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
I loved this. I didn’t have the smoke, flaxseed or yeast so those items were missing but still delicious.
So glad it was good!
Hi this looks perfect for Christmas day here in Ireland 🙂 Can i ask, if i make it on Christmas eve, then refrigerate how long would i need to heat it in the oven for? Also, would it be best to heat as a whole loaf or in slices? Thanks x
Hi there! You could put the loaf together but not bake it Christmas Eve, then stick the whole thing in the oven as instructed, but add 10-15 extra minutes to the cooking time. Or if you wanted to completely cook it Christmas Eve, you could just warm up the slices, either way is fine. Merry Christmas!
I’m so happy I found this recipe. I made it tonight as a trial run for Christmas dinner and it turned out great but a tad in the dry side. Do you have any suggestion to make it a bit more moist?
It can vary a bit depending on what brand of canned beans you use (or if you use homemade beans). If yours turned out too dry, next time add less breadcrumbs, perhaps just 1 cup instead of 1 1/2. Hope that helps!
I’m planning on making this along with a ham for a Christmas celebration. But I’m concerned about drying out the ham if the oven is at 375. For those of us cursed with a single oven, is it possible to cook this meatloaf at a lower temperature for longer period of time? (Sorry, no rating since I haven’t tried it yet!)
You probably could and just added 15-20 minutes onto the time. Thanks!
It smelled good and tasted great!
I’m so glad!
Hi Nora just love this recipe have tried it a number of times and always tasty and firm was wondering if this meatloaf freezers well before cooking or leftovers Thanks again for the great recipe
Yes, the meatloaf freezes quite well. So glad you love it, thank you!
Boy, oh boy, was this ever good! Definitely a keeper. I had three pieces! I did make a few substitutions. I replaced the panko with cornbread stuffing mix, the flaxseed with an egg, and the ketchup topper with barbeque sauce. Thank you for this recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m glad it was good.
Fantastic recipe! It was really delish. Even got my hubby to eat it (he only committed to one bite but ate the entire piece). We ate it with turnip greens and hash browns. Very, very good! I did not let it set for 15 minutes after it was done because I was too hungry to wait any longer – it turned out just fine.
So glad it turned out great!
Just made this for the 5th time! It is the best!
I’m so glad to hear it’s a consistent winner!
I did a quick search for a vegan meatloaf recipe for this weekend and came up with yours. I was going to make a couple tweaks like adding some vegan sausage but my daughter convinced me it should be good as is.. So the only changes I made were to add a little bell pepper and I didn’t use Worcestershire (since I didn’t have any). This was absolutely the BEST meatloaf I have ever eaten. After my meal I was still spooning it out of the serving dish when I was getting ready to put it away. By not over processing the chickpeas it gave more of a chewy texture to the loaf that I loved. Thank you so much for this recipe. It is my absolute favorite dish.
Thank you so much Dori, I’m happy to hear you love the meatloaf!
I made the vegan meatloaf for Thanksgiving and it turned out fantastic!!! Even the “meat-eaters” loved it!!! I will definitely be making this again and again and again!!!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
This recipe is delicious ❤ my partner who isn’t vegan even requests it. It has to be my favourite vegan dish and I plan on making it for christmas dinner this year
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the loaf and that it’s your favorite!
I used one can chickpeas one can lentils and just didn’t blend the chickpeas as thin. Also added red pepper to the sautéed veggies and just had some extra veggie mix. Also used organic bread crumbs instead of panko. Totally delicious and adds more dimensions to the recipe
Sounds wonderful, glad you enjoyed the loaf!
Very heavy on the sodium content. Any suggestions to make this a healthy meal ? Vegan is a good start but many substitute salt for meat and that’s not a good practice for a heart healthy diet
I am not a nutritionist, but if you want to make it low in sodium you can do several things: use no salt added beans, omit the soy sauce or use low sodium, depending on your needs, and perhaps purchase sodium-free ketchup or sub with no salt added tomato sauce.
I used salt free cans of chickpeas and low sodium soy sauce. didn’t even notice.
Loved it. Awesome recipe Very easy to follow. Will definitely make it again and recommend it to everyone.
Thanks for the comment! Glad you liked it!
This is my new favorite veggie loaf! I usually use lentils for vegan “meatloaves”, but they often don’t hold together or don’t cook well. This loaf was firm and had plenty of flavor. It served as the vegan/vegetarian option at a pre-Thanksgiving Friendsgiving. I made the following changes to the recipe:
1) Swapped rolled oats, whirred into a flour, for the breadcrumbs
2) Nixed the nutritional yeast, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke
3) Used marinara sauce in place of the ketchup
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, love your substitutions!
Would making the loaf the night before with out putting it in the oven and finishing it the next day be alright?
Yes, that will work. It might need some extra time in the oven, since it will be coming from a cold refrigerator.
I found this while looking for a lentil loaf, tried it and…LOVED IT! I prefer it to a lentil loaf, can´t wait to make it again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this loaf! Thank you.
I made this as a trial before making it for Thanksgiving. It was pretty good and easy to make. Do you have any suggestions for additional flavorings/spices to make it more flavorful? I have a soy allergy so I can’t use the Annie’s Worcestershire sauce (it has soy sauce in it) and I haven’t been able to find liquid smoke that is vegan and doesn’t have soy in it (“natural flavorings”)? So I just used 4 tbsp of coconut aminos, but I felt like the flavor was a bit bland. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Oh yes, if you didn’t add the Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke it would be lacking in flavor for sure. I would instead add garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika (maybe 1 teaspoon of each). That should help! Another idea is to keep it fairly plain and make my Easy Vegan Gravy to smother all over it.
Thank you for your suggestions! If I do the gravy topping, should I leave out the 1/4 cup ketchup that’s mixed in under “For the Rest”?
I would still use the ketchup in the loaf itself, just leave the ketchup topping off and serve with gravy instead. Thanks!
Excited to make this! I’m curious…do you think it could be made in a crock pot?
I hope you enjoy it! It’s possible, but I’ve never tried it so I can’t be much help there.
I am cooking this now, but I’ve been on 1 hour 30 min to get it to cook through and maintain form. Any tips?
I’m not sure what happened there, it does not need to cook for that long. Even after the 45 minutes of cooking, it will be soft if you try to slice it or remove it from the pan right away. Let it cool for longer and you will have no problem, unless you made some substitutions.
I just found your blog and I am so happy! I just printed off a bazillion of your recipes!! AND, You solved this years Thanksgiving dilemma with this wonderful meatloaf recipe! Going to add your mashed and gravy and green bean casserole! And your pumpkin pie for dessert! thank you so much!
I’m so happy you found me too! I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes, thank you so much!
I just made this and it is delicious and hearty. I didn’t have the Worchestire sauce on hand however my ketchup brand already has some of the same ingredients as Worchestire sauce. I just added a few shakes of black pepper and nutmeg to the ketchup topping.
Will definitely be making this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the loaf!
Vegetarian and dairy free here! Can I sub the flaxseed for an egg?
I’ve never tried it as I don’t eat eggs, but I’m pretty sure it would work yes. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the loaf!
We love this meatloaf! I make it often and have had it for Thanksgiving the last two years. We like it with salsa or mushroom gravy the best.
I love it with gravy, but haven’t tried yet with salsa. Will have to try that out!
I made this as my Thanksgiving entree this year and I will be making it on the regular! Great taste and texture.
Thanks for the comment! I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