There's a scene in the film The Wedding Crashers in which Will Ferrell's character screams to his mother: "maaaaa!!!!! the meatloaf!!!!!". It's a little funny bit we do at our house whenever I make this delicious dish I'm teaching you how to make today. Meatloaf was always a big part of my childhood. My mom would serve it with mashed potatoes, lots of ketchup on the side, green beans, and the leftovers would be made into sandwiches later on which was possibly the best part.

Today I'm teaching you how to make a classic meatloaf without any meat! Animal meat that is, because let me tell you that lentils and the rest of the ingredients in this recipe will give you nothing less than the meatiest meatloaf. Although there are endless ways to make a lentil loaf, today I've done it using chestnuts, which makes this dish perfect for the holiday season, and really good next to any of our gravies or pan sauces, not to mention the simple addition of a little extra ketchup on the side.

Enjoy the video, printable and recipe below, and don't forget to make any leftovers into a sandwich the next day! 

PDF RECIPE

CHESTNUT AND LENTIL LOAF

Yield: 4-5 servings ⎮ Pre-soaking time: overnight for the lentils ⎮  Prep time: 20 minutes ⎮ Cook time: 45 minutes ⎮ Resting time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

For cooking the lentils:

• 1 & 1/4 cup dried lentils (soaked in water the night before)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon sea salt

For making the lentil loaf:

• 1 cup peeled and roasted chestnuts
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons thyme
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 1/4 cup ketchup (plus more for brushing the loaf)
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour (use oat flour for the gluten free version)
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions

1. Drain and rinse the lentils from the soaking water.

2. Add the lentils, cumin, garlic powder and thyme to a pot and cover with water. Bring the lentils to a boil, cover the pot and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes, add the salt and then cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the lentils are very tender and some have begun to open up.

3. Drain the lentils and place them in a large bowl.

4. In a food processor, add the chestnuts, walnuts, oats, garlic cloves, thyme and onion powder. Process until fine and grainy.

5. Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (205ºC).

6. Add the mixture from the food processor to the bowl with the lentils, and add the liquid smoke, ketchup, flour and salt. Combine everything well, taste and adjust the salt to your liking.

7. In a shallow parchment lined baking sheet, form a loaf with the mixture as seen in the video (about 2 inches in height), packing it together tightly.

8. Brush the loaf with some ketchup and bake it in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.

9. Let the loaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serve and enjoy with some extra ketchup or any of our gravies, sauces, or cranberry sauce, and always next to some mashed potatoes!