My family’s been begging me for this recipe ever since it’s debut on our Canadian Thanksgiving back in early October – so finally it’s here! The Apricot, Buckwheat and Squash Lentil Loaf recipe is here! It is a beauty in every delicious way! The natural flavours all mingle together so well – and everything is made healthy, naturally gluten-free/ wheat-free, dairy/ vegan and nut free! So basically everyone can enjoy this – it is a delicious recipe that will make all your guests happy.
Just look at these delicious and healthy ingredients – butternut squash, buckwheat, lentils and all-natural dried apricots (note that they are almost black when they are natural (not orange when you get with sulphites)). My baby girl loved helping me taste test all the ingredients and mix the bowl too! She agrees it’s delicious!
Apricot, Buckwheat and Squash Lentil Loaf
Ingredients :
3/4 cup buckwheat, cooked
2 tablespoons ground flax
1/4 cup water
1 cup butternut squash, cooked or roasted (great to use leftover squash)
1 cup green lentils, cooked or 1 small can, drained well
1 celery stalk, chopped fine
2 medium carrots, peeled & chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/4 – 1/2 cup dried sulphite-free apricots, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce (look for gluten-free if avoiding gluten is important to you)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1-2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
about 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs (gluten-free)
a tablespoon of oil for greasing the baking dish
Directions :
First, cook the buckwheat as per instructions or use leftovers.
Mix the ground flaxseed with 1/4 cup of water and set aside.
Cook the lentils as per instructions. Once cooked, strain well by pressing them into a sieve to remove excess water.
In the meantime, cook or roast about 1/4 of butternut squash or use leftovers.
In a medium skillet, cook the celery, carrots and onion until golden on medium heat, about 10 minutes stirring often. Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool before continuing to the next step.
Preheat the oven at this point to 350F.
In a large bowl or food processor, combine the lentils, squash, drained buckwheat and celery/ carrot/ onions from the skillet, flax, apricots, oregano, salt and pepper and mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
If using a food processor – pulse a few times so that some texture is left behind.
I mixed all the ingredients in a bowl because I had my baby daughter help me do the mixing – if I was doing this on my own I would definitely pulse this in a food processor to save time :)
Rub the inside of a baking dish with oil and sprinkle the gluten free bread crumbs on the sides. Then scoop the mixture and press firmly and evenly inside the pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until sides appear golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
OR it’s best to make this one day ahead and storing in the refrigerator covered. Then preheat for 30 minutes in the oven at 350F. The flavours in this Lentil Loaf just get more saturated and really taste amazing the next day. It’s less crumbly too. So I would really recommend to make this one day ahead before serving and also get something out of the way especially for Holidays!
So this was a lovely main dish for our Thanksgiving – I hope you’ll give it a go and make this for Thanksgiving dinner too! :)
All your friends who do have dietary preferences will LOVE you for it – and those that don’t will also appreciate how good simple and healthy ingredients make a meal amazing!!
To our US friends, I wish you all a wonderful, safe and happy Thanksgiving! xo ella
Blogger, Recipe Developer, Photographer and Author. Loves healthy food, photography, sunshine and dancing in the kitchen with her two daughters. 
I love how healthy this is!! Such a delicious and hearty slice of goodness!
Thank you Katrina! :)
It is so delicious and makes the best leftovers even cold :)
xox
Might it be possible to freeze it until Christmas?
And maybe, to stick everything together one could add some aquafaba?
Sounds delicous….
Hi Karen,
Great question! Yes definitely it’s a great idea to freeze it :)
I would mix it all up – maybe go for a finer texture than I show on the photos so definitely use a food processor and pulse the mix a few times. And Then use a good quality parchment paper (not wax paper though) for your baking dish or a silicone pan would work great so it doesn’t stick to the sides when baked. Then I would thaw it out in the refrigerator overnight or 4-6 hours and bake as instructed above. Should work great and I think I’ll do the same thing :)
You could also prep the mixture and freeze in an airtight container not a baking dish and then once thawed just press into the pan with breadcrumbs on the side or parchment paper. Both would work great :)
Let me know how you like it! Happy Holidays! xo ella
Thank you soo much!
I will freeze it in the baking dish, that is a very good idea.
I will let you know!
Happy Holidays to you aswell!
<3
Oh, and do you have a vegan gravy recipe to go with it?
<3
Hi, I just saw your great request!! :)
I don’t have a vegan gravy recipe on the blog unfortunately but I would love to serve this with a mushroom gravy. You simply cook mushrooms with chopped onion and about a teaspoon of potato starch and season. :)
I hope to publish this one day :) xo
Looks SO good!
Hi Ella,
This looks amazing. One thing though, I really don’t like oregano, is there something else you would suggest that I use or just omit it?
Thanks.
Hi Gina :)
No problem. How about thyme or basil? OR you could just omit it – there’s a lot of flavours going on so it won’t really matter to the overall taste :)
Let me know how it goes. xox ella
Its such a beautiful recipe and no doubt tasty. It’s going on my to make list, right away! Thank you for creating it.
Mira