Not Meatloaf
3/4 cup dry brown lentils
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (fresh works, too)
egg substitute for 2 eggs (Ener-G)
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 teaspoons vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup + more for top (if desired)
1 tablespoon Tamari (or Bragg's)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Cook the lentils and the brown rice (separately) according to the package instructions.*
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mash the lentils. Add the remaining ingredients plus salt and pepper and combine well. Pour into a loaf pan coated in veg. spray (or an 8x8 baking dish, in a pinch). Spread more ketchup on top if you like it that way.
Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
* This obviously takes a while if you don't already have the lentils and rice cooked but it's so worth it!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
My mom and I are always up for trying a new vegan recipe, and since today was nasty and dreary, I decided to give this a try.
Verdict? Completely AWESOME! I'd never had cause to use lentils in anything before, but they were easy to prepare and even easier to mash. To save time around dinner, I cooked both the lentils and rice beforehand and put them in a bowl in the fridge until it was time to make the full loaf. The only thing I didn't have on hand was the vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, so I just used some extra tamari and it worked out fine.
Note that if you're used to meatloaf or have been a fan of meatloaf in the past, this WILL NOT turn out the same way as meatloaf! Lacking grease or oil of any kind, it's not going to be of the same consistency and isn't going to "cook through" the way meat does. Which is just fine, because it's TOTALLY BETTER than meatloaf!
Two thumbs way up. ^_^
I'm sorry this was terrible. I could not get it cooked so that it wasn't falling apart. It was mushy and yucky. I ended up scooping it out and microwaving it to get it done. The flavor was O.K., but the texture was aweful. I ended up throwing it out.
Tasty! I love the taste of lentils and wild rice, so I used the 'versatile rice and lentils' recipe from the lentil section, with a wild rice blend and brown lentils. Instead of crushed tomatoes I used pasta sauce, subbed oatmeal for breadcrumbs, and I didnt have any ketchup so I omitted that completely. Also, to zest it up a bit, I added about 4 fat cloves of garlic, a dash of basil, rosemary, sage, and oregano. Turned out magnificent! Very good to take to work with veggies to keep me going all day! ;)b Thanks for the recipe!
I wanted to like this, I did. But it was just not good. Maybe if you have ALWAYS been vegan it is good, but as a new vegetarian, it was just yuck. I doused it with ketchup and was able to eat one serving. My husband took one bite and couldn't eat anymore, and the idea of eating this again just turned my stomach, so I threw it away, and I hate to throw food away. Sorry! :(
i made this the other day but i totally omitted the wheat germ and the nutritional yeast from mine, only because i have neither of those things,. also i have never used either of them. i see nutritional yeast in so many recipes and i would love to try it, but i have no idea where to find it. also, i'm not really sure what wheat germ is, and i wonder how my loaf would have turned out if i used those ingredients...it turned out delicious without them by the way, maybe a tad soggy but still very good. it wasn't as soggy the next day after sitting in the fridge. also i'm not huge on carrots so i substituted mushrooms instead.
THIS WAS AWESOME!!!! It wasnt solidifieing when it was cooked and I cooked it for almost 2 hrs...but once it goes in the fridge it holds together PERFECTLY like a loaf and you can slice it...excellent for leftovers and really picks up even more flavors once it sits over night.
;D Thanks!
Well, preparing this recipe was only a tiny bit frustrating, but it came out delicious anyway. I ended up having to bake it for 3 hours at 350 just to get it somewhat solidified, but it was probably my fault...I tried to just wing it with what I had available, so it might not have been too wet or whatever if I'd followed the recipe exactly.
I had a bunch of leftover cooked rice and lentils, and I used bit more than 3 cups of that. I used instant oats in place of bread crumbs, and Dragonfly's Bulk Dry Uncheese mix for the nutritional yeast (as the only nut. yeast left in the house had been mixed into that). I also added about an additional tablespoon or so of the Bragg's and thyme. And here's where I think I went wrong: I used an entire 12 oz. can of tomato paste, figuring that it's generally thicker than crushed tomatoes, and I didn't bother adding any ketchup...I added a bit more oats to dry it out, sort of guessing towards a good consistency, but I guess I didn't make it dry enough, hah.
Anyway, despite my having to wait a few hours longer for dinner, I really enjoyed it.
/photo coming soon!