If you’re a vegan or just a regular ‘ol veggie lover, this Lentil Loaf with Classic Brown Onion Gravy needs to be on your Thanksgiving table. The hearty loaf is loaded with veggies, herb infused lentils, and fiber packed oats. It’s crazy healthy but doesn’t actually taste crazy healthy, which is essential at Thanksgiving when calorie counting goes out the window. The brown onion gravy is equally sinful, minus the sin (there’s only a tablespoon of olive oil in three cups worth! And, just like the loaf, it’s gluten free). Now, I’m not one of those crazies that’s all about eating obsessively clean, even on holidays, but the flavors of the veggies, lentils, and savory sage and thyme are truly the stars here, rendering all that excess butter and fat completely unnecessary. My sister described it as your favorite lentil soup, in loaf form. My husband said it’s like a lentil based stuffing. Both sound pretty awesome to me.
Besides being healthy on the down low, both the lentil loaf and gravy are ridiculously easy to make. The loaf requires an hour of cooking time, but if you prepare the lentils the day before – or even two days before – the prep time is only about 20 minutes, with the bulk of that time spent chopping veggies. So, you know, get your sous chef to take care of that, meaning that well meaning cousin/aunt/grandkid who realllly wants to help in the kitchen on Thanksgiving. The brown onion gravy – which I developed based on the filling from my Loaded Vegan Pot Pies – comes together with equal ease. It’s perfect spooned over the lentil loaf, but let’s face it, on top of mashed potatoes is where you’re really going to put it, as you should.
While this loaf is the perfect main for any holiday table, I’ve been eating leftovers with brown rice and whatever veggies I have on hand – roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed broccoli and kale – for a new take on a Buddha Bowl. Sometimes I reheat slices in the oven to get all those yummy crispy edges but it’s equally tasty nuked in the microwave, which also keeps it super moist. Drizzled with some cashew sour cream and tomatillo salsa, and you’ve got one satisfying and nourishing meal for anytime of year.
- 1 cup green or brown lentils
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup yellow onion, finely diced
- ½ cup carrots, finely diced
- ½ cup celery, finely diced
- ½ cup crimini mushrooms, finely diced
- ½ cup broccoli florets, finely diced*
- ¼ cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground thyme
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1, 8 ounce can no salt added tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos**
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried ground sage
- ½ teaspoon dried ground thyme
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos***
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Combine lentils, vegetable broth, bay leaf, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper in a small pot. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer and cook covered until lentils are very soft, 40 - 50 minutes. Remove from heat and allow lentils to cool. Do not drain. Lentils can be prepared up to two days in advance. Allow to cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, ground thyme, salt and pepper. Sauté until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetables except for peas and sauté 5 minutes more.
- Add peas, lentils, tomato sauce and coconut aminos to pot, and continue to sauté until mixture is heated through, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and use a potato masher to roughly mash mixture. (You want the majority of your lentils and veggies to be whole, mashing a small amount will simply help bind the loaf.)
- Add oats to pot and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Use a wooden spoon to spread out the lentils evenly and press down firmly into the edges.
- Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until the edges of the loaf are dark brown and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing. Serve warm with Classic Brown Onion Gravy spooned on top.
- Leftovers can be reheated in the oven or microwave.
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium - high heat. Add onion, garlic, ground sage and thyme, salt, and pepper to the pan. Sauté until onions are very soft and cooked down, about 8 minutes. Add coconut aminos and scrape away any browned bits from bottom of pan.
- Transfer onion and garlic mixture into a blender and add vegetable broth. Blend until very smooth and pour back into pan. Bring gravy to a simmer. Whisk cornstarch with ¼ cup water and slowly pour into gravy. Simmer 5 minutes more until gravy is thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Makes about 3 cups of gravy. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
** I highly recommend buying coconut aminos, which have a much milder and sweeter taste than traditional soy sauce. However, if you can't find coconut aminos, substitute with low sodium soy sauce, tamari (gluten free), or vegan Worcestershire sauce.
*** Can substitute with low sodium soy sauce or tamari.
Hi! I made this recipe today as a special dinner for the Academy Awards. I like to make something different in celebration of the Oscars and this seemed like a fun dish. I had side dishes of green beans and mashed potatoes to eat alongside the loaf.
Oh, I should mention, I only baked my loaf for 50 minutes because I didn’t want to dry it out, though I think 60 would have been good because it was still very moist! I was still able to slice it and the loaf on its own tasted pretty good. It was excellent with that gravy! I’m not a gravy person but I will find reasons to make this again. Thanks for the easy recipe!
So glad you liked it, Melanie! And thank you for sharing your cooking time. Mine always clocks in at 60 minutes too, but ovens vary in terms of how hot they actually get, so many will be done more around the 50 minute mark.
Loved seeing your photo on Instagram too!
Hello…can you use rice flour instead of corn starch?
Hi Anqoinette, I haven’t tried using rice flour but I’m sure it would work just fine.
This was an absolutely fabulous savory vegan meal! The loaf comes out perfect with crusty edges and the onion gravy is to die for.
It’s definitely one you’ll want to make on the weekend when you’re not in a hurry because it does take a long time but well worth it. Making the lentils ahead of time is a good tip.
Awww, the gravy is to die for?! You’re so sweet, Dyno, thanks so much for commenting.
I’ve just discovered you and so happy I did. This is one of the best vegan recipes I’ve tried. The gravy is to die for. My husband, who is a SAD eater, couldn’t get enough of it.
The detox lentil salad is wonderful too. You keep me inspired. Thank you.
So glad you and your hubs are loving the recipes, Elaine! Thank you for commenting!
Have you made ahead and frozen it. Does it turn out ?
Hi Sheryl, sorry, I haven’t frozen a loaf. I would worry a bit about it drying out when reheated after being frozen.
This looks delicious, and I’m looking forward to trying it! As a matter of feedback from a very experienced cook who makes recipes from lots of different sources: it would be very helpful if you included the approximate weight of chopped veggies and things like that where the units of measurement you’ve given aren’t how you buy them. That would make it much easier to shop and probably improve people’s results—after all, 1/2 C of chopped mushrooms can vary quite a bit depending on how finely you chop it, and it’s hard to know how much whole mushroom to buy to yield that much.
Any idea of what the calories would be for the loaf? It looks delicious 😋