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Vegan Meatloaf is a hearty vegetarian meal that will impress your dinner guests. Featuring a satisfying mixture of lentils and walnuts, it tastes just as delicious as the traditional version!
Instead of relying on fake meat substitutes, this lentil loaf recipe is made with simple, real-food ingredients. It has a satisfying texture you’ll love, and it contains plenty of plant-based protein.
It pairs perfectly with classic holiday side dishes, like mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and vegan gravy.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instead of breadcrumbs as a binder, this recipe uses oats to keep it gluten-free. (Be sure to buy certified gluten-free oats to avoid cross-contamination during the manufacturing process.)
The addition of tamari (a gluten-free soy sauce) gives this recipe an umami flavor and is easier to find than vegan worcestershire sauce. Feel free to use regular soy sauce if you don’t need a gluten-free recipe.
If you don’t want to make your own glaze for the topping, you could also use store-bought BBQ sauce, instead. Or use ketchup as the base, to replace the tomato paste and maple syrup.
Want to switch up the veggies?
You can use mushrooms instead of the carrots and celery, if you prefer. Be sure to roughly chop them, to give them a “ground beef” texture for this vegan meatloaf.
How to Make Vegan Meatloaf
- Cook the vegetables.
Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until the onion, carrot, and celery soften, about 8 minutes.
Then, add the garlic and thyme and stir for one more minute.
- Process.
Add the walnuts to the bowl of a large food processor fitted with an “S” blade and pulse briefly until crumbly. Then, add the lentils, oats, olive oil, flax seeds, tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Add in the cooked veggies, then pulse several times until the mixture starts to stick together.
You can test this by pressing it between your fingers. It’s ready to go into the loaf pan if it sticks together. (You don’t want the meatloaf mixture to be totally smooth, or it could become gummy in the center.)
Don’t have a food processor?
You can mix this loaf in a large bowl instead. Simply use a potato masher or fork to mash the ingredients until they stick together.
- Bake.
Prepare a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan by spraying it with oil. Then, press a piece of parchment paper into the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan, then press firmly to pack it in. Bake in the oven, uncovered, at 375ºF for 20 minutes.
- Glaze.
While the loaf is in the oven, stir the glaze ingredients together in a bowl. When the timer goes off, spread the glaze evenly over the top of the loaf.
Return the pan to the oven to bake for ten more minutes. When it’s done, let it cool for at least 15 minutes.
Then, use the parchment paper to lift it out of the pan. Slice and serve warm with your favorite sides. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Looking for more vegan holiday recipes? Try Vegan Mac and Cheese, Green Bean Casserole, Glazed Sweet Potatoes, and Wild Rice Stuffing.
Ingredients
Lentil Loaf:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil , divided
- 1 cup yellow onion , chopped
- ½ cup carrot , chopped
- ⅓ celery , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 ½ cups cooked lentils (green or brown; see notes)
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats (certified gluten-free, if needed)
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 2 tablespoons tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and line a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. (I like to use a spray oil on the pan first, so that the parchment paper will stick in place.)
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, onion, carrot and celery. Stir occasionally until softened, about 8 minutes, then add in the garlic and thyme and stir for 1 more minute.
- Add the walnuts to the bowl of a large food processor fitted with an "S" blade, and briefly process them into a crumbly texture. Then add the cooked lentils, oats, flax, tamari, cayenne, salt, and several grinds of black pepper. When the vegetables are tender, add them in, along with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. (The oil will help make the loaf easier to slice, but you can omit this if you prefer.)
- Pulse several times, just until the mixture starts to stick together when you press it between your fingers. You don't want it totally smooth, for the best texture. (See the photos in this post for reference.)
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan, then press firmly to pack it together. Bake uncovered at 375ºF for 20 minutes.
- While the loaf is baking, stir the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. When the timer goes off, remove the loaf from the oven and spread the glaze over the top. Return the pan to the oven to bake for 10 more minutes.
- Let the loaf cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes, then use the parchment paper to lift it out of the pan. Slice and serve warm.
- Leftover slices can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, but the leftover loaf will be a little more dry in texture when you reheat it, so you might want to serve it with gravy for added moisture.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this vegan meatloaf recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
What could I substitute for the flax seeds! I love all your recipes and can’t wait to try this one. Thank you!
Maybe ground chia seeds?
You think I can prep/make it the night before, leave in fridge, and bake the next day? Trying to minimize cooking tomorrow on Easter 🙂
This looks delicious, but I’m sensitive to nuts. Can I omit the walnuts? Or is there a substitution you’d recommend? Thanks!
This was surprisingly pretty easy to make. We had everything on hand except walnuts. I subbed pecans & it turned out beautifully. My husband blurted out “I love it!”during his first bite. He kept raving about it & I also was very impressed with how deep the flavor was with fairly ordinary ingredients. This was a home run!!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear it was a hit! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know.
Made it this morning just the way you said and it as great. Thank you. I did use gluten free oats and gluten free soy sauce.
I made the vegan meatloaf-easy lentil loaf today. It was fantastic! We are on about Day 20 of vegetarian makeover. My husband loved it! Thank you so much for posting it!
Would a Vitamix work in place of a food processor with these ingredients, or would it need more liquid?
I wouldn’t add more liquid, but maybe process it in batches in the Vitamix? It can over-puree things pretty fast, so I think I’d try using the lowest setting in small batches.
I used a Vitamix.
I pulsed the dry ingredients together.
Then pulsed the lentils and cooked vegetables together.
Then stirred them both up together in a bowl.
Worked fine for me
Love this recipe! My husband had no idea it wasn’t actual ground beef and he’s tough to trick with food. I used bell pepper instead of celery because I didn’t have any on hand and it turned out great!
Hello. I am new to vegan cooking. Do you need to drain the can of lentils?
Thank you
Yes, drain and rinse them to remove any sodium from the can.
Yes, I would drain and rinse them.
Oats don’t agree with my wife. Could I substitute potatoes, rice or something else?
I haven’t tried it with another grain yet. Possibly bread crumbs could be a good substitute?
Thanks for the suggestion! I substituted a large grated potato and an egg for the oats, and it came out pretty well. Tasted good but was a little too moist. Next time I’ll try adding an extra tablespoon of flax meal. I also made it with the oats, and that was perfect. Great recipe!
The taste was amazing. My boys and husband ate it and thoroughly enjoyed it! Directions were easy to follow and simple ingredients i had on hand. I try to cook vegan when I can and this was a winner recipe. I combined this recipe with cauliflower/ potato mash and mushroom gravy also roasted root veggies.