Vegetarian Chickpea Loaf with Indian Spices pops with East Indian flavor. Your vegetarian and vegan friends and family will love this recipe. Sized to serve either 8 for a family or 48 for a crowd.
This Vegetarian Chickpea "Meatloaf" with Indian Spices can easily be vegan.
Vegetarian Meatloaf with Chickpeas and Indian Spices
If you are vegetarian or vegan and you previously ate meat, do you miss your Mom's Meatloaf? Well, I do. Our vegans at Opequon Quaker Camp raved about this Vegetarian Chickpea Loaf. The original recipe came from Connoisseurusveg.com. I thought the recipe was good, but I found it too mushy and felt it needed more spices. So I added Italian spices when I made it in 2019 for Catoctin Quaker Camp‘s staff and counselors, and they loved it. Take a look at that recipe, Vegan Chickpea Meatloaf with Italian Spices. I wanted to make it again the next week for Opequon Quaker Camp. After consultation with several of the Opequon camp cooks, I decided to switch it up and make it with Indian spices. It was a HUGE hit. The texture is good and the flavor is amazing.
What You Need
For this recipe you need a knife, cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowls, and a food processor, as well as an oblong loaf pan. But what you really want is some terrific stemware, am I right?
Vegetarian Chickpea Loaf with Indian Spices Recipe
Vegetarian Chickpea Loaf with Indian Spices Serves 8
Ingredients
Chickpea Loaf
- 2 15.5 ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) (drained and rinsed)
- 1 pound white button mushrooms (chopped)
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
- 2 carrots (diced or chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced or about ½ teaspoon jarred minced garlic)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (make sure they are gluten free)
- 2 tablespoons gluten free flour
- 3 tablespoons Vegan gluten free Worchestershire sauce (read the label; most Worchestershire sauce has fish in it)
- 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce (gluten free)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds (or egg replacer or 2 eggs)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon tumeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon curry
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you like spicy foods)
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon garam marsala
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Topping
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ small onion (sliced)
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or more if you like)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce (gluten free)
- 2 tablespoons water (optional, to thin sauce, if necessary)
Instructions
Make the Chickpea Loaf
- Heat oven to 375F degrees.
- Spray a standard loaf pan with oil and set it aside. (See note below.)
- Mix all the ingredients for the meatloaf (not the sauce) in a large bowl until blended well.
- Working in small batches, transfer the meatloaf mixture to your food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are broken up but not smushy.
- As you complete each batch, scrape it into the loaf pan. Continue until all the chickpea mixture is processed.
- Press the mixture to compress in the loaf pan, smoothing the top.
- Bake the chickpea loaf for 40 minutes.
Prepare the sauce
- In a dry sauté pan, toast the cumin until is becomes very fragrant (5-8 minutes).
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and heat for a few seconds until hot.
- Add the sliced onion and cook about 5-7 minutes until the onion is caramelized (browned). If the mixture becomes too dry, add another tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stir to thoroughly combine, and cook the sauce down by half (maybe 10 minutes). It will be a deep brown-red color.
- Taste and adjust sauce flavoring so that it is not too vinegary. You may need to add a little more maple syrup. It should be robust but a little sweet tasting.
- When the chickpea loaf has baked 40 minutes, remove it from the oven and spread the sauce evenly on top of it. Bake another 25 minutes. Watch it to make sure the top doesn't burn. If it starts to look crusty around the edges, remove it from the oven.
Let Rest
- Remove the chickpea loaf from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Sized Up For A Crowd
Vegetarian Chickpea Loaf Serves 48
Ingredients
Chickpea Loaf
- 3 #10 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans; drained and rinsed)
- 6 pounds white button mushrooms (washed and chopped)
- 2 large onions (chopped)
- 6 stalks stalks celery (chopped)
- 8 carrots (peeled and diced)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3½ cups panko breadcrumbs (make sure they are gluten free)
- 1 cup gluten free flour
- 1 cup Vegan gluten free Worchestershire sauce (read the label; most Worchestershire sauce has fish in it)
- 1 cup tamari soy sauce (gluten free)
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup ground flax seeds (or equivalent egg replacer or 6 eggs, if you don't need vegan)
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon tumeric
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon curry
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garam marsala
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Topping
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion (sliced)
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce (gluten free)
- 2 tablespoons water (optional, to thin sauce, if necessary)
Instructions
Make the Chickpea Loaf
- Heat oven to 375F degrees.
- Spray a standard large restaurant baking pan (25.75x17.75x3.5-Inch) with oil and set it aside.
- Mix all the ingredients for the meatloaf (not the sauce) in a large bowl until blended well.
- Working in small batches, transfer the meatloaf mixture to your food processor and pulse until the chickpeas are broken up but not smushy.
- As you complete each batch, scrape it into the baking pan. Continue until all the chickpea mixture is processed.
- Press the mixture to compress in the baking pan, smoothing the top. It should be about 3-4" deep.
- Bake the chickpea loaf for 30-40 minutes.
Make the Sauce
- In a dry sauté pan, toast the cumin until is becomes very fragrant (5-8 minutes).
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and heat for a few seconds until hot.
- Add the sliced onion and cook about 5-7 minutes until the onion is caramelized. If the mixture becomes too dry, add another tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stir to thoroughly combine, and cook the sauce down by half (maybe 10 minutes). It will be a deep brown-red color.
- Taste and adjust sauce flavoring so that it is not too vinegary. You may need to add a little more maple syrup. It should be robust but a little sweet tasting.
- When the chickpea loaf has baked 40 minutes, remove it from the oven and spread the sauce evenly on top of it. Bake another 25 minutes. Watch it to make sure the top doesn't burn. If it starts to look crusty around the edges, remove it from the oven.
Let Rest Before Serving
- Remove the chickpea loaf from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nourish Your Body & Soul
I encourage you to care of yourself by eating satisfying, nourishing food that is good for your body and makes you feel healthy. Protect your spirit by living authentically, moving your body, and taking time to replenish and rest. I think you might also like these recipes & posts from Recipe Idea Shop:
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- Spicy Black Beans and Apricots
- Slow Cooker Middle Eastern Chickpea and Lentil Soup
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Vegetarian Chickpea Loaf with Indian Spices is to-die-for. SO, so flavorful.
Vegetarian Chickpea "Meatloaf" with Indian Spices. YUM!
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