Vegan Meatloaf Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is vegan meatloaf made of? ›

The base for this loaf is cooked sweet potatoes, mushrooms, lentils, nuts (we went for walnuts and pecans), and fresh thyme. Tomato paste adds moisture and hearty flavor, coconut aminos or Worcestershire add that “umami” effect, and salt and pepper help round everything out.

In meatloaf, this is most commonly the eggs and breadcrumbs. Your binding ingredient is only second to the meat itself in your recipe and the reason why meatloaf crumbles. When this happens, it's because you didn't use enough. Next time, try adding in an extra egg and/or some more breadcrumbs.

Ingredients used

In a large bowl add Impossible Beef, panko bread crumbs, milk, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, liquid smoke, vegetable mixture, and mix for 1 minute until spices and vegetables are well combined.

This meatloaf can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container, or tightly wrapped in aluminum foil. Make sure it's completely cooled first. You can also freeze it, and it will keep for around 3-4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating and serving.

Some manufacturers will use what you might call an “umami bomb” to give plant-based applications the hearty, meaty taste consumers want from traditional meat. However, they're just adding a high level of non-declarable MSG source to the product to give it more intense flavour, versus an authentic taste experience.

The only issue is that regular Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies or fish sauce, so it's not vegan. And while you can buy ready made vegan Worcestershire sauce, it's not necessarily all that widely available across the world.

Onions, garlic and celery do pose one problem though: they don't cook down easily. Little bits of crunchy onion or celery or potent, hot garlic will spoil the comforting aspect of eating meatloaf.

Fat Is Your Friend

This is the reason most cooks choose ground chuck since it has this ideal proportion of fat to meat. During cooking, the fat will liquefy, making the meatloaf moist.

While Impossible's proprietary plant-based heme is 100 percent free from animal-derived ingredients, it was tested on animals – at least once – in order to gain full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to be “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS.

What makes impossible meat taste like real meat? ›

The key ingredient — and the answer to many of your Impossible Burger questions — is heme. According to the company, heme is what makes the burger taste like meat, helps it stay juicy, and makes it look a bit red or pink in the center (26).

This meatloaf is made by simply mixing together ground pork, eggs, woodear mushroom, bean thread noodles, aromatics, and a few staple seasonings. Steam until firm then brushed with egg yolks for the signature yellow top. Steam once more to set the top. Slice into individual portions and enjoy.

Roughly mashed, chickpeas can stand in for poultry in your favorite sandwich salads. Blended with breadcrumbs, they can be turned into mouth watering burgers and kid-friendly nuggets. You can also just add them whole to recipes for soups and curries.

If you don't think you will eat your meatloaf within 3-4 days, consider freezing it for prolonged storage. You can freeze meatloaf for several months without it spoiling.

Nitrates are natural chemicals that bind proteins in the meat to prevent them from releasing oxygen molecules during cooking. Due to this, the meat's proteins still contain oxygen which can cause it to retain a pink color inside, even when it is fully cooked.

The plant-based burgers and sausages found on supermarket shelves are made by extracting the protein from plant foods, often pea, soy, wheat protein, and mushrooms. But a myriad of additives are needed to make these products look and taste like traditional meat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice (or other leftover whole grain), lentils, oats, mushrooms, onion, carrot, pepper, walnuts, tomato paste, olives, parsley, soy sauce, mustard, thyme, marjoram, and sage. Mix well. Lightly oil an 8" x 4" loaf pan.

The most common recipe nowadays consists of ground beef, carrots, sausages, boiled eggs and breadcrumbs, cooked in the oven and normally served with a side-dish of mashed potatoes or rice.