Thanksgiving Lentil Loaf “In A Flash”

Photo by Darla Nagle

It’s a week and a half away from Thanksgiving. If you’re hosting the Thanksgiving meal for your family and friends, then you’re probably deep into planning by now. You’re gathering your recipes and figuring out how to finish everything on time. One of the most time-consuming dishes that you prepare for Thanksgiving is the turkey. Well, I have a piece of good news for you. Being on a WFPB diet will save you considerable time and effort. You won’t have the burden of cooking a turkey and, as I promised you last week, I’m going to present you with a replacement for the centerpiece of your meal — a very tasty and easy-to-put-together lentil loaf.

For those of you not familiar with this dish, it’s a vegan replacement for a meatloaf that utilizes lentils as the main protein. It’s great for serving on any holiday or any other time.

This particular recipe was inspired and adapted from one of Jane and Ann Esselstyn’s recipes, “Plant-Based Bean Burgers In a Flash”. The original recipe can be found in their book, “Be A Plant Based Woman Warrior: Live Fierce, Stay Bold, Eat Delicious”. There’s also a video of this recipe on their YouTube channel, Plant-Based With Jane Esselstyn and Ann Esselstyn.

Besides changing the recipe from burgers to a loaf, I changed the recipe from black beans to lentils, because I have digestive issues when it comes to beans. Then, since I wasn’t going for a southwestern flavor, as Ann and Jane were, I changed up the seasonings to a French blend and switched the salsa to ketchup, just like you would use in a meatloaf.

I made a few other changes, including doubling the recipe, and my lentil loaf was created. Oh, and I cooked mine in the air fryer, but don’t worry. I give instructions for cooking in the oven as well. It may sound like I changed everything, but a lot of the Esselstyn’s original recipe still remains.

I used their bean burger recipe as a base because, as I mentioned before, it’s so quick and easy to throw together. I’m sure you’ll appreciate that too, especially with all the other dishes you’ll be preparing for your holiday meal.

Main Ingredients:

Lentils: You can use black, green or brown lentils for this recipe, but do avoid the red ones. They cook up too mushy to work here.

Oats or Quinoa flakes: Ann used oats in her burgers. I switched to quinoa flakes because oats are another food that creates digestive issues for me. Quinoa flakes, however, are a bit hard to find, so you should feel free to use whichever option you prefer. They’ll both work just fine. In fact, the stickiness of cooked oats might help the loaf to hold together. My loaf was a bit crumbly. I’ll address this further a bit later.

Seasonings: As I mentioned before, I switched up the flavor profile. Instead of the southwestern flavor that Ann created, I used Herbs de Provence and some smoked paprika to add that smoky, meaty flavor. I did, however, keep the turmeric from the original recipe.

Onion: I just wanted to note here that while the amount of onion may seem like a lot when you look at the recipe, it actually worked really well. It gave the loaf much of its delicious flavor. Ann did say that she believed the extra onion did keep the burgers from holding together and probably had an effect on my loaf too, but I wouldn’t recommend cutting back on them. I think, flavor-wise, the amount was just right.

Greens: I’ll reiterate here what Ann and Jane said in their video. Any greens will work in this recipe, so use your favorite. You can cook your greens quickly in the microwave, let them cool and then be sure to squeeze out as much of the water as you can. You don’t want a soggy loaf.

Flax Meal: I added this to help the loaf stay together, and it was only partially effective when I made mine. In the notes below, I’ll discuss some ideas for how you can keep your loaf together and get better slices than I got.

Instructional Notes:

As I’ve mentioned a couple of times now, My loaf didn’t hold together quite as well as I had hoped it would. So I put my mind to it, did some research and came up with some ideas that I thought might help you.

1. I believe I used four tablespoons of flax meal. I suggest you try increasing that amount to at least six tablespoons.
2. As I mentioned before, I used quinoa flakes in my loaf. Quinoa flakes don’t get as sticky as oats do when cooked, so unless you have an issue with oats as I do, I would recommend using the oats instead.
3. Don’t serve your loaf right after taking it out of the oven. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before you attempt to slice it.
4. I noticed that when eating my loaf on the second and third nights, it had solidified noticeably. That being the case, you might want to consider taking my last suggestion a step or two further. Prepare your loaf a night in advance, store it in the fridge and heat it up again Thanksgiving night. You’ll likely have a loaf with a more solid texture.
5. Lastly, when I made my loaf I used Ann’s technique of mixing all of the ingredients together with my hands. This was meant to result in a sort of lentil mash that would hold together better than the whole lentils would, but not enough lentils got mashed by my hands to give me the desired effect. I suggest you use a stick blender (a regular blender or a food processor would also work) to partially blend the lentils up before adding the rest of the ingredients to the bowl.

I hope these suggestions help you produce a more sturdy loaf than what I got. Even if it doesn’t, your loaf will still come out very tasty. Mine did.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

Recipe: Easy Thanksgiving Lentil Loaf

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 Hour

Number of Servings: 6–8

Loaf Ingredients:

1/4 to 1/2 Cup cooked greens of your choice

2 cans lentils, drained and rinsed (about 3 cups)

1 Cup Quinoa Flakes or rolled oats

2 Cups chopped onions

6 Tablespoons Sugar-Free Ketchup

4–6 Tablespoons flax meal

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 Tablespoon Herbs de Provence

1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

Glaze Ingredients*:

1/3 Cup Sugar-Free Ketchup

1/3 Cup Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce

1 Teaspoon mustard of choice

1 -2 Tablespoons maple syrup (Optional)

Instructions:

1. If cooking in the oven, Preheat to 375° Fahrenheit.
2. Cook your greens using your preferred method and set aside.
3. Put the lentils in a large mixing bowl. Partially puree them with a stick blender or puree them in a regular blender and then place them in the bowl. Either way, you want to end up with a mix of pureed and whole lentils.
4. Add the rest of your ingredients, except the greens.
5. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze as much of the juice out of the greens as you can. Place them in the bowl with the rest of the mixture and mix until everything is well combined.
6. Transfer to a 10.5 x 6 x 2.5-inch loaf pan. Unless using a silicone pan, line with parchment paper.
7. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
8. Air Fry at 370° Fahrenheit for 20 min, covered.
9. While it’s cooking, Make the glaze. Put all ingredients together in a bowl and mix well.
10. When 20 minutes is up, pull the loaf out of the air fryer, and brush the top generously with glaze. Then return the loaf to the air fryer at the same temperature for another 10 minutes.

(Optional oven instructions: Bake covered at 375° Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. Remove the cover. Brush the top of the loaf with glaze and then return it to the oven. Bake at the same temperature for an additional 10 minutes.)

11. Let cool at least 15 minutes — longer if possible. The longer it sits, the more solid your slices will be. Now, slice it up and enjoy.

Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving!!

* Glaze Recipe: “3-Ingredient Meatloaf Sauce” by iheartnaptime.net

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Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a medical professional. The information provided on the site is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making dietary changes or using any advice given here.