A fresh take on a Vegan Lentil Loaf for you! It's made with a delicious blend of lentils, mushrooms and walnuts and has a beautifully festive cranberry topping. Those pops of juicy cranberry in every bite are so good, plus they make it look pretty impressive. It would make a great centrepiece on your holiday table!
Ah, it's nearly Christmas! It's only gone and crept up on me yet again. It happens every year. I think I have loads of time and then all of a sudden that time slips through my fingers and it's here and I'm in a mad panic to get everything organized.
Because it's the festive season, and it's always super busy, I am always in need of recipes that feel festive but aren't too difficult, and bonus points if they can be prepared ahead of the big day. And boy have I got all those points covered with this Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberries recipe. It's so good I've even included it in my Vegan Christmas Dinner Menu, Shopping List and Timeline. If you want your entire Christmas meal planned down to the tiniest detail for you then go check it out.
This new vegan meatloaf recipe is an adapted version of my very popular Vegan Meatloaf with Gravy recipe. If you have tried that and loved it then you will love this new Lentil Loaf too.
The Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberries just screams festive. The juicy red cranberries make it look so pretty, plus those juicy pops of cranberry in every bite are so good.
As well as cranberries on top, there are dried cranberries through the actual body of the Lentil Loaf. They add a lovely chew and a little sweetness which is really good with the savoury loaf and the slightly tart cranberry topping.
What's great too, is that because of the cranberry topping, you don't need to serve cranberry sauce on the side so there's one less thing to make and remember to put on the table.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN LENTIL LOAF
This recipe involves quite a lot of chopping, but if you have a food processor it can all be done in minutes.
I have this one and absolutely love it:
When I make this recipe, just about the only thing I use a knife for is cutting the ends off the onion and peeling it. Everything else just gets thrown in here and pulsed until finely chopped. It couldn't be easier!
First chop all of the vegetables and walnuts then add them to a large mixing bowl with the lentils.
Then add the breadcrumbs, ground flax, flour, grated apple and dried cranberries.
Then the seasoning, herbs and tamari.
Then mix it all up thoroughly.
Put some cranberries and sugar in a pan and warm over a medium heat until the sugar is starting to melt and they are beginning to just get juicy.
Line a loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper and pour in the cranberries.
Then pile on the Lentil Loaf mixture and pack it in very tightly.
At this stage it can be refrigerated for a couple of days or baked right away.
Here it is before baking:
And here it is after baking:
Once ready, it's best to leave it in the tin to rest for 15-30 minutes. You will find that it cuts much better if you do this.
HOW TO SERVE VEGAN LENTIL LOAF
This Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberries will make a wonderful addition to your Christmas or Thanksgiving meal, or just for a regular dinner.
I love to serve it with my Healthy No Oil Roasted Potatoes, Vegan Green Bean Casserole, steamed vegetables, vegan mashed sweet potatoes and lashings of gravy. And if I want to push the boat out some crispy Vegan Yorkshire Puddings. It works really well with the gravy from my original meatloaf recipe here and also with my Red Wine Vegan Gravy.
It's also awesome served with fluffy, buttery mashed potato or simply with lots of vegetables on the side.
THIS IS WHY I AM LOVING THIS MUSHROOM LENTIL LOAF WITH CRANBERRIES
- It looks so pretty and festive!
- It has that perfect balance of savoury, sweet and tart
- It's easy to make
- It can be made ahead then cooked a few days later
- It's comforting and satisfying
- It's great eaten immediately but also reheats really well
- Leftovers are awesome thinly sliced in sandwiches, or on a plate with chutneys, pickles, crusty bread etc
Hungry for more?
If you love this Mushroom Lentil Loaf, then you might also enjoy my Vegan Roast and my Vegan Meatloaf with Gravy.
Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 small onion , chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic ,chopped finely
- 198g / 1 cup cooked red lentils , weighed after cooking
- 198g / 1 cup cooked green lentils , I like to use French green lentils but any will work (weighed after cooking)
- 226g / 3 cups finely chopped mushrooms
- 62g / ½ cup walnut pieces
- 8 tablespoons / ½ cup ground flax seed , it must be ground not whole
- 45g / ½ cup flour , all purpose (plain flour in the UK), oat, rice, spelt or wholewheat
- 75g / 1 very packed cup breadcrumbs (use gluten-free breadcrumbs if necessary). You can use store bought breadcrumbs, or let some bread go stale at home and either put it in a food processor or blender to turn it into crumbs. Leftover crumbs can be put in a bag or container in the freeer and used straight from frozen for other recipes.
- 70g / ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ large apple , grated (no need to peel)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon tamari , or soy sauce, or coconut aminos
For the cranberry topping
- 200g / 2 cup cranberries , fresh or frozen
- 4 tablespoons sugar , not brown sugar or coconut sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Add all of the ingredients (except the fresh/frozen cranberries and sugar) to a very large bowl and stir really well until combined. I find it easier to use clean hands to scrunch it all together and mix it.
- Put the cranberries and the sugar in a small pan over a medium heat and just cook until the sugar is mostly dissolved and some juice is appearing in the bottom of the pan. It only takes 5 - 6 minutes. Then remove from the heat.
- Grease a 1lb or similar loaf pan (about 8.5 inch x 4.5 inch or 9inch x 5inch) and line it with a strip of baking parchment going along the middle. (See my picture above). Leave some paper overhanging as it will make turning it out easier.
- Spoon in the cranberries (you don't have to wait for them to cool down but be careful as the sugary liquid will be very hot) and even them out a bit with a spoon.
- Pack the lentil loaf mixture on the top. Really push it down all over and make sure it is even on the top.
- Place the loaf pan on a baking tray (just in case the cranberry liquid spills over) and bake for 1hr - 1 hr 10 minutes. It should be golden and crusty looking on the top and coming away from the edges. There will probably be a little jammy red liquid oozing over the edge too.
- Once done, leave to rest in the pan for 15-30 minutes (it will stay warm for up to an hour if you wrap it in some tin foil) before turning out and slicing. To turn it out, put a plate or board on top of it then flip it over so the plate/board ends up on the bottom. It will slide out really easily but if you do have any trouble you can give a little tug on the parchment paper to ease it out. Once it's out, gently peel back the parchment paper to reveal the pretty cranberry top.
NOTES
- Don't soak them prior to cooking.
- Rinse in a sieve with fresh water to remove any dust or debris.
- Cook on a stovetop, using 3 cups of liquid (water, stock) to 1 cup of dry lentils. Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will double or triple in size.
- Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat to low and simmer until they are tender.
- For whole lentils, cook time is usually about 15-20 minutes.
- For split red lentils, cook time is typically only about 5 minutes.
- Spoon a couple out and taste them to check done-ness periodically and as soon as they are ready, drain and leave to cool.
If you did, be a ☆ and let me know what you think by rating it and commenting below. Tag me on Instagram too. I am @avirtualvegan and my hashtag is #avirtualvegan ________________________________________________________
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Aminah says
Hi, I'm wondering if the walnuts can be substituted with almonds?
A Virtual Vegan says
I personally wouldn't. Walnuts kind of get a meaty texture when cooked and have way more flavour then almonds. But it would technically work, so if you wanted to you could.
Nan says
Made it for Canadian Thanksgiving and it was a hit.
Also made the Vegan Red Wine Gravy and everyone was surprised that it was Plant-Based.
Thank you.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased they were both enjoyed and thanks so much for coming back to leave a review/rating. It's much appreciated!
Elizabeth says
Hi, I was wondering how to approximately how many uncooked lentils will equal 1 cup cooked.?
Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
It's a little less than half. So for 1 cup of cooked lentils, I'd cook 1/2 a cup of dried. Leftovers freeze well too though and can be thrown straight into soups, stews etc from the freezer.
Julie Peck says
Made this for Xmas dinner!! Beautiful and so yummy! Leftovers were great too. The red wine gravy is my new addiction. So so good! I’m making the loaf today in muffin tins using cupcake parchment so I can bring as treats to vegan non cooks. Iknow I know I don’t get it either. Thank you so much for your wonderfully put together inspirational recipes. What else can I put gravy on. Hmmm. Think it would play havoc on the plumbing or I’d bathe in it!
