Vegan Sage And Onion Meatloaf (Green Lentils, Oatmeal And Chickpeas)

Each bite of this vegan sage and onion meatloaf prepared with delicious savoury green lentils, oatmeal and chickpeas is pure Christmas dinner, festive season and yumminess all wrapped up and served on a plate. So yummy.

Perfect for enjoying as a main along with a Festive, Thanksgiving, Harvest, Easter, Mother's and Father's Day, or any special Holiday meal.

Or enjoy this veggie meatloaf as an everyday budget-friendly wholesome delicious treat.

Leftover meatloaf is amazing chilled, thin sliced, and enjoyed with crunchy salad, sweet cranberry or apple sauce within a tasty sandwich. So good.

This recipe makes 2 meatloaf's, each loaf weighing in at around 640g and combined can provide 16 thick slices or 40 thinner pieces. So you'll have plenty to last the festive season.

Quick Origins Of Meatloaf

Meatloaf goes all the way back to Roman times where a recipe features in the ancient 1st century cookery text Apicius. This meatloaf consisted of a mix of ground meats, breadcrumbs, and wine mixed together and formed into burger-like shapes.

Meatloaf was also popular during Medieval Europe where it was variously prepared with meat, eggs, vegetables, mushrooms, dried fruits, nuts, spices and herbs.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Second World War era of the 1940s meatloaf was revived as mostly anything could be added to a meatloaf especially inexpensive ingredients such as breadcrumbs, cracker crumbs, grains, pulses, and cereals.

Nowadays meatloaf is a popular meal especially in the US and is served as an everyday dish, but more so during Thanksgiving, festive meals, or other special Holidays and get-together's.

Vegan Green Lentil, Oatmeal And Chickpea Meatloaf

Preparing this incredibly moist and tasty vegan meatloaf is easy and simple.

The main ingredients are green lentils, pinhead oatmeal, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, and fresh onion. With the flavourings of sage, bay leaf, dried mixed herbs, garlic and onion powder mixing together to create the tastiest vegan meatloaf.

First the green lentils are cooked along with vegan stock, onion and a bay leaf. Once the lentils are soft the lentils including any leftover cooking liquid is mixed with the rest of the meatloaf ingredients.

The chickpeas are mashed a little but not too much as some whole ones are perfect for providing delicious texture.

Before stirring into the meatloaf mix the flax meal (ground flax seeds) is stirred with some water and allowed to sit for at least 10-15 minutes to become thick and gluey.

The flax meal and water acts as an egg replacer and helps to bind the veggie meatloaf ingredients together without affecting any of the flavour, instead the flax-egg adds lots of wholesome nutrition.

Once the ingredients are mixed well it is shared between 2 x Ib loaf pans. The meatloaf is packed in and smoothed down. A top layer of sauce is optional, but tasty, and for convenience a ready-made sauce can be used such as cranberry sauce, apple sauce, tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, etc. Spread your chosen sauce over one or both of the meatloaf's.

I highly recommend cranberry sauce as paired up with the sage and onion flavours of the veggie meatloaf, the end result is all the best flavours of Christmas in one bite. So good.

Now the meatloaf's are covered with greaseproof/baking paper before being baked for 55-60 minutes. The veggie meatloaf's are removed from the oven and left to sit for 5 minutes. Now they are good to go!

When the vegan green lentil meatloaf's are hot from the oven they can be sliced into thick portions. If you would like thin slices of meatloaf for sandwiches, crackers, snack, etc., then cool then meatloaf and chill over night.

Once chilled each meatloaf can be easily sliced into on average 20 thin slices which are just delicious, moist, so flavourful vegan deli-slices. Served hot from the oven each meatloaf can be sliced into 8 thick pieces.

Do give this recipe a go as I know you won't be disappointed and it does yield so many tasty slices of the best veggie meatloaf. Also if your not a fan of sage and onion do change the flavours to your favourite combo.

Vegan Meatloaf With Green Lentils, Oatmeal And Chickpeas Recipe Notes And FAQS

How To Prepare Vegan Sage And Onion Meatloaf With Green Lentils, Oatmeal And Chickpeas

A sauce topping is optional but very tasty especially when cranberry sauce is spread over the vegan meatloaf. Without the sauce the vegan meatloaf is still incredibly moist and delicious.

More Vegan Recipes To Enjoy During The Holiday Season...

Vegan slow cooker 'beef' stew and fluffy dumplings

Cream of swede soup with crispy croutons

Traditional Scottish leek and potato soup with toasted oats

3 ingredient Christmas cake [not just for Christmas! Can be enjoyed anytime of the year including using the cake as a basis for an Easter Simnel Cake]

Easy quick Christmas pudding [delicious steamed pudding prepared quickly in a microwave and perfect for any time of the year when a comforting pudding is just the ticket]

Traditional Scottish Border Tart (perfect sweet mince-pie alternative)

Vegan Sage And Onion Meatloaf (Green Lentils, Oatmeal And Chickpeas)

Print Recipe

Perfect for enjoying as a main along with a Festive, Thanksgiving, Harvest or special Holiday meal.

