A meatless meatloaf? Say what??? Yet here it is in all it’s glorious yumminess! I never consider things like this as a “replacement” for something else but just a delicious dish in and of themselves. But this does looks exactly like a meatloaf so hence the quirky title of this article. It’s really a Vegetable Lentil Loaf and it’s become my favorite meal for the past few weeks. (We’ve made about 8 of them so far!) You can of course eat it plain with a side of mashed potatoes and veggies. But Roy and my favorite way to eat this by far is to place it in the fridge and cut slices off for sandwiches. We put Vegenaise on both slices of soft whole wheat bread and then a 1/3 inch slice of our lentil loaf. (Vegenaise is a healthy mayo substitute that is even better tasting than regular mayonnaise.) Roy likes to add a little more BBQ sauce along with some sliced onions on his. Sometimes we’ll have some Baked Onion Rings with it. Either way it’s a delicious meal!
Visual Steps for Lentil Loaf
NOTE: This dish does take a bit of time to make because of all the ingredients and steps. But it’s more than worth it especially if you use it for sandwiches over 3 or 4 days.
It requires some ground flax seed and oats. I keep a mini coffee grinder on hand as they are perfect for that! Takes only seconds to grind what you need.
Recipe
- 1 cup dry lentils
- 2½ cups water or vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons flaxseed ground in mini coffee grinder
- ⅓ cup water (6 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for sauteing, or steam saute using ¼ cup water
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 carrot, finely diced or grated
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- ¾ cup oats
- ½ cup oats ground up in mini coffee grinder
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 small bell pepper diced
- ½ cup mushrooms diced
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ heaping teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Liquid Smoke
- Salt & pepper to taste
- GLAZE: BBQ Sauce of Choice
- Oven 350
- Place lentils in a large pot with 2½ cups water and bring to a boil, reduce the heat then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- In a pan heat water or oil over medium heat and saute the onions, bell pepper, celery, carrots and garlic for 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Place ¾ of the cooled cooked lentils into a blender to puree them.
- In a large bowl add in your sauteed vegetables, regular lentils and pureed lentils, regular oats and ground oats.
- In a cup mix your seasons with a tiny bit of water. Add the liquid smoke and stir into mixture well.(The water helps everything mix well.)
- In another cup mix your flax seed with 2 or 3 TB water and mix. Add to mixture right away and stir well. (This is a wonderful egg replacer!)
- You can taste it and add salt and pepper as desired.
- Place the mixture in to a bread pan sprayed or lined to ease in removal. Use a wood spoon to make chopping motions up and down in the mixture across the whole pan.This helps it to settle down more and make a firmer loaf. Smooth over the top evenly.
- Top with your choice of BBQ sauce.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool slightly before slicing or cool and place in fridge for sandwiches.
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Have you ever tried freezing this or batch producing for freezer meals?
I have actually. It freezes wonderfully!
Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty – We hope to see you again next week!
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
I don’t know what lentils taste like, but this recipe sounds amazing!
Not a strong flavor at all. Thanks for visiting!
yummy! My mother used to make something a bit similar to this, I will have to ask her about it! Thanks you for sharing!
Mmm this looks delicious and so simple to make, thank you for sharing I’ll have to make it sometime. I came across you on the nifty thrifty sunday link party : )
Kathryn | Nimble Note
Thank YOU for commenting Kathryn!