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This mushroom-walnut Vegan Meatloaf with ketchup glaze is hearty, comforting, and full of umami flavor. Perfect for weeknights or special holidays.
After going vegan, I really missed meatloaf, but when I thought about it, it wasn't the meat that was comforting my taste buds and senses back then; it was the texture, taste, and aroma I craved. So a Vegan meatloaf was in my future.
I made this meatless loaf with mushrooms to capture that "meaty" texture, and I used most of the same veggies, herbs, and spices of the classic recipe. Oh, and the ketchup glaze is the best part-sweet, tangy, and savory all at once. It bakes up bubbly and perfectly caramelized. Total wow factor!
I love serving it with creamy vegan mashed potatoes and miso-glazed carrots for the coziest plate, or alongside a crisp vegan Caesar salad and warm dinner rolls. For extra comfort, pair it with my vegan baked mac and cheese, vegan cauliflower casserole, vegan coleslaw, sautéed green beans, or a slice of vegan cornbread.
How to make Vegan Meatloaf
It's almost the same as making a meat-based loaf, with some additional steps. I promise it'll be worth it, though. Here's what you'll need to do:
- Cook your rice and potatoes. This helps with texture, and the potatoes keep it all together. I make them the night before to make things easier.
- Prepare your flax egg and set it aside
- Sauté the onions, celery, mushrooms, and spices.
- Add the sautéed veggies, flax egg, and to a large bowl with the rice, potatoes, oats, tomato paste, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Combine well.
- Transfer to a lined loaf pan and press down firmly so it molds into the pan. Top with ketchup glaze and bake to perfection.
FAQs
Yep! You can freeze it either fully baked or just after shaping it in the loaf pan (I haven't tested it with the ketchup glaze on). No need to thaw, but it'll need 30-40 minutes extra in the oven to heat through-add the glaze halfway so it doesn't burn.
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Recipe
Vegan Meatloaf with Ketchup Glaze
Ingredients
Ketchup Glaze
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Vegan Meatloaf
- 2 ½ tablespoons ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or preferred cooking oil)
- 1 medium red onion , diced small
- 3 stalks celery , diced small
- 3-4 cloves garlic , minced
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms , finely chopped or minced (about 4 cups)
- 2 cups cooked rice (I prefer short grain)
- 1 cup cooked potatoes , mashed (measured mashed)
- ¾ cup rolled oats (gluten-free if preferred)
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs (gluten-free if preferred)
- ¾ cup walnuts , pulsed in food processor into a loose meal (or finely chopped)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
- ¾ teaspoon ground sage (optional)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoons vegan worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt + more to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper , to taste
Recommended Equipment
- 1 Standard Loaf Pan
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- Parchment Paper
Instructions
Ketchup Glaze
- To make the glaze, whisk the ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
Meatless Loaf
- Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Prepare a loaf pan by lining with parchment paper. This makes it much easier to remove after cooking. Set aside.
- Combine the water and flaxseed meal in a small bowl, and set aside for at least 10 minutes until it thickens.
- In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery and a sprinkle of salt. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, until onions are lightly golden and celery is softened.
- Add garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and sage. Sauté for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- Turn the heat to medium-high, then add the mushrooms (and a little more oil if the pan looks dry). Spread them out and let them sit mostly undisturbed for 2-3 minutes so they release their liquid and start to brown-don't stir too often. Once the liquid evaporates, give them a quick toss and keep cooking until nicely golden, about 2-3 more minutes.
- Transfer the cooked mushroom mixture to a large bowl. Add the mashed potatoes, breadcrumbs, flax eggs, rice, rolled oats, walnuts, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Combine all ingredients really well, using hands if necessary. Taste to see if it needs any more seasoning.
- Place mixture into your lined loaf pan. Press down firmly so it molds into pan. Brush the top of loaf with the ketchup glaze.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until heated through. If you would like to crisp the glaze a bit, turn the broiler on for 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn.
