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Vegan Mini Meatloaf with Maple-Balsamic Glaze

by Kaitlin

Hearty & satisfying vegan "meatloaf" made with healthy, whole food ingredients. Then topped with a delicious sweet & savory tomato-maple-balsamic glaze! Great for holidays or a comforting cold-weather meal. (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, nut-free option)

Vegan gluten-free meatloaf on a plate with green beans and potatoes

This vegan lentil meatloaf is beautifully packed with healthy, hearty, whole food ingredients. Then slathered with a delicious, sweet & savory tomato-maple-balsamic glaze.

It's a wonderfully comforting cold weather meal or a great addition to your holiday table. We love pairing it with potatoes and vegetables for the ultimate snuggly meal.

Vegan mini meatloaf on a plate with fork

Making Vegan Meatloaf

The ingredient list is longer than most of my recipes, but many are simply herbs & seasonings that make it taste warm and comforting.

I created this recipe with ease-of-assembly in mind. So you'll find there's no need to sauté ingredients before baking. Simply:

  • Grab your food processor
  • Mix the ingredients
  • Form the loaves
  • Then pop them in the oven
Ingredients for lentil walnut mushroom loaves in a bowl

I love the hearty lentil-walnut-mushroom base, held together with oat flour. Such a beautiful variety of healthy plant-based nutrients.

Note about the tomato glaze:
If you're not a fan of maple-balsamic, or prefer the more standard approach, see the notes below the recipe for making a classic ketchup glaze instead. Both are tasty and pair well with the loaves!

Mushroom lentil loaves in a pan being topped with tomato glaze

Hope you enjoy this nourishing comfort meal!

Sliced vegan lentil loaf on a plate
Vegan gluten-free meatloaf on a plate with green beans and potatoes
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5 from 1 vote

Vegan Mini Meatloaf with Maple-Balsamic Glaze

Hearty, comforting vegan meatloaf made with healthy, whole food ingredients. Then topped with a sweet & savory tomato maple-balsamic glaze!
AuthorKaitlin - The Garden Grazer
Prep Time25 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Rest Time25 mins
Total Time1 hr 30 mins
CategoryMain Dish
CuisineGluten-Free, Oil-Free, Vegan
Servings8 mini loaves

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric
  • 2 Tbsp. ground flax meal
  • 1 large carrot (or 2 small)
  • 2-3 stalks celery
  • 8 oz. mushrooms
  • 1 1/2 cups walnuts* (I use raw, unsalted)
  • 15 oz. can lentils
  • 3/4 cup oat flour**
  • 3 Tbsp. tamari
  • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp. onion powder
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. salt (more/less to taste)

For the Maple-Balsamic Glaze:

  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. tamari

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
  • Make flax egg: in a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. ground flax with 6 Tbsp. water. Stir and set aside to thicken.
  • Roughly chop carrot and celery into large chunks (to fit in your food processor). Add them to the food processor and pulse several times until they're finely minced. Add to a large mixing bowl.
  • Next, add mushrooms (gently wiped clean) and walnuts (or garbanzos, rinsed & drained well) to food processor. Pulse several times. (It's okay to leave the walnuts in small pieces rather than a fine meal - I enjoy the slight crunch they add to the loaf.) Add to bowl with carrots/celery.
  • Rinse and drain lentils well. Add to processor and pulse a couple times. (You don't want the lentils to be super mushy.) Add to bowl.
  • Add all remaining loaf ingredients to the large bowl. (Thickened flax egg, oat flour, tamari, tomato paste, herbs/spices, and salt.) Stir to thoroughly combine.
  • Add loaf mixture throughout the 8 hollows in a non-stick mini loaf pan. Be sure to press mixture down to fill each cavity and form even loaves.
  • Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, make the glaze: in a small bowl mix together all glaze ingredients until combined.
  • After 25 minutes, remove pan from oven. Carefully spread glaze evenly over each loaf. Return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and let loaves rest 25-30 minutes in the pan. (This step is essential. The loaves will be very soft right after baking. So it's necessary to let them rest and firm up.) After they've rested, carefully remove and serve.

Notes

*For nut-free: substitute walnuts with a 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained well). I prefer walnuts for the added texture/crunch but garbanzos work too, resulting in a slightly softer loaf.
**If you don't have oat flour, simply place rolled oats in a food processor and process until a fine flour forms.
Alternate Ketchup Glaze: 1/2 cup ketchup + 1 tsp. onion powder + 1 tsp. garlic powder + 1 Tbsp. sugar (cane, brown, coconut)
Use your favorite herbs (or fresh for brighter flavor). Thyme, sage, parsley, oregano, basil, etc. depending on your preference.
I recommend an 8-cavity, non-stick mini loaf pan as I get best results with that method. But you could also try baking them in a muffin pan, or in a standard loaf pan (increasing the baking time to about 50-60 minutes).
Estimated nutritional content is for 1 mini loaf of 8 total.

Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)

Calories: 321 kcalCarbohydrates: 33 gProtein: 13 gFat: 17 gSaturated Fat: 2 gPotassium: 691 mgFiber: 10 gSugar: 7 gVitamin A: 1769 IUVitamin C: 5 mgCalcium: 90 mgIron: 5 mg
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Donna

    Kaitlin, I have all the ingredients on hand to make this fabulous sounding recipe (love lentils)... just not a mini loaf pan. Do have a standard size though. I read to increase the baking time; but do you know of a reason why the end result might not turn out as well as it would if baked in the mini pan? Just curious. 'Cause I could order the mini pan and bake later. Thanks for any tip you can give! I love your Mexican salad recipes! Delicious and satisfying!

    Reply

    • Kaitlin McGinn

      Hi Donna! I've made this in a regular loaf pan and it works great, too. I just prefer the mini loaf size/shape (such cute single servings!) and also found it firmed up the loaves a little more. But I know a mini loaf pan is not something many people have on hand! So you can certainly use your regular loaf pan, or even a cupcake/muffin tin if you're wanting smaller portion sizes.

      Glad you're enjoying the salad recipes! Thanks for the kind words. Wishing you a very happy new year 🙂 -Kaitlin

      Reply

  2. Alison

    Hi Kaitlin! This looks so yummy! I have one question though, I see that your suggestion for a nut free is chickpeas... is there perhaps some sort of vegetable that may work in substitution for that? I’m racking my brain but I’m not sure what! LOL. Any suggestions or thoughts? Thanks so much! I can’t wait to try this.

    Reply

    • Kaitlin McGinn

      Hi Alison! Great question - I haven't tested this without using either walnuts or chickpeas, so I can't say for sure. But you might be able to use an additional can of lentils, or possibly increase the mushrooms but I don't know if that'd make it too soft/mushy. Sunflower seeds (coarsely ground) could be another possibility if you don't have any allergy issues there. Would love to hear if you give it a go! I'll be sure to update the recipe if I ever test it without walnuts/chickpeas 🙂

      Reply

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