A classic tasting Vegan Meatloaf made with a base of chickpeas that is SO simple to make. This is NOT another mushy vegan loaf. It’s beautiful, savory, hearty and extremely comforting alongside some mashed potatoes and green beans.
*This recipe was originally posted 10/12/17. Updated 9/24/18 with more appetizing photos and slightly updated instructions.
Ah, the Vegan Meatloaf. Have you tried making one yet? You can find many different versions all over the internet, from lentil loaf to tofu loaf, and probably many more.
Some I’ve tried have been quite good, but often even if they taste good, they don’t look very appetizing. I wanted to come up with a Vegan Meatloaf recipe that had more “classic” meatloaf flavors and would also look beautiful. Chickpeas to the rescue!
The one thing you never want is a super mushy loaf. And it’s pretty hard to avoid, actually. But through some trial and error, I have come up with a non-mushy, flavorful and beautiful loaf that would be just perfect as the main dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other holiday.
I remember one Thanksgiving several years ago that I was super excited to make a popular blogger’s lentil loaf recipe. I wanted to impress our guests with how good vegan cooking can be! Well, the loaf sunk in the middle and was just a complete mushy mess. Ugh. So frustrating.
HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGAN MEATLOAF?
This Vegan Meatloaf is easy to make, and most of the time spent is hands off.
First, saute the vegetables in either water or olive oil for a few minutes, until the onion is translucent. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Mash the drained/rinsed chickpeas in a large bowl (I always use a potato masher, works great!).
Then simply add the cooked vegetables and all the remaining ingredients. Stir very well!
Press the mixture into a loaf pan evenly, cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove foil, add the ketchup- Worcestershire topping and put back in the oven for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool a few minutes, slice and serve.
I hope you all enjoy this vegan meatloaf! It’s:
Hearty
Smoky
Fiber-rich
Beautiful
& so Affordable
You can also leave off the ketchup topping and serve with this Easy Vegan Gravy instead!
Want more savory vegan dishes? Try one of these!
Inspired by this recipe.
The Best Vegan Meatloaf
Ingredients
Vegetables for Sautéing
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil OR water for oil free
- 1 small onion, diced small
- 2 small carrots, diced small
- 2 celery stalks, diced small
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
For the Rest
- (2) 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (3 cups)
- 1- 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs*
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional, but good
For the topping
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly spray a 9 inch loaf pan with oil, or line the bottom with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Saute the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in the olive oil or water over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add the chickpeas to a large bowl, and mash with a potato masher (or fork). You do not want them to be completely pasty or mushy, but well broken up. Alternatively, use a food processor, but be careful not to over blend them and make them totally mushy. Pulse a couple of times if using a food processor.
- Add the cooked veggies and all the remaining ingredients to the chickpeas. I have found 1 cup of breadcrumbs to be enough, but if the mixture seems really moist, add an extra 1/2 cup. Stir with a large wooden spoon until very well combined.
- Press the loaf mixture in the prepared pan, pushing down evenly with your hand. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir together the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce for the topping.
- After 30 minutes, remove the foil, spread the ketchup topping evenly on top of the loaf and bake for another 15 minutes, uncovered. Remove from the oven.
- Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes before slicing if you can, it will hold up better. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired before serving.
Video
Notes
- You may substitute gluten-free or whole wheat breadcrumbs if desired. The amount needed depends on how moist or dry your chickpeas are. I have found this varies depending on the brand. Use 1 to 1 1/2 cups.
- Make sure to find vegan Worcestershire sauce. Most have anchovies in the ingredients. Annie's brand has a good one you can find at most natural food stores. You can also order it online.
- Find liquid smoke near barbecue sauce in most grocery stores. You can leave it out, but it adds a great "smoky" flavor. One bottle will last you a long time.
Nutrition
Hi Nora! This recipe is one of my favorites…I’ve made it a handful of times and it’s always a hit, but I always serve it the day that I make it…Can this dish be made in advance? Do you recommend making the whole recipe as is and just reheating it the next day or just molding it and putting it in the fridge until it’s ready to be fully cooked?
I’m glad you like the loaf Stacey! Yes, you can make it ahead of time. I’d prefer to put it together, then not bake it until you are ready to serve. Just note it will need a little extra time in the oven since it will be going in cold.
Looking forward to making this! Just wondering how can I substitute the breadcrumbs?
Rolled or quick oats work well in place of breadcrumbs for a slightly different texture. Hope you enjoy it!
This looks really good! I am going to make it in a couple of days.
