This hearty vegan meatloaf is made from a base of seasoned chickpeas, baked up to perfection and topped with a flavorful maple glaze. It’s not quite a classic meatloaf. It’s better.
When I’m creating new recipes for this blog I always try really hard to work from a place of knowledge and experience.
Like, if at all possible, I’d like to have had at least some authentic-ish version of a dish before sharing my own take. I’ll hear about something that sounds really awesome, maybe some exotic international dish that I just haven’t had much opportunity to try, and then seek out a restaurant a version of that dish that I can eat, so when I make my own I at least know I’m on track.
It’s kind of funny that I had trouble in this department with meatloaf. I mean, who doesn’t know what meatloaf tastes like?
I really don’t. It’s been a while and I never liked meatloaf when I was a kid. In fact, I didn’t think other people liked meatloaf. I just thought it was one of those items we all had traumatic school cafeteria memories of. Apparently I was wrong, because all I’ve been hearing lately is meatloaf praise.
Like lots of other dishes I never liked as a kid, I figured a vegan version would be a safe bet, so I set out to create one, but I got a little sidetracked, hence the (almost) classic aspect of this recipe.
Obviously chickpeas would be a diversion from normal meatloaf, but I’m totally fine with that. I also realized as I was browsing meatloaf recipes that most are topped with ketchup, which didn’t sound very appealing to me, so I went with a light maple glaze with a hint of paprika.
Maybe I do like meatloaf, because this was awesome.
I had to ask my husband if it tasted anything like normal meatloaf. He assured me that it was delicious, and about as much like traditional meatloaf as one of my veggie burgers is to a regular old burger. Perfect!
On to how it’s made!
Start by loading up your food processor with chickpeas, veggies, panko breadcrumbs and a bunch of savory seasonings! If you’ve got a nice big food processor you might be able to do it all at once. Otherwise, do this in a couple of batches.
Pulse everything in the food processor. Whatever you do, don’t let it start blending and walk away. Your mixture will turn to mush and you’ll end up with a sad, mushy faux meatloaf.
Next, load everything into a loaf pan. Tip: line the pan with a strip of parchment paper to make the loaf easier to remove from the pan. Smooth out the top with a spoon and bake the loaf.
Mix up the glaze while it bakes.
After 30 minutes, take the loaf out of the oven and spoon the glaze over top. Bake it for another 20 to 25 minutes.
Tips For Making a Perfect Chickpea Vegan Meatloaf
- Mix everything up in batches if needed. I used an 11 cup food processor and still it was a tight squeeze!
- Don’t overblend. Please, please, please don’t do it! Check out my shots above: the mixture is chunky! There’s even a whole chickpea or two in there. This gives your loaf texture and keeps it from being mushy.
- I’ve tried a few different loaf pans and had the best luck with a glass Pyrex pan.
- The loaf firms up over time. So if you like a nice, firm vegan meatloaf, make it well in advance so it has time to sit.
- Leftovers can be heated in the microwave or popped in the oven for a few minutes. Oh, and they make an awesome sandwich!
Check out my video for more guidance on how to make a killer vegan meatloaf!
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(Almost) Classic Chickpea Vegan Meatloaf
Ingredients
For the Chickpea Meatloaf
- 2-14 oz. cans or 3 1/3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup unflavored soy or almond milk
- 3 tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. ground flax seeds
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. liquid smoke
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
For the Maple Glaze
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tsp. paprika
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly oil a 9 inch loaf pan and arrange a strip of parchment paper width-wise along the center, with just a bit hanging over the sides.
- Working in batches if needed, place all meatloaf ingredients into food processor bowl and pulse until chickpeas are broken up and ingredients are well mixed, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Do not overblend. If working in batches, transfer each batch to a large mixing bowl when complete and then mix by hand.
- Press mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake 30 minutes.
- While meatloaf bakes, stir glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Remove loaf from oven after 30 minutes and spoon glaze overtop of loaf. Bake another 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Notes
The longer this sits, the firmer it gets. If it initially feels a bit soft for your liking, let it sit a for a few minutes or prep it a day in advance and reheat the day of serving.
Bean Loaves are often firmer when the
– flax seed meal is mixed with water and placed in the fridge for at least 15 min
– oats are used – 1/2 amount whole & 1/2 amount ground (i.e vitamix)
– beans – 1/2 amount whole & 1/2 amount blended
I have yet to try this rec how, and it looks amazing. Thank you Alissa for the recipe & you all for the great variation suggestions!
