Make this vegan lentil roast your next Sunday lunch or Christmas dinner centrepiece. Moist & utterly delicious, this easy lentil loaf makes perfect vegan & vegetarian roast alternative!
If you're looking for easy and delicious vegan and vegetarian roast dinner centrepiece you've come to the right place!
This deliciously moist lentil loaf is a huge upgrade on old-fashioned and dry nut roasts.
It's full of rich and "meaty" umami flavours, wholesome and packed full of protein yet without any "faux meat" ingredients. It's all plants baby!
All in all it's a winner winner lentil dinner as it's really inexpensive to make to.
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✔️ Why should you try this recipe?
- Perfect vegan and vegetarian roast dinner centrepiece for any occasion
- Made with simple and wholesome ingredients, no faux meat here
- Inexpensive and easy to make
- Moist
- Holds its shape really well and is easy to slice
- Leftovers make fantastic sandwiches
- Naturally gluten-free
🥘 Ingredients and substitutes
Cooked Green Lentils - They can be substituted with brown or puy lentils if you prefer.
You can cook them yourself or use tinned ones. Use anything between 200-235g of cooked lentils. Which would be one tin of drained and rinsed lentils here in the UK.
If you're cooking your own lentils you'll need 100g lentils to be cooked according to the instructions on the packaging.
Cooked Chestnuts - I use Merchant Gourmet Cooked Chestnuts in pouches which are widely available here in the UK and got that lovely sweetness to them. You could substitute these with other nuts like walnuts but I would urge you to give these a go first.
Cooked Millet or Quinoa - I've use these interchangeably and both work as well. They act as our glue here, are packed with protein and naturally gluten-free too. You could use cooked rice (preferably brown) as well if that's all you've got.
Mushrooms - I like to use chestnut mushrooms here but regular button mushrooms will work as well. You could also use portobello mushrooms if you wanted to.
Dried Porcini Mushrooms - These are full of concentrated umami flavour so don't skip them. I use these Merchant Gourmet Porcini Mushrooms and they're absolutely delicious.
If you forage and dry your own wild mushrooms, you could definitely use them here instead of porcini.
Nutritional Yeast (Nooch) - Staple in any vegan kitchen cupboard. It adds lovely nutty and cheesy flavour. If you don't have any to hand simply skip it.
Onions & Garlic
Bay Leaves - I use dried bay leaves but fresh ones will work as well although you might want to use 1 instead of 2 as they have stronger flavour.
Juniper & Allspice Berries - Little flavour enhancing additions I like to use in my winter cooking, don't forget to remove them before pureeing.
Soy Sauce or Tamari (if gluten-free) - I use my favourite Biona Organic Tamari Sauce.
Dried Thyme - Dried rosemary or even sage will work as well. You can use fresh herbs instead of dried ones.
Mixed Herbs - Very simple mix of herbs. Feel free to substitute with your own favourite dried herbs mixture (Herbs de Provence or Italian Seasoning will work really well too).
Mustard - I use Dijon but English or wholegrain will work as well.
🍽 Equipment
Large Non-Stick Frying Pan - for sautéing onion and mushroom mixture.
Food Processor - for pureeing all the lentil loaf ingredients.
2lb Non-Stick Loaf Tin - for baking lentil roast.
Baking paper - to line baking tin for ease of loaf removal after baking.
💭 Pro Tips
- Cook your quinoa or millet in advance and let it cool completely before use. This will allow for excess moisture to evaporate and prevent soggy roast. I use both quite a lot and usually cook more than I need for something in advance and store in the fridge until needed for this roast. You can also buy already cooked quinoa in pouches.
- Don't forget to take allspice & juniper berries as well as bay leaves out before pureeing the mixture for lentil loaf.
- Give chestnuts a quick blend in the food processor before you add all the remaining ingredients as they are quite chunky so it's good to give them head start.
- Depending on the size of your food processor you might need to puree your ingredients in batches and then combine them all in a large bowl.
