Quinoa Lentil No-Meatloaf
Gluten-free Quinoa Lentil No-Meatloaf – Loads of flavor. Made with no mushrooms, no Braggs, no coconut aminos, no Worcestershire, and no oil.
This scrumptious veggie meatloaf is not only vegan, but also gluten-free and oil-free. It does not contain any Braggs, coconut aminos, mushrooms, or Worcestershire sauce. And it can be easily made ahead of time. Which means it’s perfect for holiday meals. (But this yummy veggie loaf is so delicious you’ll want to eat it year-round!)
Quinoa Lentil No-Meatloaf – A Healthy Main Dish
This WFPB (whole-food-plant-based) Quinoa Lentil No-Meatloaf is jam packed with slimming and strengthening nutrients like iron, protein, B vitamins, magnesium, and fiber.
The antioxidants and fiber in this healthy loaf have been shown to help manage blood sugar levels and type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
And, this vegan loaf is both gluten-free and oil-free.
Vegan Thanksgiving Dish
Quinoa Lentil No-Meatloaf is the perfect vegan main dish for the holiday season because
- It’s easy to make.
- Everyone will love it.
- It’s gluten-free, so even those who can’t eat gluten can enjoy it!
- It can be made ahead of time (when you aren’t trying to juggle 10 other things while preparing the holiday meal).
Make Ahead Meal
Being able to make this vegan meatloaf ahead of time makes meal prep so much easier.
There are two ways you can make this ahead of time:
Option 1
Up to 2 days ahead, combine ingredients as directed and pack into loaf pan. Cover loaf pan well or place the entire pan in a Ziploc bag. Store it unbaked in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bake as directed.
Option 2
Prepare loaf up to 3 days ahead and bake as directed. Allow to cool. Place in an air-tight container or Ziploc bag and place in refrigerator. Reheat covered in a low oven.
To freeze this loaf, slice and allow the loaf to cool completely. Store in freezer-safe container. You can use parchment paper between the slices so they don’t stick together.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Quinoa Lentil No-Meatloaf with a salad and one of my slimming salad dressings and you have a delicious and satisfying meal.
As a holiday main dish, Quinoa Lentil No-Meatloaf goes great with:
Leftovers
It’s unlikely you’ll have leftovers of this delicious loaf, but if you do, they’ll keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days.
Here are some yummy ways to serve those leftovers.
Meatloaf sandwiches –
Leftover Veggie Loaf makes a great sandwich. Just heat a slice or two of the loaf on a hot skillet (I use my cast-iron skillet). Serve hot between 2 slices of bread slathered with ketchup or this delicious Cashew Dressing.
Veggie Sandwich Spread –
You can also use leftover loaf to make a luscious sandwich spread. Place cold or room-temperature veggie loaf in a bowl. Add a generous amount of Cashew Dressing. Mix well, mashing loaf as you mix. Spread on bread or toast.
How to make sure your veggie loaf holds together
Veggie loaf is notorious for being either mushy or crumbly. This recipe solves both problems.
The prevent it from being mushy, we use quinoa instead of bread crumbs. Quinoa adds nice texture.
To prevent it from falling apart, we take a 2-step approach:
1. We mix some flax meal into the hot quinoa-lentil mixture. Flax acts as a binder and combining the flax well with the hot quinoa-lentil mixture enhances this property. Be sure to mix the flax in very well.
2. We thoroughly blend ingredients in the food processor. This helps them hold together better. If you find your loaf falls apart when cutting it, next time, process it a little longer in the food processor.
Quinoa Lentil No-Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup uncooked brown lentils
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa - (white quinoa)
- 1 1/4 cups raw walnuts
- 1 1/2 cups diced onion
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/8 teaspoon rosemary
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sorghum or blackstrap molasses – optional
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons brown flax seed meal
- 1 tablespoon tomato glaze (recipe below)
Instructions
- Place lentils and water in medium-large saucepan. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- After lentils have cooked for 15 minutes, increase heat to medium, quickly add quinoa to pan, give them a quick stir, and replace lid.
- Once mixture returns to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and lentils are very soft.