Thanks for the tips Angela!
I just made this and it was wonderful! I didn’t have flax so I subbed one egg (I’m veg not vegan) for the milk and flax and it retained its shape perfectly. I am so happy to have this in my recipe box! Seriously, 5 stars!
Thanks so much Olivia!! I’m glad it was a hit!
Thank you 🙏🏾.! I’m a vegetarian as well
OMG this is delicious! I JUST made it and I couldn’t wait for it to firm up before eating it. I can’t wait to taste it tomorrow once it has set and cooled in the fridge. Thank-you so much for this recipe.
I’m so glad you like it!! Thanks Sonya! Enjoy!
I’m on a Daniel fast which is basically a vegan diet and I have been craving some comfort food. I tasted the mixture and got so excited., but it turned out mushy. The “burnt” parts had the texture of meat which was awesome. I had to cook it longer as the carrots were still raw. I will definitely make this again and let it sit over night and sauté the carrots as others suggested. I can’t wait to tweek it and get it right.
Sorry this didn’t work out for you! I hope it turns out better with your tweaks!
If I don’t have liquid smoke will this alter the taste too much?
I think it will still taste good without it! You could also sub smoked paprika or smoked sea salt if you have one of those on hand. :)
Great tasting but it wasn’t a meatloaf. The entire thing fell apart. Basically became just like a cauliflower rice. Even after a day in the fridge when cutting. Slice it just crumbles.
Sorry to hear that! The only thing I can think of is that maybe your chickpeas were dry. Were they canned or did you cook them yourself?
We’re in job layoff mode and I have a ton of canned chickpeas so This is currently in my oven now but we’re not normally vegan. I also didn’t put flax seed in it (never used in any recipe) and I was out of Worcestershire sauce so hoping it turns out yummy!! already have glaze prepared too so crossing fingers it tastes as good as everyone said. Will update later😁
I hope it works out and you enjoy it!!
Just made this today. It was wonderful!! I let it set for awhile and it firmed up nicely. The flavor is excellent!!! I will be making this again!! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!
Yay!! I’m so glad you like it!!
I made this last night and it turned out wonderful! I don’t have a food processor so I just used a potato masher on the chickpeas, then added the rest of the chopped veggies. I also added about 3 or 4 TBSP of the aquafaba from the chickpeas. It sliced up perfectly right out of the oven. I will be making this often. Thank you!!
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Marcia!
I made this recipe last night. I did not have flax seed so I substituted with egg. I also used powdered milk instead of soy milk as I had no plain alternative milk and used about 1/3 cup water with 2 tbls bbq since since I did not liquid smoke. So its not vegan, but its delicious! I cooked down the carrot, onion, garlic and celery before I added it to the mix. I also lightly pan fried the chickpeas with some fake chicken seasoning from Natural Grocers to dry them out before blending them up. I was worried it looked a bit dry when I put in the oven, but it came out a wonderful consistency. Great for lunch at my desk with a side of mixed sweet/russet potato mash with corn.
That sounds like some successful improvisation! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
Help! I’m making this now and didn’t realize I only have whole flax seeds. Is there anything I can sub the flax seeds for?
Oh no! Do you have a coffee grinder? You could try grinding them up yourself. Otherwise, you could leave them out – the loaf would be extra crumbly though.
It would be nice if this had quantities by volume for the vegetables. I guessed what “2 celery stalks” etc look like and my loaf cane out soft and mushy.
Flavor is ok, but could use some herbs.
The glaze is excellent,
Made this today, with changes, and we loved it. These were my changes: 1 can chickpeas + 1 can black beans, sauteed veggies, oats for bread crumbs, 2T Worcestershire, 1T olive oil (the veggies were also coked in OO), nixed liquid smoke but added chipotle chili pepper, onion powder, salt, and additional pepper. I only processed the canned beans and mixed it all together; I did this in the morning because of the note that it holds together better the longer it sits. Anyhoo… spread it in a 13×9″ pan. After baking 20 minutes, I spread some BBQ sauce on top and let it go for 5-10 more minutes. Will definitely make it again, play around with the flavors.
I followed this recipe to the letter, with the exception of substituting oats for bread crumbs. I expected it to be wet, but it was a sloppy mess. It firmed up to a more meatloaf-like texture after several hours on the counter, but “ready to eat in 10 minutes, or possibly four hours” is not an acceptable recipe. There’s a lot of contained water in the ingredients, so it’s going to provide uneven results.
