These Lentil Vegan Meatloaf Muffins are nutrient-dense, gluten free, and perfect for babies (BLW), toddlers and the whole family!
what is vegan meatloaf?
Good question. Well, it’s not meat, we know that lol! But you can use plant based “meat” to make meatloaf vegan or do what I did, and use lentils or beans. I love the texture of lentils in these mini meatloaf muffins and my son loves their natural sweetness.
what do i need to make these mini lentil vegan meatloaf muffins?
This vegan meatloaf recipe comes together really quick so I recommend making a big batch and freezing the extras (more on that below). You’ll need:
- Sweet potatoes
- Ground flax
- Lentils (I use canned)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Thyme
- Onion
- Cremini mushrooms
- Reduced sodium tamari sauce
- Quick oats
- Oat flour
- Hemp hearts
- Homemade or store-bought ketchup (check out this amazing ketchup recipe I made with no added sugar)
how do i make these lentil vegan meatloaf muffins for my family?
First, I would microwave or bake a few sweet potatoes, and if you’re using dried lentils, you’ll need to cook those too (but this is why I use canned).
You also need to make a flax egg by mixing ground flax with water and letting it in the fridge for an hour.
Then, in a food processor, pulse the mushrooms until they reach a ground meat like consistency.
Then lightly sauté the onion, garlic, mushrooms and thyme in olive oil.
Back to the food processor, puree half of the lentils with the sweet potatoes until smooth. Then in a bowl, mix together the flax eggs, sautéed mushroom and onion, sweet potato, lentils, tamari, oat flour, oats, and ketchup.
Pack into mini muffin tins and glaze with a little extra of the ketchup. Then bake them off until cooked through!
can these mini meatloaf muffins be frozen?
You bet! I always make a huge batch for the months ahead and then freeze these vegan meatloaf muffins in a freezer bag to pull out for a quickie meal or snack.
can i make this lentil vegan meatloaf in a loaf pan instead of muffins or in large muffins?
Of course! It will take longer to cook, about 28 minutes for the full muffins or an hour for a meatloaf. If you’re using a muffin tin, however, I strongly suggest using the silicon muffin molds which are sooo easy to clean and pop the little mini meatloaf muffins out.
what ketchup is healthiest for making these mini vegan meatloaf muffins baby and toddler friendly?
I am biased but my recipe for no sugar added baby friendly ketchup is the BOMB. The ketchup recipe was originally developed for babies, but the flavour is so sophisticated that adults totally love it too.
do you have any other easy snack or meal ideas for toddlers and kids?
You bet!
Spinach Chicken Protein Muffins
Iron Sweet Potato Apple Baby Muffins
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Bites
Cheesy High Iron Baby Meatballs
Lentil Vegan Meatloaf Muffins
These Lentil Vegan Meatloaf Muffins are nutrient-dense, gluten free, and perfect for babies (BLW), toddlers and the whole family!
- 2 sweet potato (baked)
- 3 flax eggs (3 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water)
- 3 cups cooked lentils (can be canned)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 onion (minced)
- 3 cups cremini mushrooms (sliced)
- 3 tbsp reduced sodium tamari sauce (gluten free, if needed)
- 1 ¼ cups quick oats (gluten free, if needed)
- ½ cup oat flour (gluten free, if needed)
- ¼ cup hemp hearts
- ¼ cup homemade or storebought ketchup
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Glaze:
- ¼ c homemade or storebought ketchup
- Preheat oven 375 F.
- Make your flax egg by mixing ground flax with water and letting it in the fridge for an hour. If you havent already cooked your sweet potato and lentils, you can do that as well. I usually microwave my sweet potatoes and use canned lentils to cut back on prep.
- In a food processor, pulse the mushrooms until they reach a ground meat like consistency.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat with olive oil and lightly saute the onion, garlic, mushrooms and thyme in olive oil.
- Put half of the lentils with the sweet potatoes into the food processor and puree until smooth.
Then in a bowl, mix together the flax eggs, sauteed mushroom and onion, sweet potato lentil mixture, remaining lentils, tamari, oat flour, oats, hemp hearts and ketchup.
- Pack into mini muffin tins and glaze with a little extra of the ketchup. Then bake for 18 minutes for mini muffins and and 28 minutes for full muffins. Enjoy!
Updated on June 29th, 2020
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Kim says
Do you use green or red lentils?
Abbey Sharp says
Green lentils 🙂
Caitlin says
Hey! Could you cook this in a loaf tin and if so, what do you reckon the cooking time would be?
Abbey Sharp says
You can try! I havent tried that but I would think it would take around 45-60 minutes.