Lentil Loaf with Stuffing and Cranberries
You’ll find all the flavors you yearn for in this Holiday Lentil Loaf with Stuffing and Cranberries. It has a crispy crust and flavorful cranberry topping.
This post may contain affiliate links. Disclosure Policy
You’ll also get even more vegan recipes delivered to your inbox every week!
I’ve been working on this lentil meatloaf for quite some time because I wanted to share a perfect main dish kind of recipe for all those people who don’t like Tofurkey or Field Roast for their holiday dinner.
I mean, we like those products, but it’s nice to have a change of pace. Besides, this vegan lentil loaf is so dang beautiful!
Look at those cranberries.
It’s almost like an upside-down cake…except it’s a lentil veggie loaf recipe. Same idea. Right?
Well, however you slice it, this lentil loaf recipe is perfect for your vegan Thanksgiving menu. And maybe Christmas too. And we share our holiday dinner with all kinds of eaters (vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores), so I’m looking forward to everyone trying it.
How To Make Vegan Lentil Loaf
First of all, it helps if you have some lentils.
Anyway, it also helps if you have a large loaf pan. I love combining steps to make a more efficient cooking process, so I use the same saucepan 3 times. Of course, you might be able to make this recipe a little faster if you used more than one pan, but then there’s the cleanup.
I don’t even clean out that saucepan between steps, so there’s that. First things first, you’ll cook the lentils and the quinoa together. Then sauté the onions and celery. Then cook the cranberries in a sweet sauce. The rest is just so easy. You will pour the cranberries into the bottom of your loaf pan.
In the bowl, you’ll combine the lentils, celery and onions, and some stuffing mix. I add some more seasonings too, for added flavor. I also use a food processor to pulse together several cups of the mixture and then stir that back into the loaf. That creates a good binder to hold your lentil loaf together.
Nobody wants a crumbly vegan lentil meatloaf recipe!
Then bake that for about an hour and you will love the outcome.
Lentils are friendly — the Miss Congeniality of the bean world.
Laurie Colwin
Let’s Have Some Fun
Do you want to know what one of my favorite things to do is? Well, there’s a lot, but I really love changing up recipes. I even change up my own recipes. In fact, sometimes Shawn has to ask me if he wants the exact same cookies as last time. How boring. 🙂
So, I love sharing with you some ideas for changing up recipes, so you can make this recipe all your own! Because we all have different tastes and preferences. So, here are some ideas for mixing up this Holiday Lentil Loaf:
- You could add a clove of garlic to the food processor step
- You could definitely add some mashed sweet potatoes to the mix
- I’ve been experimenting with Beet Pulses to add a little pink to my veggie burgers and so adding a little mashed beet would work nicely here, for color
- Increase the number of cranberries to the topping
- Better yet, make a double batch of cranberry topping and serve some on the side, almost like a gravy
- You could use a gluten-free stuffing mix to make this recipe gluten-free
- How about adding some chopped walnuts for added nutrition and tastiness
- Speaking of flavor, you could add some mushrooms to the mix as well
Of course, you can also try my vegan meatloaf recipe. It’s got different ingredients, but it’s equally as delicious.
Subscribe and Get a Free Easy Vegan Recipes eBook
Plus our latest vegan recipes, delivered right to your inbox!
We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.
Favorite Vegan Holiday Recipes
Looking for some more awesome vegan holiday recipes? Here are a few favorites:
Vegan Holiday Lentil Loaf with Stuffing and Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 cup Lentils
- ½ cup Quinoa
- 4 cups Water
- 1 cup Fresh Cranberries
- 1 teaspoon Orange Zest
- 3 tablespoons Agave Nectar
- ½ cup Onions, chopped
- ½ cup Celery, chopped
- 4 ½ cups Cornbread Stuffing Mix (See notes)
- ¼ cup Beet Puree , Optional
- 1 tablespoon Ground Flax Meal
- 1 teaspoon Ground Sage
- 1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast Flakes
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 2 to 3 cups Vegetable Broth
Instructions
- Note: This recipe uses the same saucepan 3 times. No need to wash between each use.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils, quinoa, and water. Bring the contents to a boil and then place a lid on the pan and reduce heat to simmer. Cook this for about 30 to 35 minutes, until all the lentils are tender and the water has been absorbed.
