Vegan Lentil Loaf With a Maple-Balsamic Glaze
I’m really excited to share this recipe for a vegan lentil loaf (aka vegan meatloaf) with you. It’s a hearty, comforting recipe that’s full of nourishing ingredients.
I did quite a bit of research and testing on this to make sure I brought something different to the table since there are so many lentil loaf recipes out there. It’s the perfect main dish to serve at your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, or on any occasion really!
I’ve only recently gotten into making veggie loaves and I must say, I’m a massive fan. They’re so easy to make and can feed so many mouths! They’re great served with a side of mash and either fresh or steamed greens. Other options are:
- Made into a sandwich or burger with your favourite toppings
- Pressed down into a pie dish and topped with mash to make Shepard’s pie style dish
- You can stuff bell peppers with them and bake in the oven
- Bake them in a muffin tin and pair with some sides or pop in the lunchbox for work or school (make sure to bake them for around 20-30 minutes)
The options are really endless with this mixture!
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Can I make this lentil loaf ahead of time?
You sure can make this ahead of time. In fact, I would recommend it! The flavours will be a little deeper and you don’t have to stress so much when you should be enjoying yourself and relaxing.
I’ve done this way too many times! I plan a feast and get excited to have people come over and I end up being stressed all day because the house needs to be cleaned, I need to have all the ingredients for the dinner ready and make sure to allow enough time to cook everything before our guests arrive.
So when I make recipes like this one that can be made ahead of time, it makes it such a more enjoyable experience on the day. Can anyone relate?
You just need to warm it up before you’re ready to serve. It can also stay in the fridge for up to three days.
Is it freezer-friendly?
This vegan lentil loaf certainly is freezer-friendly. Just bake it without the glaze and freeze it once it’s completely cooled. When you’re ready to use it, thaw it completely and then glaze it before popping it in the oven to warm up.
You can also leave the glaze off if you choose to make a gravy for the lentil loaf instead.
However, if you like your glaze, you can certainly double the recipe and have that extra thick layer on top of the loaf. It will only add more flavour!
The steps to make this meatless loaf are super easy and straightforward. In other words, it’s hard to stuff up!
Unlike other loaf recipes, this one has no exotic ingredients or ingredients that I don’t normally cook with myself as our kitchen is mainly whole-foods.
It’s also not dry and mushy, so it makes it so easy to cut and enjoy thin or thick slices.
It has a great range of colours and vegetables, to make this meal enjoyable and nutritious at the same time.
A couple of other tips…
What you see is the texture and consistency of the pulsed mushrooms, sunflowers, walnuts, and some of the brown lentils.
If you don’t have a loaf tin or pan, you can simply use a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Just shape the mixture with your hands to resemble a loaf, and it will hold up fine.
One other tip, if you’re cooking the lentils (rather than using from a can), make sure not to overcook them. If you do, the loaf can turn out a little mushier than desired.
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Vegan Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce
- Homemade Vegan Eggnog
- Vegan Stuffed Peppers (Posne Punjene Paprike)
- Vegan Bruschetta Toppings Done Four Ways
- Wholesome Vegan Lentil Lasagna
If you try this vegan lentil loaf recipe, let me know! We’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest.
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Vegan Lentil Loaf With a Maple-Balsamic Glaze
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 Slices
Description
This beautiful and rich vegan lentil loaf is perfect for any special occasion or something that can be added to your weekly rotation as the options of how it can be served are endless!
Ingredients
Loaf mixture:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced (around 2 stalks)
- 1 cup carrot, diced (around 1 large one)
- ¾ cup red bell pepper, diced (around half a large one)
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 6 tablespoons water
- 1 cup cooked brown lentils (French lentils will also work fine)
- 13 / 250g / 8.82 ounces medium-sized mushrooms
- 1 cup / 100g walnuts
- ½ cup / 55g sunflower seeds
- A handful of fresh herbs, chopped finely (I used sage, parsley, thyme, and oregano)
- ¾ cup / 90g buckwheat flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons tamari sauce (if subbing with soy sauce, use 1½ tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1½ tablespoons tamari sauce (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius (355 degrees Fahrenheit), and line a loaf pan with unbleached parchment paper. Set aside.
- On medium heat in a saucepan or fry pan, add the oil and the onions. Saute for a couple of minutes before adding the celery and carrots. Cook for a further couple of minutes before adding the bell peppers and stir. Let it cook for around 7-10 minutes until all the veggies are soft but still hold their shape.
- While that cooks, combine the flax meal and water and stir well. Set aside. This is your flax egg.
