Lentil Mushroom Vegan Meatloaf (Gluten-Free)

I've been working on perfecting this homemade vegan meatloaf recipe for years! The first time I made our favorite vegan meatballs recipe, I thought, "wow, this meatball recipe is so good that it would also make a great base for meatloaf!"

 

I've made this savory lentil meatloaf at least five times in the last two weeks! I've been tweaking ingredients, testing different types of lentil loaf with oats vs oat flour to find the best meatloaf-like texture, adding carrots, removing carrots, trying all different variations until it was perfect to share with you!

 

I've eaten a lot of different types of vegetable-based loaves and I think that there are a few key points to making the best vegan lentil loaf.

 

• It can't be too soft and mushy, it should be firm but moist.
• It has to hold together when you slice it and pick it up out of the pan.
• The "meat" loaf has to be very flavorful. 
• It has to have a meat-like texture. 
• There has to be lots of extra tangy tomato glaze! 

This vegan mushroom lentil meatloaf hits all of these notes! The mushrooms give it a meaty flavor and keep it very moist, the lentils, quinoa, oats, and flax egg give it the perfect texture, and the seasonings, garlic, onions, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and nutritional yeast give it loads of flavor! I just know you're going to love this recipe for vegan lentil meatloaf as much as I do! 

While this simple vegan lentil loaf is delicious for dinner any night of the week, it would also make the perfect main course for your Thanksgiving feast or Christmas dinner! 

Tools You'll Need to Make This Recipe

• Medium-Sized Pot
• 13-Cup Food Processor
• Unbleached Chlorine-Free Parchment Paper
• Aluminum-Free 9-inch x 5-inch Loaf Pan

How to Make Vegan Meatloaf

Step #1 - In a medium-sized pot, boil 3 cups of water. Add the lentils, set a timer for 12 minutes, and reduce the heat to medium. When the timer goes off, add ¼ cup of quinoa to the lentils and give it a stir. Set the timer for 12 more minutes and let it cook until all the water has been absorbed (Photo 1). Let the mixture cool down for a few minutes before you add it to the food processor. 

Step #2 - While the lentils and quinoa are cooking, prep the veggies (roughly dice the red onion and cremini mushrooms and mince the garlic cloves), grind the raw sunflower seeds, make the flax egg (put it in the fridge to thicken for 10 minutes), and get all of your spices ready to go (Photo 2).

Step #3 - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the cooked lentils and quinoa into the food processor (This is the 13-cup food processor that I use and love!). Also add the diced onion, diced mushrooms, minced garlic, oats, nutritional yeast, ground sunflower seeds, tomato paste, vegan Worcestershire sauce, flax egg, Italian seasonings, dried basil, dried parsley, salt, and black pepper (Photo 3). 

Step #4 - The food processor will be pretty full once you add all of the ingredients. Put the lid on and pulse it on high for 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to use a spoon to pull the ingredients from the bottom up to the top. You want all of the ingredients to be blended evenly. Continue blending until the mixture is blended very well together but not pureed (Photos 4 & 5). 

Step #5 - Line an 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper (Photo 6). Let the edges stick out of the pan so you have handles to pull the meatless loaf out of the pan and it won't stick! Scoop the meatloaf filling into the loaf pan and use a spoon to smooth it out evenly and fill in the edges (Photos 7 & 8). 

Step #6 - Bake the lentil loaf for 30 minutes (Photo 9). While the meatloaf is baking, make the tomato glaze or mushroom gravy. To make the tomato glaze, mix together tomato paste, pure maple syrup, and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl (Photo 10). 

Step #7 - After 30 minutes, remove the lentil loaf from the oven and spread half of the tomato glaze over the top. Reserve the rest for when you serve it. Put the meatloaf back into the oven to cook for 20 more minutes (Photos 11 & 12). 

Step #8 - When the lentil mushroom loaf is done cooking, carefully take it out of the oven and put it on top of a trivet to rest for 10 minutes. This resting time will help the meatloaf to setup. After 10 minutes, grab the parchment paper handles to pull the loaf out of the pan.

Step #9 - Cut the lentil loaf into 1-inch slices and serve with roasted vegetables and mashed, scalloped or baked potatoes, and a salad. 

Can I Use Egg Substitute in Meatloaf?

Yes, you can use an egg substitute to make meatloaf! This recipe uses a flax egg instead of a chicken egg as the meatloaf binder, it a very important ingredient! You can learn more about flax eggs and other vegan egg substitutes, here. 

How Do You Serve Meatloaf?

