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)
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.
How to Make 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 your ingredients, form your loaves, and pop them in the oven.
I love the hearty lentil-walnut-mushroom base, held together with oat flour. Such a beautiful variety of plant-based nutrients!
Note on 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.
Hope you enjoy this nourishing comfort meal. Come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and share a photo if you make it! (Also please leave a review/star rating below if you give it a try – your feedback is always very appreciated. Thank you!)
Vegan Mini Meatloaf with Maple-Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
- 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
Nutrition Per Serving (estimate)
If you enjoying this vegan meatloaf, also check out this Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Mushroom Pasta or these easy Portobello Fajitas!
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.
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 🙂
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!
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