- Meanwhile, place walnuts in food processor. Coarsely grind walnuts. Do not over chop them; you should still have medium-large pieces of walnuts as they give texture to the loaf. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Dice onion into large dices and place in food processor. Add seasonings, tomato paste, molasses (if using), and lemon juice. Pulse a couple times or just until ingredients are combined.
- When lentil-quinoa mixture is finished cooking, stir in flax seed meal. (Stir well to help flax gel a little.) Remove from heat.
- Transfer approximately half (about 1 3/4 cups) of lentil-quinoa mixture to the food processor.
- Process until sticky and all ingredients are very well chopped and very well combined. Mixture should be like a pâté. This step is essential to ensure your loaf holds together well.
- Stir walnuts into the lentil-quinoa mixture remaining in the pan. Add mixture in food processor to pan and stir very well until combined.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Line a 3.5- x 7.5-inch loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper the same length of the loaf pan and long enough to come up and over the sides by a few inches.
- Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan. Press the mixture firmly into the pan and smooth out the top. Spread top with 1 tablespoon tomato glaze
- Bake uncovered at 375°F for 50 to 55 minutes.
- Serve hot with extra Tomato Glaze if desired.
Notes
>> One quick request: if you like this recipe, please leave a rating and a comment. Ratings help more people find these healthy recipes!
Want More?
For more healthy and delicious recipes like this one that will simplify your journey to a healthier and thinner you, check out my
Tomato Glaze
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together.
>> One quick request: if you like this recipe, please leave a rating and a comment. Ratings help more people find these healthy recipes!
Want More?
For more healthy and delicious recipes like this one that will simplify your journey to a healthier and thinner you, check out my
You my also like:
Before you go . . .
Did you know that you can eat all this delicious food AND lose weight? You can!
No calorie counting. No portion sizes.
Join my online weight loss program today!
I would like to try this recipe but need to substitute something for walnuts. We have a family member with a tree nut allergy; however she has been tested for almonds and was cleared to eat them. I was thinking maybe almonds or crisp-baked garbanzo beans might work. Any suggestions? Thanks
I haven’t tried this, but I think that a combination of half almonds and half sunflower seeds would work well to replace the walnuts. The loaf will lack a little of the meaty flavor, but I think it would still be very good.
Let me know if you try it. 🙂
Blessings,
Jennifer
Hello Jennifer,
Can walnuts be substituted with anything else?
I have always avoided baking nuts, which I think damages their delicate oils and their healthfulness. I even get only raw nuts for that reason and not roasted ones. What is your opinion on that?
The recipe does look delish.
Hi Barb,
Thank you for your comment.
Raw nuts do have a number of benefits, and when we are eating nuts by themselves, it certainly is a wise choice to eat them raw.
Scientific studies show that roasting nuts at high temperatures (especially with oil) causes damage to the natural fats and creates potentially harmful compounds. However, baking with nuts at moderate temperatures (such as with this loaf) doesn’t. Because of this, I feel very comfortable eating them in baked dishes.
My goal with this recipe was to replace a less healthful entrée with a more healthful one. The nuts add a significant amount of flavor and texture that can’t quite be achieved with another ingredient. I really don’t know what the nuts could be replaced with and the still have a flavorful loaf.
I hope this is helpful. 🙂
Jennifer
Hi! I just bought quinoa but it’s tricolor. Will that work? Thanks!
It might, but I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure. I’ve noticed that the tricolor quinoa doesn’t cook as evenly as I would like, so I tend to avoid it in recipes. (You can read more about the different colors of quinoa here.) But let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Thanks Jennifer, I have never cooked/baked with quinoa yet but I will get the white one for this recipe. Thanks for the link!
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy the loaf. 🙂
Very delicious! I think I might add more flaxseed meal next time
or boil flaxseed with water to make an egg replacer as it didn’t
slice without falling apart.
Hi Mary,
Did you add the flax to the hot lentils and quinoa and stir it well? That step is important to help the flax gel up, which helps hold the loaf together well.
Either way, I’m really happy to hear that you liked the loaf.
Thank you so much for your comment and the rating. 🙂
Blessings to you,
Jennifer
Very delicious! I think I might boil flaxseed with water to make an egg replacer next time, because the loaf fell apart when I sliced it.