I love chick peas! I could probably even use black beans,huh?
Thanks for recipe.
Hi Donna. Yes, you could use black beans. Several have used black beans and liked it! Black beans may be a bit more moist, depending on how they are prepared. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Hi Nora! Do you have any recommendations for ketchup substitutes? Trying to eliminate refined sugars when possible, so was thinking tomato sauce mixed with some vinegar might do the trick? Thanks!
I’m not sure, you could leave it off and serve with vegan gravy instead. I don’t know how tomato sauce and vinegar would taste together, but maybe you could find a refined sugar free ketchup you like.
Have you tried the Good Food for Good Ketchup? It’s sweetened with date paste.
I made this for dinner tonight. I use Cannelli beans. Added ground cashews and a fresh beet that I grind to a mush in the blender. I added to the beans. When to mushy, I added the bread crumbs. It was kind of mushy in the middle. I think I will try the chickpeas the next time.
Can you use this a veggie burger
You probably could make veggie burgers out of it, yes.
This sounds amazing can’t wait to make it… I just wanted to know if I can add mozzarella cheese in the middle will this still cook right and have the same texture /taste? My family loves cheese.
I’m sure it would work, yes, though I haven’t tried it.
This was so delicious! I loved regular meatloaf before I switched to vegetarian/vegan and this really hit the spot! I followed everything in the recipe but I used ground chia seeds since I didn’t have flaxseeds. I couldn’t resist cutting into it early :’) but I wish I had, the rest of the loaf is holding together and slicing perfectly. Thank you so much! I’m looking forward to digging through more of your recipes.
Thank you for sharing your great review, Nicole! I’m glad you loved the meatloaf! Have fun exploring my other recipes, and let me know how it goes! Happy cooking!
I made a loaf following your recipe, yesterday and was blown away by the amazing texture and yummy taste! I shared more than half of the loaf with a dear friend so decided to make another loaf today, all for myself. As I had a vast amount of red beans and black beans I had cooked over the weekend, and no more garbanzo beans, I decided to experiment with a mixture of red & black beans. Also added 4 TBLS of tomato paste and 1 TBL apple cider vinegar for more umami. Let me just say, I couldn’t stop eating it! Delicious!!!!! Thanks Nora for such a great recipe. Plan to try out more of your recipes right away.
Hi Anne. It’s good to know the meatloaf turned out delicious with a mixture of red & black beans! Thank you for sharing your review, and I”m glad you love the meatloaf! Have fun trying out my recipes! Let me know how they go for you, and happy cooking!
Can you substitute chia seeds instead of flaxseed?
Sure, but I would use ground chia seeds, not whole.
Thanks Nora, looks delicious and very easy to prepare
Thank you for sharing Felicia!
This is a wonderful recipe! We loved It!
I tried your meatloaf recipe for the first time and must admit I was a bit cautious but it was really, really good! I baked it for 15 minutes longer, used 1 cup of bread crumbs and closely followed your recipe. After allowing it to sit for 15 minutes it was perfectly formed and came out of the loaf pan in well formed slices. Even my omni hubby enjoyed it! Another hit from your amazing recipes – thank you so much!
Hi Rosemary. Thank you for taking time to share your wonderful review! I’m thrilled you loved the meatloaf! Thank you or using my recipes!
It’s hard for me to rate this recipe accurately because I had to slightly alter it as it’s written.
Just to be clear, I’m pescitarian, not vegetarian/vegan. Although I typically eat a lot more beans and vegetables then fish, and most days don’t eat fish at all. I do eat/cook with eggs and milk, but again not that often. So anyways, I have joint-custody of my 14 year old son, who just moved in with me full time last year. He is very overweight, and is boarder line diabetic, so I have been slowly getting him use to a lot more plant-based meals to try to turn his health and bad eating habits around before too much damage is done.
He LOVES meat dishes, so I tried this tonight in a attempt to substitute another dinner meal that he wants to eat a lot for a leaner alternative.
1st off, I had to substitute the celery for Green bell pepper because we discovered he can’t stand celery (cooked or raw). 2nd, I didn’t have any nutritional yeast on hand (mainly because I find it’s very expensive) and ground flaxseed (can only seem to find the whole flaxseed, which I often mix in with my tuna sandwiches), so I just left them out. 3rd, I never have ketchup, Worcestershire sauce or liquid smoke in my house, but I make my own smokey flavoured BBQ sauce made with coffee and other herbs and spices that does that a similar profile as all 3 of these mixed together so I used this instead. 4th, I always use yellow cornmeal in place of bread crumbs in recipes so I mixed in this instead.