The texture’s not my main complaint, though. I did not expect this to taste anything like traditional meatloaf, but this is very bland with strong notes of liquid smoke and celery. The glaze is nice, but the flavoring overall is weird and bad. Other commenters seem to like it, I’m not sure what they’re tasting.
A chickea-based meatloaf is a great concept, but I’m not going to waste any more time or good vegetables by cooking this again.
Wow! I’m surprised you gave it 2 stars with the problems you ran into! Personally, I loved it. Even raw it was flavourful! 😀. 5 star rating from us!
I’m glad you like it!! Thanks Kathy!
Outstanding..best vegetarian meatloaf I’ve made, thank you!
Yay!! Glad you like it!
Loved this, both the texture and taste. And the glaze is the proverbial cherry on top! Yum! Easy to make too, Like you I never loved meat loaf—ground beef always tasted kind of funky to me. The only meat loaf I ever liked wqs the one that was popular in the sixties and seventies—you are probably too young to know this one. It used canned tomato soup as the glaze and had green beans cooked in the middle of the loaf. So in homage to this, served the meat loaf with green beans on the side and roasted cauliflower mash with leek gravy. And three more portions left, one for later next week and two frozen (six portions in all—for the two of us). I checked other vegan recipes besides yours, but I wasn’t sure about beans or mushrooms or oats or wlanuts—I knew I could count on you!
Oh wow! Now I want to hunt down a recipe for meatloaf with canned tomato soup and green beans and veganize that! I’m so glad you enjoyed this, and that sounds like a delicious meal!! Thanks Ellen!
I don’t usually leave comments on blogs, but seeing as I have been faithful to this recipe for the last two years now, I’d say it’s time to pay my respects to its creator.
Honestly, my standard for meatloaf is pretty high. My grandmother made an absolutely amazing load with a maple glaze when I was a kid. When I went vegan I started getting the most intense craving for meatloaf. After much searching, I stumbled upon this recipe. T’s aboslutely perfect.
I make this at least once a month, and have made it from my friends and family. It really is such a wonderful, sweet and savory dish.
One thing I did begin to do differently is making a double batch of the maple topping. When I am loading my loaf pan, half way through, I add a nice layer of sauce before topping it off with more “loaf” and then glazing the top as normal. My family is quite saucy and loves it!
Thank you for this awesome recipe. It is a family favorite that I plan on passing down to my children!
I’m so happy to hear you and your family have been enjoying this! A double batch of the sauce is a great idea. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment Alexis!!
So exciting making this!!!! I need to be apart of all your recipes! I am making this with cauliflower mashed potatoes!
Sounds like a delicious meal!! I hope you enjoy it!
Can this meatloaf be made ahead and put in the refrigerator or freezer and then be reheated when needed?
Yup! I’ve actually got one in the fridge and another stashed away in the freezer for Thanksgiving right now. :) I usually just microwave the individual slices, but you can also reheat it in the oven.
question: does the oil go into the loaf or is it used to oil the baking pan? Thank you, Angela
The 2 tablespoons called for in the recipe go into the loaf, but be sure to also oil the pan. :)
Amazingly easy and excellent tasting chickpea loaf. We absolutely love this recipe. Makes great sandwiches the next day. Thank you for this fabulous recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! We love using the leftovers for sandwiches too!
I’m cutting way back on oil. Can the oil be omitted or substituted ?
You could leave it out if you prefer. :)
We have made this before and it was delicious! It is much better the second day after firming up. I am wondering what the reheating instructions would be in the oven? I was thinking of leaving the glaze off until reheating.
Glad you enjoyed it!! You could definitely leave the glaze off until you reheat it! I’ve reheated it at 375° for 15-20 minutes. That should also be just the right amount of time for the glaze to set. :)
Is the loaf baked, cooled then frozen? Or frozen before glazed and baked?
I’ve always baked, cooled and frozen them, but I think you should be just fine to freeze it before baking too. :)
Thank you for this recipe. I made it last year for thanksgiving for my daughter without the onion and garlic because she is sensitive to it. Will be making it again this year because she asked for it. We all like it and is great in sandwiches.
I’m so glad it was a hit! My husband and I love this in sandwiches too!
