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High Protein, Great Meat Like Texture And So Delicious
This Gluten-free Vegan Meatloaf recipe is full of meaty lightly ground garbanzo beans. Complementing it’s flavor with gluten-free vegan bread crumbs, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and sweet peppers. Plus, a zip of organic ketchup, Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, Pickapeppa Sauce and nutritional yeast. Round this up for a delectable surprise of well balanced flavor, protein and presentation. This recipe is perfect for Holiday meals and a large party of 6 to 7 servings. If your crowd is larger just double or triple the batch.
A Little History And Nutritional Facts Of Garbanzo Beans Also Known As Chickpeas
Let’s go back in time to recordings saying that chickpeas appeared in France in 6790 BCE and Turkey in 3500 BCE. Scholars are confident that the oldest variety of these little chickpeas came from Turkey and they called them desi. It is even thought to have been mentioned in the Book Of Ruth in the Bible being called “hometz”. I’m guessing to be like our modern hummus.
These little nutritional nuggets are neither bean nor peas because they are from the legume family. They grow on 18 inch tall bushy plants much like vetch. So they kind of look like a lentil plant with darker leaves. Today India produces most of the chickpeas worldwide but, they are grown in over 50 different countries.
Chickpeas are a good source of fiber, protein, carbohydrate, B vitamins and some minerals. Two of my favorite discoveries is that, one, they eliminate toxins from the blood which provides you with more oxygen. Two, they are a good source of tryptophan that converts to melatonin in the brain and helps promote sleep.
In modern day England people are coming up with a new name for these little legume nuggets. So if you want to be really cool and call the garbanzo or chickpea by it’s new British name… Wait for it! Yes! … “Chibanzo”. I think it’s pretty cool. I like it! Let’s see if it catches on.
How To Make Gluten-free Vegan Meatloaf
The only thing time consuming about this recipe is that you have to mince up the onion, carrot, sweet red pepper and garlic really small. I like to do this by hand so that it doesn’t get mushy in the food processor. Add to a medium sized skillet ( I use American made Lodge Cast Iron Skillets) with olive oil and sauté for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Set aside.
Open the cans of chickpeas and reserve about 1/4 cup of the liquid from the chickpeas. If the batch of meatloaf is too dry you may need to add some. In a food processor pulse the drained, rinsed chickpeas 3 to 5 times. It all depends on the softness of the chickpeas and how textured you want your vegan meatloaf to be. Don’t over pulse them or they will get mushy.
Put everything together in a large bowl and mix well. Add more chickpea liquid (aquafaba) to the vegan meatloaf if it does not stick together a little or add more gluten-free vegan breadcrumbs if it is too wet. It should look close to the photo below.
Add it to a parchment lined greased 9 inch loaf pan. Press it down firmly into the loaf pan using your fingers or the back of a large spoon. Cover with foil and cook at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes take off foil and top with ketchup mixture and put bake in oven for 15 more minutes. When done let sit for 15 minutes before cutting.
How To Use Gluten-free Breadcrumbs For Gluten-free Vegan Meatloaf
When I have made vegan meatloafs in the past and used regular breadcrumbs. I normally had to use more breadcrumbs in those recipes. Like you may want to use regular breadcrumbs and you will have to add 1 to 1 1/2 cups to this recipe. Although, now I only use 3/4 of a cups or more with gluten-free crumbs. I probably could have used a little less then that because I had to add more aqua faba liquid. It all depends on the brand of chickpeas and how soft they are. Checkout different types of gluten-free vegan breadcrumbs. I like Cooper’s Crumbs All Natural Gluten free Low Carb Bread Crumb Alternative. I like the Four Spice Salute for this recipe.
How To Use Pickapeppa Sauce For Gluten-free Vegan Meatloaf
I have used Pickapeppa for 20 years. I love this brand and it’s mix of Jamaican spices and flavors. Really a must try if you’ve never used it before. I like to use it in place of Worcestershire sauce in some dishes before they came out with vegan brands like Annie’s Organic Worcestershire Sauce or Edward and Sons Organic Worcestershire Sauce. As for the Pickapeppa Sauce I use 2 teaspoons with 1/3 cup of Organic Trader Joe’s Ketchup (my favorite store bought ketchup or try my Spicy Maple Syrup Ketchup and for a little twist you may like my Spicy Korean Ketchup). I mix it together for the topping of the Gluten-free Vegan meatloaf.
