Make some room on your holiday tables this year for this vegan lentil and carrot meatloaf! Although I personally like to make this recipe year round because it is so hearty and delicious, it would be the perfect thing to serve this holiday season and can be made ahead of time!
To make this recipe really quick and easy, I like to chop everything in the food processor and transfer to a large bowl to mix everything together. If you have a large enough food processor, you may be able to get away with mixing everything together in the food processor, which would make it a true one bowl dish! If you do use the food processor to mix everything together, be careful not to over mix. You want there to be some texture in your loaf!
Once it is mixed together, it should hold together fairly easily but have some moisture to it. If your loaf mixture is too crumbly, add in more ketchup, or some vegetable broth until you reach a consistency that resembles the above.
Doesn’t that look meaty!?
Now I’ve never made a real meatloaf before, but I’ve seen pictures and the color and texture we have going with this lentil and carrot meatloaf seems so close. Just me?! Moment of appreciation for how dang awesome lentils are.
now for the ketchup…
Reading through this recipe, you may be thinking, can I just use store-bought ketchup?
While I think store-bought ketchup would work just fine (especially in the loaf itself), I highly, highly recommend making the homemade ketchup. Just trust me. It is SO good and tastes so much richer than a store bought ketchup. Once you smell the ketchup after it has been baked onto your loaf you will not be sorry! You may even stop buying store bought ketchup all together it is that good. Promise!
instant pot mashed potatoes
When I make this recipe I almost always make my instant pot mashed potatoes to go along with it. It just doesn’t feel right to serve this without some form of creamy, dreamy potatoes. And if you’re serving this for the holidays, it’s practically American law that you serve at least ONE side of potatoes.
If you’ve never made instant pot mashed potatoes, it is seriously a game changer. So quick. So easy. SO GOOD. Check out my recipe here.
Finally, I highly recommend serving this loaf with fried sage. It takes less than 5 minutes and is heaven. I usually always have my cast iron skillet on the stove top and will just throw a few leaves in there for a second with a little bit of avocado oil. Could not be easier!
Can’t wait to hear what you guys think of this loaf! It is such a staple in our house and definitely one of my favorite meals.
Vegan Lentil and Carrot Meatloaf
Ingredients
Loaf
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 medium/large carrots
- 2 ½ cups cooked cooled lentils
- 1 ½ cups oat flour
- ½ cup bread crumbs substitute more oat flour for gluten free
- 1 cup homemade ketchup divided (ingredients below)
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
Ketchup
- 12 ounces tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon tamari
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Process the onion, carrot and garlic together in the food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Process the lentils in the food processor until roughly chopped. Transfer to the large mixing bowl.
- Process the oats in the food processor until you reach the consistency of a fine powder. Transfer to the large mixing bowl.
- In the mixing bowl, add the remaining loaf ingredients and mix until well combined. Be sure to reserve ⅓ of the ketchup for topping the loaf.
- Transfer mixture to a parchment lined loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the loaf, top with the reserved ⅓ ketchup and return to the oven for an additional 25 min.
- Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. I recommend serving with mashed potatoes and fried sage!
Notes
- Make sure your lentils are cooled before processing in food processor. If they are too warm they will not hold their shape.
- If you have a large enough food processor, you may be able to mix all ingredients together in food processor.
- If you do not have parchment paper, you can oil the loaf pan instead.
- I highly recommend using the homemade ketchup recipe instead of regular ketchup, however I think regular ketchup would work in a pinch.
- I make my own oat flour by blending the amount of oats I need in my Vitamix for 10-15 seconds or until a fine powder. You can buy oat flour if you do not have a high speed blender here.
Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.
For the lentils, is that amount before cooking or after?
Hi, Jennie! The measurement is for cooked lentils.