Whenever I make lentils or brown rice, I always make a little extra and stash it in the freezer for this lentil loaf. My mom sent me the recipe in 2006, and since then it’s been my go-to recipe for veggie roast dinners. And with autumn quickly approaching, I’m all about warming the house and my tummy with yummy, comforting, roasted things.
This recipe originally appeared on 24hour Fitness website (of all places), but it’s since disappeared. But its source should tell you that this roast is a far cry from chicken pot pie. The lentil loaf is an entirely whole food feast, packed with protein- and fiber-giving lentils, brown rice, and walnuts.
The original version used cheese and eggs, but I’ve subbed these for nutritional yeast flakes and “flax eggs” for a totally vegan roast experience. Gravy is essential, and I highly recommend this cashew gravy as an accompaniment, along with some boiled potatoes and sauteed cabbage or other green.
Lentil Loaf
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
3/4 cup carrots, shredded
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 1/2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 Tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper
Blend the flax seeds with 6 Tablespoons of water until the seeds are finely ground and the mixture is quite “goopy” (this is the binder and takes the place of 2 eggs). Put this into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Heat up the olive oil in a frying pan and saute the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and spices until the onion is soft.
Add the sauteed veggies to the flax mixture along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly, using your hands to really mush everything together. Have a taste and add more salt and pepper if it needs it.
Pack the mixture into an oiled loaf pan or pie tin. Bake uncovered at 350 F / 180 C for 45-60 minutes or until loaf is set.
Remove oven and let the loaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with a generous spoonful of cashew gravy.
Serves 6. Per serving: 270 Calories; 12.7g Protein; 10.6g Total Fat; 33.6g Total Carbohydrates; 0mg Cholesterol; 175mg Sodium; 11.2g Fiber
I’m quite pleased to see this recipe going strong, and like the revisions you’ve made to make it vegan-friendly, Monica. It’s hard to convince people, sometimes, that cashew gravy can be so incredibly tasty too. I happen to like serving this with mashed spuds. 🙂 Gravy goes over both!
It’s definitely going strong – we were just talking about serving it for some friends this weekend.
It’s REALLY good with potato… last night we had it with boiled potatoes and a side of cabbage sauteed with onion and caraway. I ended up mushing some of the potato in with the cabbage, and smearing cashew gravy on it. SO good.
We are going to make potato pancakes this weekend – yep, we’re on a potato kick. But I think it’s an English thing – they seem to love their potatoes. And we get a lot of them in the organic box!
Looks like a delicious lentil pie! I have yet to try my hand a grain/nut loaf–they always just seemed so “granola” in a hippie kind of way–but this one looks so heartily good I might have to try it out. Come winter I can imagine how nice it would be to warm up to!