There are so many side dish options that you could enjoy with mushroom lentil loaf, but I tend to stick to the classics:

• Mashed Potatoes
• Vegan Scalloped Potatoes 
• Baked Potatoes
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Roasted Broccoli
• Creamy Vegan Mac and Cheese 
• Salad (Loaded with lots of veggies!)

Can It Be Made in Advance?

Yes, you can prep the meatloaf mixture the day before and then bake it fresh the next day. 

What to Do With Leftovers?

You could slice the leftover vegan lentil mushroom meatloaf into thin slices and make a sandwich with the meatloaf slices, butter lettuce, tomatoes, vegan cheese (I would use Violife vegan provolone), and sauerkraut! Or you could crumble it up into meatless crumbles and add it to tacos or sprinkle it on top of a pizza. 

Can You Freeze It?

Yes, you can freeze the leftover lentil loaf, it freezes beautifully! You can freeze the loaf whole or freeze it in slices for a future meal. 

How to Reheat a Frozen Whole Meatloaf (Cooked) - I recommend that you defrost the meatloaf for 24 hours in the fridge. Then transfer it to an oven-safe pan and bake it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until it's hot all the way through.

You can test to see if the lentil loaf is hot all the way through by sticking a knife in the center and holding it there for 10 seconds. Pull the knife out and carefully touch the tip, if the knife is warm then the meatloaf is hot in the center. 

How to Reheat Leftover Slices of Frozen Vegan Meatloaf - Put the meatloaf slices in the fridge to defrost for 24 hours. Then line a baking tray with parchment paper and lay the slices of lentil loaf flat on the tray with at least one inch of space between each slice.

Drizzle a little bit of water on each slice to stop it from drying out while it's heating up since the surface is exposed to the heat. Set your oven to broil on low for 5-10 minutes or until it's hot. 

Notes & Substitutions

• Mushroom Options: Cremini mushrooms are my favorite to use for this vegan lentil loaf recipe, but you could substitute white button mushrooms. 
• Lentil Options: Green or brown lentils can be used 1:1 instead of french lentils. Don't substitute red lentils, they're too soft and mushy.
• Can I Use Canned Lentils? If you want to use canned lentils instead of dried lentils, you can substitute (1) 14 oz can of lentils (about 2 cups). Make sure that you rinse and drain them really well. 
• Vegan Worcestershire: Make sure that you use vegan Worcestershire sauce (this is my favorite!), not all brands are vegan. 
• Onion Options: You can use a yellow or sweet onion instead of the red onion in this lentil loaf. I prefer to use red onions because they naturally have more antioxidants. 
• Sunflower Seed Substitutions: You can substitute pumpkin seeds or walnuts for sunflower seeds if necessary. If you're wondering how to grind sunflower or pumpkin seeds, I just use my coffee bean grinder. 
• Gluten-Free: To keep this easy meatloaf recipe gluten-free, make sure that you use gluten-free oats.
• Oat Substitutions: If you don't want to use oats, you can substitute breadcrumbs 1:1 for the oats. 
• Add Heat: If you'd like to make this a spicy lentil loaf, I would add ⅛ tsp (more to taste) of cayenne pepper or 1 tbsp of your favorite hot sauce to the tangy tomato glaze to give it a spicy kick. 

Success Tips

• Use a food processor to blend the ingredients into the perfect texture. If you don't have a food processor, you can chop everything and mix it by hand in a large mixing bowl, but you won't be able to get the same consistency had you used a food processor. Just try not to puree the filling, watch it very carefully. 
• Make sure that you use ground flaxseed to make the flax egg. You can't make a flax egg with whole flaxseeds.
• Use a tomato paste that has no added salt, this is my favorite salt-free organic tomato paste. I also love this brand of tomato paste, because it's in a glass jar so you don't have to worry about BPA or any chemicals from the can leaching into the acidic tomato paste. 
• Use a 9x5 loaf pan to cook the vegan lentil meatloaf in. These are the loaf pans that I use and love because they're heavy-duty, they heat evenly, and they're aluminum-free. 
• Make sure that you line the loaf pan with parchment paper that goes over the edges, so you can pull it out easily after it's done baking. Less cleanup! YAY!
• You can slather the vegan lentil mushroom meatloaf with gravy or top it with the tangy tomato glaze. I've actually made this vegan lentil loaf with both tangy tomato glaze and our favorite vegan mushroom gravy, so you really can't go wrong with either option. 
• Let the vegan meatloaf sit for 10 minutes after it's done baking so it has time to set up.
• Store leftover slices in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a future meal. 

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