Leftover meatloaf is amazing chilled, thin sliced, and enjoyed with crunchy salad, sweet cranberry or apple sauce within a tasty sandwich. So good.

This recipe makes 2 meatloaf's, each loaf weighing around 640g (without sauce).

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine American, British

Prep Time 35 mins

Cook Time 55 mins

Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

Servings 16 thick slices for a main, 40 thin slices for sandwiches, etc.

Calories 149

Author Jacq

Equipment

• 2 x 1 Ib Loaf/Bread Pans, lined with greaseproof/baking parchment
• Saucepan, for cooking lentils
• Mixing bowl
• Potato masher or fork

Ingredients

To pre cook the lentils:

• 225 grams dried green lentils rinsed
• 140 grams onion 1 medium, chopped
• 800 millilitres vegan stock hot, use a vegan beef stock if available
• 1 bay leaf

To mix through the cooked lentil mix:

• 225 grams pinhead oatmeal steel-cut/Irish oatmeal, or if necessary replace with rolled oats (not jumbo oat flakes)
• 50 grams sunflower seeds
• 1 can chickpeas 400g/15 oz can drained, or 240g cooked chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs or Italian dried herb mix
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder

Flax-meal egg:

• 2 tablespoons flax meal ground flax seeds, often termed milled linseed. Mixed with 6 tablespoons of water.

Spread over each finished meatloaf: (optional as meatloaf can be baked without sauce)

• 4 tablespoons cranberry sauce or apple sauce, red currant jelly/relish, tomato sauce/ketchup, barbecue sauce, etc. Either home-made or shop-bought. 4 tablespoon is enough for 1 meatloaf.

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Prepare the lentil mix:

• Add the green lentils, bay leaf, onion and hot vegan stock to a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the lentils are soft.

Prepare the flax-egg:

• Mix the 2 tablespoon of flax-meal with 6 tablespoon of water. Set aside for at least 10-15 minutes to become thick and gloopy.

Line the loaf pans and preheat the oven:

• Grease the loaf pans with a little vegan margarine or oil. Line with parchment paper but use more paper than required as the overlap will be folded over the meatloaf before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 180 Fan/ 200 Celsius/ 392 Fahrenheit/ Gas 6.

Assemble the veggie meatloaf's:

• Add the cooked lentils to a large mixing bowl. Discard the bay leaf.
• Mix in the rest of the ingredients, including the flax-egg. Add 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and a good grinding of black pepper.

  Mix everything well to combine all the flavours. Use a potato masher or fork to break up some, but not all, of the chickpeas into the mix.
• Taste the seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide the mix between the 2 loaf pans, smooth the top down firmly and evenly.

  If adding a sauce to the top, spread this over now.

  Pull up the overlap of parchment paper and cover the top of the meatloaf's.

Bake:

• Place on the middle shelf of the oven, and bake for 55-60 minutes. For a fan oven the meatloaf will be baked after 55 minutes, other types of oven may need the extra 5 minutes.
• Allow to cool in the loaf pan for a few minutes before carefully tipping out. Or leave in the tin to cool if chilling the meatloaf's.

Notes

• Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
• Nutritional data does not include the cranberry sauce topping as this is optional, and any topping chosen can be more easily analysed by the cook for better accuracy.
• This meatloaf recipe yields 2 vegan meatloaf's weighing on average 640 grams each, minus any sauce toppings. 
• Each meatloaf can provide 8 thick slices, and about 18-20 thinner slices. However for serving sizes it will depend on appetites, etc.
• For the thinner slices chill completely overnight before attempting to slice, so that the meatloaf can firm up.
• Leftover vegan meatloaf will keep in the fridge for up to 4-5 days if well wrapped in kitchen parchment paper, and then a second layer of kitchen foil or wrap in parchment and place in a covered container.
• Freeze cooked meatloaf for 4-6 months, well wrapped. Unwrap and defrost in the fridge.
• To reheat vegan meatloaf, place on a baking dish covered with parchment or kitchen foil, and heat at the cooking temperature until piping hot. Or place in a frying pan/skillet and heat through along with a tablespoon of vegan butter or oil. Flip over to heat each side.
• Enjoy the vegan meatloaf chilled straight from the fridge. A thin slice is a delicious, wholesome snack whenever anyone is peckish, or enjoy on a sandwich. Especially delicious as a festive sandwich along with cranberry/apple sauce, salad or cooked leftover veggies, etc.

Nutrition

Serving: 80grams | Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg

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All the best

Jacq x