Vegan Lentil Nut “Meatloaf”

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Partially sliced loaf of Vegan Lentil Meatloaf resting on a cutting board

Friends, it’s been a long time coming, but my take on a vegan “meatloaf” is here (just in time for the holidays)! And it’s so very delicious. Let’s do this!

Wood cutting board filled with lentils, sweet potatoes, and other ingredients for making vegan meatloaf

This recipe is simple, requiring just 10 ingredients and simple methods. I relied on canned lentils (don’t judge) to save time and dishes! Feel free to do the same and proceed to act like you made everything from scratch (I won’t tell).

Food processor with mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and other ingredients for making Vegan Holiday Meatloaf

The base for this loaf is cooked sweet potatoes, mushrooms, lentils, nuts (we went for walnuts and pecans), and fresh thyme. Tomato paste adds moisture and hearty flavor, coconut aminos or Worcestershire add that “umami” effect, and salt and pepper help round everything out. All that’s left is to stir in some gluten-free bread crumbs for texture and transfer to a loaf pan!

Food processor with freshly blended dough for Vegan Lentil Meatloaf
Mixing lentils into other ingredients for Vegan Thanksgiving Meatloaf

For a glaze – I know it’s so basic – we just went with ketchup! It’s simple, and it outperformed more elaborate glazes! Who knew?

Using a spoon to spread glaze over our Vegan Lentil Meatloaf recipe

We hope you LOVE this loaf! It’s:

Hearty
Satisfying
So flavorful
Comforting
Simple to make
& Incredibly delicious

This would make the perfect entrée or side for the holidays! It’s tasty on its own, but it would be elevated if served with our Easy Vegan Gravy and Perfect Mashed Potatoes! Major swoon.

If you’re into hearty plant-based entrées, also be sure to check out our Smoky BBQ Black Bean Burgers (which inspired this recipe!), 1-Pot Golden Curry Lentil Soup, Black Bean Plantain Enchilada Bake, and The Best Vegan Meatballs!

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

White enameled plate with two slices of Vegan Lentil Meatloaf

Vegan Lentil Nut “Meat” Loaf

Incredible vegan lentil “meatloaf” with wholesome, whole-food ingredients like lentils, nuts, sweet potato, and mushrooms! Just 10 ingredients required for this flavorful, comforting entrée.
Author Minimalist Baker
Print
Vegan Lentil Meatloaf partially sliced on a cutting board
4.62 from 190 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 8 (Slices)
Course Entrée
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Vegan
Freezer Friendly 1 month
Does it keep? 4-5 Days

Ingredients

MUSHROOMS

  • 1 tsp coconut or avocado oil (if avoiding oil, sub water)
  • 3 heaping cups thinly sliced shiitake or cremini mushrooms
  • 1 healthy pinch each sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut aminos or vegan Worcestershire sauce (ensure vegan and gluten-free friendly)

SWEET POTATO

  • 1 Tbsp coconut or avocado oil
  • 2 cups sliced and peeled sweet potato (1/4-inch rounds)

THE REST

  • 2 cups raw nuts or seeds (we prefer a mix of walnuts and pecans // optional: toast in a 350 degree F / 176 C for 10-15 minutes until golden brown before adding to mixture for more flavor)
  • 2 Tbsp fresh thyme (or sub dried)
  • 2 cups cooked brown or green lentils (rinsed and well drained // we used canned to save time)
  • 1/2 tsp each sea salt and black pepper (plus more to taste)
  • 4 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp coconut aminos or vegan Worcestershire sauce (ensure vegan and gluten-free friendly as needed)
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs (we like Ian’s gluten-free panko* // If not gluten-free, use regular breadcrumbs)

GLAZE optional

  • 1/2 cup ketchup (or skip and serve with Vegan Gravy*)

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a standard loaf pan (or 8×8-inch baking pan) with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Heat a large cast-iron or metal skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the oil and mushrooms and season with a pinch each salt and pepper and the coconut aminos or vegan Worcestershire. Sauté, stirring frequently, for 5-8 minutes or until caramelized. Set aside.
  • Meanwhile, heat another large cast-iron or metal skillet (or use the same one as you cooked the mushrooms in) over medium heat. Once hot, add oil and arrange sweet potatoes in as even of a layer as possible. Then cover and cook for 4 minutes or until golden brown on the underside. Flip, add 3 Tbsp (45 ml) water, and cover. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until tender and browned (but not mushy). Set aside uncovered to cool slightly.
  • To a large (at least 7-cup) food processor, add nuts and pulse a few times into a loose meal. Then add sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and thyme, and pulse to combine. Lastly, add lentils, salt, and pepper and pulse to loosely combine but be careful not to purée.
  • Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and add tomato paste and coconut aminos or vegan Worcestershire and stir until a loose dough forms. Then add bread crumbs (we like Ian's gluten-free panko) a little at a time (we used all of the recommended amount) until a thick dough forms. If for some reason it’s crumbly (which may happen depending on the texture of your lentils), scoop half of the mixture back into the food processor and pulse until it’s more finely puréed and then return back to the bowl and stir with the remaining mixture. If for some reason it’s too wet, add more bread crumbs as needed.
  • Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more tomato paste for added moisture / tomato flavor, coconut aminos or vegan Worcestershire for depth of flavor, salt for saltiness, or thyme to taste.
  • Transfer the mixture to the parchment-lined loaf pan, spread, and press into an even layer (to avoid a crumbly loaf, tap pan on counter to settle the mixture and place parchment paper on top and press down firmly with a drinking glass or flat bottomed object to pack it well). Then add ketchup glaze (optional but adds plenty of flavor) and spread into an even layer. If not using the glaze, brush the top with a little oil to help the loaf retain moisture.
  • Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and slightly dry to the touch. Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes in the pan. Then gently remove and carefully slice and serve.
  • Leftovers keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator or 1 month in the freezer. Reheat in the microwave or in a 350-F (176 C) oven until warmed through.