- Let the loaf cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Use the paper to pull it up and onto your serving dish. Let it sit for another 10 minutes before slicing it. This helps firm it up more.
Notes
Nutrition
Jodi
Cooked this tonight. Followed the recipe pretty close. I used different mushrooms and didn't have as much rice on hand as I thought, 1 C instead of 2. I added extra potato.
I gave this 5 stars because it tasted great and my husband really liked it too. He does not like bean or veggie burger or other substitute burger type recipes. We rarely eat "fake meat" and he won't eat tofu so it's hard to find entree recipes like this that taste really good and are like comfort foods. I served it with a simple salad and mashed potatoes. Big hit.
This recipe takes some prep work. There have been times when I do a lot of prep for a recipe and it fails in taste and texture. Very disappointing when that happens. This loaf we enjoyed, and my husband had 3 servings! Nice. Worth the extra effort.
Thank you for sharing. I will be mailing it again.
Melissa Huggins
This is such a nice compliment! Thank you for making it and sharing your modifications. I'm glad the extra potato worked out 🙂
Steven J. Wright
Yea Its a great recipe. I subbed coconut sugar in the glaze. 40 to 45 min seems like the ticket. Super yummy.
Melissa Huggins
So glad it worked out for you! Thank you for making it 🙂
Linda
I'm planning on making this for a vegan solstice dinner but don't have a loaf pan. What size loaf pan are use using? I'm considering using a larger deep square pan and doubling the recipe so there will be enough for big eaters but am concerned if it will cook evenly; what do you think or would you recommend sticking with loaf pans?
Melissa Huggins
Hi Linda, I use a standard size loaf pan (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5). I haven't tried this recipe with a larger pan, but I think it could work It may be hard to take it out of the pan without breaking, so you may need to cut the pieces directly in the pan and use a spatula to remove. If you double the recipe, make sure to use a very large pan for the mushrooms. You want to cook them well to release any moisture. I hope this helps. I'd love to hear how it turns out for you 🙂
CeeCee
Hi, Can I use brown rice instead of white?
Melissa Huggins
Absolutely! 🙂
TofuAnnie
I made your meat(less) loaf for my mom, who's sort of new to plant-based and it was an absolute winner, for us both! She shared tastes of it later with some of her omni friends and they loved it too! We're making it for Thanksgiving, but I'm thinking of making a double batch, so we can have some to pull out of the freezer when we're craving it and didn't plan ahead.. All of the flavors are just spot on. Thank you for your hard work!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Annie, This is wonderful to hear! I'm so glad you both liked it. We're having it for Thanksgiving too! Have a lovely holiday! 🙂
CeejfromMinneapolis
Oh.good.God! This recipe is amazing! I've always made a lentil loaf for the holidays to much eye rolling from family. Made this yesterday to see if it would fly for Thanksgiving. My husband had seconds which he NEVER does with the old lentil loaf. This mushroom-walnut loaf will proudly be served this Thanksgiving and for holidays to come! Thank you so much for saving my reputation! 🙂
Melissa Huggins
This makes me happy!Thank you for sharing such wonderful feedback. Have a wonderful holiday with your family 🙂
Bean
This is excellent. I made it for the first time yesterday, my husband really enjoyed it for dinner last night and took more in a sandwich for lunch today.
I will most certainly make it again.