I know, I know, I changed so much it’s barely the same recipe anymore, but I was just trying to experiment with something that I wasn’t even sure if it would be eaten, so I was trying my best to work with what I had instead of buying bunch of special stuff for it that I might never use again.
It actually turned out better than I expected. I did end up adding in 1 egg and 2 tbsp of low sodium beef boullion to mix, but the flavour came out pretty close to the taste of actual meat loaf, and it stayed together, the only thing was that it seemed to be very gritty, which was odd because I often make meatloaf with ground turkey, coarsely masked black beans and cornmeal with no issues.
Is there another type of binder I can use instead of breadcrumbs to avoid this? I bake my own multigrain sourdough bread, muffins, ect so I always have lots of whole wheat, dark rye, all-purpose flours on hand, would mixing in flour be a better alternative to avoid the gritty textured?
Hi Misty! It sounds like you made a lot of changes and like you were very creative! My suggestion would be to not use cornmeal, because to me it can make things gritty like you are describing. You could use rolled or quick oats instead, they work quite well in place of breadcrumbs here.
I have made this meatloaf several times now and it has become a family favorite. I didn’t think my family would enjoy a meatless meatloaf, but I was wrong….they love it!
Hi Susan. I’m so glad your family loves the meatloaf! Thank you for sharing!
Simply delish! I actually ran out of celery and fresh onions so I just tripled the carrots and used the dried onion and garlic powders I had on hand. Came out so tasty! Cant wait to make it again with the fresh veg. I think the liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce are a must.
Thank you for sharing your great review, Monica. I’m glad you loved the meatloaf!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I let it rest for about 10 minutes and used 2 spatulas to carefully draw the sliced pieces out of the loaf pan, and it held together nicely and was piping hot. The liquid smoke was something I had never used before but we enjoyed the flavor. Thank you for sharing this recipe, Nora! Kind regards.
Hi Anita. I’m really glad you loved the meatloaf and that it turned out great for you. Thank you for sharing your fantastic review!
OK, let’s cut to the chase. Will this meatloaf hold together when sliced? Or will it fall apart like 99.9% of other vegan meatloaves I’ve tried?
It holds together, yes, but if you try to slice it immediately after taking it out of the oven, it will fall apart more easily. So give it some time to cool, even 15-30 minutes. But it’s not meat so it’s a little more delicate than real meatloaf.
Holds together quite nicely and I only rested it for 10 minutes. I only used 1 cup of breadcrumbs though
Can you add tofu to the recipe for more protein/ If so how much?
I’m not sure, I’ve never added tofu to the recipe so it’s hard for me to say. You could try it though! Maybe half a block?
Great texture and flavor –
it was even better the next day .. as a sandwich added some diced mushrooms also a touch of hot sauce to the topping.
Thanks for sharing
The sandwich sounds so good! Thank you for sharing!
I made this tonight! It was absolutely delicious!!
I’m so glad you loved it, Gayle! Thank you!
I’ve made this several times for my nonvegan family and we all love it. Original recipe is delicious, but I’ve also made a few subs. Oatmeal for bread crumbs (I never seem to have bread crumbs), sauteed mushrooms (be sure to saute a little longer so the liquid cooks off), and Sriracha in with the ketchup. Like everyone, I’m so glad to have found your recipes. Thank you for all you do!
Thanks a lot, Kristin, for taking time to share your comments. I’m glad you are enjoying the meatloaf. Thank you for using my recipes!
Ok let me clarify again a stalk in my mind is a bunch of celery that they sell in a bag … a rib is a single part of the bunch … so again is it two stalks (ie two bunches ) or two ribs (ie break off two Single parts of the bunch )
Gotcha! Okay, I actually mean one rib, I call those stalks but perhaps that isn’t correct! Do not use a whole bunch, just 2 ribs. Hope that helps!
Is it two stalks of celery or two ribs I’m confused on units
Two celery stalks, diced small. Hope that helps!
I love your recipes Nora. I have told many vegan friends and family members about your website and they all love your recipes as well.
Do you think using cooked quinoa or brown rice or millet (or a combination of all three cooked grains) to replace the bread crumbs would work? And if so, would you use 1-1.5 cups as needed?
Thank you so much Joyce, that is wonderful to hear! I think that could work, though I haven’t tried it to know for sure. The loaf might come out a bit wetter than usual, but it would probably be okay. You could also substitute rolled oats if that’s an option. I would try using the same amount, yes. Hope that helps!