I know, right – meatless meatloaf? What is it, then?
Well, it’s delicious, is what it is. In fact, when I first found the recipe, it was called “Really Good Vegetarian Meatloaf (Really!)” and I was intrigued. It had high ratings, and people who tried the recipe appeared to agree.
I’ll be the judge of that, I thought.
Yeah, ok – they were right. It was really good.
What you’re really looking for anyway is something baked in an oven that is the vehicle for gravy, amirite?
Anyway, we really like it, I think it does what is says it’s going to do. And if I was home for Christmas, this is what I’d be making. Alongside 84 kilos of potato bake, all the roasted pumpkin in the land, minted peas, and a pavlova chaser.
If you’re wanting something festively veg for Christmas dinner (besides these vegetarian Christmas meal ideas, of course!) then may you enjoy really good vegetarian meatloaf. Really!
PrintVegetarian Meatloaf
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 70 mins
- Total Time: 80 mins
- Yield: 6 - 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Description
A rich, savoury meatless bake that tastes just like the real thing! Gravy mandatory (so is eating it on sandwiches the next day).
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup green lentils (yes, it matters!)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats (please not jumbo or whole oats, it makes a difference)
- 3⁄4 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 200ml tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or two cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1⁄2 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add water, lentils, and salt to a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Water should have soaked all the way through the lentils and the lentils should be soft.
- Drain off any water left and give the lentils a really good mash. Cool slightly.
- Mix in onion, oats and cheese.
- Add egg, passata, garlic, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper and mix to combine thoroughly.
- Turn into a greased loaf pan and pat down until the lentil mixture is quite firm and there are no air pockets.
- Bake at 180C for 45 minutes until top of loaf is firm, dry and golden brown.
- Cool in pan just a bit before turning out and cutting.
Keywords: vegetarian meatloaf, meatless meatlof, lentil loaf, vegetarian loaf, christmas loaf, meat-free meatloaf, meatloaf without meat
Elizabeth@thebackyardlemontree says
Looks really good, I’ll try it when the weather gets cooler.
Veggie Mama says
Haha I’ve been known to suffer for food 😉
mark wilson says
Just call it loaf.
Veggie Mama says
That will never be confused with bread.
rebecca says
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o yep trying this.
Veggie Mama says
Haha let me know how you go!
tracie c. says
veg loaf… I’M IN! this looks like a pretty good one to me!
Veggie Mama says
Tasted great!
allyse says
I have just made this for Christmas lunch tomorrow, really looking forward to eating it!
jon says
When you say “green lentils,” do you mean the French puy lentils?
Georgia says
I have the same question! The photos look like brown lentils. I”ll just add this as a reply so that maybe it gets pushed to the top and we get a response.