- Once the lentil/quinoa mixture is done, pour it into a mixing bowl.
- Next, in the same saucepan, add the cranberries, orange zest, and agave nectar. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. You'll hear some of the cranberries pop. The goal is to soften the cranberries.
- Spray the bottom and sides of a large loaf pan with vegetable spray. Then pour the cranberry mixture into the loaf pan, spreading them equally across the pan.
- Heat your oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Using the same saucepan, spray with vegetable spray (or add a drizzle of olive oil) and the chopped onions and celery. Cook over medium heat until the onions and celery are tender. Pour into the same bowl as the lentil/quinoa mixture.
- Pour the stuffing mix in and beet puree (if using) with the lentil/quinoa mixture and stir until combined.
- Spoon about 3 cups of this mixture into a food processor and add ground flax seeds, ground sage, nutritional yeast flakes, and olive oil. Pulse until combined. Add vegetable broth, one cup at a time, pulsing in between additions.
- Pour the mixture from the food processor into the mixing bowl and stir it into the mixture. Add more vegetable broth and stir until you get a consistency that is soft and spreadable. This should be a moist batter.
- Pour the lentil loaf batter into the loaf pan, then use a spoon or your hands to mash the contents down, so it's compressed together.
- Place in the heated oven and bake for 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto your serving dish. If some of the cranberries remain in the bottom of the pan, use a fork or tongs to grab them and place them back on the loaf.
- Serve warm. Refrigerate up to a week. Freeze for up to a month.
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Enjoy!
About the Author
Hi! I’m Marly McMillen. I’m the founding editor, author, recipe developer, vegan home chef, and food stylist behind Namely Marly. I’m so grateful to you and every member of my audience for your support and dedication. More about Namely Marly ›
10 Responses to Lentil Loaf with Stuffing and Cranberries
Rate / Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Why use processed packaged premixes? For one thing, they may not be available in other countries. But most of all, processed foods usually mean less than alive ingredients and undesirable and unhealthy additives. Disappointing.
Hi Bev, I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. I totally understand where you’re coming from…many folks prefer to cook everything from scratch and keep things as unprocessed as possible. I respect that! For this recipe, I wanted to offer an easy loaf that’s approachable for busy home cooks. I watched my mom make her stuffing entirely from scratch and then be so exhausted come dinner time, she didn’t even enjoy the meal with the rest of us. I guess that left an impression on me! So, a stuffing mix helps streamline the process without sacrificing flavor, which can be a game-changer when you’re juggling multiple dishes.
That said, I respect your approach and your thought process for ingredient quality. Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. It means a lot to hear from you!
I’m excited about trying this recipe. Do you think you could make up all of the ingredients and press into the loaf pan, then refrigerate overnight and bake the next day?
Hi Cheryl! I’ve never tried doing it this way but I think it should work. Just cover it tightly. What a great idea to make meal prepping easier!
This is one of the best new recipes I’ve tried in a long time, absolutely delicious. It makes a lot! Instead of a loaf pan, I used a jumbo muffin pan and two mini loaf pans. The individual “muffins” look great and should be easier to freeze.
I only used 2 cups of broth and it was still a very wet mixture (which, I admit it, I was eating right out of the mixing bowl). Even using much smaller baking pans, it took at least a half hour, but I just kept checking on them and it came out perfectly, moist and not dried out like many lentil loaf recipes.
Thank you!
Hi Barb! I’m so glad you like this recipe. Thanks for your feedback and I love the idea of making them in jumbo muffin pans. Then you could freeze them and have “individual lentil loaves” ready to serve on a random weeknight. I think I’m going to give that a try for my next meal prep.
This recipe is a game changer;-). I will add mushrooms and apples, as that is how I usually make my stuffing.
I just sprouted my lentils! Yay nutrition! Can I use them with the same water ratio? Thanks!
I’m so excited to make this for Thanksgiving this week! I am planning to add mushrooms, any thoughts on how much I could add without destroying the texture of the loaf? Thank you for the great recipe!
Hi Sarah. Thanks! I love the idea of adding mushrooms. I could see adding a cup of chopped mushrooms and it should be fine.