The best vegan mushroom lentil loaf recipe loaded with meaty mushrooms, oats, veggies and fresh herbs covered in a blanket of smooth Italian tomato sauce. Healthy, filling, meatless, oil-free and super tasty.
What Is a Lentil Loaf ?
A.K.A. vegan meatloaf that is made with lentils, mushrooms and veggies, meatless and cruelty-free! Whole Foods Plant based, no eggs, no cheese, no oil! Hearty, nutritious and beyond delicious, loaded with tons of nutrition and Italian flavor, you’ll be licking your plates sparkling clean.
How to Make It:
It’s important to use the tiny French lentils variety when making this recipe. We need them to hold their shape throughout the cooking process so we can control the final texture. Don’t use the red variety as they won’t hold together as needed and you might end up with a pile of mush.
Personally I want the leftover slices to hold together enough to make a sandwich perfect for dunking in a bowl of vegan mushroom gravy.
What Are French Lentils ?
If you prefer to keep your dinner more casual and way faster, you can also shape the loaf mixture into burger patties, pan sear them in a hot cast iron skillet and serve on toasted buns with lots of tomato sauce or gravy for dipping.
How Do You Reheat Mushroom Lentil Loaf ?
Place the leftover loaf on a parchment lined baking dish and bake in a preheated 300”F oven until heated through, 45 minutes or so. The quick route would be to pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes, just make sure to only use glass or ceramic, never use any plastic in the microwave.
What to Serve With:
note worthy: There are about 50 different varieties of lentils, all loaded with soluble fiber and protein: 1 cup lentils contains 18 g of protein and 16 g of fiber. Unlike beans they do not need any presoaking and are ready under 30 minutes depending on the variety used.
Mushroom Lentil Loaf
Ingredients
- 2 cups French lentils -cooked & drained well ( start with 1 cup dry)
- 1 large carrot -grated or finely finely chopped
- 1/2 yellow onion ( or 1/2 leek) -chopped
- 1 cup cremini mushrooms -chopped
- 1 cup red bell pepper -diced
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 2 tbsp walnut parmesan ( or nutritional yeast flakes)
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs -plain whole wheat or gluten-free
- 3 cloves garlic -grated
- 2 tbsp flax meal (I used flax & chia mix)
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp Italian marinara sauce
- 1.5 tbsp liquid aminos
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves -fresh
- 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley -roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp onion chives -chopped
- 2 tbsp basil leaves -for garnish
- 1 drizzle olive oil or a splash of water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350”F.
- In a large skillet over medium flame saute the onion (or leeks), mushrooms and carrot with a pinch of sea salt and a splash of water, veggie broth (or a drizzle of olive oil) until softened. About 10 minutes or so. (If using leeks make sure to rinse them really well after chopping as they can be quite full of dirt and grit)
- Stir in the bell pepper, garlic, paprika, onion powder, liquid aminos, flax meal, 2-3 tablespoons of marinara sauce and the fresh herbs (reserve some herbs for garnish). Remove from heat.
- Add the walnut parmesan, lentils and oats to the pan with the sauteed veggies and mix to combine. Transfer half of the mixture to the bowl of a food processor and finely chop but not totally pureed, so keep a close eye on it.
- Transfer the chopped mixture to the bowl with the reserved sautéed veggies, add the breadcrumbs and use your hands to mix it well. Taste and adjust seasonings with the sea salt. IMPORTANT: The loaf should stick together nicely by now, however If you feel like it is too wet you can add more breadcrumbs at this point.
- Dump the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into two loaves ( helps if you lightly oil your hands first). Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes have passed, carefully spoon the marinara sauce over the top and the sides of the loaves and bake another 10 minutes or so.
- Remove the lentil loaves from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve garnished with fresh basil and chives on a bed of mashed potatoes with extra tomato sauce on the side.
Nutrition
Environmental Information
Vegan Recipes:
Potatoes & Mushrooms
Mushroom Stuffing
Veggie Stir-Fry
This lentil loaf was a major hit in our family, all gone in one day so I’ll be making it again for Easter together with your Shpherd’s Pie with the mushrooms. I would just say to double the recipe if you have more than 4 hungry people, you’ll be happy you did.
Made the lentil loaf for dinner tonight – It was delicious but took way longer than anticipated to prep maybe because I chopped everything by hand and didn’t use the food processor. I forgot to add the bread crumbs (and I had specifically purchased gluten free) … husband enjoyed very much. Next time I will add hot peppers.
Made this today for Father’s Day. Very tasty meal. However, I too forgot to add the bread crumbs 😩 I will definitely make this dish again and be sure not to forget anything!
I’m going to add it to the notes: “Don’t Forget the Breadcrumbs” lol
Hello – while I pretty much figured it out, the recipe doesn’t say at which step to add the breadcrumbs. Thank you.
Hey Judy, you are correct, I updated that last step where you need to add the breadcrumbs. Sometimes the ingredients will turn out more moisture so it’s a good idea to add more breadcrumbs. It all depends however so you’ll just learn to have a feel for it in the future and nail it every time! So happy you still loved it 🙂
Finally made this and was not disappointed. Mine could use a bit more binding, but didn’t completely fall apart. Any suggestions for this would be helpful. P.S. There is nowhere in the instructions that state when to add the bread crumbs so I just added it to the last mixing step. Would like clarification on #4 – by Add you mean adding the walnut parmesan, lentils and oats to the existing veggie mixture right? And then half of the whole mixture gets chopped in the food processor? Or is it combining those 3 in a separate bowl and then half of it gets put in the food processor. If so do we also do the second half in the food processor? Thank you kindly.
Sorry for the confusion Judy! Yes you are correct, add the walnut parmesan, oats and lentils to the pan with the sauteed veggies. Then you chop up half of that mixture in the food processor just for texture, it helps bind the loaf together. Then you mix everything together again and add the breadcrumbs before shaping your lentil loaf. I hope that makes more sense now, I updated the instructions to reflect that too. So happy you still enjoyed it 🙂
Loved this recipe! Will definitely be making it again. For one loaf I used the marina sauce per the recipe but, the second loaf I added vegan cheese and ketchup (my father has always made his meatloaf this way). Neither loafs were disappointing. Thos recipe is definitely time consuming but well worth it. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Very flavorful and delicious. Excellent recipes. 🙂
I can’t seem to find French lentils at any store near me. Does anyone know what lentil would be the best substitute?
Hi Jamie, any brown or green lentil should be fine here instead of the French variety.