Vegan Mini Meatloaf with Maple-Balsamic Glaze
A hearty, comforting vegan meatloaf made with healthy, whole food ingredients. Then topped with a sweet & savory tomato maple-balsamic glaze!
Servings8 mini loaves
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. ground flax meal
- 1 large carrot (or 2 small)
- 2-3 stalks celery
- 8 oz. mushrooms (I use cremini or white button)
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts* (I use raw, unsalted)
- 15 oz. can lentils
- 3/4 cup oat flour**
- 3 Tbsp. tamari (or soy sauce)
- 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 (or soy sauce)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°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 (wiped clean) and walnuts 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 overly 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.
**Oat flour: 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)
Herbs: Use your favorite dried herbs (or fresh for brighter flavor). Try combinations of thyme, sage, parsley, oregano, basil, etc.
Loaf pan: 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).
Nutrition: Estimated nutritional content is for 1 mini loaf of 8 total.
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Calories: 318 kcal | Carbohydrates: 32 g | Protein: 13 g | Fat: 17 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g | Potassium: 668 mg | Fiber: 9 g | Sugar: 8 g | Vitamin A: 1601 IU | Vitamin C: 5 mg | Calcium: 75 mg | Iron: 4 mg