A Virtual Vegan says
Ha ha! I am a massive gravy lover. I literally drown my dinner in it. Glad you're enjoying the recipes!
Pat says
Made this for Christmas dinner, it was delicious! I will definitely make it again!
Helene says
Absolutely delicious. My omni mum made it for us and we really enjoyed it. It took a while and we had to substitute the flaxseed with linseed but it worked!
Thank you from a very happy vegan :-)
Maria Elena Vito says
I would think 🤔 flaxseeds are linseeds. Same thing, different name!!!
Lorraine Manning says
Hi, I can’t get hold of fresh or frozen cranberries this year! So I thought I would use a jar or two cranberry sauce instead. De you think this would work? I’m praying it does.
I am loving your vegan recipes. Are you British but living abroad?
Happy Christmas 🎄
Kind regards
Lorraine
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Lorraine! I think it should be ok although I've never tried it, as long as you are ok with the extra sweetness.
And yes I am British. I'm from Plymouth, but live on Vancouver Island in Canada now.
Merry Christmas!
Dena says
Could you substitute chopped chestnuts for the walnuts?
A Virtual Vegan says
Definitely. That would work really well!
Basia says
How many degrees did you set in the oven?
A Virtual Vegan says
The temperature to preheat the oven is given in the recipe. It's 375 °F.
Sherilyn says
What would the cooking time be if I made 3 mini loaves with the recipe?
A Virtual Vegan says
I can't say exactly because I've never tried and because I don't know exactly the size of your loaf pans so it will be a bit trial and error. Maybe 25 mins or so? They should start to look golden on top and around the edges, and be coming away from the edge of the pan slightly. If you stick a metal skewer or long thin knife into the centre and feel it when you pull it out it should be very, very hot. Then you will know they are cooked all the way through. Hope that helps!
Marabeth says
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven't tried it so wouldn't like to say. If I was going to freeze it though, I would cook it first, then freeze. Then defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat on the day. I think that should be ok but can't guarantee how it will affect it.
It can definitely be prepared and packed into the loaf pan and kept uncooked in the fridge for a day or two. I've done that myself a few times. Just make sure you wrap it well so it doesn't dry out.
hope that helps!
Leah says
Planning on making this and my shopping list. What type of mushrooms are you using and about how many containers of mushrooms is that? I was planning on using baby Bellas and am thinking 2 containers.
A Virtual Vegan says
Baby bellas will be just fine. As would regular white or portobellos. Just whatever ones you like or already have. Containers of mushrooms vary in size so much and by country so you are better off going by weight. You need 226g which is 8oz or or about 1/2 a pound. Hope that helps!
Nicola says
Can I use packaged brown lentils (from Trader Joe's or Melissa's Organic) that are already cooked?
A Virtual Vegan says
I am not familiar with those brands as I am in Canada, but as long as they are firmish and not soggy they will be fine. You do need to use the red lentils as well though. They are what helps the loaf stick together well. Hope that helps!
Giglio says
Hi Melanie,
I made your recipe for Christmas and it was easy to make and an absolute success so delicious 😋😋😋
I was wondering whether I could use the same mix and make it into burgers instead of a loaf, do you think it would work???
Thanks Giglio
Melanie McDonald says
I have never tried it as burgers. I keep meaning to try it as "meat"balls too. It might be ok as it is, but there is a chance it might need a bit of firming up in order to be able to get it shaped and cooked without them falling apart. I think I'd see how it felt, and maybe more flax seeds or bread crumbs if need be? A bit of nut butter in veggie burgers does a great job of glueing everything together and stopping them falling apart too.
Hampstead vegan says
My adult, non-vegan children requested this twice over the holidays. Good served cold, too.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's so good to hear! I like it cold too, sliced in sandwiches with some chutney!
Tammy Dowling says
Just made this tonight for dinner and WoW! it was amazing and delicious. Thank you for this recipie <3
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it!