Vegan meatloaf made with full meals and no faux meat – it’s not solely doable, nonetheless worthy of a spot at your subsequent household dinner! Greens, lentils, and seeds are sneakily hidden correct proper right into a hearty, savory loaf that isn’t mushy all through the slightest. Can merely be made gluten-free, too!
Accurately, it’s official. I on no account should make one totally different vegan meatloaf as quickly as further. Okay, okay, I uncover that’s a bit dramatic, nonetheless DANG. I on no account thought I used to be going to get this recipe right! So many checks. So many fails. Nonetheless then…a flash of an thought…a closing try…and I tentatively requested my husband Michael the final word phrase query after he’d had a number of bites.
“Do you prefer it?”
Silence. Concern and trembling (on my half). I felt like I used to be ready to look out out if I’m Star Baker or about to be kicked out of the tent. Aaaaaaaand I’ve merely revealed my habits to The Good British Bake Off.
Lastly, he says, “I don’t perceive the way you make factors like this out of greens.”
And at that exact second, I knew I’d nailed it. STAR MEATLOAF MAKER.
It’s nonetheless loopy to me that every a type of substances someway mix correct proper right into a vegan meatloaf that’s hearty, flavorful, and most significantly, NOT MUSHY. For people who’ve ever made my vegan flooring beef, you’ll acknowledge most of those substances. For lots of of my checks, the vegan flooring beef was practically all the combo, and I examined fully completely totally different binders to carry the entire thing collectively. Nonetheless it will not matter what I did, the loaves frequently shrunk down all through the pan and the middles have been mushy. I nearly threw all through the towel. After which, I remembered falafel.
Beth, falafel? The place are you heading with this?
Protect your pita, I’ve a degree. Promise. Okay, in order all of us realized as quickly as we made oven-baked falafel, the important issue to the proper texture is to make the most of soaked dried chickpeas. Utilizing cooked chickpeas virtually ensures a mushy inside. Then I noticed that many vegan meatloaf recipes use lentils, nonetheless all of them use cooked lentils, which have already absorbed moisture, in order that wouldn’t assist the mushy coronary heart draw again. Do you see the place I’m going with this?
I made a decision to try soaking the lentils and grinding them up like I might for falafel. And IT WORKED. No mush. No loaf shrinkage. Good texture. Blissful dance in my kitchen! OVER MEATLOAF. (what has occurred to me?) Oh, I furthermore soaked the pepitas and sun-dried tomatoes, that are normally a part of the vegan flooring beef. That combo with the lentils was the game-changer. Nonetheless we’re getting forward of ourselves. Principally what I’m saying is that you just merely soak the lentils, pepitas, and sun-dried tomatoes when you’re shredding some greens to roast them. Everytime you’re at it, combine some flooring flaxseed with water for a flax “egg” that you just merely’ll use later.
Cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, onion, and garlic. Unfold them out on a vast baking sheet, roast them off till they’ve browned a bit and launched their moisture.
At this diploma you is possibly pondering, uh, Beth, this isn’t a fast recipe, is it? Accurately, on account of the Bake Off contestants usually say, it’s barely little little bit of a faff. That’s British for a ache all through the booty. It’s a kind of belongings you make whenever you’re already planning on being all through the kitchen doing completely totally different factors. Like making mashed potatoes and gravy to affiliate with the meatloaf, for instance. It won’t be a weeknight meal, nonetheless it completely’s undoubtedly worth making! Michael says we must always at all times always have it at Thanksgiving. 🙂
As soon as extra to the greens – after they’re accomplished roasting, it’s time to get the meatloaf blended. Stress the lentils, pepitas, and sun-dried tomatoes and add them to a meals processor fitted with an s-blade. You’ll have already got it out from grating the greens – so setting nice, you’re. Now correct proper right here’s the required half. It is advisable grind the lentils down correct into a pleasing meal. You don’t need huge lentil objects, due to they gained’t take throughout the moisture spherical them all through the loaf whereas baking. Ask me how I do know.
That already seems to be like meat, doesn’t it? It’s so bizarre. Nonetheless see how one can’t even inform there are lentils in that blend? That’s everytime you already perceive it’s prepared. Now we make the meatloaf combine! In an unlimited bowl, add the underside lentils and pepitas, then the roasted greens. Then the flax egg, marinara sauce (or ketchup, and even my white gravy recipe), panko breadcrumbs (use gluten-free if that’s one of the simplest ways you roll), vegan Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Then combine all of it up till the entire thing is evenly built-in collectively!
