, it would be delish with these brussels sprouts or green beans.
It looks amazing! Is it possible to use orange lentils though?
I wouldn’t recommend it because they are much softer than green/brown lentils and won’t hold up as well for the loaf.
I used orange lentils and it came out delicious. May have been missing some of the texture but it is still great! Thanks for the recipe
★★★★★
Oh interesting! I’m so glad to know it works with red/orange lentils too. Thanks Emily.
My daughter is allergic to walnuts. Would almonds be a good replacement or would it be better just to leave nuts out altogether? Thanks!
I think you could try sunflower seeds or just leave the walnuts out. Let me know how it turns out!
I’m not a walnut fan so I always replace walnuts with pecans. Works every time.
How many lentils do we need? The recipe says to keep 1/2 a cup of lentils aside, but in the list of the ingredients, it only says 1/2 cup lentils.
In the recipe the 1/2 cup measurement is for dry lentils. Once they’re cooked you’ll have about 1 1/2 cups to work with.
I made this for dinner last night and it was great! Even my skeptical omni husband loved it. Will definitely be making again. Served with mashed potatoes and vegan gravy, and roasted veggies.
Hooray!! I bet it was amazing with mashed potatoes, gravy and roasted veggies. Yum.
This looks relish! Could it be baked in muffin pans and frozen? Thank you!
Hi Susan. I definitely think it could be made in a muffin pan. I haven’t tried freezing it so I’m not sure how it will taste after being frozen but it’s worth a shot!
I am new to the whole lentil thing so could I use my Earthly Choice Lentil Trio (red split, green and Black Beluga) lentils for this?
Thinking about making two loves this evening, and freezing one. Hope it freezes well.
I made this loaf yesterday but subbed more oats for the walnuts to keep the fat and calories lower – and even with those changes it was fantastic! Even the guys in my house like it. Thanks for such a great recipe.
Hooray!! So glad you all enjoyed it, Tami.
I don’t see where the total amount of lentils is listed. Ingredients says 1/2 cup but later in the preparation it says all lentils except for the reserved 1/2 cup.
Hi T, sorry for the confusion. In the recipe the 1/2 cup measurement is for dry lentils. Once they’re cooked you’ll have about 1 1/2 cups to work with.
I’m looking forward to trying this. Soon. Do you think omitting the tamari will matter? I need very low salt recipes. Also, do you think it will freeze well as I’m the only veggie in a house of carnivores. Thanks
Hi Deb. You can certainly without the tamari. It won’t taste exactly the same because the tamari does add flavor but it will still be good. I haven’t tried freezing it but I don’t see why it wouldn’t freeze well.
Tamari or ordinary soy – can I swop?
Yes! You can swap. I just use tamari beacuse it’s gluten-free.
My husband wants to know what the white powder is on top of the red sauce? He said he did not see it in the recipe.
Hi Karlyn. I’m not sure which photo you’re looking at, but there’s no white powder. In the food processor there are a few oats on top of the tomato paste. Maybe that’s what he’s seeing?
It’s not white powder, it’s the reflection off the glaze. 🙂
I made this for thanksgiving and it was delicious! 🙂
Could I use Beluga lentils instead of Green lentils for added texture (as I’m thinking about dropping the walnuts)? Or do you need the Green to help bind the thing together?
You can certainly try it with beluga lentils but I do think the slight mushiness of the green lentils help everything bind together.
Very yummy!
I forgot to put in the ACV, and accidentally put in 2TB maple syrup (instead of tsp), but it still turned out yummy! I also used fresh herbs just because I had them on hand. 🙂
This is absolutely delicious. I have it on a bun with some mustard, much like a veggie burger. Thanks for posting this great recipe.
★★★★★
So glad you like it! Your serving suggestion makes me want to create a lentil burger!!
Hi just wondering if this can be frozen after cooking? Thank you!!
Great question! I haven’t tried freezing it but I’m pretty sure it would freeze fine. Let me know if you try it.
I can’t wait to try this. How do you get it out of the loaf pan without messing up the glaze? This is a perennial problem for me when I make loaves.
This loaf is AMAZZZIIINNNNGGGG!!!! Made with without walnuts and used liquid aminos instead of tamari but came out tasting seriously incredible. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first, but I’m so glad I tried it because now this will definitely be in my weekly rotation for meals! Thanks for much for the recipe — I LOVE IT!!
★★★★★
Hello! I’m anxious to try this for dinner tomorrow night! Question- how many servings does this make? Thank you!!
Hi Kari. The lentil load makes 8 slices. Enjoy!
I made this for my family for Thanksgiving and they loved it!! I can’t eat oats or wheat. What can I use in place of oats/breadcrumbs?
★★★★★
Hello! I’m making this recipe today. How many servings does this make?
Yay! I hope you love the loaf. It makes 8 servings.
I cannot get over how delicious this is!!! We love this! And omnis love it, too!
★★★★★
Yay! So glad you loved it. 🙂
You mentioned something about enjoying the crunchy texture. I am not into crunchy meatloaf and was wondering what ingredient gives it the crunch so I’ll be sure to omit that ingredient. Is it the walnuts?
★★★★★
It’s definitely not super crunchy, the walnuts just give it a bit of texture. That said, you can process them down a bit more or leave out the walnuts and use extra lentils. Up to you! 🙂
After looking thru several recipes for lentil loaf I settled on this one, mostly because I had all of the ingredients, it was excellent. The blend of seasonings was just right and the homemade glaze instead of ketchup added a special zing. The only change I made was to add the herbs to the veggies while I sauteed them and I only did that out of habit. Otherwise I followed the recipe which I rarely ever do. Im going to put this in my recipe book. Thank you!
