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June 13, 2012

Bean and Lentil Loaf (gluten-free)

Bean Lentil Loaf

On my last trip to the local library I leafed through some cookbooks in search for inspiration and found this great recipe in Anne Sheasby's book "High fibre cooking". I'd wanted to try a meatless loaf for a long time but never found a good recipe and this one looked very promising. I made a few modifications because the original recipe is not vegan or gluten-free and loved how the loaf turned out. I greatly enjoyed the crispy crust and the inside held together very well. The loaf was full of flavour, moist, with a good bite to it. The recipe is very easy to make, with a basic preparation and ingredients that are widely available. This is a great way to incorporate high-fiber, nutrient-dense foods into one's diet. The loaf can also be served on a special occasion, thanks to its festive appearance.

Bean and Lentil Loaf

Step 1
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 celery sticks, finely chopped


Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion, garlic and celery and cook on medium for a few minutes until soft, but not mushy. Transfer to a plate and let cool while preparing the rest.

Step 2
  • 1 can (400 g) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (400 g) green lentils, rinsed and drained


Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly oil a 23x13 cm (9"x5") loaf tin (the loaf did stick a little to the bottom of the pan, so the best way is to line the tin with parchment paper after greasing it).

Put the beans, lentils and onion mixture in a food processor/blender and blend to obtain a coarse consistency (I have a small food processor and did this in 2 batches).

Step 3
  • 2 flax eggs (in a cup mix 2 Tb ground flax seeds with 6 Tb lukewarm water and let sit to thicken)
  • 1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (I put them in the food processor for a few seconds)
  • 1/2 cup almonds, finely ground (or use ready made almond meal)
  • 2 Tb tomato purée (replace 1 Tb with ketchup, if you have, for more flavour)
Note: first measure the walnuts and almonds, then chop and grind them. 1/2 cup whole nuts yields a little more than 1/2 cup ground.

 
Aromatics
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp hot chili powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp dry parsley
  • 1 tsp dry thyme
  • salt to taste


Transfer the bean-lentil mixture to a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.


Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface with the back of the spoon.


Step 4
  • Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour. The baking time will depend on your oven as well. I baked the loaf on the middle rack with heat from top and bottom. After 30 minutes I switched off the top heat so the crust would not burn and crack too much, and it was ready after a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes. It should be well done on the top and sides and quite thick in the middle, use a toothpick to check.

Bean Lentil Loaf

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool in the tin for about 45 minutes until it's safe to handle. Run a knife along the sides for easy removal. Carefully invert the loaf onto a plate. If you're not using any decorations, just place the serving plate on top and invert the loaf again. To place the loaf on a lettuce bed I used 2 spatulas which I slided under the loaf after removing it from the tin, turned it on one side close to the centre of the plate and then turned it face-up. Let cool completely, cut and serve.

This bean and lentil loaf is absolutely delicious and so worth the wait. I hope you'll give it a try.

Enjoy and spread the magic!:)


I put a lot of time, effort and passion into each recipe I post. My greatest satisfaction comes from your feedback. If you made this recipe, please take a minute of your time to leave a comment below. And if you like it, please share it so that others have access to it as well. Thank you all in advance!

32 comments:

  1. Oh sweetie! You have done it again. Awesome as sandwiches! You are by far my favorite website. Vegan Goddess strikes again!

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  2. Thank you so much Laurin - I recognized your style immediately;) The sandwich idea is awesome, I'm going to try it next time.

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  3. AnonymousJuly 05, 2012

    Vegan*4*Life
    Hi Adya,
    You did it again! Stupendous! I was wondering how long this would last do you think in the fridge and what about freezing, have you tried? Thank you! I am making it on Saturday for Sunday. :D Will certainly let you know how it turned out for me x

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  4. Hi:) Thank you for the comment, I'm very happy you like it:)

    Good question. Well I rarely have leftovers and by next day they're gone, but this loaf would easily keep for a couple of days in the fridge (airtight container) without losing its great taste. The only thing it would miss is that crispy crust that I love, as the moisture inside would soften it. About freezing, I honestly don't know, the only thing I put in the freezer is ice cream.

