What’s on your table for Thanksgiving? The centerpiece on my holiday table isn’t the same year after year. I switch my entrees because I love variety. But it’s always about the harvest. I like to celebrate the delicious foods that I have grown in my kitchen garden or that are so abundant in the stores at this time of year. One of my favorite harvest dishes is a bean and nut loaf, usually including lentils. That’s just one of my favorite beans–so quick to make and especially now that I’m an Instant Pot chef.
Every other year, I love serving a lentil nut loaf because it uses a variety of veggies, including onions and garlic. These 2 vegetables are staples in my New Start kitchen because they’re loaded with so much flavor and also because they’re one food that really loves you back! The onion family (called the Alium family) is one of the world’s healthiest food groups. In fact, alliums like onions and garlic are two of the best food groups for preventing many cancers, which is one reason we use them often in our Health Bites recipes.
Thanksgiving Roast has all the flavors I love so well about this holiday. You’ll find it has many of the same ingredients you often see in stuffing. An absolute must on our table. So even if I don’t serve stuffing this year, I’ll still enjoy the same savory fragrance and flavors when we celebrate with this Thanksgiving Roast.
So let’s get cooking! I start off by chopping all the vegetables–the onions, garlic, celery, spinach and mushrooms. I use my Vidalia Wizard chopper with chopping the onions (no tears that way) and I found I can shred the spinach by using a food processor. I also shred the carrots in a food processor. But if you don’t have one, a hand grater will do the job nicely. Try to keep the pieces relatively small; your roast will hold together better that way.
Begin by sauteeing the onions, garlic, celery, spinach and mushrooms in a nonstick skillet. I use about 1/4 cup vegetable broth to get the juices going. Cook until the onion start to become translucent. This shouldn’t take long–only about 2-5 minutes. Then I add in the grated carrot and saute’ for a few minutes longer.
I like to cook my lentils and rice the day ahead, so that all I have to do is add them to the vegetable mixture. The recipe prep will go much faster if you use leftovers you have on hand, but cooking them fresh is perfectly fine too. After your sauteed veggies are done, add the lentils and rice and mix well. Then scoop the mixture into a medium to large bowl.
Add the salt, basil, thyme, sage and oregano and stir well. Then add the remaining ingredients—oat flour, flax seed, nutritional yeast flakes, nuts (if used) and dried cranberries or raisins. Mix everything thoroughly.
I use a nonstick bread loaf pan for this recipe (I usually double the recipe so it fills up the pan). If you do not have a nonstick bread loaf pan or a silicone one, line the pan with parchment paper. This way, you do not need to add any oil to prevent sticking. You can also bake a double batch of the recipe in a 9×9 non-stick cake pan. Add the mixture into your pan, smoothly it out as you would in making meatloaf. Bake for 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Remove from oven, spread the glaze of your choice on top and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for another 10-15 minutes to fully set.
CHEF’S NOTE: You can omit the walnuts if you are allergic to them. You can also substitute with a nut of your choice. Kale could also be used in place of spinach, using baby kale leaves, finely chopped. If you use a cranberry glaze, blend the sauce in your blender first before spreading it on the loaf. You could also use a plant-based gravy on top of the loaf though my family prefers our homemade ketchup which you can find in our Sauces and Dressing section.
INSTANT POT NOTES: I make this recipe using my Instant-Pot. I sauteed my vegetables for 2 minutes using the manual feature. Then I put in the chopped mushrooms and cook them for an additional 2 minutes. I make brown rice in the Instant Pot using a 1 to 1 ratio (same amount of water and rice); I used the manual button and cook for 24 minutes, then releasing the steam. Lentils are cooked with a 1:2 ratio—one cup of lentils to 2 cups water. Using the manual button, cook for 12-15 minutes. Allow the steam to release. Lentils will not be soupy using the Instant Pot, making them perfect for this recipe. You will add the lentils, rice, and vegetables in a mixing bowl as the recipe describes above, mixing in the remaining ingredients.
Thanksgiving Roast
Ingredients
- 2 T vegetable broth
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium to large carrot peeled and grated
- 1 rib celery diced
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach chopped fine
- 1 1/2 cups mushrooms chopped fine
- 1 cup cooked brown lentils
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 3 T ground flaxseed
- 2 T nutritional yeast flakes
- 1/2 cup ground walnuts opt.
- 1/2 cup dried raisins
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp rubbed sage
- salt and basil to taste
- GLAZE
- 1/2 cup New Start Ketchup or 1/2 cup cranberry sauce commercial or homemade
Instructions
- Prepare and chop your vegetables. Shred the spinach and carrots in a food processor.
- Saute the onion, garlic, mushrooms, celery and spinach in a non-stick skillet with about 1/4 cup of vegetable broth. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 2-5 minutes.
- Add the carrots to the sauteed vegetables; cook for about 2 more minutes.
- Add the cooked rice and lentils to the vegetables; mix well. Scoop this into a mixing bowl.
- Add the seasonings and stir well.
- Add the remaining ingredients--oat flour, flaxseed, nutritional yeast flakes, nuts and raisins.
- Mix everything thoroughly.
- Add the mixture into a non-stick baking pan or one lined with parchment paper. Smooth it out as you would if you were making a meat loaf.
- Bake for 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
- Remove from oven and spread the desired glaze on top. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from oven; allow the roast to set for about 10 minutes before serving. This allows it to firm up even more.
- Happy Thanksgiving!
