Name: Mediterranean Chickpea Meatloaf (V + GF)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, diced; 4 medium garlic cloves, minced; 1 cup diced red bell pepper; 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (drained before measuring), finely chopped; 3 tablespoons pitted Kalamata olives, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 2 teaspoons dried basil; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 1 teaspoon dried rosemary; 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional); 3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 14-oz cans, drained and rinsed); 1 cup roasted almonds*; 1 cup oat flour; 3 tablespoons ground flax; 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1/3 cup pizza sauce; 1/3 cup raw walnut halves; 1/4 cup hulled hemp seeds (hemp hearts); 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast; 2-4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (to taste); 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 2 medium garlic cloves, minced; 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 2 packed cups fresh parsley (some stems are okay); 1-2 tablespoons water, if desired, to thin

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This Mediterranean chickpea meatloaf is a vegan, gluten-free main dish that everyone will love. Top it with pesto and serve with steamed greens and roasted potato wedges for a phenomenal feast.

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a nice weekend. I am particularly excited to share this recipe with you today: a Mediterranean chickpea meatloaf that is vegan, gluten-free, and positively bursting with flavour and texture. This vegan meatloaf really blew me away. I hope you love it, too!

One of the first real vegan recipes that I tried was the lentil loaf from Oh She Glows, way back in 2013. One of my university friends, who was then vegan, was living far away from home, so I invited her over to our house for Thanksgiving. I remember Googling “vegan Thanksgiving recipes” and clicking on this post. It was my first introduction to Oh She Glows, and anyone who knows me knows that Angela Liddon has been a huge inspiration in my food blogging journey! That lentil loaf is my go-to for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it gave me an idea to create a Mediterranean chickpea variation to share with you all!

It goes without saying that I love to create Mediterranean-inspired recipes, such as these Mediterranean Lentil Veggie Wraps and this Roasted Broccoli, Chickpea, and Brown Rice Salad. But I’m most excited about this meatloaf. It’s actually quite easy to make, (albeit a bit time consuming), and I love pairing it my hemp, walnut, and parsley pesto, crispy oven fries, and steamed broccoli or kale for the perfect vegan Sunday dinner. 🙂 (Leftovers also make a mean meatloaf sandwich the next day.)

mediterranean chickpea meatloaf ingredients

FOR THE VEGAN MEATLOAF: Extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, sea salt, pepper, dried basil, oregano, and rosemary, chili flakes or cayenne, chickpeas, almonds, ground flax, oat flour, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and pizza sauce (for spreading on top of the loaf prior to baking).
FOR THE PARSLEY HEMP WALNUT PESTO: Walnuts, hemp, parsley, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, sea salt, pepper, and water.

how to make vegan chickpea meatloaf from scratch

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Make sure that there is enough overhang so that you can easily lift it out afterwards.
Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a small pinch of sea salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent. Add the red pepper and cook until softened. Mix in the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, rosemary, and chili flakes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Place the chickpeas in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Pulse until they are broken up and crumbly, but stop before a paste forms. Transfer the ground chickpeas into a large bowl.
Place the roasted almonds in the food processor and process until a coarse meal forms, about 15 seconds. Transfer into the same bowl as the chickpeas.
Add the sautéed vegetables to the bowl containing the chickpeas and almond meal. Add the ground flax, oat flour, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir well to combine. The mixture should hold together, with a texture similar to a chickpea veggie burger.
Press the mixture very firmly into the prepared loaf pan. Spread the pizza sauce over top. Note: The pizza sauce sometimes starts to burn around the edges towards the end of baking. If this happens, simply spread a bit more pizza sauce over top at around the 45 minute mark.
Bake for 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Lift out of the pan and let it cool for another thirty minutes before slicing. If you slice it too soon, it may crumble, but it holds together perfectly once fully cooled.
Serve with Parsley, Hemp, and Walnut Pesto (directions follow), or your favourite store-bough vegan pesto.
To make the pesto: Place the walnuts in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Process for a few seconds, until a meal forms. Add the hemp, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley. Process until ultra smooth and creamy, adding a tablespoon or two of water to thin out, if desired. Transfer into an airtight jar or container and enjoy. Leftover pesto can be stored in the fridge for several days- it’s great on pasta, sandwiches, bowls, and swirled into soups and stews, plus it’s packed with brain-boosting omega 3s!

a few tips

It is very important to follow the recipe as written for best results. This is the case for all recipes, and especially important for a vegan meatloaf.
Do not over-process the chickpeas, as you could end up with a pasty, mushy meatloaf.
To make this recipe nut-free, you can substitute ¾ cup of roasted sunflower seeds instead of the almonds.
I use this cast iron loaf pan; I’ve had it for years and years. It’s durable, and doesn’t have any nasty non-stick chemical coating. I also like Pyrex glass loaf pans.
Remember that the loaf needs to sit for a total of 40 minutes after it comes out of the oven for optimal results. I often make it early in the afternoon, slice it, and then reheat a few slices for 15 minutes at 350 F right before dinner time.

I hope that you love this Mediterranean Chickpea Meatloaf! It’s certainly one of my favourites of 2021 so far. If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made. 🙂

Enjoy!