This simple vegan lentil mushroom loaf with walnuts is a wonderful plant-based main dish the whole family will love! It’s so hearty, savory and really easy to make with only 10 minutes of prep time.
Looking for a scrumptious meatless main the whole family will enjoy? This wonderfully textured lentil mushroom loaf packs lots of nutrients, flavor, and plant-based protein in every single bite.
Made with simple ingredients including walnuts, carrots, onion, herbs, and spices, this homemade recipe is perfect during the holidays but can be prepared all throughout the year!
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Prepare it ahead of time, enjoy it over the course of a few days and customize this lentil mushroom loaf to your liking. It combines great taste with lots of nutrition and easy preparation!
Each serving (2 slices) of this vegan meatloaf offers 19 g of plant-strong protein, 10 g of fiber (that’s ⅓ of what you need per day), and 3.5 g omega-3 — which is twice your daily requirement.
Other meaty vegan favorites on this website include our chickpea loaf, beetroot kidney bean burgers, black bean meatballs, and hearty chili sin carne!
You can also browse our Thanksgiving recipes or protein-packed vegan dinners for more ideas.
Recipe overview
Here’s what we love about this lentil mushroom loaf!
- Protein-packed and filling
- Made from budget-friendly ingredients
- Savory, hearty and warming
- Gluten-free & high in veggies
- Crowd-pleasing meatless dinner
- Great for meal prep
Perfect especially during fall and winter, you can add different veggies to this loaf and serve it with an array of delicious sides — more on that below.
Ingredients needed
- Brown Lentils — the plant-strong protein star of our vegan meatloaf.
- Mushrooms — they offer great texture & earthy flavors!
- Oats — to absorb any excess liquid and add some more texture.
- Walnuts — for the crunchy and rich texture plus some added omega-3.
- Carrot — we’re all about hiding a few delicious vegetables here and there, after all.
- Onion & Garlic — every good savory recipe needs some of that strong flavor!
- Flavorings — this recipe calls for oregano, parsley, salt, red chili flakes, mustard, soy sauce & a few more.
You can play around with many of these components to make this lentil mushroom loaf perfect for your needs!
In terms of equipment, this recipe requires a pot, non-stick pan, small bowl, food processor and loaf pan.
How to make this lentil mushroom loaf
Cook the lentils
Cook your dry lentils according to package instructions. Once all of the water has been absorbed, set them aside to cool for a few minutes before placing them in the food processor.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
Sauté the veggies
Add onion, garlic and mushrooms to a non-stick pan and cook in a splash of water while stirring frequently.
After a few minutes, add the carrot and soy sauce. The latter will add a wonderful savory and deep flavor to your lentil mushroom loaf!
Sauté for a few more minutes until all of the liquid has evaporated.
Combine the ingredients
Add your cooked and slightly cooled lentils to your food processor alongside the sautéed veggies and the rest of the ingredients for the vegan loaf batter.
Pulse a few times to incorporate everything and be sure not to over-process the mixture! It should still be textured and a bit chunky, not smooth and homogenous.
Transfer it to your prepared loaf pan and pack it down firmly to make sure it stays together.
Add the glaze
In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the homemade glaze. Alternatively, you can use ketchup or even BBQ sauce if you like!
Spread it evenly on top of your lentil loaf mixture, then place the loaf pan into the oven.
Bake and enjoy
Bake your lentil mushroom loaf for 45 minutes until the glaze starts to brown on the edges and the loaf is firm in the middle.
Remove the vegan loaf from the oven and set it aside to cool for 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan and cutting it into slices.
Storage & reheating
This lentil mushroom loaf tastes best the day you make it but it’s also super delicious when reheated for a quick lunch or dinner over the next couple of days!
Once completely cooled, store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to around 5 days.
Sliced lentil loaf can be frozen when put between parchment paper so that the slices don’t stick together and then put into freezer-safe containers.
When reheating your vegan meatloaf, get as many slices as you like and put them back in the oven for about 8 minutes at 350° F.
Serving suggestions
Our vegan lentil loaf can be the star at your Thanksgiving table where it can be offered alongside dishes such as:
- Mashed potatoes
- Gravy
- Roasted vegetables
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Scalloped potatoes
- Green beans
- Cranberry sauce
For an exact recipe, check out our vegan Thanksgiving dinner bowl!
We enjoy it with our roast pumpkin feta salad, spinach fig salad, sweet potato arugula salad, homemade baked root veggies or some steamed veggies for a leftover weeknight dinner sometimes.
FAQs & tips
How to prep ahead
You can cook the lentils a few days before making this recipe or just buy canned lentils instead. You can also sauté the veggies and make the glaze ahead of time so that you just need to throw everything together, add the glaze, and bake your lentil mushroom loaf!
