Lentils, toasted nuts, sautéed winter veggies all wrapped up in a FLAKY glorious puff pastry. Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, did I mention flaky? Drizzled in Quick Vegan Onion Gravy or your favourite warmed BBQ sauce, and did I mention flaky!?
I would like to introduce you to my Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf. Hello, nice to meet you. Please don't be offended when I devour you.
This, my friends, is what you call a vegan holiday main dish. It was important to me when making a vegan holiday main for the season that it wasn't just darn tasty, but it had to have a real ooh and aah factor.
Oh boy, (or girl), does this deliver. I'm pretty sure you could wrap a carrot in puff pastry and everyone would be wowed. I mean, come on, puff + pastry. Thank you. Slow clap.
This recipe takes a little bit of work, but the brilliant news? You can make almost all of it ahead of time! Prepare the filling the day before. On the day of, turn on a relaxing holiday soundtrack, select your finest apron, apply your reddest lipstick and straighten those bow ties, then roll out your pastry and effortlessly braid wrap the lentil loaf as your guests arrive, making sure they notice how impressive and relaxed you look.
(Lipstick and bow ties are not necessary but recommended for added kitchen glamour).
To Make Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf:
Add the lentils to a pot with the vegetable broth, cover, and bring to a simmer and cook for 35 to 40 minutes until liquid is absorbed and lentils are soft, even mushy. Then take an immersion blender or potato masher and mush them up until about two-thirds of the lentils are mushy. This lentil mush makes everything hold together nicely. Yum, mushy!
In the meantime, chop the nuts and put them in a dry pan over medium heat. Toast them, keeping an eye on them for about 10 minutes until they are all toasty and fragrant. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In a small bowl mix together the flax or chia and warm water and set aside. Flax will take about 10 minutes to thicken whereas chia will thicken almost instantly.
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, then sauté the onions, carrots, and celery until they begin to soften up, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté another 5 minutes until the mushrooms have softened and become juicy. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne and sauté about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, mix everything together. The lentils, toasted nuts, veggies, flax mixture, the oats and the flour.
Preheat over to 400F (200C).
On a lightly floured surface roll out one of the puff pastry sheets until you get a rectangle that is about 10 inches by 14 inches. Transfer the pastry sheet to parchment paper.
Take half of the lentil mixture and form a loaf shape down the middle of the puff pastry, leaving a bit of room at both ends. Pat the mixture into a firm log.
Cut strips down each side about 1 inch wide. Cut off the top two and bottom corners and set aside. Now fold up the top flap over the end, then take the top left strip and fold over the loaf. Take the top right strip and fold that over, making an x. Do this all the way down the crisscrossing strips. Try to keep the strips close together leaving only small gaps. Once you get near the bottom, fold the bottom flap up, then finish crossing the last strips tucking the ends into anywhere they look good.
If you want to be all fancy, you can use the set aside corner pieces of pastry to cut little leaf shapes, (or whatever shape you like) and tuck them into the weave.
Repeat with the remaining pastry and lentil mixture so you have two loaves.
Brush the top with non-dairy milk and pick up the loaf by the parchment paper and place onto a baking sheet.
Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes checking every now and then until it's all golden brown and gorgeous. Serve the Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf while hot with Quick Vegan Onion Gravy or warm BBQ sauce.
And enjoy! This is a main dish that is sure to win over the whole table, including the carnivores! Vegan or not, my Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf is a savoury and filling treat that will have you coming back for seconds!
Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup green or brown lentils
- 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
- ½ cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons ground flax or ground chia
- ⅓ cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 8 oz. mushrooms (2 cups), sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free if preferred)
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed (check to make sure they are vegan)
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk (such as soy or almond)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C).
- To make the lentil filling: Add the lentils to a medium pot with the vegetable broth. Cover, and bring to a simmer and cook for 35 to 40 minutes until liquid is absorbed and lentils are soft, even mushy. Take an immersion blender or potato masher and mash the lentils until about two thirds of the lentils are mush. This lentil mush makes everything hold together nicely.
- In a small bowl mix together the flax or chia with water and thicken. Flax will take about 10 minutes where as chia will thicken almost instantly.
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When hot, add the onions, celery and carrots and sauté until they soften and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook another 5 minutes until the mushrooms have shrunken and become juicy. Add in the garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne and sauté about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, mix the lentils, toasted nuts, veggies, flax mixture, oats and flour flour together, and set aside.
