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Vegan Lentil Farro “Meat” Loaf Recipe – Great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Everyday Eating!

  • Author: Diana of thechiclife.com
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 50 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 50 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x

Description

I veganized a class meatloaf recipe, switching out some flavors to make this more Thanksgiving/Christmas/holiday-themed so it goes perfectly with a drizzle of gravy on top. Make sure you cook the lentils long enough so that they can mash up and help bind the loaf (see tips above). The flaxseed eggs and breadcrumbs are important binding ingredients that help the loaf stay together, too, so don’t skip those. Packing the mixture tightly and cutting thicker slices also helps the loaf keep from crumbling apart. If you’re looking to save time, you can cook the lentils and farro ahead of time. Read through the blog post above to see more of my preparation tips and photos. This recipe was designed for my newly vegan dad, but my meat eating mom and sis also really enjoyed it, as did I.


Ingredients

Scale
  • oil (for prepping baking dish)
  • parchment paper (helps remove the loaf from the pan)
  • 1 cup dried French green lentils (cooked following package directions, plus 5 minutes of extra cooking), any lentil would likely work, though
  • 1/2 cup dried farro (cooked following package directions), or grain of choice
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped fine (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 carrot, chopped fine (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped fine (about 1/3 cup)
  • 2 flaxseed eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons water)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, optional, plus more for garnish
  • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine (or sub 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary), plus more to taste, if needed
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 teaspoon table salt), plus more to taste, if needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste, if needed

Instructions

  1. Stir together the flaxseed egg ingredients and set aside to gel up (about 5-10 minutes). Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a loaf baking dish with oil and line with parchment paper (I just line the wide side with a long strip cut to fit the width with the paper reaching just over the tops of the sides of the pan, so you can pull on them like a little loaf lift).
  2. Mash the lentils. In a large bowl, combine lentils, faro, onion, carrot, celery, flaxseed mixture, and rosemary. Stir until evenly combined. Mix in bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Taste test the mixture and add additional salt, pepper, and herbs, if needed.
  3. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and press very firmly to an even layer.
  4. Bake for 40-50 minutes.
  5. Let cool until safe to handle. Slice, serve, drizzle with vegan gravy, and enjoy! Fresh parsley makes a great garnish.

Notes

Note: Prep time is about an hour (including time to cook the lentils and farro) – if you pre-cook the lentils/farro, it won’t take long at all.

Yields: about 8 slices, depending on how thick you cut them.

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