This vegan Beyond Meat Meatloaf is reminiscent of the classic meatloaf you grew up with! It’s made in 1 bowl with 12 simple ingredients and baked with a homemade ketchup on top. Serve with Almond Milk Mashed Potatoes and Instant Pot Vegan Collard Greens for the ultimate vegan comfort food meal!
Over the last couple of years, Beyond Meat has launched several vegan-friendly meat products that are quite impressive! Their vegan sausages do well in my Crustless Vegan Quiche and you can’t go wrong with a Beyond Meat burger.
Beyond Meat isn’t something we eat often, but it makes for a great treat when you’d like to replicate the taste and texture of beef without any extra work. It’s also always a pleasant surprise to see Beyond Meat on the menu at a non vegan restaurant!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Meatloaf
- Makes for amazing leftovers! Some things are really best enjoyed as leftovers and meatloaf is one of those things if you ask me. I love making this meatloaf at the start of the week and portioning it into meal prep containers with vegan mashed potatoes for grab and go lunches.
- Tastes like the real deal. I absolutely love my healthy, gluten-free Vegan Lentil Meatloaf with Oats, but I will be the first to admit you won’t have any non vegans thinking it’s meat. THIS Beyond Meat Meatloaf on the other hand might pass as the real deal! Beyond Meat is very good at replicating the texture of meat and when baked into this vegan meatloaf, it may go undetected as plant-based.
- Perfect for the holidays or family dinner. If you like to host, serving this Beyond Meat Meatloaf is a great idea. It’s hearty, feeds a crowd, and is good enough to be the vegan main dish on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beyond meat – Beyond meat has several products on the shelves right now, but for this recipe you’ll need their Beyond Meat vegan ground beef. It can be found in either the refrigerated section, typically near the tofu and other plant-based proteins, or in the freezer section. If your Beyond beef is frozen, make sure to thaw completely in the refrigerator (about 24 hours) in advance.
- Just Egg – When recipe testing this vegan meatloaf, I used my Vegan Lentil Meatloaf with Oats as a guide and attempted to make this Beyond Meat meatloaf without an egg substitute. Unfortunately this resulted in a very dry vegan meatloaf. After some trial and error, I settled on using Just Egg. It adds enough moisture to the vegan meatloaf as well as provides structure to help it hold its shape. Use the remaining Just Egg to make Overnight Vegan French Toast Casserole or a simple Vegan egg scramble.
- Breadcrumbs – I have tested this vegan meatloaf with both Panko breadcrumbs and regular breadcrumbs and both work just fine. I have not tested this recipe using gluten-free breadcrumbs or oat flour. If you want to make a gluten free meatloaf, make my Vegan Lentil Meatloaf with Oats instead.
- Homemade ketchup – I like to make homemade ketchup for homemade vegan meatloafs because I find it to be bolder and more flavorful.
- Worcestershire – If you are vegan, make sure to buy a Worcestershire sauce that does not have anchovies. I like the brand Annie’s or the Whole Foods brand.
- liquid smoke – Optional, but great for mimicking the smokiness in ground beef. I really like the Lazy Kettle Brand.
Step by Step Instructions
- Sauté the garlic and onions. In a large skillet, sauté the garlic and onions for 3-5 minutes or until soft and fragrant. This is necessary to do before baking because the onions can’t cook through to the right texture when added raw into the vegetarian meatloaf.
- Make the meatloaf mixture. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all of the vegetarian meatloaf ingredients, except the breadcrumbs.
- Add breadcrumbs. Once combined, add in the breadcrumbs and toss to evenly distribute.
- Form the Beyond Meat meatloaf. Using clean hands, transfer the meatloaf to the parchment lined baking sheet and form it into a loaf. I like to add small sections of vegetarian meatloaf to the baking sheet, then press the sections together into a uniform loaf. Your vegan loaf should be about 8×4 inches – this does need to be perfect.
- Bake. Bake this vegetarian meatloaf for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven, top with remaining homemade ketchup and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until crispy on the edges. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Storage
This vegan meatloaf stores well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For optimal freshness, store in an airtight, glass container and wait until Beyond Meat meatloaf reaches room temperature before storing.
Beyond Meat does not recommend refreezing their vegan ground beef. If you’d like to make a vegan meatloaf that is freezer friendly, try my vegan lentil meatloaf.
Recipe FAQs
Use breadcrumbs and an egg substitute like Just Egg. Both of these things will bind the ingredients together and add structure to the vegetarian meatloaf, which will prevent it from falling apart.
Add the correct measurements of the liquids. All of these combined keep the vegan meatloaf moist and prevent it from drying out during the bake time.
Not necessary. This vegetarian meatloaf will remain moist when baked uncovered.
Tips for Best Results
- Do not bake this vegan meatloaf in a loaf pan! I tested baking this Beyond Meat meatloaf in a loaf pan a couple of times and I do not recommend it. Beyond Meat vegan ground beef is oily, and when baked in a loaf pan, this excess oil pools in the bottom of the loaf pan and makes the meatloaf soggy. Baking it shaped in a loaf on a sheet pan allows the excess oil to cook off and helps the outside of the vegan meatloaf cook through perfectly.
- Finely dice the onions. This helps them blend seamlessly in the vegan ground beef mix and not overpower any one bite.
More Beyond Meat Recipes You May Like:
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Beyond Meat Meatloaf
What You’ll Need
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet onion - finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup Just Egg
- 16 ounces Beyond Meat Ground Beef
- ¼ cup vegan Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup homemade ketchup glaze
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Homemade Ketchup Glaze
- ½ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamari
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large skillet, sauté the diced onion in 1 tablespoon oil or a splash of water at medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until soft and fragrant. Add in the minced garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and tamari to make the homemade ketchup. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the Just Egg, Beyond Meat ground beef, vegan Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup of the homemade ketchup, Italian seasoning, liquid smoke, and black pepper. Mix to combine.
- Add in the sautéed onions and garlic and mix again until evenly distributed.
- Finally add in the breadcrumbs and mix until evenly incorporated. I find this easiest to do with your hands or a silicone spatula.
- Using clean hands, transfer the meatloaf to the parchment lined baking sheet and form it into a loaf. I like to do this in small sections and then press them together into a loaf on the baking sheet. Your loaf should be about 8×4 inches.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven, top with remaining homemade ketchup and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until crispy on the edges.
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipe Notes
- Do not bake this meatloaf in a loaf pan. It will not cook correctly. Trust me, I already tried it 😉
Nutrition
Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.
Thank you for this delicious loaf. I enjoyed looking through your recipe collection, and have bookmarked a few, and now follow you now on nstagram
I made it today, and instead of the breadcrumbs, I used gluten free corn tortilla crumbs.
I apprecuate your suggestion on how to cook the loaf, as I would not have thought to do it this way.
Even though I don’t eat processed type food very often, I’m sure this will be made again.
Hi Yvonne, I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Good note on using gluten-free corn tortilla crumbs. I’m sure other readers will find that useful! I don’t eat processed food often either but it sure is a nice treat every once and a while. Happy Holidays!
Thank you Nicolette for your response to my comment. The leftovers will be eaten today – yum.
Wishing you a very joyful Christmas and best wishes for 2023.