★★★★★
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the lentil loaf so much, Gretchen. And I love the homemade glaze… so much better than ketchup. 🙂
Just made this and loved it! So good! I guess we have big appetites bc I had to cut it into 4 slices otherwise the slices looked super small ????
★★★★★
I have green lentils I bought from Trader Joes. I assume they are cooked becuase they are in a bag of liquid (new to this). Are dry lentils uncooked? Where do I find those? Or can I use the lentils I got. Does it make a difference? Thanks
Hi Clara. I’ve bought those cooked lentils from Trader Joe’s before so I know exactly which ones you’re referring to. Dry lentils are uncooked, usually in a bag and on the same aisle as canned goods and uncooked rice. Cooking dry lentils increases their volume so 1/2 cup of dry lentils will give you about 1 1/2 cups of cooked lentils. If you’re planning to use the pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe’s (which is totally fine) I would measure out about 1 1/2 cups and skip steps 2 and 3 within the recipe. Let me know how the recipe turns out for you!
Is the nutritional yeast necessary? That is not something readily available in my area.
I think it adds a nice savory, umami flavor but it’s not imperative to the recipe so feel free to leave it out if you don’t have it on hand.
I made this and it is delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I will definitely be making this again. I noticed several people asked if it freezes well. Indeed it does! I sliced it, wrapped each slice in platic wrap, then put them all in a zip lock bag. I will likely double or triple the recipe next time just so I can keep it on hand for quick weeknight dinners and as sandwich filling for packed lunches. Thanks again, great recipe!
Yay!! I’m so glad that you liked the recipe, Jennie. And thank you for the tip about freezing it too!!
HI just made this recipe for my meal prep this week super excited about it but not sure where you came up with the nutrition facts when I typed the recipe into my tracker I came up with very different results… I followed the recipe almost to a tea so not sure why the macros are so off
Just took this lentil loaf out of the oven 30 minutes ago and tried a taste. It is DELICIOUS! Only change I made was to add a sprinkle of nutmeg in the glaze. I recommend it! ????
This recipe was delish! My daughter wants this for Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Linda!
Can it be frozen after made?
What is the texture like? I am thinking about adapting this into a baked lentil meatball recipe because my previous attempts have come out with a mushy texture instead of the chewy texture of meat. Is it chewy or mushy?
I think it’s going to be a little softer than what you’re envisioning. It doesn’t have the texture of meat… more like the texture of a bean burger.
I’d like to try preparing this ahead of time for Thanksgiving. Could I get it all in the loaf pan and store in the fridge overnight, then bake the next day?
Sure! I think that’s an excellent idea.
Can I️ make this loaf a day or two in advance and keep it in fridge until time to bake? Thinking ahead to Thanksgiving . Thank you!
Totally! I think that’s a great idea and will keep your prep to a minimum on Thanksgiving Day.
Yes. I did! I just set it out for an hour before baking.
So flavorful!
Made this today to taste before making making it for guests. I did add some chick pea flour to the mixture. It cooked well, Sliced well but it tasted better cold
Made this today to try before I do it for guests. I did add some chickpea flour to the mixture. It cooked well and sliced well but I felt it need something for more punch, next time I will add some smoke paprika. It tasted better cold like a courgette cake.
Seriously this is the best Vegan meat loaf. I don’t have a food processor, so I used my blender. I had the oats at the very bottom and it turned it into oat flour. I was worried I screwed up the recipe. I had to stop the blender every so often and mix to make sure everything blended evenly. It was more work, but to my surprise this loaf came out firm yet very tender with a similar consistency to meat. I believe it had to do with using the blender. What I thought I screwed up ended with a good outcome.
Made this tonight for the first time. I really like it, but me my dad said “meh”.
We decided next time we’d substitute Worcestershire sauce for the maple syrup & also add black pepper & some diced green chilies.
We thought the texture was good. I’ll need to be careful with the chilies so it doesn’t get too soft.
Thank you for the yummy recipe!
This was amazing!!! My entire family loved it. I especially love the glaze. So simple to make. I’ll be making it again!
I have made many lentil loafs and yours is by far the BEST I have made. I left out the nuts, added a 1/2 cup corn and mushrooms. I also added a light sprinkle of cayenne in the topping. I served it with mashed potatoes and gravy. Next time I will double to make two, one to eat now and freeze.
This has become one of my favorite recipes. When I bring it to work potlucks, even the meat-eaters love it. I always make 1 1/2 times the amount of glaze, it’s so tasty.
I noticed several commenters asked about making it without a food processor. When I first started making it, I didn’t own one, so I know it can be done. What I recommend is dicing up the carrots and celery very fine before cooking them, and crushing the nuts with a mortar and pestle. Then just mash up your cooked lentils with a fork (no need to set any aside, as they’re already not getting as pureed this way) and mix in everything else. It’s definitely more time-consuming, but delicious enough to be worth the effort.
I recently got a food processor, and of course this recipe was one of the first things I used it for. Way easier! The results are pretty much the same, so yes, even if you don’t have a food processor you’ll get an excellent version of this recipe if you’re willing to put in the time. But if you do have one, by all means use it!
Also, chia seeds work instead of flax seeds if they happen to be what you have on hand; in fact, if you’re working without a food processor, I would recommend chia seeds since they don’t need to be ground.
Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
★★★★★
Hi there I am currently in the making of this recipe, and am stuck at the celery… when you say celery stalk do you mean one rib of celery or the whole stalk? Thanks
Oops!! That’s my mistake. The recipe should say one rib of celery, not the whole stalk. 😉
Soo good! Even my 4 year old daughter loves it. Worth the prep work!! I
★★★★★
Hi I was just about to make this, I don’t have quite enough of brown lentils so I was wondering could I add a few split green peas to make a 1/2 cup? Thanks in advance, Denise