- To weave the puff pastry: On a lightly floured surface roll out one of the puff pastry sheets until you get a rectangle that is about 10 inches by 14 inches. Transfer the pastry sheet to parchment paper.
- Take half of the lentil mixture and form a loaf shape down the middle of the puff pastry, leaving a bit of room at both ends. Pat the mixture into a firm log. Cut strips down each side about 1 inch wide. Cut off the top two and bottom corners and set aside. Now fold up the top flap over the end, then take the top left strip and fold over the loaf. Take the top right strip and fold that over, making an x. Do this all the way down the crisscrossing strips. Try to keep the strips close together leaving only small gaps. Once you get near the bottom, fold the bottom flap up, then finish crossing the last strips tucking the ends into anywhere they look good.wea
- If you want to be all fancy, you can use the set-aside corner pieces of pastry to cut little leaf shapes, (or whatever shape you like) and tuck them into the weave. Repeat with the remaining pastry and lentil mixture so you have two loaves. Brush the top with non-dairy milk and move to a baking sheet.
- Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes checking every now and then until it's all golden brown and gorgeous. Serve hot from the oven with Quick Vegan Onion Gravy or your favourite BBQ sauce heated up.
Notes
Nutrition
Bon Appetegan!
Sam.
Charlene Hudson says
If I only wanted to bake one loaf, could I freeze the other half of the lentil mixture and to use at a later date?
Christa says
We do this every year, with this recipe. I make two at thanksgiving and freeze one for Christmas. Just thaw overnight in the fridge
Charlene says
Thanks Christa. Do you freeze just the filling or the whole loaf wrapped with the pastry?
Christa says
Just the filling. I form it into a loaf, wrap it in parchment and then foil, or a freezer bag, then thaw overnight in the fridge and wrap with the pastry before baking. It’s excellent, and minimal work on the day of the meal 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Yes absolutely! Enjoy!
ML says
Made this for Thanksgiving dinner today. Everyone enjoyed it, both vegans and non-vegans. Thank you for all of the specific instructions! You made it so easy for non-chefy ppl like me to make an impressive contribution to the T’giving table! Also, I used your onion gravy recipe as suggested, and it was so so good with it! Thanks!!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful, so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Syleanna says
This looks amazing and I can't wait to make it for Thanksgiving! How early can you wrap the loaves before baking? I like to prep as much as I can, so is it possible to wrap the lentil loaves a few hours before baking, or would it be better to bake as soon as possible once wrapped?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, I think you can wrap them a few hours ahead of time and they will be fine. Brush with plant-based milk just before popping in the oven. Enjoy!
Phala Bowles says
Absolute Perfection as always !!!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing 🙂
Debi Weiss says
This recipe is fabulous! The puff pastry is beautiful and delicious. However, one time I needed to bring it to a potluck and knew the pastry wouldn't stay warm. So I skipped the pastry and baked the loaf in a bundt pan. It was stunning turned out on a round platter, topped with cashew gravy and fresh parsley. Winner Winner Lentil Vegan Dinner!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you loved it so much, Debi!! 🙂
Rochelle says
Still amazing and delicious this year! I love it covered in gravy. I made a half batch of the filling a week early and froze it and that worked great. My omni parents both like it too and have some in addition to their turkey.
Last year I made the whole recipe and had a loaf for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this year I did your vegan ham for Thanksgiving and it was nice to have the variety! Thanks for all the great recipes. It was a very It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken Christmas in my house.
Susan says
Thank you! I made this for my second Christmas as a vegan. Last year I settled for side dishes, I am so glad that I didn't settle this year. This was absolutely wonderful, although I omitted the nuts and added some rosemary. I made this with your roasted vegetables. My non-vegan adult children loved the roasted vegetables. From one Canadian to another, Thank You!
Elizabeth says
Hi Sam! I premade the mixture for Christmas dinner. The mixture tasted pretty bland, so I added more seasoning. I'm just wondering if the flavors sort of blossom when you bake the loaves? This recipe has such tremendous reviews, so I want to be sure I'm not screwing something up! Thank you 🙂
Amy says
I made this as a trial for Christmas Dinner, everyone loves it. Nice and easy to follow instructions, I'm hopeless at pastry weaving but this time it was easy to do and came out looking great!
