This Vegan Meatloaf is incredibly easy to make & is sure to please with it's deep & savoury flavour. Serve sliced & smothered in rich, thick gravy for a truly satisfying meal!
I have received a few emails over the past few months asking if I could come up with a Vegan Meatloaf recipe.
I think something people find hard when transitioning to veganism, is making alternatives to family favourites like meatloaf, shepherd's pie, spaghetti bolognese, pot roast etc.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN MEATLOAF
SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
Vegan versions of recipes like meatloaf can be just as tasty as non-vegan versions and don't have to be complicated to make. This Vegan Meatloaf is really straightforward. Here's how:
STEP 1
All you have to do do is chop the onions, garlic and mushrooms.
If you can I suggest taking the lazy way out and doing all the chopping in a food processor. It's then super quick and easy.
I have this one and love it:
It holds 14 cups so all fits in. If you have a smaller one you might have to chop in batches but it will still be quicker than doing it by hand.
STEP 2
Then you mix the chopped mushrooms, onions and garlic with all of the other ingredients in a big bowl and press tightly into a loaf pan before baking.
I can't recommend these USA Loaf Pans enough:
I use mine for recipes like this and for making Whole Wheat Bread and other quick breads and nothing ever sticks, even with very minimal greasing (or none at all if I forget).
STEP 3
Bake the meatloaf and make the really quick, super tasty vegan gravy.
STEP 4
Rest the meatloaf for a few minutes before slicing and serve with whatever takes your fancy.
HOW TO SERVE MY VEGAN MEATLOAF
I have included a recipe for a quick and tasty gravy to make as an accompaniment to this Vegan Meatloaf but you could make my Red Wine Vegan Gravy instead.
A couple of thick, hearty slices make the perfect partner to Vegan Yorkshire Puddings, crispy roast potatoes or vegan mashed sweet potato. And some Vegan Green Bean Casserole on the side will take your meal right over the top!
Or a huge, fluffy pile of mashed potatoes and some delicious steamed vegetables, all drizzled with gravy. I have also made it and smothered barbecue sauce all over the top before baking, then served it with more for drizzling. It works so well! Comfort food at it's best!
PLANNING YOUR THANKSGIVING MEAL?
DOWNLOAD MY VEGAN THANKSGIVING DINNER MENU, SHOPPING LIST AND TIMELINE HERE!
It makes Thanksgiving effortless. All you have to do is print it out, shop from the shopping list, then make it the recipes while following my time line.
WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER VEGAN MEATLOAF
Leftovers are absolutely fantastic when stuffed inside the mushrooms in this Easy Vegan Mushroom Pie recipe instead of the caramelized onions. Seriously, seriously good! I highly recommend you try it!
They are also great sliced thinly in sandwiches or just reheated again and served with potatoes and gravy as before. I could easily eat this a few days in a row.
Leftovers reheat perfectly too. Just wrap individual slices or a wedge of it in lightly greased tin foil and bake in the oven.
This meatloaf is incredibly full of flavour and texture. The mushrooms give it amazing depth but not in an obviously mushroomy way. In fact, my husband who does not like mushrooms happily ate this two nights in a row and thoroughly enjoyed it. He was shocked when I told him that they were the main ingredient.
TASTY & NUTRITIOUS
As well as tasting good, this Vegan Meatloaf is really good for you.
It is totally oil free, gluten free and packs a massive protein punch with 10 grams per slice. (If anyone asks you where you get your protein from, please throw a slice of this in their face!).
CAN I PREPARE VEGAN MEATLOAF IN ADVANCE?
This Vegan Meatloaf recipe be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a few days before baking so is great if you like to batch cook or prepare food at the weekends ready for the week ahead. At holiday time it's always lovely to have things like this made up ahead so on the day you can enjoy more time with your family rather than in the kitchen.
You can also bake it, cool it and keep in the fridge, then reheat the whole thing in the pan wrapped in tin foil. That way you can bake it in advance then warm it through just when you need it.
PLEASE NOTE
To make this Vegan Meatloaf, you need some already cooked red and green lentils. It is important that these lentils are not overcooked as otherwise they will make the meatloaf mushy. Cook them until just tender. I give some more specific instructions in the recipe notes.
This recipe was originally published on April 15th 2016 and updated with new photographs and a video on Sept 6th 2018.
