Trying to find a meal that my whole family eats is a thankless task yet I have struck gold with this simple recipe.
I am a pescetraian (a fish-eating vegetarian), Miss 11 is a flexitarian (she eats meat every other week, alternating the other week with being vegetarian), Miss 9 waxes and wanes (is loathe to try new things, sometimes only wants meat, other times insists she is a vegetarian– and I get to guess which mood she is in from day to day) and The Hungry Dad would loves his meat but will eat vegetarian – as long as tofu isn’t on the menu.
Sigh.
I wanted to create a cheap, easy, family-friendly, vegetarian meatloaf that was full of flavour and I am proud to say I succeeded. I have attempted similar in the past and have failed. It is so easy for lentil loaf to come out dry and crumbly but this one turned out exactly how I wanted.
Mexican anything is a bit hit in this house so I knew that incorporating salsa – we go through jars and jars of the stuff, I should just buy shares in a salsa company – into this easy lentil loaf would prove to be a winner. Ditto the addition of shredded cheese.
I added some linseeds to my lentil loaf as they are super doper good for you and I knew they would meld into the mixture, hence avoiding the ‘what are these brown things’ line of inquisition.
After dinner everyone said how much they loved this vegetarian meatloaf – and both Miss 9 and Miss 11 have asked me to make it again. This is the parenting equivalent of getting a raise at work so this recipe will be going into the repertoire.
GATHER:
1 tin brown lentils, rinsed
2/3 cup salsa (spicy level of choice – I used mild)
1 ½ cups grated cheese
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg
1 tablespoon linseeds
1 cup breadcrumbs
fresh chives, snipped (optional)
small handful parsley, leaves only, snipped
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
salt and pepper
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 6cm by 18cm loaf pan with non-stick spray then line with baking paper. Leave a 2cm overhang on short sides to help with removal.
Place all ingredients into a large bowl and stir until combined.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.
Allow to sit for 15 minutes before removing. Cut into slices and serve with avocado and extra salsa is desired.
the hungry mum 
Looks yummy Mum but I’m with the Hungry Dad. Tofu has too much œstrogen 😃
oh, you men! Tofu is fab! But thanks 😉
I’ll need to try this recipe. I make a similar one that uses oats and beans as it’s base so I think I’ll find this delicious. Our household is like yours. I’m mostly vegetarian and the kids are happy to eat veggie too but the husband loves meat. I’ve also got one kid who wants to be fully vegetarian but won’t eat enough variety of ingredients for it to be nutritionally sound for him to do so. We’ll get there with keeping everyone fed and happy some day.
Oh, I would love to see your recipe – we always have oats in the pantry (mainly for baking Anzac bickies!) I seriously felt euphoric when everyone in the house liked this meal, it is such a rare occurance.
I’m away from home at the moment but I’ll try to remember to share it with you once I’m back.
Love this Hungry Mum – it would work so well as part of my Mexican feasts. When you say salsa do you mean tomato salsa? Did it slide from the loaf pan easily enough?
Yes, just tomato salsa in a jar, like Mission etc. Lining the tin with baking paper means you can just lift the cooked loaf straight out x
Thanks Hungry Mum I’m going to give it a go!
This looks like it has a really nice texture to it!! 😀 We love Mexican flavours too.
thank you – Mexican is always a winner 🙂