Amy says
Ps: I hate mushrooms and my husband hates nuts but we both loved this regardless.
May-Kane Logan says
Can the mushrooms be substituted by anything else?
Sam Turnbull says
You can just omit them if you like 🙂
Dory "Vegantraveler" but not this year. says
I have been making this since she first posted it online. I love how she shows us how to wrap the loaf. This year for Thanksgiving I made the full recipe and forgot it was for two loaves. So 1/2 went into a seal a meal bag for Christmas. I also doubled my gravy recipe and froze half as well. Come to think of it I have more cranberry compote in the freezer. Thank you so much Samatha for the excellent steps! Happy Safe Holidays.
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Dory! Thrilled you loved it 🙂
Cathy says
Absolutely fantastic recipe! Made this for the first time yesterday, halved the recipe for just myself and husband since dining alone due to covid. Wonderful taste, holds up perfectly. And it looked spectacular. Great flavor. Definitely a keeper.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! SO happy you loved it, Cathy 🙂
Michelle says
I’ve been making this for the last 5 Thanksgivings. It’s always a hit by vegans and non. It’s a beautiful presentation with the puff pastry. I make one loaf with nuts the other without. Whole Foods and Sprouts have a vegan puff pastry and pepridge farms is vegan too.
Diane says
For the last 6 years, I’ve hosted Thanksgiving for meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. I’ve been looking for a great main dish that’s vegan and this might just be it. Did a half recipe test run tonight for me and my honey (both meat eaters) and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Hearty and tasty. Can’t wait for the whole crew to try!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! SO happy you loved it, Diane 🙂
Chris Goerlitz says
Sam,
Just made this tonight for my wife - with leftovers for lunches this week - and it was FANTASTIC!!!! So good! Your recipes are so easy to follow and so delicious! Thank you again for all you do!
Chris
PS - I posted my photos of the finalized product on Instagram and tagged your site. It was my best photo of a finished product yet 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Chris 🙂
Susan Merrill says
SO GOOD! First, I have to say that I'm the pickiest eater alive......couple that with going vegan and I don't have much variety, but I'm trying. I made this for some meat eaters that are veg-curious and it was a HIT! I even had it for a cold lunch the next day! Love what you are doing and love that lil Chickpea pup! Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww yay! Thrilled you loved it, Susan 🙂
Gina says
Hi Sam,
What brand of vegan puff pastry did you use and where did you buy it? I’m in Ottawa and Natural Food Pantry and Kardish don’t carry puff pastry.
Beata says
This loaf is the bomb.com! I made it for our Christmas dinner. We are not vegan at this time but I am definitely working towards it and my SO is very open to the idea of more vegan foods at any time!
Made the filling on Christmas Eve. Skipped the oats as I don't care for them much, used psyllium husk for the "egg" (don't care much for either flax or chia) and sprinkled some almond flour in the filling instead of the regular flour. Used lots of thyme and added ground sage as well, plus a sprinkle of oregano. The filling firmed up very nicely and I had no issues shaping the filling into the log on top of the puff pastry. I rolled the filling in the rolled out pastry on Christmas Day and baked fresh. I even weaved the pastry dough as shown in the pictures and made the little leaves out of the extra pastry dough pieces. 🙂 Wish I could post a picture!!!
My SO said he was at a loss for words to describe how delicious the loaf was! We both had seconds and I had leftovers for lunch at work today. Served it with the vegan onion gravy, but I also added a lots of finely chopped and sauteed mushrooms to make it more like a topping rather than gravy. On the side, we had more vegetables - sauteed onions and garlic with freshly chopped sauteed tomatoes and celery and cut okra seasoned with chili arbol spice and Sate seasoning. Just a fantastic mishmash of sauteed, slightly spicy vegetables. YUM!!!!!
When you think about it, our Christmas dinner was just a bunch of vegetables, lol. But my, were they delicious!!! My SO said that his long time vegan sister and her vegan husband will likely be jealous of Sam's creation that I cooked, hahahaha. This recipe is an absolute keeper and will go into our meal rotation for sure. Especially that I have half of the filing and the second puff pastry sheet in my freezer. 🙂
THANK YOU SAM!!!
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome Beata! So happy everyone enjoyed 🙂
Darcy Sanders says
Hi Sam,
Just wondering what I could use instead of oats? ( allergy).
