Really Good Vegetarian Meatloaf (Really!)




Reviews
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I have made this about 5 times now. Every time it's happily eaten by vegetarians and carnivores alike. When I mash the lentils I use my blender and add water to get a mashed potato like consistency. I think this is why it turns out a little more moist. It also helps to put some sauce over the top when you have about twenty minutes left in cooking it. Thank you for the recipe.
Update: Since writing this review I have tried the following things and they have turned out great.
1.) I've occasionally added another egg, although I felt guilty about the extra fat.
2.) I've added chopped celery,carrots, mushrooms as suggested by other reviewers.
3.) In addition, and sometimes in place of the cheddar cheese , I added Parmesan cheese.
4.) Per suggestion of my girlfriend, I use a hand mixer instead of the blender now. She said she preferred some lentils still in tact for texture. I usually cook the lentils until they are very easy to smash, so that the mixer can handle the load.
I just thought I'd share how versatile and forgiving this recipe is. -
This is fantastic! I had to add a LOT more water (4 cups total) to get thing to come out right, but I'm using brown lentils (lots more fiber) and old fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats, so that may be the reason. I made some substitutions (like most other folks): I went vegan, replacing the eggs with milled flax seed & water and omitting the cheese, swapped 2/3rds cup ketchup for the spaghetti sauce, a small dash of extra virgin olive oil to help retain moisture in the fridge, and used "Italian Seasoning Mix" instead of just dried oregano (this was all on my second batch). Meatloaf is one thing I've hesitated to make since going vegetarian because I love "real" meatloaf so much, but this is better than any "real" meatloaf I've had (don't tell Mama!). This recipe would also probably hold up good enough to make meatballs or even crumbled "beef" replacement for other things ... probably wouldn't hold up too well in chili unless you add it just before serving, but would probably work for other things like no-meat Hamburger Helper. I'll try it out in those other areas ... if it works, that would be great, a much more reasonably priced beef alternative than the pre-packaged stuff.