This recipe shows you can still eat delicious classics without using animal products, check it out next time you are craving meatloaf!
Dolly-Inspired Vegan Family Favorite Meatloaf
A hearty lentil, mushroom, walnut, and oat loaf inspired by Dolly and Rachel's family meatloaf, finished with the same sweet-tangy style of ketchup glaze.
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Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- 9x5-inch loaf pan
- Food processor
- Large skillet
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Glaze
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
Vegan Loaf
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 5 tablespoons warm water
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper finely chopped
- 2 cups cooked brown or green lentils well drained
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment, leaving enough overhang to lift out the finished loaf.
- Mix the flaxseed and warm water and let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes until gelled.
- Pulse the rolled oats briefly in a food processor so they are broken down but not powdered. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper until the vegetables are soft and the mushroom liquid has cooked away, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool slightly.
- Pulse the lentils and walnuts in the food processor until roughly chopped and sticky in spots but not pureed.
- Add the lentil mixture, cooked vegetables, flax mixture, soy milk, tomato paste, soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to the oats. Mix thoroughly.
- Stir the ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard together. Mix 1/4 cup of this glaze into the loaf mixture and reserve the rest.
- Pack the mixture firmly into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Spread the remaining glaze over the loaf and bake for another 20 minutes, until the top is glossy and set.
- Rest for at least 15 minutes before lifting from the pan and slicing. The rest is not decorative bureaucracy; it is what keeps the slices together.
Notes
Vegan adaptation inspired by the corresponding recipe in Good Lookin' Cookin': A Year of Meals - A Lifetime of Family, Friends, and Food by Dolly Parton and Rachel Parton George. This adaptation uses original wording and plant-based substitutions. The Parton family version uses a roughly two-to-one combination of ground beef and pork with eggs, evaporated milk, rolled oats, onion, green bell pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, plus a ketchup-brown sugar-mustard glaze. This vegan version keeps the oats, vegetables, seasonings, and glaze while replacing the meat and eggs with lentils, mushrooms, walnuts, and flax.