A gluten-free holiday hit!
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I honestly think you can take any non-vegan recipe and make it better tasting with vegan ingredients. I’ve been working on making this meatloaf the past year and just made my favorite batch so far. Recreating a “meatloaf” flavor with vegetables can sound daunting, but it’s actually not much work. You will just need a food processor and lots of amazing plants!
Ingredient Description:
- Brown lentils – These make up the main base for the meat texture, so you went them to be really well cooked to mash in with the other ingredients. I like to do fresh lentils because I’m not too big on the taste of canned lentils.
- Chickpeas – This is the second part of the meat base and adds really great flavor and variety of texture to the meatloaf. I took it easy on myself and did canned.
- Shallots – I have tried red onions, yellow onions, and shallots in different recreations of this recipe. I really like shallots in this because it pairs well with the garlic and has more of a bite that you can taste once the loaf is cooked. I also like red onion if you can’t get shallots.
- Garlic – Fresh as always. I minced 5 cloves for this dish.
- Rice Crispies – I’ve also tried this dish with different breadcrumbs. Standard panko is fine too, but I really wouldn’t get gluten free panko. I bought it once for $7.00 and it was literally a tiny tin of rice crispies. Still bitter. So I just decided to try a while back to use rice crispies and it’s just the same and so much cheaper!
- Flax – This will be used to make the flax egg to bind everything together before baking.
- Liquid smoke – I think this is one of the most important ingredients. It adds so much flavor and smells amazing. If you are not into it, feel free to reduce the measurement. But I highly recommend giving it a try. You can find it in almost any store or online.
- Vegan worcestershire – This is one where you need to read the label. Kroger’s brand of worcestershire does not contain anchovies or other fish ingredients.
- Tomato paste
- Celery
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, fresh thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary.
Detailed Instructions:
- Cook lentils. Combine 3/4 cups of lentils with two cups of water, cover, and cook on medium until lentils are cooked and water has evaporated (about 20-30 minutes).
- Make flax egg. Mix flax seeds with double the water and let sit for 5-10 minuites until the flex and water form an eggy texture. It should be still runny, but a bit sticky like a pudding.
- Crush rice crispies. I just rolled mine in a bag with a rolling pin, but you could also pulse them in the food processor until them form crumbs.
- Chop celery, shallots, and mince garlic. Dice the shallots into small pieces, then slice the celery into thin slices. Make sure the garlic is well minced so it spreads evenly through the dish.
- Combine all ingredients. In a large bowl mix all the chopped ingredients, lentils, chickpeas, seasonings, breadcrumbs, flax egg, and tomato paste, worcestershire, and liquid smoke. Stir well until everything is mixed evenly.
- Pulse in food processor. Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well chopped. Don’t overpulse because you still want some texture in the meatloaf.
- Place in a cupcake tin. Make sure to grease your cupcake tin with something. Olive oil, coconut oil, or vegan butter all work well. Portion out into the tin and fill to the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until crispy.
- Let cool and serve!
Recipe List
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
Makes 18 cups
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup uncooked brown lentils
- 15oz can chickpeas
- 2 shallots
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 cups rice crispies
- 2 tbsp flax seed (mixed with 4 tbsp water)
- 1 tbsp liquid smoke
- 1 tbsp vegan worcestershire
- 6oz can tomato paste
- 4 stalks celery
- 1 tsp of each seasoning: Salt, fresh thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary.
- pepper (to taste)
Instructions:
- Set oven to 400°
- Cook lentils until soft (follow instructions on bag or used my detailed instructions above).
- Make flax egg.
- Crush rice crispies into crumbs.
- Chop celery, shallots, and mince garlic.
- Combine all ingredients listed into a large bowl. Mix well.
- Pour ingredients into food processor and pulse until well chopped.
- Place in cupcake tins and fill to top of each cup.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until crispy. Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve!