- Once baked, let your roast cool a little bit before turning it out onto a board and slicing. The longer you let it stand the easier it will be to slice.
- Make sure to taste and adjust seasoning of your lentil loaf before baking. We are all individuals with different taste preferences so don't be afraid to adapt your loaf to suit you!
- Line loaf tin with some baking paper so that it overlaps on the long sides of the tin. It will make for much easier and neater loaf removal later.
🥡 Storing and freezing
Lentil roast makes for fantastic leftovers!
It will last in the fridge 4-5 days. Ensure it is well covered to prevent it from drying.
Leftover roast is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Make sure you cool it down completely first before wrapping it well (to prevent freezer burn) and freezing.
Personally, I like to freeze it in portions and take out as and when I need it.
Defrost it in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven or microwave if you don't mind your loaf a bit soggy.
🍴 Serving suggestions
I usually serve this impressive lentil roast as a part of vegan and vegetarian roast dinner with all the trimmings - See below: All the trimmings to serve with your vegan and vegetarian roast dinner.
For presentation purposes I like to top my loaf with my homemade cranberry sauce and few sprigs of fresh rosemary from the garden .
Leftovers make for delicious sandwiches with even more cranberry sauce or your favourite chutney.
Sliced and served at room temperature this humble lentil loaf makes for great addition to any buffet and makes great party food too.
❓ FAQs
Absolutely! You can prepare it as per recipe and keep in the fridge for 1-2 days until you are ready to bake it. Alternatively, you can bake it in advance and once cooled down, cover well and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the oven until warmed through or eat cold as a part of the buffet or in sandwiches.
Yes it is naturally gluten-free but make sure to use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce. This lentil loaf is also egg-free so perfect if you've got egg allergies.
It holds its shape really well once removed from the tin but make sure to let it rest for a bit first. It will also slice neater once rested.
🔪 How to make Vegan Lentil Roast?
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Put dried porcini mushrooms into a bowl and cover them with freshly boiled water. Leave them to sit for a few minutes to rehydrate as you get on with your loaf.
Prepare vegetables by cleaning and roughly chopping mushrooms, peeling and roughly chopping onions and peeling and mincing or grating fresh garlic.
Heat up couple tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick pan and add onions, garlic, bay leaves together with allspice and juniper berries (if using).
Sauté them for a few minutes stirring frequently until softened and translucent but not too coloured. Next, remove allspice and juniper berries which would have already imparted their flavours onto the onions.
Add chopped mushrooms followed by dried herbs and give it all a good stir.
Sauté mushroom and onion mixture for a few minutes until cooked down nicely. Once done take out the bay leaves.
Next, add rehydrated dried porcini together with water they've been soaking in followed by soy sauce/tamari.
Give it all a good stir and let it cook for few more minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, then take the pan off the heat and set it aside.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
Put cooked chestnuts into the bowl of your food processor and pulse few times to turn them into crumbs.
Add all of the remaining loaf ingredients into the bowl of food processor with chestnuts and puree until you get smooth paste. You might need to do it in batches depending on the size of your food processor. You might also need to stop pureeing couple of times to scrape the mixture from the sides of the bowl and puree again for nice and smooth finish (although it doesn't need to be a perfectly smooth puree).
Transfer pureed mixture to a large bowl, taste and season with salt and pepper. Also feel free to adjust other seasoning.
Transfer seasoned loaf mixture into prepared, lightly oiled loaf tin lined with baking paper overlapping on both sides for easy loaf removal later.
Press mixture nice and tight using large spoon to help you.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes until nicely browned and firm to touch.
Let the roast cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing it onto a board or serving plate.
Serve and enjoy!
