Sneaky Meatloaf with Ground Beef and Lentils

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Combine water and lentils in a heavy pot, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until lentils are soft, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Remove lid, but do not drain. Set aside.

Combine bell pepper, carrot, onion, and celery in a food processor; pulse until veggies are cut into very small pieces. Remove vegetables to a large bowl. Add lentils to the food processor and process until pureed; add to vegetables.

Add ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt, and pepper to the vegetable-lentil mixture. Mix ingredients together with your hands until well incorporated. Shape meat and vegetable mixture into a loaf and place in the middle of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Remove foil and bake until top is browned, 5 more minutes. Top with tomato sauce and bake 5 minutes more. Garnish with parsley.