A delicious and easy-to-make lentil loaf, for a meat-free but "meat-y" alternative, great for roast dinners, Sunday lunch and Christmas main. It's also naturally gluten-free!
If you're looking for an easy, healthy, inexpensive and delicious veggie main for Christmas or Sunday lunch, this lentil loaf ticks those boxes.
As well as being plant-based, this lentil & bean loaf is both gluten-free and nut-free for those who can't (or don't like to) eat nut roasts.
Plus a soy-free option.
With a combination of beans, lentils, vegetables and oats, you are left with a firm yet tender and "meat-y" texture, without having to use any faux meat!
Lentil Loaf Ingredients
This vegan loaf uses very low-cost and easy-to-find ingredients that you'll be able to get from your local store and likely already have most of these things in your cupboard.
- Vegetable oil
- Onion, garlic, portobello mushrooms and carrot
- 1 x tin of kidney beans - Other beans or chickpeas will also work.
- 1 x tin of lentils - Green or puy lentils work well. You can also cook the lentils from dried beforehand. Use approx 100g dried lentils (cooked according to packet's instructions before adding to this recipe).
- Soy sauce - Use tamari sauce for a gluten-free version or coconut aminos for a soy-free version.
- Mixed dried herbs - In the UK, mixed dried herbs consist of equal parts Marjoram, Basil, Oregano and Thyme. This is easy to make yourself or you can buy something like ‘Italian Seasoning’ with a similar herb mix.
- (Optional) Nutritional yeast - Adds more flavour and nutrition but is totally fine to leave out, if you prefer.
- Salt and pepper - Add to suit your own taste.
- Oats - Use gluten-free, if needed. Rolled or porridge oats is fine.
Step-by-Step
Prepare ingredients.
Preheat the oven, line a 2L loaf tin and prepare the vegetables.
Dice the onion and garlic.
Chop the Mushrooms into small pieces and grate the carrot.
Sauté the vegetables.
Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil.
Then add in the vegetables, to soften.
Mix and mash.
Tip in the rest of the ingredients for the vegetable loaf.
Mash together until you have a thick, chunky mixture.
You can also use a food processor but be careful not to over-blend as we want it to remain chunky.
Add to tin and bake!
Press the mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
Use the back of a spoon to press down firmly and smooth the top.
Bake for 40-45 minutes.
Allow to cool in the tin for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Make the gravy.
Sauté the onion with sugar for approx 10 minutes until caramelised.
Add the arrowroot powder/corn starch and stir until dissolved.
Pour in the wine, balsamic vinegar and tamari sauce and simmer until the stock is reduced by half.
Add the vegetable stock and simmer again for 10 minutes until you are left with a thick, dark gravy.
Serve and enjoy!
Serve a couple of slices of the lentil loaf with roast vegetables (or whatever you like!) and pour a generous serving of gravy on top. Enjoy :-)
Video
📖 Recipe
Lentil Loaf with Balsamic Onion Gravy
This meat-free, gluten-free and nut-free dish is perfect for roast dinners and Christmas day!
Ingredients
For the lentil loaf
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 medium portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot grated
- 400 g tin of cooked kidney beans, rinsed
- 400 g tin of cooked puy lentils, rinsed
- 1 tbsp gluten-free tamari soy sauce, or coconut aminos for a soy-free version
- 2 tbsp mixed dried herbs
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- Black pepper, to taste
- 135 g rolled oats, (gluten-free, if needed)
For the balsamic onion gravy
- 1 low-salt vegetable stock cube
- 1 medium onion, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar*
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder or corn starch
- 200 ml red wine
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce (use tamari sauce for gluten-free)*
Instructions
To make the lentil loaf
- Preheat oven to 180c / 350f and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add the mushroom and carrot and cook for another 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and use a masher to combine. Don't over-mash, just enough so that the mixture comes together. Add a drop of water if the mixture is too dry, if it's too wet, add more oats.
- Transfer the mixture into the loaf tin and cook for 40-45 minutes until the outside develops a crust and the inside is firm..
To make the gravy
- Prepare half a litre of vegetable stock with the stock cube and set aside.
- Add the oil to a frying pan and sauté the onion with the coconut sugar for 10 minutes.
- Once it's caramelised, add the arrowroot powder to the pan and stir for a few minutes to combine.
- Pour in the wine, balsamic vinegar and tamari sauce and simmer until the stock is reduced by half.
- Add the vegetable stock and simmer again for 10 minutes until you are left with a thick, dark gravy.
- Optional: for a smooth gravy, blend for a few minutes until no lumps remain. Serve with the lentil loaf and roast vegetables.
Notes
*Coconut sugar is an unrefined sugar with a great caramel flavour. You can also use any kind of brown sugar
*You can also use coconut aminos for a soy-free alternative
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 2 slices (⅙th recipe)Amount Per Serving Calories 269Total Fat 5.6gSaturated Fat 0.8gCarbohydrates 42.5gFiber 10.1gSugar 4.1gProtein 15.6g
Jennifer says
Hi Aimee I made this last week and it froze really well, I cut it into meal size slices before freezing. The recipe is gorgeous lovely flavour, I added chopped nuts to mine and it was delicious, much better than store bought nut roasts. I'm going to make one for my daughter this week.
Thanks for the recipe
Rosa says
Hello! I'm actually making this right now, and I have a question. I followed the recipe exactly but when it was time to take the loaf out, it was still gooey all the way through. Can you help me figure out why? What size tin did you use?
Aimee says
Mine is a 2lb tin, so it's fairly deep. I would just suggest cooking it for another 10-15 minutes, maybe with a bit of tin foil on top to stop the top browning too much. Let me know how it goes!
Maggie says
This sounds wonderful! It's difficult to find nutritional yeast where I live. Is it okay to just skip it or is it better to substitute something? Thanks! :)
Aimee says
Hi Maggie, I think it will probably be OK without. It does add a lovely flavour but I think there are lot's of other flavours going on that it shouldn't matter too much :-) Let me know how it goes!
Kelly says
I order mine through Amazon and it comes straight to my door!
Alex says
Loved it! Made it twice over the holidays :)))) thank you!!
Aimee says
So glad you liked it Alex! One of my favourites for the holidays :-)
Andra says
Hi! Can we substitute with steel cut oats?
Thanks :)
Merry Christmas!
Aimee says
I think it should work OK, the texture might be a little different so you may need to use more oats. Hope you enjoy!
Andra says
Thanks! Tried it today, the taste is very good! Although, I suggest splitting the mixture in two (3/4 and 1/4) and not put steel cut oats in the 1/4 top part. It did not cook as well as the one underneath, it was a bit crunchy.
Thanks again!
Aimee says
Thanks for the feedback, Andra! Glad it tasted good :-)