(Almost) Classic Chickpea Vegan Meatloaf

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.

(Almost) Classic Chickpea Vegan Meatloaf

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.

 Course Entree

 Cuisine American

 Keyword chickpeas

 Prep Time 10 minutes

 Cook Time 55 minutes

 Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

 Servings 8

 Calories 254 kcal

 Author Alissa

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.

Recipe adapted from (Almost) Classic Chickpea Vegan Meatloaf

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