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.
Oh no. I just assembled the cookbook version of this recipe for thanksgiving tomorrow and realized that the step about mixing the flax with water is completely left out of the cookbook ingredients and directons. Is my loaf ruined? It has flax, but the flax wasn’t mixed with any water.
Hi, when I cook the lentals they were still hard after 45 min. I set the temp on very low. Does your pot size matter or should I add more water
thank you for this recipe! This has been my thanksgiving entree two years in a row, it is perfect.
Recipe turned out great! The only problem I had was the tyme flavor in the loaf. What other spices could I use to ballance it out? Didnt have chili flakes.
We made this for our small vegan family for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was DELICIOUS. The texture of the lentils and walnuts, the sweetness of the raisin and the all around heartiness of this loaf made it both a great Thanksgiving main dish but also a great winter meal. My daughter, who is 17 months, LOVED it as well, as she loves her fruits and veggies and absolutely loved the raisins in this too. GREAT Thanksgiving/holiday/winter meal. We will be making this MANY more times. Thank you for sharing the recipe, I’ll post a review on my site soon!
I made this for a vegetarian friend who was coming for Thanksgiving. I have to tell you, I thought it was absolutely delicious (she too). And this is from someone who normally eats meat but secretly wishes she didn’t. I normally don’t like regular meatloaf and this recipe just blew me away. Thank you so much for inspiring me to try more vegan meals.
Personally this was too sweet for me! Made for dinner last night.
Hi Angela,
Love your blog! I love this recipe and made it a few times last Christmas. However, I recently discovered one of my friend’s can’t eat walnuts! I’m wondering, do you think pecans would work as a substitute!?
Thank you so much!
Cassie
Cassie,
I’ve made this dish many times, both with pecans and walnuts. I prefer the pecans because it is a great fall flavor, and I LOVE pecans.
Julie
I love the idea of this loaf. Think I will make it for my vegetarian son this Christmas and maybe try it as a meatball substitute for subs and pasta.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. It is one of my all time favorites and I make it every Christmas. I substitute dried cranberries for raisons and top with home made cranberry sauce. I cover it until the last 15 minutes so the sauce does not burn. My family is not vegan/vegetarian but they love this dinner. I also make your mushroom walnut balls.
Made this for Christmas eve. We added half package of Yeves Vegetarian ground mock meat. Served with Vegan Vegetarian gravy. It is a instant hit!!
Love your site and pictures.
Yum. I finally made this for our Christmas dinner after having it saved for a long time. It is great! Do you think it would hold up well to make as balls or veggies burger patties?
I am allergic to walnuts and my oldest son is allergic to most tree nuts. I am going to try using a seed instead. Not sure whether to use sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. I will try to get back to you and let you know how it turns out.
Just made this recipe, and though it tastes good, it never firmed up, even though I baked it longer than recommended, and even raised the temp for a good portion of the cooking time.
I followed the recipe as directed, but the resulting mixture was far too wet to ever come together as a loaf. I more or less scooped it out of the pan, and am a little sad I won’t be able to do “meatloaf” sandwiches without them being more like sloppy joes.
I made this tonight. I subbed out the oat flour and bread crumbs for chickpea flour.
I missed adding the extra water with the flax and I shorted the onions.
It turned out a little dense but it is delicious. I glazed with my homemade apricot ketchup which had lots of spices.
Yum!
I’ve used this recipe as stuffing for delicata squash and green peppers (pre-cooked before stuffing), as the base for shepherd’s pie, and sliced cold for sandwiches. It’s fabulously tasty.
This recipe looks awesome, thank you for posting. I have a question about the glaze – my husband and I don’t like ketchup so we don’t have it on hand in the fridge and I don’t really want to buy it for one-time use. Can you suggest a substitute? Or is the loaf still good without the sauce? Thanks in advance!
Hi Kristine, I personally think the glaze makes this loaf! That being said, you could always try serving it with a vegan gravy too.
Just wondering how long the loaf will last after being cooked in the fridge..love from a fellow Vancouverite :)
Hi Shelby, It should last for 4-6 days give or take a couple. Hope this helps!
This loaf rocks! It is the best lentil loaf ever! I made it first for family and we enjoyed the flavors; they only suggested that I chop the raisins. I then made it for a dinner party, baking it in muffin pans, cooled and stored in container two days prior. I placed the individual loaves (muffins) on a cookie sheet, glazed and reheated in the oven. They were enjoyed by all!
This turned out amazing. Its so so so good, just like you described. I can’t thank you enough for your amazing recipes that always turn out. I’m serving it to company tonight and can’t wait to see their reactions when they hear its vegan :-)