And if you love this recipe, you might also enjoy my Mushroom Lentil Loaf with Cranberries and my Vegan Roast.
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Vegan Meatloaf with Gravy
Ingredients
For the vegan meatloaf
- 1 small onion , finely chopped, golf ball size
- 2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 198g / 1 cup cooked split red lentils (measured after cooked)- do not overcook the lentils. They should be just soft. Red Lentils don't take long to cook at all and if they are overcooked and soggy it will make the meatloaf soggy. For tips on cooking see recipe notes.
- 198g / 1 cup cooked green lentils (measured after cooked)- do not overcook the lentils or the meatloaf will end up soggy. They need to be just tender. For tips on cooking see recipe notes.
- 226g / 3 cups mushrooms , finely chopped (measured after chopping). White, button, cremini (brown) or portobello are all fine to use.
- 62g / ½ cup walnut pieces , To make nut-free you can sub the walnuts for half a cup of oats or half a cup of sunflower seeds
- 4 tablespoons / ¼ cup ground flax seeds
- 1 cup / 108 g bread crumbs , made from a stale loaf of bread, or use panko crumbs, or gluten-free breadcrumbs
- 90 g / 1 scant cup flour , all purpsoe, rice, spelt or wholewheat flour (see recipe note for how to make oat flour)
- 1 tablespoon Tamari (or coconut aminos , or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoons pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- up to 120mls / ½ cup water , you might not need any at all
For the gravy
- 2 medium onions , chopped
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons tamari , or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch (or just regular all purpose flour)
- 480mls / 2 cups mushroom broth , or 2 cups of water and 3 mushrooms
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 370°.
- Make sure the onion, garlic & mushrooms are chopped finely. If you have a food processor you can do this in there with the regular blade.
- Put them in a large bowl then add all other meatloaf ingredients except the water.
- Mix very, very well together. There is a lot of it and it is hard to mix with a spoon so it's much easier to get your hands in there and squidge it all together well.
- You need it so that it sticks together nicely when you squeeze it with your hands. If it does this easily then don't add any water. If it's still a little crumby and wont come together add water very gradually until it just starts coming together. I often need no water at all. Definitely don't add more water than it needs or it will make the loaf soggy.
- Lay a strip of parchment paper down the length of a loaf tin with enough length either end to act as handles for pulling the finished loaf out ( my tin is 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches. Any tin roughly that size will be fine)
- Spoon in the meatloaf mixture and pack down really tightly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes. Keep an eye on it towards the end. You want it to go a bit crusty and brown on the top but not too dark. You can cover it with a piece of foil if it does start going too brown.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin, covered tightly in foil for at least 15 minutes but up to 30 is ok. Then remove and slice.
For the gravy
- Sauté the onion slowly over a low heat until a deep golden brown.
- Transfer to a blender with all of the other ingredients and blend until very smooth.
- Pour into a pan and stir over a medium heat until thickened and piping hot.
- If you prefer your gravy a little thinner just add some boiling water from a kettle and stir well until you get the consistency you like.
- Serve the meatloaf sliced and doused in gravy.
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.
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.
Isobell says
Whats the pink/purple stuff? And is there a recipe for it somewhere..... Thanks 😊
A Virtual Vegan says
It's just steamed red cabbage. Nothing fancy.
Ann says
Perfect comfort food for Easter! so good
Susan Bevan says
Absolutely fabulous. Exceptionally tasty, easy to make and not too expensive. This is a favourite.
Ellen says
My husband and I have had this in our dinner rotation for a couple years and I love it, much more than traditional meatloaf, which I never much cared for. It is a little time consuming, but makes a delicious, comforting meal with some mashed potatoes and green veggies. I boost the savoriness a bit with more soy sauce (and less salt), extra thyme, as well as some sage and marjoram. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Tess says
Wow, this was really delicious. After reading the reviews I had to make it. Apart from the fact that every recipe of yours that I have made has turned out perfect. I had left over portobello pot last week which I blended and kept in the freezer to use as gravy. Thank you so much for sharing your great recipes.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Tess!