I just made a half recipe and put it in two mini foil pans – 4″x6″. It was good!! I didn’t have and celery, so I left it out (and probably will next time too). I processed the carrot and onion very finely in my little Ninja and pressed it into the pan very firmly. Held together great and tasted great! I was worried about it holding together, and should not have been, but I put a tablespoonful of the chickpea liquid on top of each pan before baking. I’ll bet if you left off the glaze it would be good with a mushroom gravy or adding a little Italian seasoning and glazing it with spaghetti sauce might work too. But it’s tasty just the way it is! I’ll be making it again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I did make this with mushroom gravy once, so I can confirm that it’s delicious that way too! :)
Love, love LOVE this dish! It’s my go to. I did not like meatloaf as a carnivore, but this recipie has made it a favourite as a herbivore! I always make enough to freeze too. Thanks for keeping me and my family fed 🤗
I’m so glad you and your family are enjoying it!!
I am excited to try this recipe for Thanksgiving. Has anyone made this without the oil? Should I sub something else so it’s not dry or will it be ok without it? I’m not sure of the oil’s purpose in the recipe. Thanks!
I think it will work just fine without the oil. :) It adds moisture, but it’s not critical! Enjoy!
Can I substitute the carrot with sweet potato?
I think so, but you might want to pre-roast the sweet potato to soften it up. Sweet potatoes take a bit longer than carrots to cook and I’d be nervous that you’d end up with undercooked sweet potato in your loaf.
I made this in the afternoon today and it turned out perfectly. My mom made meatloaf every week when I was growing up and I loved it topped with ketchup. I used your sauce but I did add ketchup when it was on my plate!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank Judy!
Well, I made this almost to the T, but didn’t use liquid smoke. Turned out great! Consistency was good, I thought I might have blended it too much in the food processor, but it turned out all right. So hearty! My food processor was not big enough so I halved the recipe and did it in two batches before putting it in the pan to bake. Maybe next time I will use smoked paprika instead of the liquid smoke! This was really good, I will definitely make it again!
Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I think smoked paprika would be a great addition. :)
I have made this loaf about three times now. I use brown sugar instead of maple syrup and smoked paprika rather than the liquid smoke. We all Love this recipe. Thank you
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! Thanks so much Denise!
I made this recipe last year and my husband and I absolutely loved It! I’m not sure why some people are ending up with such a mushy outcome (over pulsing in the food processor?) but it’s unfortunate they aren’t able to enjoy this for how truly excellent it is. I’m wanting to make this again but do something different – I want to make this in a muffin tray so I essentially have meatloaf muffins. :) Any idea on how long to cook it and what temperature? I’m also wondering if I should half the recipe for one tray… Any suggestions? I remember just dying over the glaze so I’m definitely making extra this time around!!
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’d lower the temperature a bit for muffins – 350° should do it! I’m not sure about the cook time, but it will almost certainly be less. I’d start checking them at about 20 minutes. I’ve been meaning to try this as muffins myself forever, so if I have a chance I’ll definitely share my results!
I made this recipe and cooked the chickpeas myself from scratch. But it turned out a bit dry although the flavours were great – can i add a bit more water milk or liquid to make it a bit more moist???
Yup! I find chickpeas cooked from scratch are usually a bit more dry than canned. I think a couple of tablespoons of water should do it. Glad you thought it was tasty!!
I do not have a food procesor, Ca I use the blender?
It might work, but I’d recommend doing it in lots of small batches to ensure that everything gets blended up!
Thank You Alissa, The small batches , works very well and my loaf was delicious.
I’m glad to hear it!
Made this at Thanksgiving and all the vegans and non vegans loved it. Making it again for Christmas dinner with sons girlfriend. I used smoked paprika for the sauce which made a nice difference.
I’m so glad it was a hit! Thanks Kim!
Perfecto!! Muchas gracias por la receta, a toda mi familia le gustó mucho.
I’m so glad it was a hit! Thank you so much!
This was too mushy in the middle but the top crusty part with the glaze was delicious. I think it needs more cook time. I did sauté the onions, carrots and celery before mixing together. Perhaps substituting some oatmeal for the Pandora would help.
Sorry to hear that! If you try it with oats I’d grind them up in a food processor or use oat flour. They suck up more water that way.
Hi
The loaf tasted good but it did not hold together. It fell apart. I think an egg would help this recipe.
I’m sorry to hear that! All my recipes are vegan, so no eggs here. The flax should act as an egg substitute, so increasing the amount of that might help!
This recipe is just awesome. We probably make this every six weeks. Reheats wonderful and is good cold in a sandwich. This recipe and the cauliflower meat sauce and your lentil meatballs are just amazing!!
Thank you so much Wendy! I’m glad you’re enjoying it!