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    Home » Recipes » Holiday Mains

    November 22, 2014 252 Comments

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf

    76.6K shares
    Jump to Recipe

    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.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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).

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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!

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    In a large bowl, mix everything together. The lentils, toasted nuts, veggies, flax mixture, the oats and the flour.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    Brush the top with non-dairy milk and pick up the loaf by the parchment paper and place onto a baking sheet.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf! The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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!

     

    Print Recipe
    5 from 64 votes

    Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf

    The perfect vegan main dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Makes a great centrepiece for the table and tastes insanely good! Decadent, hearty, rich, flaky, all drizzled with vegan gravy. 
    Prep Time50 mins
    Cook Time40 mins
    Total Time1 hr 30 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American, British, Canadian
    ingredient tag: lentils, mushrooms, oats
    Servings: 2 loaves. Each loaf serves 4 - 6
    Calories: 192kcal
    Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

    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
    • â…“ 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)
    US Customary - Metric
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    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

    You can prepare the lentil mixture up to 3 days ahead of time, store in an air-tight container in the fridge, then wrap your loaves when ready to bake.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 192kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 356mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1855IU | Vitamin C: 2.9mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2.3mg
    Did You Make This Recipe?Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and Hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    Bon Appetegan!

    Sam.

    « 8 Traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas Sides Made Vegan
    Quick Vegan Pho »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rebecca says

      January 10, 2023 at 9:26 am

      5 stars
      Having leftover filling on a toasted bagel, like chopped liver. So delicious!

      Reply
    2. karine says

      October 03, 2022 at 2:14 pm

      Can I freeze the entire second loaf cooked (including the puff pastry)?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        October 06, 2022 at 12:25 pm

        Yes but the pastry wont be as flaky

        Reply
      • Monique says

        November 05, 2022 at 1:59 pm

        I have made this several times-today in fact! I make the entire mixture and divide it in half. Defrost the puff pastry just enough to separate them and return one to the freezer. I wrap and bake one loaf then plastic wrap the second half of the mixture and freeze it. We will have one tonight at Friendsgiving and defrost, pastry wrap and bake the second for Thanksgiving day. I tweak the Quick Vegan Onion Gravy suggested with more sautéed veggies I immersion blend and this is a feast:) Thanks, Sam.

        Reply
        • Sam Turnbull says

          November 17, 2022 at 4:53 pm

          So happy you love it!

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