Out of all my favourite vegan recipes, this lentil loaf ranks in my top 10. This is a big deal, considering I’m in love with no less than 3,000 foods at any given moment. The original loaf recipe hails from talented chef and author, Terry Walters. I’ve enjoyed playing around with the recipe countless ways since I first made it in 2011. There’s just something about the combo of hearty, stick-to-your-ribs lentils, shredded carrots and sweet apple, chunky celery, toasted walnuts, and a sweet tangy glaze to finish it all off. It’s total comfort food to me.
I find myself eating the cold leftovers for breakfast in the morning. It gets crumbled over salads, stuffed into wraps and buns, and more recently thrown onto pasta sauce over a bed of spaghetti squash. I once ate half a loaf in the span of about 8 hours. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I guess it could be worse! To complicate matters, Eric is also a huge fan and we often find ourselves vying for the last slice…
The only issue I have with the recipe I made a couple years ago is that it’s quite labour intensive. For this version, my goal was to simplify the recipe without compromising the flavour and texture. I also played around with different ingredients and amounts. I’ll be sharing my 3rd trial with you today – it’s actually my new favourite out of all of them I’ve made. Make sure to see my notes below for a few tips I’ve picked up along the way.
Glazed Lentil Walnut Apple Loaf, Revisited
Yield
1 loaf
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Adapted from 2011 recipe, which was adapted from Terry Walters.
Ingredients
For the loaf
- 1 cup uncooked green lentils
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped and toasted
- 3 tbsp ground flax + 1/2 cup water
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1.5 cups diced sweet onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1/3 cup peeled and grated sweet apple (use a firm variety)
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp fresh thyme (or 3/4 tsp dried thyme)
- salt & pepper, to taste (I use about 3/4 tsp sea salt + more Herbamare)
- red pepper flakes, to taste
For the balsamic apple glaze
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp apple butter (or unsweetened applesauce in a pinch)
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Rinse and strain lentils. Place lentils into pot along with 3 cups of water (or veg broth). Bring to a boil and season with salt. Reduce heat to medium/low and simmer, uncovered, for at least 40-45 minutes. Stir frequently & add touch of water if needed. The goal is to over-cook the lentils slightly (see pictures in post). Mash lentils slightly with a spoon when ready.
- Toast walnuts at 325°F for about 8-10 minutes. Set aside. Increase oven temp to 350°F.
- Whisk ground flax with water in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sautee the garlic and onion for about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Now add in the diced celery, shredded carrot and apple, and raisins. Sautee for about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Press mixture firmly into pan. Whisk glaze ingredients and then spread half on top of loaf. Reserve the rest for a dipping sauce.
- Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes, uncovered. Edges will be lightly brown. Cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. I usually wait until loaf is cool before slicing.
Tip:
Note: Use Gluten-free oat flour and breadcrumbs if necessary. If you need a nut-free version you might want to try using toasted sunflower seeds.
I used to have a problem with my lentil loaves falling apart on me. I’ve since discovered that it really helps to over-cook the lentils a bit, so the consistency of the lentils is doughy, almost like mashed potatoes. As you can see in the photos, the lentils are the perfect consistency to bind with the other ingredients.
In addition to playing around with the ingredients, I also switched up the sizes of the tins/pans:
Trial 1: I made 4 mini loaves (the green and red ones).
Trial 2: I used a muffin tin. I got about 16 portions out of the batter which was great, but I made the mistake of using paper muffin liners and they completely stuck to the paper. Next time I will grease the tins well and not use paper liners. I also cooked them a bit too long (40 mins at 350F) and they dried out more than I’d like.
Trial 3: I made 2 medium-sized loaves using 9×5 loaf tins and baked for about 45 minutes or so. Keep in mind you can also use one big loaf tin too!
The loaves freeze well too. Just make sure to fully cool the baked loaves before wrapping and freezing.
If you are looking for a nut-free version, you might want to try using toasted sunflower seeds. I probably wouldn’t use a full cup of seeds, but maybe 1/2-3/4 cup. For a gluten-free loaf, use GF oat flour and breadcrumbs and of course be sure to check all other ingredients.
As for serving suggestions, this loaf is great paired with applesauce, sautéed greens, and mashed/roasted potatoes.
With any luck, I might have a few left for our Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. If you are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend, have a wonderful holiday!
Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? Check out my Thanksgiving Recipe round-up here, featuring high-protein garlic mashed potatoes, holiday salad, pumpkin garlic knots, and more.
Oops … I think it was a glitch on my end. Love your recipes!
This was an amazingly delicious recipe! My husband devoured it. It was really pretty easy to make as well.
You say to wait until the loaf is cool before slicing. Does this mean you serve it cold or is it better served warm? Recipe looks delicious. Thanks!
Want to make this for my small group. How many servings does it make?
Hey Kathy, It should make 8-10 slices. Hope this helps1
Made it! Loved it! Ate three pieces of it standing in the kitchen.
Recipe looks great! I have a quick question: Do you have a guess at how many servings one large loaf would yield? I am making this for a potluck and am wondering if I should double the recipe.
Hey Shena, It makes about 8-10 slices. Hope this helps!
I am thinking of making this for Thanksgiving to make a vegan gluten-free main protein (subbing GF breadcrumbs). Would this be good with gravy? Would it be better to leave off the glaze? I can’t quite imagine the flavor – I may do a trial run both ways with gravy to see.
Hey Sara, I haven’t tried it with gravy yet (with or without the glaze) as I find the glaze gives it enough “oomph” on its own. Let me know what you think! Enjoy
Hi!
Do you think you could make these as meatballs? Individual bite size for appetizers? Thanks!!
Hey Rachel, I would try this recipe instead: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/11/13/lentil-mushroom-walnut-balls-with-cranberry-pear-sauce/
its a new fav!
I’ve made this for a work potluck which I’m having today and I’m going to need to reheat it at the office. How long should I cook it for. It’s been sitting outat my desk for a few hours so it’s not cold. Would 20 mins be good? Don’t want to dry it out.
I am making this for my family at Thanksgiving. I’ve made it twice so far to practice and it’s great! My question is about the logistics around cooking so many things on Thanksgiving and I am trying to figure out which things can be done ahead of time. You wrote that you will wait for it to cool and then cut it…But it should be served warm. So, can I make this the day before Thanksgiving? How would I best re-heat it? Can I cut it and then put it back in the oven to warm up? Seems totally wrong to microwave it when I’m serving it to others (although I’ve had microwaved slices for my past several meals! still yummy!) Many thanks! I am making lots of things off your website for Thanksgiving – and I’ve been testing them for weeks and they are all working out great!
hey Melanie,
Yes I do think you could make this the day before. I would let it cool completely, then slice it up. then you can probably reheat the slices on a baking sheet in the oven before serving?
Looking forward to trying this recipe in the next couple of days, but my husband *hates* raisins; do I have to use them for this to turn out? I’ve really been enjoying other recipes of yours I’ve tried :-)
Hi Michelle, Feel free to leave them out if desired :)
I really enjoyed this when we made it last week. So tasty! Mine fell apart though, any tips onto keeping it together a bit more? I think I am going to make it for Thanksgiving.
I’ll be making this next week, but would like a more savory than sweet version. Has anyone ever tried substituting the glaze for vegan gravy? Thanks!
I like my glaze savory as well. You could make a bbq glaze to top this off. I’ll be trying it tomorrow, but I’m adding apple butter to the glaze as well.
Hi Angela! I sunbird over your blog in the summertime and I’ve been waiting to use your holiday menu until now, mainly this lentil loaf. I am a refined sugar/corn syrup free baker, do you have any suggestions for alternatives to ketchup in the glaze? I’ve yet to find a brand sweetened without cane sugar or corn syrup. Thanks!
Adelaide:)
I absolutely adore this recipe. The basalmic glaze is good, a little on the sweet side for me. I’ll be making this tomorrw, but instead, I’ll be trying out an apple butter BBQ glaze. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
Great recipe! I definitely want to try this…but what would you suggest I substitute the bread crumbs for? I’m thinking maybe just increasing the nuts?
I was wondering if it would be possible to get a nutritional analysis of this recipe? And all of your future recipes for that matter? For some of us that are trying to keep it on the lighter side perhaps? :) thank you for sharing this. It looks so yummy.
SUCESS! This turned out amazingly delicious! Going on the table for Christmas dinner. Thanks so much for the recipie!
Great recipe. Made this for Christmas dinner! Even the non vegans like it.
I did not like this recipe AT ALL and neither will you. Had to add a lot of other stuff to it to make it taste good enough to serve to my bf and then threw the rest away.