Tess says
Hi Mel, I had to add another comment. I made this recipe last night and used 1/8 cup measurement to make meatballs. I made 28 of these and then used 1/2 cup measurement to make 3 burgers. I baked them for 15 mins, turned them and baked for another 15 mins. They turned out great. What a versatile recipe and soooooo tasty. Thanks again :)
A Virtual Vegan says
I've been meaning to try this as meatballs. You beat me to it!
Adele says
This was absoulty delisious ! The gravy is amazing i had only used 1 onion instead of 2 and it turned out great ! Thank you so much for great recipes !
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Adele!
Gerry says
Just made the vegan loaf and gravy, delicious! I reconstituted some dried gourmet mushrooms from a mix I bought at Costco and used the water from the soaking as the broth for the gravy. Wow! Lovely flavour. Highly recommend! Thanks so much.
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you enjoyed it Gerry! I've got a big container of those mushrooms from Costco. They are such good value and so tasty!
Julie Coon says
Just tried this tonight and found out you can also use the mixture to make tasty meatballs with. When you eat this cold in sandwiches, does it taste good with ketchup, just like real meatloaf does?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes it makes great meatballs! I would imagine it goes well with ketchup in a sandwich. I've never tried it as I love mine with chutney and salad!
Jane says
Can this be enjoyable served cold? I have a function where they have requested cold meats and salads, but have vegans in their group...
A Virtual Vegan says
I sometimes eat leftovers in sandwiches, but I don't think that I would serve cold meatloaf at a function. This recipe might be better suited. It's very meat like and great sliced thin as an alternative to lunch meats. https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-roast/ .
Shannon says
This looks so good! I was wondering if I could sub more green lentils instead of using the red lentils? Also, I'm not a fan of nutritional yeast, could I use something else in place of this in the gravy or omit? TIA!
A Virtual Vegan says
You can't sub the lentils. You must use the red ones here as they are what helps the loaf stick together. The nutritional yeast adds real depth of flavour in the gravy. There isn't anything that could replace it. I use it in lots of my recipes to add umami flavour. You could omit it but the gravy won't taste as good. Hope that helps!
Shannon Wagener says
I just made this tonight (as written!) and it was DELICIOUS!! Thank you so much for your excellent recipes, my 10 month old went bananas for this and my husband really liked it a lot too, adding to our dinner rotation!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you all enjoyed it Shannon. Thank you!
thatgirl says
Made this last night to rave reviews!
We are vegetarian, so I used egg instead of flax for the loaf binder and gave it a little oomph with some thyme and smoked paprika.
The gravy is so easy to make, but to round out the big onion read, needs a little fat. Some pats of dairy or vegan butter added during the reduction time helps give it more a more silky read.
Thank you!
Jim says
Greetings - I am curious if you know if this recipe freezes well? Thanks, looks great!
A Virtual Vegan says
The gravy is absolutely fine to freeze, but I haven’t tried freezing the meatloaf so can’t say for sure how it would hold up. I have prepared it 2 days ahead though and kept it wrapped in the fridge then cooked it and it was fine. And I have cooked it once when my family were away and kept it in the fridge for a week after, reheating it slice by slice for myself and it was fine for all that time.
I think it would be ok if you freeze it uncooked but no guarantees as I haven't tried it. I’m thinking if I were going to freeze it though, I would probably do it after cooking (and once cooled). Then take it out and defrost in the fridge overnight and warm it through in a 350°F oven for 20-30 mins, or until piping hot. You’ll be able to stick a knife in the centre, pull it out and touch it to see how hot it is in the centre.
I hope that helps and sorry I can't be more specific.
Jim says
Thanks for the reply. I may do a trial run this weekend for a Christmas road trip. I’ll let you know how it goes
Eli says
Sooo delicious! I made this for a friendsgiving dinner because two of our guests were vegans. This got rave reviews from the vegans and everyone else as well! I used mung beans instead of green lentils because I couldn't find any at the store and it worked out wonderfully! My wife love it so much she asked me to make another one the very next day. I have a feeling this will become a staple in our house and I'm looking forward to trying out different variations with other nuts, seeds, legumes, seasoning, grains, etc. Thanks so much!!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you all enjoyed it. It's good to know it worked well with mung beans too!
Amelia says
I have to ask--what is the purple side on the pictured plate? Looks yummy! :)
A Virtual Vegan says
It's just steamed purple cabbage, also known as red cabbage depending where you are in the world!