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
My family loves your recipe! I didn’t have nutritional yeast, so I used Parmesan cheese since we aren’t vegan, and it was still delicious! Even my picky 3 year old who usually only eats chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese loved it. Do you have any experience with/advice for freezing it? I have enough ingredients to make 1 or 2 more loaves before the veggies go bad but didn’t know if it turn out. Thank you! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and your picky 3 year old too! It freezes very well, I simply cook it but leave off the topping, then cool, wrap well in foil and freeze.
I like this recipe a lot. I needed more flax and possibly could have added some oats so it would be a little drier but it’s very good. Added 1 green pepper and have a second load in the freezer for another time. Might scoop into muffin tins next time to get a firmer texter and more crisp. Thanks
You’re welcome!
Can I make the mix a few hours ahead of time and then bake it before dinner?
Yes, that’s fine to do.
What to try this but don’t have bread crumbs,would rolled crackers work ?
That could possibly work, yes, though I haven’t tried it. Rolled oats would work as well.
The written recipe says 1 cup of breadcrumbs while the video says 1.5 cups. Which is corrects?
Oh, good catch there! I have found 1 cup to be enough, but 1 1/2 cups works as well. It really depends on how moist your chickpeas are, and I have noticed that some brands are drier than others. I will update the instructions slightly to explain it better. Thank you!
Hadn’t made Easter dinner plans and found this recipe. Made it exactly as written and it was perfect. My meat-eating, meatloaf-loving husband loved it too. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome!
Perfect veggie loaf! I would not make any changes to Nora’s recipe… I read your reply to a question saying it would be fine to make this a day in advance and just bake it like 15-20 minutes longer. I think this would be the perfect meal to make ahead. This recipe is so simple and inexpensive! So delicious! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
This is amazing! I’m pregnant & this is what I’m craving! I’ve made it three times in 2 weeks. Thank you so much
That’s awesome, I’m so glad you are enjoying it!
Hi Nora, thanks so much for this recipe! I made it last night, exactly as is and it was delish! By far my favorite vegan meatloaf.
Thanks so much!
Anything I can sub for flax? I have ener-g egg replacer? I can’t tolerate flax…like at all. Thank you!
You could use 1 egg replacer or just leave it out, it will be fine.
Is the “sauce” and the “topping” the same thing or do you added the sauce to the chickpea mixture? Thanks!
Are you talking about the ketchup/Worcestershire topping? It is for spreading over the top of the loaf, not adding into the chickpea mixture. Though you do add both of those things as listed under the “In the Rest” section and in instruction #4. I hope that makes sense!
I don’t have a loaf pan. Can I use a 9×9 dish instead? Or a cast iron pan?
You probably could use a 9 by 9 inch dish, I’m not sure about a cast iron pan but probably unless it’s too big. I would bake it for less, maybe only 30 minutes total.
Could I use smoked salt instead of liquid smoke? If so, how would I adjust the recipe to ensure it is not too salty?
You could just leave out the liquid smoke altogether, but if you want to use smoked salt instead that would probably be ok. I would leave out the soy sauce, and use about 1 teaspoon of smoked salt instead.
Mine came out tasty but very moist. ? not sure what I did? Love all you recipes ?
I’m not exactly sure what you mean by “very moist”, but I have found that different cans of chickpeas have different moisture levels, some are very dry, some are not, so I suppose that could by why. The texture is obviously not meaty like real meatloaf, but it shouldn’t be mushy and overly wet either. Thanks, I’m so glad you love the recipes! 🙂
I just made it but it crumbled after I made it. What do you do to make it stick together?
I actually just made this again last night for dinner. If you press it down firmly into the pan, then let it cool for 15 minutes at least before slicing, it will not crumble. Those are the tricks. If you don’t press it down firmly and evenly, it is much more likely to crumble, as well as if you slice it immediately after taking it out of the oven.
Made this today. Only had 2 cups cooked chickpeas handy so put in some soaked cashews as well. Good fun to make. Family loved it. Thanks.
You’re welcome! Glad the family loved it!
Made this yesterday exactly as written- sooooo delicious!! Took me a while to find liquid smoke but it was worth the wait- definitely a game changer. Made vegan meatloaf before, but they were very dense-this texture is much closer to real meatloaf. Topped it with vegan mushroom gravy, yum!
So glad you liked it!
Does it matter if I use normal breadcrumbs instead of panko?
Not really, regular or panko work quite well.
I made this loaf last week for Shabbat.
It was delicious. One is in the oven now. Can’t wait. Also made a fresh loaf of bread from scratch. So tommorow leftovers will be meat loaf sandwich.?Thank you so much.
You’re welcome!
This is on our COVID 19 lockdown recipes to try. Actually can’t wait for this.
Nora you’re amazing! I love love all your recipes. My sister is vegan so I’m always looking for the best to cook for her!! I love vegan food but I’m not vegan I don’t like labels ? but I’m better at cooking vegan than anyone I know ??. I also love our name. I’m Nora Alina I make a mean banana bread that my family don’t believe is vegan. ??? thank you for sharing ?
You’re welcome! And thanks for the wonderful comment!
Made this today. My husband joked around that I was going to make ‘meatless’ meatloaf. I made it early in the day and let it sit. It was nice and firm and the flavour was fabulous! The leftovers will make great meatloaf sandwiches tomorrow. That’s if they survive the night, haha.
I’m so glad you liked the loaf! It makes really great sandwiches, we do that a lot with the leftovers, but they never last long.
Thank you for the recipe. Can I replace the bread crumbs with oats
Yes you can, you will just have slightly different results.
loved the recipe!!!!! It did not become as firm as I though it would.
What did I do wrong? I have made many things from your website and this is the first time it was different. Help….my husband loved it even though it was not firm. Thanks!!!
I’m glad you loved the recipe! It really firms up as it cools off a bit, so I wonder if you just didn’t give it much time. The other thing to do is the really pack it in to the pan, firmly. Thanks!
My son and I loved this recipe! Sadly, my hubby and daughter are not chickpea fans, but they do like black beans. I’m going to attempt a black bean substitution, and see how it goes!
Thank you! That would be interesting, let me know how it turns out!
Have you tried the black bean substitution. I’d love to know how it turned out.
I tried to substitute one can of white beans for one can of chick peas, since I only had one can of chickpeas. The meatloaf came out very mushy – as has been my experience with every vegan meatloaf recipe I’ve tried. Not sure if the chickpeas are the magic ingredient? And would it help to add chickpea flour?
I would try using all chickpeas next time, and add extra breadcrumbs maybe if you feel like it comes out mushy. Mine never does, but it doesn’t taste like meat either. Also, don’t over process your beans. They should be mashed, but not pasty or anything. Hope that helps!