Can I use canned lentils?
We’ve made this recipe with canned lentils as well as kidney beans before, yes. You’ll need around 15 ounces or 420 grams of cooked legumes for this recipe.
Success tips
Be sure that the batter is not too sticky or wet, so drain the sautéed vegetables and lentils well before adding everything into your food processor.
If necessary, use more oats to help soak up the excess liquid!
We also recommend that any veggies you’re using in this vegan meatloaf should be chopped finely or even grated!
Suggested swaps
Feel free to add other veggies like celery, zucchini or bell peppers in this recipe! Be sure to finely chop and sauté them first.
Adding some liquid smoke or vegan Worcestershire sauce brings out the umami flavor and if you cannot have walnuts, use another nut or ¼ cup tahini instead. If using nut or seed butter, add more oats to achieve the right texture!
You can also cook your lentils in vegetable broth and use spices like sage, fennel or smoked paprika.
More hearty vegan recipes
Bring more plant-based goodness to the dinner table and try these recipes next!
- Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos
- Plant-Based Stuffed Peppers
- Potato Chickpea Curry
- Lentil Carrot Soup
- Homemade Bean Burritos
Did you make our vegan lentil mushroom loaf? Share with us in the comments below, give this recipe a rating and Pin it here!
How can you make it nut or seed free to reduce the fat content?
Hi Ellie,
thanks for your question! You can just omit the walnuts in the lentil load and add a bit more lentils, oats, or even veggies, instead. Same goes for the flax seeds, though they work as an egg substitute and I haven’t tried making this recipe seed-free so far – let me know how it turns out if you do that!
Awesome to see that you’re looking for lower fat versions of recipes, btw. I’m the same way usually but wanted to offer something more “rich” for the whole family (including meat eaters) during the holidays. Hope that makes sense.
Warm wishes,
Alena
Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for saving our Christmas dinner :))
happy to read, thanks for sharing!
I have a pot of already cooked lentils. About how much cooked is equivalent to one cup dry?
I think they usually double in size – it’s about 1 cup dry to 2.5 cups cooked :)
I don’t have coconut sugar. What would you recommend as a replacement?
no problem, Annie! Any sweetener works here, normal sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, agave syrup, you name it :)
Look soo testy
Days are getting shorter and greyer… not all your readers are in the northern hemisphere – here in Australia we’re in the middle of a heat wave!
Just seeing this today. It looks very good! BTW, I’ve never met an Alena before!
I am Aleana ????
happy you like it! Wow, never heard of the name Aleana – where does it come from? :)
This was realy delicious. All my family loved it! I added a small sweet potato. I don’t have a food processor, so I do it by hand. Tourns out great! Thanks!
so happy to know, thanks for sharing!
Can you substitute another nut for walnuts? My husband suddenly became allergic about a year ago, but no other nuts affect him. Thanks!
Hey Michelle, great question! Can your husband eat pecans or almonds? I think both would work as a replacement. Perhaps even omitting the walnuts altogether would work :)
I tried this recipe last night and it was a success! I will be adding this to my weekly recipe rotation. I did make a few modifications. I reduced the lemon juice by half and added a tbsp of vegan Worcestershire sauce instead. I also used my favourite BBQ sauce as a topping instead of the glaze to save time. I sautéed the onions, garlic, and carrots before adding to the loaf, which helped to reduce the cooking time to 30 minutes. I served it with dill mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and vegan gravy. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Alena,
I’m wondering if applesauce could be used as a replacement for the sugar and flaxseeds? We have nearly everything in the house to make the recipe except the flaxseeds, and my family is likely to suggest “just using an egg” if we have to them, /but/ we have nearly a whole case of applesauce, so I’m hoping it’s an easy switch.
Thank you!
Hey Denise,
thanks for the question! I think I remember making this lentil loaf without any flax at all — a common replacement would be chia seeds, although they aren’t much more commonly found compared to flax. So, either just omit or use 1 tsp of applesauce if you want to try that swap! I’d be so curious to know how to turns out :)
Just so you know, there are some lentil and nut loaf recipes without either flax or applesauce so it should work.
Best wishes!
It’s always a hit or miss with vegan recipes! This was a hit
Hi
Would I be able to freeze this and re heat on Christmas day?
yes! Freeze the whole loaf or cut it into individual slices. Wrap in plastic wrap and place into a freezer-friendly bag or container!
Although this took me a good deal longer than 10 minutes to prepare, it was very worth it! Flavors and the little bit of crunch are addictive! Had it with chopped romaine and yellow pepper with green goddess dressing.