I don’t have an image of the combo in a loaf pan. You’re going to want to utilize your creativeness for that, nonetheless I do know it’s best to have one so I’m not nervous. When you occur to need to make your life a little bit little bit of simpler, line the loaf pan with massive strips of parchment paper so you may pull the loaf right out when it’s accomplished cooking. It bakes for a full hour at 350F. I do know, I do know, that’s a extremely very very long time. Nonetheless it completely’s sufficient time to make mashed potatoes and gravy and watch an episode of Bake Off. That’s very specific, and thus very revealing about how I spend my time. Riveting, I do know.
And there it’s best to have it! A shocking vegan meatloaf jam-packed with greens and lentils. When you want, you may add a glaze over the previous quarter-hour of cooking. Nonetheless I don’t, due to….
Gravy. On account of gravy. That’s all.
Oh wait, that’s not all. When you occur to need to play collectively alongside along with your meals, correct proper right here’s a pleasing thought! Kind the meatloaf combine into 8 mummies, and bake at 350F for Half-hour. Inside the meantime, make vegan mashed potatoes.
Add the mashed potatoes to a vast ziplock bag or piping bag, snip the tip off, and pipe it on the mummies to seem like supplies. Sliced olives for eyes, and what have you ever ever ever acquired? Mummy Meatloaf! Preserve your ideas to your self on my horrendous adorning abilities, thanks very hundreds.
Okay, mates! Thus ends this vegan meatloaf tome – it was an epic saga and I’ve to confess that I’m relieved to maneuver on to no less than one issue else for a bit. Star Meatloaf Maker, signing off.
Vegan Meatloaf
This vegan meatloaf is chock full of greens, lentils, and seeds which can be magically reworked correct proper right into a hearty plant-based dish which can please anybody! This usually is an efficient vegan elementary dish for a household dinner or journey meal. Merely made gluten-free, too.
Substances
- 1 head of cauliflower, cored and damaged into florets (1.5-2 lbs)
- 1 onion, chopped into 1″ objects
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1″ objects
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- ¾ cup pepitas (uncooked shelled pumpkin seeds)
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
- 1/2 cup dried purple lentils
- 1/2 cup dried inexperienced/brown lentils
- 2 T flooring flax seed
- 5 T water
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs (use gluten-free model if wanted)
- 1/2 cup marinara sauce, ketchup, or protein-packed gravy
- 3 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce or A1 sauce (or a mixture)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon flooring black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
Directions
In a medium bowl, soak pepitas, sun-dried tomatoes, and lentils in 4 cups of very modern water. Put aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of flooring flaxseed to a small bowl and stir in 5 tablespoons of water. Put aside.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Subsequent, put collectively the greens. In a meals processor fitted with a grating attachment, grate the cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, carrots, and garlic. Unfold out evenly on an unlimited rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring each quarter-hour to confirm even cooking. It is good to finish up with about 4-5 cups after cooking.
Whereas the greens are cooking, put collectively the marinara sauce or gravy if utilizing (I usually use jarred marinara or ketchup to avoid dropping time).
When the greens are achieved cooking, take away from the oven and scale back the oven temperature to 350F.
Straing the soaked lentils, pepitas, and sun-dried tomatoes. Add to a meals processor fitted with the s-blade and pulse till a pleasing crumb is fashioned and no large objects of lentil or pepita maintain. Scrape down the sides of the meals processor as wanted. Take away to an unlimited bowl.
To the bowl with the underside lentil combination, add the cooked greens. Stir in flaxseed, marinara/ketchup, worcestershire/A1 sauce, panko, and seasonings. Combine very efficiently till evenly blended.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper if desired (not necessary, merely useful for eradicating the loaf and slicing). Pat the meatloaf combination evenly into the loaf pan, urgent correct all the way in which down to remove air pockets.
Bake the loaf at 350 for 1 hour. If utilizing the glaze, take away the loaf after 45 minutes and unfold the glaze excessive and bake for 15 additional minutes.
Serve with no matter sides you want. We want it smothered with protein-packed vegan gravy on a mattress of mashed potatoes!
Notes
To bake this as mini meatloaf cups, portion the combo into muffin tins and bake for 25-Half-hour, along with the glaze all through the remaining 5 minutes of baking if desired.
Weight reduction program
Serving: 1sliceEnergy: 290kcalCarbohydrates: 41.4gProtein: 15.4gFats: 8.9gSaturated Fats: 1.6gPolyunsaturated Fats: 4gMonounsaturated Fats: 2.5gSodium: 576.4mgPotassium: 21mgFiber: 8.6gSugar: 7.6gVitamin A: 180IUVitamin C: 56.7mgCalcium: 109.6mgIron: 5.2mg