Video

Notes

*Vegan Gravy Recipe!
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with avocado oil and Worcestershire and without optional ingredients.

Nutrition (1 of 8 servings)

Serving: 1 Slice Calories: 337 Carbohydrates: 31.6 g Protein: 9.5 g Fat: 20.5 g Saturated Fat: 1.9 g Sodium: 622 mg Potassium: 526 mg Fiber: 7.3 g Sugar: 5.3 g

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    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Tamar, you could possibly sub raw pumpkin seeds + sunflower seeds instead. Another reader did mention omitting them with success, but we think that would change the texture and flavor quite a bit. Hope that helps!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Michelle, We think that would work, though it may be a bit more tender than ideal (adding more breadcrumbs could help). Also, the glaze does add a lot of flavor, but it could be warmed up and served as a dipping sauce, perhaps? Let us know if you try it!

  1. Jonas says

    The final product was very good (kids and adults ate it up with gusto), but the recipe has some pitfalls. Namely the use of the food processor. In my 14-cup processor (the recipe calls for at least a 7-cup capacity), the stuff on the bottom puréed while the stuff on top remained untouched. No amount of mixing or nudging or pulsing seemed to make any movement . So I gave up, dumped it all in a mixing bowl and used the immersion blender to kind of “chop” it. In the end the texture was pretty uneven, but after you squish it all into the loaf pan, tump it out and slather it with gravy, no one was going through it with a fine tooth comb anyway.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Thank you for sharing your experience, Jonas. Sorry to hear the food processor gave you trouble. It sounds like you made the right move in transferring to a bowl!

  2. Melanie says

    Can this recipe be made ahead? I’m thinking of making it to the point of getting it all into the pan and then refrigerating overnight and just adding the ketchup glaze the next morning before I put it in the oven.

  3. Lisa says

    I used the food processor and I guess it was too much as if looked more like a pate rather than chunky like the pictures. I tried cooking it anyway and it never would solidify. The taste with the texture of congealed blob was absolutely disgusting.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Sorry that happened, Lisa. It does sound like it got over-mixed in the food processor. As mentioned in step 4, it should be pulsed until just loosely combined, being careful not to purée.

  4. Angelica Jamieson says

    Hello. Could you please explain how 3 cups mushrooms is 170gr and 2 cups nuts is 205gr. I’m struggling with the metric equivalents as they don’t seem to align.
    Many thanks
    Angelica

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Angelica, different ingredients weigh different amounts. Cups are a volume measurement while grams are a weight measurement, so 1 cup of an ingredient will not weight the same amount as 1 cup of another ingredient. If using the metric system, we’d recommend clicking “metric” beneath the ingredients header to see those measurements.

  5. Angelica Jamieson says

    Hello! I’m starting to make this loaf. I’m in the UK so using metric measurements. This is when the confusion starts…. for example there are 2 cups of sweet potato and 2 cups of nuts. In metric the potato becomes 250g and nuts is 205g… then 3 cups of mushroom becomes 170g??? Sorry for this, I’m just not sure where to go from here? Thank you!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Angelica, if you click “metric” beneath the ingredients header you will find the weight measurements for each ingredient. Hope that helps!

  6. Lindsay says

    This is seriously the best lentil loaf I’ve tried. I’m never making another one again. I can’t get over how good the mushrooms and nuts go with everything else.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Lindsay! Thank you for the lovely review! We got your last name removed per your request :)

  7. sophie says

    Made this roast for Thanksgiving… tried 2 other recipes for Xmas dinner, were not as delicious… this recipe will be my go to from now on!

  8. Marianne says

    I’ve made this nut roast several times and it’s always a hit, even with the meat eaters. The combination of flavours and textures is delicious!

    • Victoria says

      Absolutely loved this recipe! Was a hit with the family and will definitely make again. I did not have a food processor just high speed blender and it is smaller than the suggested size so all I had to do was break it in half to mix up and mixed in a bowl after pulsing !!! My picky eater ate this up !!!!