Vegan Meatloaf with Tomato Glaze

I can hardly even believe how good this vegan meatloaf is!

Even before it’s cooked it’s so damn good. Don’t taste the mix before you cook it, you guys! You’ll just want to eat it just like that, and you can too, it’s all vegan and ‘pre-cooked’ so nothing bad would even happen if you did, but patience…it gets even better when cooked.

The vegan meatloaf itself is based on chickpeas. This is mixed with onion, garlic, some homemade breadcrumbs – and when I say ‘homemade’, I mean I put some sliced bread in the blender and made breadcrumbs  – some sweet chili sauce, dijon mustard, soy sauce, ground flaxseed meal, nutritional yeast, tomato paste and cayenne pepper.

You sauté the onions and garlic in some olive oil, then you mash up the chickpeas with a fork, the object being to keep it quite chunky but not too chunky, add in all the other ingredients and mix into a thick batter. Then you place it into a parchment lined loaf pan and smooth it down.

Bake it for 30 minutes covered with foil and while it’s baking you mix up a delicious tomato glaze of tomato paste, brown sugar, maple syrup, garlic powder and paprika and spread that out on top! Bake for another 15 minutes (uncovered) and voilá!

The crucial part is actually using parchment paper to line your loaf pan but not just to line it, but to actually have the parchment paper so that you can lift the entire vegan meatloaf out of the pan with the parchment paper.

This is because the meatloaf isn’t super firm when it comes out of the oven, and the glaze on top is still quite wet, so you can’t be tipping it over onto your wire cooling rack the way you would a loaf of home baked bread! So that is really crucial.

The texture is really perfect almost right away, you just need to let it cool for around 10 minutes after coming out of the oven, and then you just lift it right out with the parchment paper onto a wire cooling rack, let it cool around another 10 minutes and then serve.

This would be wonderful served with some vegan mashed potatoes or even just alongside a simple salad.

I really hope you will love this vegan meatloaf, it is:

• Hearty
• Satisfying
• Simple
• Comfort Food
• Soooo Delicious!

Leftovers are amazing! So you will love love love having leftovers of this!

This is totally divine served completely cold, it is not a requirement in the slightest that it be reheated (though you can go ahead if you want!), so this is ideal for lunches the next day.

For more delicious savory vegan goodness, check out these great options:

1. Thai Massaman Curry
2. Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
3. Tofu Satay with Peanut Sauce
4. Tofu and Eggplant Bowls
5. Vegan Lentil Soup
6. Easy Vegan Falafel

What do you think of this vegan meatloaf? Let us know in the comments! And please rate the recipe too! Thanks so much!

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Vegan Meatloaf

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★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

• Author: Loving It Vegan
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 10
• Category: Entree, Dinner, Savory
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: Vegan

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Description

Hearty and satisfying vegan meatloaf. This deliciously simple comfort food is richly flavored and glazed with a sweet and spicy tomato sauce. Wonderful served either hot or cold.

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Ingredients

For the Vegan Meatloaf:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
• 1 Small Onion (100g / finely chopped)
• 2 15oz (425g) Cans Chickpeas
• 2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal
• 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 2 Cups Vegan Breadcrumbs*
• 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

For the Tomato Glaze:

• 1/4 cup (56g) Tomato Paste
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Paprika

For Serving:

• Fresh Basil (Optional)

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Instructions

1. Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic to a frying pan with the olive oil and sauté until the onions are softened.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper so that the meatloaf can be easily lifted out. Set aside.
3. Drain the chickpeas and add to a mixing bowl. Mash with a fork until roughly mashed.
4. Add in soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, dijon mustard, flaxseed meal, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, breadcrumbs, tomato paste and cayenne pepper. Mix very well into a thick batter. Make sure everything is evenly mixed (it’s a very thick mix). Transfer this into the parchment lined loaf pan and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
6. While the meatloaf is baking, mix the tomato paste, brown sugar, maple syrup, garlic powder and paprika in a bowl and stir together.
7. When the meatloaf has baked for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and remove the foil. Spread on the tomato glaze evenly and return it to the oven, (no foil, uncovered) to bake for a further 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan by lifting the meatloaf out with the parchment paper.
9. Slice and serve with fresh basil.

Notes

*I made my own breadcrumbs by using 4 slices of wholewheat bread and breaking them up and adding to the blender and blending at slow speed until crumbs. This made around 2 cups of breadcrumbs. You can make your own as I did, or use a store-bought vegan version.

*The tomato glaze is so good that we sometimes double it and use all of it for a thicker tomato glaze topping! If you like it as much as we do, you might want to do the same.

*This recipe was recently slightly updated and improved.

*Recipe inspired by Connoisseurus Veg and Simple Vegan Blog.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Slice (of 10)
• Calories: 164
• Sugar: 7.9g
• Sodium: 504mg
• Fat: 3.9g
• Saturated Fat: 0.4g
• Carbohydrates: 25.8g
• Fiber: 5.3g
• Protein: 6.6g

Keywords: vegan meatloaf