Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Alternatively, lightly grease the loaf pan to ensure the meatloaf won't stick.
Prepare the homemade ketchup glaze. Whisk together the tomato paste, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and tamari until smooth. Set aside.
½ cup tomato paste, ¼ cup maple syrup, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons tamari
In a large mixing bowl, mash together the lentils and chickpeas using either a fork, potato masher or process together in a food processor and transfer back to the mixing bowl (my preferred method). Make sure there is some remaining texture and the lentils and chickpeas are not over processed (see photos in post for reference).
2 cups green lentils, 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas
Add the oat flour, vegan Worcestershire, ½ cup of the homemade ketchup glaze, parsley, liquid smoke, Old Bay seasoning and black pepper and mix to combine.
1 ⅓ cups oat flour, ½ cup vegan Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup homemade ketchup glaze, 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, 1 ½ teaspoons liquid smoke, 1 ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
In a large skillet, sauté the diced onion, minced garlic and diced carrot in a tablespoon of oil (or broth if oil free) until soft and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes.
1 sweet onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1 cup carrots
Once soft, add the onion, garlic and carrots into the meatloaf mixture and mix to combine.
Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the parchment lined loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes on middle oven rack.
After 30 minutes, remove the loaf, top with the remaining ketchup glaze, then bake for additional 15 minutes.
Let cool for a minimum of 15 minutes in the loaf pan before serving.
Storage:
This loaf makes for excellent leftovers. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
Make sure to use cool lentils and chickpeas or they will over process easily into a paste.
If you use a food processor to dice the onion and/or carrot, it will release a lot more of the moisture in these foods compared to dicing with a knife. This will yield a more moist loaf and may require a 10-15 minute longer bake time.
How to make oat flour: Blitz rolled oats in a food processor until a fine texture is achieved - not a powder, but not large chunks either. If using a blender, pulse until correct texture is achieved. Avoid blending into a super fine powder - that makes for a drier meatloaf.
If you would like to substitute the oat flour with breadcrumbs, use 2 cups breadcrumbs.