Have you tried my Vegan Lentil Roast?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
😋 All the trimmings to serve with your vegan & vegetarian roast dinner
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Vegan Onion Gravy
Vegan Roast Potatoes
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Easy Cranberry Sauce with Rosemary
Roasted Brussels sprouts with Parmesan & Garlic
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📋 Recipe
Vegan Lentil Roast (Easy Lentil Loaf)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed/olive oil
- 150 g onions peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped, grated
- 200-235 g cooked green lentils see notes
- 180 g cooked chestnuts see notes
- 200 g cooked quinoa or millet see notes
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms cleaned and roughly chopped
- 15 g dried porcini mushrooms rehydrated in freshly boiled water
- 15 g nutritional yeast
- 2-3 dried bay leaves or 1 fresh bay leaf
- 2 allspice berries optional
- 2 juniper berries optional
- 2 teaspoon dried thyme see notes
- 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs see notes
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard see notes
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put dried porcini mushrooms into a bowl and cover them with freshly boiled water. Leave them to sit for a few minutes to rehydrate as you get on with your loaf.
- Prepare vegetables by cleaning and roughly chopping mushrooms, peeling and roughly chopping onions and peeling and mincing or grating fresh garlic.
- Heat up couple tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick pan and add onions, garlic, bay leaves together with allspice and juniper berries (if using).
- Sauté them for a few minutes stirring frequently until softened and translucent but not too coloured. Next, remove allspice and juniper berries which would have already imparted their flavour onto the onions.
- Add chopped mushrooms followed by dried herbs and give it all a good stir.
- Sauté mushrooms and onion mixture for a few minutes until cooked down nicely. Once done take out the bay leaves.
- Next, add rehydrated dried porcini together with water they've been soaking in followed by soy sauce/tamari.
- Give it all a good stir and let it cook for few more minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, then take the pan off the heat and set it aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
- Put cooked chestnuts into the bowl of your food processor and pulse few times to turn them into crumbs.
- Add all of the remaining loaf ingredients into the bowl of food processor with chestnuts and puree until you get smooth paste. You might need to do it in batches depending on the size of your food processor. You might also need to stop pureeing couple of times to scrape mixture from the sides of the bowl and puree again for nice and smooth finish (although it doesn't need to be a perfect puree).
- Transfer seasoned loaf mixture to a large bowl, taste and season with salt and pepper. Also feel free to adjust other seasoning.
- Transfer pureed mixture into prepared, lightly oiled loaf tin lined with baking paper overlapping on both sides for easy loaf removal later.
- Press mixture nice and tight using large spoon to help you.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes until nicely browned and firm to touch.
- Let the roast cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing it onto a board.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving based on 4 servings and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- Green lentils can be substituted with puy or brown lentils. You can cook them yourself or use tinned ones. Use anything between 200-235g of cooked lentils which would be one tin of drained and rinsed lentils here in the UK. If you're cooking your own lentils you'll need 100g lentils to be cooked according to the instructions on the packaging.
- You could use walnuts instead of chestnuts.
- If you don't have any quinoa or millet, you could try using cooked rice (preferably brown) instead.
- Dried thyme could be substituted with some rosemary or sage. Fresh herbs would also be fine.
- Mixed herbs can be substituted with herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning.
- Dijon can be substituted with English or wholegrain mustard.
- Leftovers will keep 4-5 days in the fridge. Freezer friendly.
- Cook your quinoa or millet in advance and let it cool completely before use. This will allow for excess moisture to evaporate and prevent soggy roast.
- Don't forget to take allspice & juniper berries as well as bay leaves out before pureeing the mixture for lentil loaf.
- Give chestnuts a quick blend in the food processor before you add all the remaining ingredients as they are quite chunky so it's good to give them head start.
- Depending on the size of your food processor you might need to puree your ingredients in batches and then combine them all in a large bowl.
- Once baked, let your roast cool a little bit before turning it out onto a board and slicing. The longer you let it stand the easier it will be to slice.
- Make sure to taste and adjust seasoning of your lentil loaf before baking. We are all individuals with different taste preferences so don't be afraid to adapt your loaf to suit you!
- Line loaf tin with some baking paper so that it overlaps on the long sides of the tin. It will make for much easier and neater loaf removal later.
Nutrition
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