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    Home » Recipes » Dinner

    Published: Dec 15, 2017 · Modified: Dec 17, 2020 by Melanie McDonald · This post contains affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 93 Comments

    Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberries

    GO TO RECIPE PRINT RECIPE
    4.99 from 54 votes
    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! 

    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!

    Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberry topping turned out on a slate board and surrounded by scattered cranberries and rosemary

    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.

    Mushroom Lentil Loaf on a slate board with one slice cut off the end

    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.

    ingredients for Mushroom Lentil Loaf in a mixing bowl - red lentils, green lentils, onion, walnuts, mushrooms

    Then add the breadcrumbs, ground flax, flour, grated apple and dried cranberries.

    ingredients for Mushroom Lentil Loaf in a mixing bowl - red lentils, green lentils, onion, walnuts, mushrooms, bread crumbs, dried cranberries, grated apple & flax

    Then the seasoning, herbs and tamari.

    ingredients for Mushroom Lentil Loaf in a mixing bowl - red lentils, green lentils, onion, walnuts, mushrooms, bread crumbs, dried cranberries, grated apple, flax, herbs & seasoning

    Then mix it all up thoroughly.

    Mushroom Lentil Loaf ingredients mixed up in a bowl

    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.

    cranberries and sugar cooked gently in a pan

    Line a loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper and pour in the cranberries.

    lined loaf pan ready for making Mushroom Lentil Loaf
    cranberries in the bottom of a loaf pan priot to mushroom lentil loaf mixture being piled on top

    Then pile on the Lentil Loaf mixture and pack it in very tightly.

    filling a loaf pan with Mushroom Lentil Loaf mixture

    At this stage it can be refrigerated for a couple of days or baked right away.

    Here it is before baking:

    raw Mushroom Lentil Loaf in a pan ready to go into the oven

    And here it is after baking:

    cooked Mushroom Lentil Loaf in a pan

    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, roasted red cabbage, 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:

    • Vegan Beef
    • Beyond Meat Meatloaf
    • Vegan Roast
    • Vegan Meatloaf with Gravy
    Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberry topping turned out on a slate board and surrounded by scattered cranberries and rosemary

    Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberries

    Author: Melanie McDonald
    4.99 from 54 votes
    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! 
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved!
    PREP TIME: 25 minutes
    COOK TIME: 1 hour
    TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 25 minutes
    Servings: 8 thick slices

    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 freezer 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
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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

    Tips for cooking lentils: 
    • 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.
    Any leftover cooked lentils will keep for 5-6 days in a sealed container in the fridge and they also freeze really well. 
    If you want to make the Lentil Loaf ahead of time, follow the instructions up to packing it into the pan, then wrap it well and refrigerate for up to 3 days. It will need an extra 10 - 15 minutes in the oven to compensate for it starting off very cold. 
    If you cook the loaf then for some reason don't get around to eating it, it will keep in the fridge for up to one week and can be reheated in the pan in the oven. It will take about 30 minutes (or until piping hot) on 375°F. 
    Lentil Loaf leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. Wrap in tin foil and oven bake to reheat, or pan fry individual slices. When pan-fried it develops the most gorgeous crust and it's so good! 
    ________________________________________________________
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
    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

    Serving: 1sliceCalories: 289kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 12gFat: 8gSodium: 370mgFiber: 11gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 100IUVitamin C: 8.3mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 3.4mg

    Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.

    Tried this recipe?Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @avirtualvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #avirtualvegan
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Janet says

      March 07, 2022 at 4:52 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for Christmas and we shared some with a friend who is not vegan but is an accomplished cook. He was very impressed:-). It was delicious with the red wine gravy and made tasty sandwiches later. I'll be making the one again.

      Reply
    2. Mark says

      December 27, 2021 at 12:12 pm

      5 stars
      Loved this on Christmas. Everyone else had turkey and we took this with our own gravy. The red wine one you have. We ended up having to defend both as the non-vegans tried to steal it.

      Reply
    3. Jessica says

      December 26, 2021 at 7:26 am

      Made this but the cranberry base burned to a crisp. There was no way to tell it was burning since it’s on the bottom of the pan. Cranberries are one of my favorite foods, and expensive as well, so peeling off the burnt cranberry layer and throwing them out was devastating.

      I’m not sure why they burned so bad but it was like a charcoal layer.

      Reply
    4. Teresa says

      December 21, 2021 at 11:05 am

      What can I substitute the flaxseed with? Will chia seeds or hemp seed work? Thanks so much. Can't wait to make this!

      Reply
      • Melanie McDonald says

        December 21, 2021 at 11:19 am

        I don't recommend using anything else. Ground flax is what gives the best results.

        Reply
    5. Sarah says

      December 20, 2021 at 2:58 pm

      5 stars
      Hello from Italy, I really want to make this but I can only find dried cranberries where I live, ant suggestions, please.
      Thanks, Sarah. x

      Reply
      • Melanie McDonald says

        December 20, 2021 at 8:49 pm

        Dried cranberries won't work for this recipe. You could just use ready-made cranberry sauce instead if you can get it. Or make this "meatloaf". It's basically the same but doesn't have the cranberry top and comes with gravy. https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-meatloaf-with-gravy/

        Reply
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