How To Make This Ahead Of Time, Store and Serve
This is really a fun recipe project. You can make this recipe ahead of time and store it over night in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap. Take it out about two hours before putting in the oven to be room temperature. Take plastic wrap off and cook as directed below.
When cutting the vegan meatloaf make sure it is cool enough and then use a very sharp knife to cut it with. I use Ninja Knives to cut most anything with. They are my absolute favorite. They have a self sharpening tool built into the knife holder so that you can always have sharp knives. You will need your knife very sharp for this loaf. Cut the loaf into 1 1/2 to 2 inch wide slices. Any thinner and it might crumble. Scoop the slice of vegan meatloaf with a wide spatula to transport it to a plate.
I hope you like this recipe as much as we do. Enjoy!
More Recipes You May Like:
Delicious Creamy Peas And Leeks – Dairy Free & Gluten Free
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Gluten Free Vegan Meatloaf
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Food Processor/Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Gluten-free vegan Meatloaf is full of delicious low-fat power packed chickpeas, complimented with carrots, onions, garlic and sweet red pepper. It’s all jazzed up with Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, Pickapeppa Sauce, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and organic ketchup. (Try out my Spicy Maple Syrup Ketchup recipe)Topped with a mixture of more Jamaican spiced Pickapeppa Sauce and organic ketchup. This vegan styled meatloaf has a perfect texture and full of protein. This is a perfect recipe to make ahead of time and store in the refrigerator over night to cook the next day. Makes 6 to 7 servings.
- 1 Medium skillet
- 1 Large stirring spoon
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Sharp cutting knife
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 9 inch loaf pan
- 1 1 large wide spatula
- 1 Set of measuring cups
- 1 Set of measuring spoons
Ingredients
Chopped Veggie Skillet Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, or water
- 1 sm Onion, minced small
- 1 sm Red Sweet Pepper, minced small, about 3 Tablespoons
- 2 small Carrots, minced small
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced small
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper, optional
Chickpea Mixture
- 2 cans Chickpeas, drain and reserve 1/4 cup of liquid Aqua Faba
- 3/4 cup Gluten-free Vegan Breadcrumbs, or more to make sure it is sticky to squeeze together in your hand. Not too wet. I use Cooper’s Crumb
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseeds
- 3 1/2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 2 to 3 Tbsp Sacha Inchi Powder, for extra protein and thickener (9g of protein per Tbsp)
- 2 Tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, or Soy Sauce
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/4 cup Organic Ketchup, I use Trader Joe’s
- 2 to 3 Tbsp Of Reserved liquid Aquafaba, if needed to add moisture to mixture
Topping
- 1/3 cup Organic ketchup
- 1 to 2 tsp Pickapeppa Sauce, or vegan Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Chopped Veggie Skillet Mixture
- Pre-heat oven to 375°
- Clean and mince all the onion, carrot, sweet red pepper, celery and garlic. In a medium skillet on medium heat add two tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté The vegetables for 5 minutes stirring often. Set aside off of the heat.
Chickpea Mixture
- In a food processor add the two cans of drained, rinsed chickpeas. Pulse 3 to 5 times or until the chickpeas are a desired consistency of texture. Do not over pulse. The chickpeas will get mushy. Add the chickpeas to a large bowl and add the sautéed veggies and all the rest of the ingredients. Mix together with a large spoon until you have a slightly sticky grainy mixture. Add more breadcrumbs or liquid aqua faba if needed. Add these two ingredients sparingly so as not to add too much.
- Add the vegan meatloaf mixture to the loaf pan. Press down the mixture with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Do not press so hard you squish the chickpeas. Just firmly push it down so that it sticks together.
- This is where you can store the loaf in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap if you are making it a head of time. Take it out two hours before baking to reach room temperature before putting it in the oven. Follow the next instruction.
- Cover the loaf pan with tin foil and put in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 30 minutes with foil on. Take out of oven after 30 minutes and take foil off. Top with the ketchup and Pickapeppa Sauce and put bake in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes
- Take a spatula and push it under the vegan meatloaf between the parchment and the loaf. Lift the loaf off the paper with the wide spatula and transport the loaf to a cutting surface to serve on.
- Serve hot! Enjoy!