    Making it one day in advance is perfectly ok. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:) It's so yummy! Looking forward to your feedback.

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  5. AnonymousJuly 06, 2012

    Vegan*4*Life
    I will certainly try freezing one slice just to see how it gets on! There will only be two of us having this (this time!) so it will most certainly last for longer than one day. Will follow up! :)

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  6. I appreciate the feedback and look forward to the result of your experiment, I'm sure there are others who would like to know as well. Enjoy!

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  7. I just have a question. Your recipe calls for 1/2 c almonds, ground, or prepared almond meal. I just started making my own almond milk, so I have the leftover almonds (meal). Would I still use 1/2 cup? Or would I need to reduce the amount since the almonds are already chopped up? Thanks so much. I am definitely going to give this a try. It looks delicious!

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  8. Hi Bridget and thank you for asking. I'm very happy that you wanna try this, you'll love it:) After reading your comment I realised the way I described the nuts was a little bit confusing, so I added a note below the ingredients. 1/2 cup whole almonds yields a little more than 1/2 cup ground almonds and since you're using the pulp which is wet I'd stick with just 1/2 cup. There isn't so much moisture in the pulp to considerably alter the consistency of the loaf, so go ahead and use that. It's great that you make your own almond milk, I love the homemade one too. It's lovely to connect with you on my blog:) Enjoy the loaf and I look forward to your feedback.

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  9. AnonymousJuly 17, 2012

    Vegan*4*Life
    Well we tried it and you were right there was none left to freeze!! I cooked it for about 1hr 15 and then left to cool. I knocked the bottom and flipped over on a plate but it wasn't quite done so popped it back in minus the baking tray. After another 10 mins I could still say it wasn't quite there but we ate it as it was. Is it supposed to be quite moist, or did I not cook long enough? It stayed together well though. It was fabulous! I never tweaked either and that's saying something for me! ;) Deffo a keeper, thank you! :D

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  10. Thank you so much for the feedback, I'm happy that you enjoyed it. I'm guessing the extra moisture has to do with how the oven heat is distributed. If the loaf dries up on top too soon, much of the moisture gets trapped inside. See if you can adjust the heat so that in the beginning of baking there is more coming from the bottom, or place the loaf on a lower rack. Otherwise just add some more ground almonds or even ground flax seeds and that should do the trick. All the ingredients are pre-cooked, so baking basically helps bring all the flavours together and reduce the moisture to have a nice texture. I hope this helps.

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  11. AnonymousJuly 20, 2012

    Vegan*4*Life
    I will experiment when I make it again, just adding a bit more flax or nuts as you suggested. As that's preferable to cooking longer or messing with temps. :) Thank YOU!

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  12. Absolutely right, the easy way is safer:)

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  13. Nik Addison-Crichton

    Made your loaf on three occasions now and it's really lovely. Perfect as a filling, nutritious, cheap and family friendly meal. Keep them coming. :)

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  14. Nik, you rock!!! I'm so happy it turned out so good that you made it again and again. I greatly appreciate your feedback, thank you!:)

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  15. I made this for thanksgiving and it did NOT turn out. It was mush with crust on top. Every time I checked it it was soft inside. Cooked it for a total of 2 hours and no change in consistency.

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  16. @Anonymous: Hi, I'm so sorry the loaf didn't turn out as expected, especially on such an important occasion. The recipe works, it did for me and just above there is a feedback that it did. Did you change anything in the recipe? After reading your comment I did some online search and it seems the two most common reasons why this happens are 1 - the mixture is too moist or has too much fat, and 2 - the oven. If you used the amounts as given in the recipe, then I can only assume it was the oven. Mine tends to burn a little on top and the crust was formed within a short time, so I had to switch off the top heat after a while and allow the bottom heat to cook the loaf, so that part of the moisture evaporates. Once the crust is formed, as it thickens it prevents moisture from escaping and that further cooks the ingredients which only releases more moisture.

