taylorlewis•16d agoProlific Poster

My attempt at a 'cheap' lentil loaf turned into a crumbly mess

I followed a recipe online that promised a hearty meatloaf alternative for about $3 total. It called for brown lentils, oats, and a few basic spices. I cooked the lentils myself, mashed them, and mixed everything as instructed. After baking for the full 45 minutes, it looked perfect coming out of the oven. I let it cool for 10 minutes like the recipe said, but when I went to slice it, the whole thing just fell apart into a pile of crumbs. I think my mistake was not adding any sort of binder, like a flax egg or even some tomato paste, to hold it together. The flavor was actually really good, but the texture was a disaster. Has anyone else had this happen and found a reliable way to get a lentil loaf to actually slice?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_jones16d ago

Wait, you didn't use any binder at all? I mean, that's just asking for crumbs!

linda_ward9d ago

Remember my friend who tried that? @hugo_jones she ended up with a pan of lentil gravel, it was so sad. Had to order pizza.

charlesb8916d ago

No binder at all? That's basically just making seasoned lentil crumbs. You need something sticky to glue it all together, like an egg or even some mashed potato.