I made one change, rather than saute in oil, I used a little water -
Melissa Huggins
Thank you so much - I'm so happy you guys liked it! I love it for next-day sammies too. Have a great week! 🙂
Debbie Carden
So, my church does a meal for the homeless once a month and they pick a type of food and we sign up to bring something. This month was meatloaf. I normally bring the vegan version of whatever we are doing that month but I almost didn’t sign up to do it this month because I don’t remember ever eating a meatloaf and I know I haven’t ever made one, vegan or otherwise. I decided to throw caution to the wind and looked through tons or recipes. I went with yours and I am so glad (or maybe not) that I found yours. Last night I tripled your recipe and sent it in today for our lunch. My house smelled so good I was craving it all day long. I stopped on my way home from work and bought more mushrooms (I still had everything else) and made my very own “meatlloaf” tonight. YUM!!! I don’t know what regular meatloaf tastes like but I am sure hooked on yours!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Debbie, This warms my heart! Thank you for your generosity to the homeless. And thank you for making the meatloaf and sharing your feedback. I'm glad you made one for yourself too. Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Quwwn
SO FREAKING DELICIOUS.
I used a little fresh sage form the garden and added nutritional yeast.
The glaze also looked great but I had to make my own because my roommate hates ketchup. I used the remaining tomato paste, wine, balsamic, salt, fresh garlic, maple syrup, and a little barbecue sauce.
Melissa Huggins
Yay! So happy that you liked it! The fresh sage sounds perfect! I need to start growing my own, too. I love how you modified the glaze. It sounds delicious and I must try it! Thank you for stopping by to share your feedback 🙂
Ade Adesuyi
Have you tried using portabello mushrooms? Do you think it will yield the same results.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Ade, I haven't tried this with portabello, but I think it should work. Just do a dry brushing so they don't absorb water. I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Ade Adesuyi
SO, this recipe is just amazing. This is the first time I made something like this that held together perfectly! The key was the dry brushings as Melissa explained and getting most of the water out while cooking the mushrooms. I mixed in portabello mushrooms( because I love their flavor).
Thanks Melissa!
Melissa Huggins
Oh, yay! This is so great to hear! I'm so glad the portabellos worked out well. Thank you for sharing your feedback with me 🙂
danielle
Melissa,
I made this for myself for Easter dinner as I was having dinner with those that aren't too familiar with vegan dishes. It's no fun just being able to eat the veggies or sides that are vegan friendly. I have tried to make a few vegan lentil loafs and most had no taste or fell apart. This was great the next day and I even have some for lunch today! I really loved the glaze on it. I had extra so I was able to brush that on the leftover pieces. I made extra mashed potatoes on the side. I will definitely be using this for my Thanksgiving or Christmas meal this year.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Danielle, thank you for making some of my recipes. I appreciate your feedback too. I'm happy you liked the meatless loaf. It's one of my holiday favorites. 🙂
Elaine
As a vegetarian and then a vegan, I have been searching for years for a meatloaf that tastes good. Recently I found that I needed to reduce wheat and gluten and rice. I substituted seasoned quinoa for the rice and used gluten free bread crumbs. This recipe adapted well to the changes and was totally delicious! It is well seasoned and moist and no eggs! This is a keeper! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Melissa Huggins
Hi, Elaine! Thank you for making it and sharing your feedback. I'm glad to know that the quinoa worked well. I need to try that next time. 🙂
Julie
Quick question. My hubby is allergic to walnuts. What other nut can I sub? Would pecans work? Can't wait to try.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Julie, yes, pecans would be the perfect substitute. Thank you for trying it! Have a great weekend! 🙂
Christina
I loved this "meatloaf" so much I'm making it (and your Potato Leek soup) for Thanksgiving this year. Since I'm making it ahead of time (2 days) I'm wondering how you recommend re-heating this? Thanks!
Melissa Huggins
Hi, Christina! Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear you'll be making them for Thanksgiving. If you cook the meatloaf all the way through the first time, you can reheat it at 350 F. until heated throughout. Cover it with foil this time. Cook about 30-40 minutes. You shouldn't have any problems with it drying out since it's pretty moist, to begin with. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 🙂
Tricia
This was fabulous! Topped with some thinly sliced red onions along with the ketchup glaze. Have added it to my recipe book. Thank you!!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Tricia, Yay! Thank you for making it! I'm so happy you liked it. The red onions sound delish! Have a great weekend 🙂