It’s still freezing cold out there and we’ve been stuck inside all day renovating the bedroom so I thought I would share my absolute favorite recipe for meatloaf. You guessed it It’s vegan. That’s right; lentils replace meat in this lip-smacking super good meatloaf with a tomato maple syrup glaze. This is a great tasting meatloaf and very healthy!
one of my favorite reasons I love this meal is because not only is it satisfying, but it’s also packed with some pretty amazing nutrition stats. Not only do lentils contain tons of fiber, but they are an excellent source of protein, too. I mean 16g of fiber and 14g of protein for one serving? That’s some pretty great stuff.
Veggie Lentil Loaf
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Ripe-Life
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- Loaf
- 1 cup dry lentils (use green/brown)
- 2½ cups water or vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds)
- ⅓ cup water (6 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for sauteing or steam saute using ¼ cup water
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1scotch bonnet pepper stemmed, seeded and finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced or grated
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- ¾ cup oats
- ½ cup of brown rice flour
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ heaping teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon each garlic powder & onion powder...for good measure!
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, optional cracked pepper & sea salt to taste
- Glaze
- 3 tablespoons tomato purée
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Rinse lentils. In large pot add 2½ cups water with lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. It's ok if they get mushy, we are going to roughly puree ¾ of the mixture when cooled. Drain lentil and let cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In small bowl combine flaxseed meal and ⅓ cup water, set aside for at least 10 minutes, preferably in the refrigerator. This will act as a binder and will thicken nicely upon sitting.
- Prepare vegetables. I chopped all my veggie in my mini chopper it makes things lot quicker and easier. heat oil in pan over medium heat. Saute garlic, scotch bonnet pepper onion, bell pepper, carrots and celery for about 5 minutes. Add spices mixing well to incorporate. Set aside to cool.
- Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend ¾ of the lentil mixture. Alternately, you can mash the lentils with a potato masher or fork.
- Combine sauteed vegetables with the lentils, oats, flour and flax egg, mix well. Taste, adding salt and pepper as needed, or any other herb or spice you might like. Place mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper, leaving it overlapping for easy removal later. Press down firmly filling in along the edges too.
- Prepare your glaze by combining all ingredients in a small bowl, mix together. Spread over top of loaf and bake in oven for about 45 - 50 minutes. Let cool a bit before slicing.
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