Lentil No-Meat Loaf (vegan, gf)

reading time: 3 min

vegan meat loaf, lentils, Thanksgiving, Christmas, family dinner, gluten-free



Are you still looking for a vegan recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas? Don't worry, I got you covered with this A-Ma-Zingly vegan lentil "meat"loaf. This is honestly soo good, even thinking about it is making my mouth water, lol. 

It's hearty, savoury, satisfying, filling, nutty, meat-free and absolutely delicious. Oh, and easy to make too!


VEGAN LENTIL "MEAT" LOAF

Preparation time: 60 mins
Main ingredients: lentils, nuts
difficulty level: easy
serves: 4-6
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, soy-free, low-sodium

Ingredients

250g red lentils
500ml water
2 tsp vegetable stock concentrate 
2 garlic cloves
1 medium white onion
100g nuts, ground (e.g. walnuts, hazelnuts)
100g nuts, chopped (e.g. cashews, walnuts)
100g peas
100g canned sweet corn
2 tbsp ground flaxseed (or soy flour)
1 tsp freshly minced ginger
salt and pepper, to taste
chili flakes, to taste
2 tbsp nuts, ground
 
Instructions

First, cook red lentils with water and vegetable broth, following package instructions. If they are too moist, simply leave them on the stove for a little while on low heat until they are quite "dry". 

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.

In the meantime, chop garlic and onion and sautée in some oil. Add the peas and simmer with garlic and onion until soft. Drain and rinse the canned corn. Mix ground flaxseed (or soy flour) with 2 tbsp water, stir and set aside. In a big mixing bowl or the saucepan, mix all the ingredients together until well incorporated and season with salt, pepper and perhaps some chili, depending on your preference

Shape the "batter" into loaf form (you could either do one big or two smaller like we did), and place onto a parchment covered baking sheet. (Or, obviously, use a medium loaf pan for this.) Top with chopped nuts. Bake for 45 minutes. Intermittently check and - if the loafs are getting too dark - cover with something like aluminium foil.

Let the loaf sit for at least 20 minutes to firm up - it will firm up a lot while cooling. If you try to cut it hot, it will fall apart. Lift up the loaf with the parchment paper and very carefully transport it to a serving platter. Carefully slice it. Feel free to drown in gravy or barbecue sauce.

We served our no-meat loaf the traditional German way: with homemade mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, steamed broccoli, peas and some herbs. Yum Yum Yum! Seriously, sooo good.

You could even serve this with my vegan Shepherd's Pie!! (or is this blasphemy?)

Cook once, eat twice

Since my boyfriend and I try to be as efficient as possible in the kitchen, we always cook enough food to cover dinner and lunch the next day. While this lentil loaf tastes best when it's fresh out of the oven and still warm, it also makes for great leftovers.
 

TIPS:
- You can also use green or brown lentils instead of red ones! Make sure to mash them after cooking, as they are not as mushy as red lentils. You could even blend them.
- Add chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (I hate both, unfortunately)
- Add breadcrumbs or coarsely ground oats for a crunch.
- Replacing the ground nuts with ground oats for a less fatty version should work fine.
- Experiment with other veggies instead of peas and corn, such as carrots, bell pepper or celery - however, larger veggies or lentils in the mixture will make the loaf crumbly, so make sure to chop them finely. 
- Try adding in some apple, dried cranberries or raisins for a sweet note.
- Warm this up one slice at a time, otherwise the loaf might dry out during the process! 


Other dinner recipes you may like:

http://be-alice.blogspot.com/2016/11/easy-vegan-shepherds-pie.html
Easy Vegan Shepherd's Pie
Vegan Lentil Chili Con Carne
Indian Lentil Dhal (vegan)
http://be-alice.blogspot.com/2016/10/roasted-pumpkin-sweet-potato-soup.html
Roasted Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup (vegan)




Maisy


0 Comments