We love your recipes and bought the cookbook too
🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Darcy, I haven't tried any of these but here are some ideas on how to substitute oats. Hope that helps!
Michelle C says
Hey Sam!
Looking forward to making this for Christmas Day! Question- am hoping to sub Trader Joe’s lentils which are already ready to go. Do I still add back to broth and stew for the 35 mins (or is that substitution for lentils made from scratch)? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Michelle, I have instructions for that in my cookbook. Basically you just omit the vegetable broth and replace with vegetable broth powder, and you don't need to cook as long. Enjoy!
Suzy says
Hi Sam, do you think I can omit the nuts? Or do they soften a lot? Also, I can cut this recipe in half easily enough and only make one loaf, right? This may well be on our Thanksgiving table!
Sam Turnbull says
Yes you can omit the nuts and half the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
Carolina says
Do you think it would be possible to add a video of you making this recipe since the holidays are coming up? I’m not that great at following pictures. This recipe looks delicious
Sam Turnbull says
That's a great idea! I will see if I have time to do that...
Barbara M Waxer says
Ya know, part of engaging folks in vegan cooking to asking them to be open to something new and not restrict their thinking to the past or what they "know."
Agree?
On behalf of several LGBTQ with whom I've shared this clearly wonderful recipe, please consider what these statements reflect and how they come off:
"...select your finest apron, ladies: apply your reddest lipstick, gentlemen: straighten those bow ties..."
To our learning journeys.
Terrii says
Ms. Turnbull thanks for sharing. I have many hangup about food and I'm wanting to learn from many sources of how I can eat or at least try to eat differently. Again thank you. For once I would like to enjoy learning about something that is different, obtainable, healthy, habit changing and wonderful. Please please stop making people feel they cannot share their ideas of a simple recipe posts and have to be wronged for words. If you don't wear red lipstick then use coconut oil. If you don't wear bowties then put on an apron. She said nothing offensive. Dang I wear neither I just like her recipe.. Season of sharing. Take what you can and leave the rest.
I'm so sorry. I do have questions. What is a substitute for mushrooms? Can I add cheese? I love love Cheese!
Kelly Cooper says
I couldn't find vegan puff pastry anywhere and really wanted to wrap the loaf in something.
I noticed in one of your replies to a question you didn't recommend pie crust. Just wondering
why? I'm thinking it might be like a french tourtierre (spelling?) or a cornice pastry (also spelling? lol) Also do you have recipe for Vegan pie crust? Thank you for sharing.. this recipe sounds so good.
Sam Turnbull says
I've never wrapped it in pie crust so I don't have a recommendation on baking time but you could try it. You could do something similar as my tourtiere recipe. This is my recipe for vegan pie crust. Enjoy!
Sam Turnbull says
Sorry to offend Barbara! Certainly not intended. I have revised the post. 🙂
Barbara M Waxer says
Totally want to acknowledge your openness and willingness to hear that language matters.
Your site has has a great UX and fabulous photos.
AND your recipes rock!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thanks so much, Barbara 🙂
Nuffy says
Hi Barbara, and Happy New to you! I honestly didn't find the post offensive! I think the post was meant for the general populous, or for a better description for the Audience who follow Sam, her comment was not gender related.....
I don't think Sam can distinguish every person who follows her, and whether or not they don lipstick, or put on a bowtie, it doesn't really matter! It was a totally innocent remark. I'm a legit female hetro and have many gay friends who call each other names etc, and in jest, it's hilarious. To add, I've worn many a bow tie, and lipstick, and a man's army outfit, and no bloke ever said get it off you're a woman, because we do these things in good faith, and for fun. I'm not trying to be gay but even if I were gay, I would not have found fault in what Sam said because she was addressing her followers and not individual genders as such...
I hear your what you are saying though Barbara, and can accept your point of view...
Blessings, and Happy New Year Sam....
JD says
Geesh lighten up Karen
Barbara M Waxer says
Lighten up? I'm fine - but you seem upset. I mean, you're the one responding to a post between the author and I that was polite and is complete, almost a year old. Are you okay? You should relax, cooking is supposed to be fun for you.
Rachael says
For Real! Some people need to lighten up!
Kimberly says
Would love to make this for my family but my husband is allergic to mushrooms. Do you think a vegan crumble would work in place of the mushrooms?
Sam Turnbull says
That should work, or you can just skip it and it still works out fab. Enjoy!