    I hope this unfortunate experience didn't discourage you from trying the recipe again. Try increasing the oven temperature in the beginning and position the loaf on a lower rack. For extra assurance, you could also add more almond meal, 1/4 - 1/2 cup until you get that thick mixture. I really hope next time it will come out well. Thank you so much for the feedback, I appreciate it.

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  17. I think covering the top of the loaf with Aluminum foil and then increasing the temp to 400F may solve the problem. I think this recipe is too full of awesome stuff to not try again. I agree this probably has to be tweaked. I have not yet tried to make this recipe either, but I will be shortly. I really want it to turn out. So I will try this recipe, and see if I can figure it out.

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  18. Compugirl, thank you for your suggestion. This worked for me on the first try. I guess there are more factors involved in the success, the oven, the moisture, the pan size etc. I hope it works great for you and look forward to your feedback:)

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  19. I'm trying it tonight. It smells wonderful, even uncooked it reminds me of refried beans. Even if it didnt turn out i think it would make wonderful tacos. Here goes... i am also looking to do a nutritional analysis.

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  20. Good luck! I hope it turns out great and you enjoy it:)

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  21. uI would love to make this bit we have one family member who is allergic to nuts. Could you possibly recommend an alternative for the almond meal and walnuts? Maybe rice flour? I

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  22. Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe. It's easy to substitute the two: you can replace walnuts with sunflower seeds and almond meal with chickpea flour (gram flour, available in most Asian stores and major supermarkets). I hope you enjoy the loaf and look forward to your feedback:)

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  23. I just baked it
    Its almost its 1 hr still not baked the upper layer is done
    But vv much raw on the sides middle
    Wht did i do wrong ? :(

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  24. Disha, I'm sorry to know that the loaf didn't come out as expected. Without seeing exactly how you made it, I can't really say what happened. I can only guess that either the mixture was too wet, in which case you can add more ground almonds (or oats), or your oven tends to burn on top, since the upper layer was done. Once the oven is fully preheated, you can either switch off the top heat or place the rack on a lower level and let the loaf bake for half the time like this so that the bottom part is done properly, then switch the top heat on or move the rack back to the middle. I hope this helps.

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  25. Wow! Not quite a meatloaf, but an excellent alternative. If the loaf seems too soft after baking, don't worry. Let it sit for 30 - 45 minutes. It will be much firmer and ready to slice. We enjoyed this loaf with a baked sweet potatoes and steamed peas. Brought back memories of my favorite dinner while growing up in Baltimore.

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  26. Hey, that's awesome! So glad the loaf came out right and you enjoyed it. I love lentils in any combination and this one was super delicious:) Thanks so much for the feedback, much appreciated!

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  27. My son wants me to make it for Christmas. Can I use egg instead of flax egg?

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  28. Hi there. Well, I would obviously suggest to try the recipe as is. Flax helps bind the ingredients together and adds more texture. I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas!

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  29. I just made this amazing recipe and it turned out very well. I did use 2 eggs instead of the flax and 1 cup of ground almonds because I didn't have any walnuts. I baked it at 350 for 1 hour and it came out all nicely cooked. I was discouraged by all the previous comments but I am so glad I did try it myself...the ingredients in this recipe are all right and if it doesn't work for you, it's probably the oven temperature.

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  30. Hi, thanks so much for the feedback. So glad the loaf came out well. I hope you try it once with flax, it does work wonders:)

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  31. This turned out very good even though it seems rather moist. I was too impatient (and hungry) to put it back in the over after removing it from the pan which probably would have firmed it up some. I'm still making this for Thanksgiving but I'm going to speed things along by baking individual servings in a muffin pan next time!

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  32. Hi, I'm so glad you enjoyed it and making it again:) Thanks a lot for taking the time to leave feedback.

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