- In a food processor, add half the cooked lentils (½ cup), mushrooms, walnuts, and sunflower seeds. Pulse until you get a finely diced consistency (see picture above for reference).
- In a large bowl, add in the sauteed vegetables, food processor mix, the rest of the lentils, herbs, buckwheat flour, tomato paste, tamari sauce, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and flax egg.
- Mix thoroughly and make sure that everything has been incorporated well.
- Press the mixture into the pre-lined loaf pan and make sure the top is nice and even (flat).
- In a small bowl, combine all the glaze ingredients and brush on top of the loaf.
- Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and let it sit for 30 minutes before removing from the loaf pan and cutting.
- Serve warm or cold.
- Diet: Vegan
I had high hopes for this recipe , I used quinoa and buckwheat flour , added more fresh herbs , rosemary , sage and parsley , 4 cloves of garlic and doubled the dry seasoning , omitted the salt because of previous comment being too salty , I can imagine without added herbs what would it tastes , it still lacked of something , I like my meal well seasoned with flavorful herbs not much salt , the soy is the perfect amount and I added liquid smoke too , too mushy not enough textures , I will not make this again unless I keep everything the same and substitute the flour for vital wheat gluten which I almost did , this flour requires more liquid but I think 1/2 cup of it would have added firmness to this dish . The vegetables in this recipes caught my attention that’s the reason why I chose it . Thank you we all have different taste it doesn’t mean it’s a bad recipe 😊 I am giving a truthful comment so it can help others to see if this is a recipe they would like to eat .
This was easy to make and ended up with a really nice texture. For the two of us, I’ll be using it also to make a sandwich tomorrow (loading it with lots of fresh fixings between the bread). I really appreciate you sharing your recipes.
The only substitution I made was using oat flour for the buckwheat flour.
Oh, and because we tend to really like a lot of spice, I doubled the smoked paprika and also added some jerk seasoning 😉
This is good enough to serve to company by the way.
Thanks, Diane! Glad you enjoyed it and appreciate the review x
Great vegan dish! Well seasoned and soft in texture, this is a dish I’d happily serve to my family.
My modifications that worked fine:
• I blended 3/4 quick oats into a flour for buckwheat flour substitution
• I used 2 real eggs to replace the flax egg as I did not have flax available
•I added the glaze 40 minutes in, or with 20 minutes left on the cook time
• I used soy sauce
I pulsed all my veggies and got a much smaller texture than the chef because I was worried of the chunky texture, but I recommend not doing that for more variety in texture
I noticed it was a tiny bit salty, I believe it came from the soy sauce in the glaze so I’d cut back half a tablespoon or so.
Hi Gen, thanks so much for sharing your modifications and feedback! Yes, soy sauce is saltier than tamari so your intuition sounds like it’s spot on. I should adjust the recipe to reflect that. Thanks again for the review x
That’s helpful, I was worried the strong flavour from both buckwheat and walnuts might be a bit bitter for some people
Very good and moist! Will bring out for the holidays.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for the wonderful review! x
This was absolutely delicious. I made a quick oat flour from oatmeal and used it instead of buckwheat flour. I also subbed dried herbs for fresh.
So happy you like it, Lynne! Glad to see that you can use buckwheat as well. Would you mind next time leaving a star rating alongside your review? Thanks so much! 🙂
We had this today and it actually tasted great!
I used rolled oats instead of buckwheat flour and 2 eggs for the flaxseed. Not vegan, I know 😉 I rather used up the eggs that let them go bad.
Next time I’ll add the glaze only in the last maybe 15 minutes, because it was almost burnt and didn’t taste as good as before.
As a side we had potato and celeriac mash.
I’ll definitely make it again!
Hi Simone, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Good point about the glaze. Do you think you’ll try the vegan version in the future? It still tastes delicious, promise 🙂
What do you do with the other half of the lentils? Also when do you add the herbs? Maybe I didn’t see these details on the recipe instructions? Thanks Helen
Thanks for pointing that out Helen! Sorry I forgot to add that to the instructions, add them in with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl step no 5. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I’ll be cooking this for a vegan who is also allergic to nuts. What would you suggest to substitute for the walnuts, or shall I simply leave them out?
I would add more of the sunflower seeds or pepitas (pumpkin seeds) instead of the walnuts. It won’t taste exactly the same, but it will work 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
Can I sub buckwheat flour? I hate having to buy another flour!!
It should be fine. I haven’t tried it with any other flour so let me know how you go! If you have oat flour, I’d give that a go 🙂