For the longest time, one of my favorite frozen meals was the Amy’s Veggie Loaf Whole Meal. It was my go-to meal. Always reliable, easy to find, I liked the taste and there’s no crazy ingredients.
Visiting family and they all want to eat at the local steakhouse? No problem, I just pop an Amy’s meal in the microwave, scarf it down and I’m all set if the restaurant has nothing to offer me but a pitiful dinner salad or very plain baked potato for dinner.
Happily, restaurants have caught a clue and usually offer some sort of vegan option so it’s been awhile since I had to turn to an Amy’s frozen dinner for substance. But now I’m sad to see honey in the Veggie Loaf meal, I don’t remember it being in there before. It’s a bummer but also an inspiration to make my own copycat version.
As a starting point, I used my Mini Savory Lentil Cupcakes recipe. It already has many of the same ingredients listed on the back of the box. A few tweaks here and there and voilà, a vegan copycat Amy’s Veggie Loaf Dinner.
Veggie Loaf Dinner
Makes 4-6 servings
Veggie loaf
1 small leek, white and some of the green part, chopped
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/4 cup broccoli florets, chopped
1/4 cup petite green peas
2 cups cooked and seasoned lentils
2 handfuls panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Oil to grease pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, mash the lentils. Add in the rest of the ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
In a well-oiled 8.5 x 8.5 inch square baking pan, pour in the lentil mixture and pack into the pan, tightly pressing into the bottom. Bake for about 30 – 40 minutes until browned and pulling away from the edges. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
While the veggie loaf is baking, make the mashed potatoes and gravy using your favorite recipes. I added a bit of tomato paste to the gravy for the color but brown gravy works too.
This looks so good, and it reminds me of the old days of vegan living when I used to make loaves like this all the time. That might have been before Amy was born. :D
Yum. It looks really good! I used to eat those Amy’s meat loaves too! They were one of my favorites! This post is making me realize that is has been a Really long time since I made a veggie meat loaf. Thank you!
I’ve never had the Amy’s version but this looks great. I love an old school loaf!
simple and hearty, sometimes just what a gal craves. Boo to Amy’s for adding honey. Seems a crazy choice and narrows down the buyers field for them, when they could just as easy add agave or similar?!
Did you know that Agave is 90% fructose and is high foodmap, an irritant to IBS.
Replace it with Stevia glycerite or another sweetener or choice. You can use Monkfruit, Swerve or any other you choose
Not sure if they used to add honey but now they do not.
I can’t believe they added honey to the recipe–like, why?? It was so good!
Your version looks totally rockin’ though; definitely going to give it a try.
I haven’t had many Amy’s products but I’d try yours in a heartbeat!
You rock! I love Amy’s products, they make really good frozen vegan meals! Thanks for sharing this wonderful and yummy veggie loaf recipe, filled with a variety of grains and vegetables! I want to try it with some mouthwatering gravy.
Amy’s has never passed this way, alas, but I’m pretty sure from the copycat version would have been popular with me. Anything with lentils cannot be wrong! I love the look of the sauce too – good to have something to dunk the loaf in!
brilliant! i love the amy’s veggie loaf, yours looks just like it!
Amy’s is the best! Their frozen meals have saved me from starvation countless times, and I still keep a handful in the freeze at all times in case of emergencies. Still, I love seeing copycat recipes because it means I can still get that familiar, comforting taste, but at a much lower cost. This is fabulous!
I love a good veggie loaf but have never tried to make my own. This looks pretty easy and delicious!
I used to love that frozen dinner too. Now I will be making this fresh version for sure!
This looks perfect! I love making different veggie loaf recipes.
LOL I think we’ve all concocted our version of “the loaf!” I like a variation on the Oh She Glows loaf — here is my slightly altered version which I make 1-2x month: http://crankygerd.blogspot.com/2013/01/recipe-lentil-walnut-apple-loaf-revised.html
Regarding Amy’s and the use of honey, and some people suggesting AGAVE as an alternative — NO!!!! If Amy’s puts agave in anything, I’m not buying it. (That’s what keeps me away from all those coconut ice creams…) For one thing, a lot of people, myself included, don’t like the taste/aftertaste. Most importantly, agave may be low glycemic and all, but it’s as “highly processed” as high fructose corn syrup. (Google the debate online for details.) Agave is not a “healthy sweetener,” it’s a scam! Give me maple syrup or (vegan) sugar or fruit (dates, etc) — or just NO sweetener! :)
So gonna make this ASAP. I LOVED the Amy’s meal too but was so sad when I saw the honey in it. Good news though, they recently re-did that meal and took the honey out of it to make it vegan! Yay!
Loved the loaf recipe! Thanks very much! My gravy wasn’t as good as Amy’s, which was a disappointment. Can you suggest a good gravy recipe?
Hi.. :o)
Could you share your recipe for the tomato gravy? Thanks!
It’s been awhile since I’ve made the tomato gravy. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve misplaced the scrap of paper the recipe was written on. I’ll keep looking for it but it might just be easier to try re-create it. Hopefully soon. :-)
Thank you! Yours looks closer than any I’ve seen! :o)
I made this tonight- and oh my goodness I love it! I personally didn’t think it tasted like Amy’s loaf but it was awesome anyways. I used BBQ sauce on top of my loaf and cooked it in the oven(I haven’t mastered vegan gravy yet *wah*) Thanks for the recipe!
-Marzy
Great idea on the BBQ sauce graze! I’ll have to give that a try next time. :-)
Are
The canned lentils lentil soup? Do you drain the lentils?
I didn’t use canned lentils, soup or otherwise. I used Trader Joe’s Steamed Lentils. It doesn’t come in a can, it can be found in the refrigerated section. I haven’t tried the recipe with canned lentils, but I’m guessing if you do try it, it should probably be drained.
Made this for Passover and substituted the panko for matzo meal! Turned out great! So happy you have this recipe.
Since I found this recipe I have made it so many times. It is delicious!
Does it work to use fresh carrots, celery, leeks, broccoli?
Do any of the fresh veggies need to be precooked before mixing in?
Thank you!
Yes, I used fresh and I think I’ve tried it both ways, cooked and just tossing everything in as is and it came out fine. If you like, you probably could give the leeks, carrots and celery a saute to bring out those flavors. Hope this helps and happy cooking! :-)
Yeah, this is VERY close to Amy’s Loaf. I used to eat them all the time. Great post. I have been looking for a good veggie loaf I could quickly make at home. This is it.
What kind of lentils do you use and how do you season them? Thank you for the recipe!
I used Trader Joe’s Steamed Lentils, they come already cooked and seasoned so it’s super easy. Happy cooking!
Do you use frozen peas and broccoli? If so, do you thaw before combining? Thanks for the details.
Only the peas were frozen and I didn’t thaw before using. I haven’t tried it with frozen broccoli but it seems like it should be thawed if more of the veggies are frozen so it’s not too wet. Hope that helps and happy cooking! :-)
Wonderful recipe. Just great with mashed potatoes or even in a sandwich. Tastes as near to the original Amy’s.
It’s my go to recipe
Wonderful recipe. Just great with mashed potatoes or even in a sandwich. Tastes as near to the original Amy’s.
It’s my go to recipe
It tasted good but did not hold together for me. I used white mushrooms and no celery…wonder if that’s what made it dry?
Tried this last night, it was yummy! Made a mushroom
Gravy to go with it, swapped some of the veggies for
What I had on hand, it looked and tasted like Amy’s which
I Love! Thankyou for a great recipe, my carnivore husband
Loved it too??