Smoky Southern-Style Meatless Meatloaf

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F (176˚C) and line a 9” bread pan with parchment paper or grease the pan.

Step 2

Heat a large skillet on medium heat and add the oil or the 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth if you don’t cook with oil. When the oil or broth is hot add the onions and reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir well. Add 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste, stir well, and cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Don’t let them brown. Approximately five minutes.

Step 3

Add the 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce , 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, and 1/3 cup of ketchup to the onions and stir until the ketchup dissolves. Set aside.

Step 4

Process the 15 oz of drained and rinsed (reserve the liquid) chickpeas in a food processor until creamy. Put in a large bowl.

Step 5

Process 15 oz of drained and rinsed black beans in the processor until creamy. Put in the bowl with the chickpeas.

Step 6

Pulse the remaining 15 oz of drained and rinsed black beans until lightly ground into small pieces. Put in the bowl with the chickpeas and other can of black beans.

Step 7

Process the 1 cup of rolled oats until it turns into a course flour. Add to the bowl with the beans.

Step 8

Add the 1 cup of cornmeal, 3 tbsp of liquid smoke, and add half of the 1/2 cup of aquafaba to the bowl with the beans. If the mixture is too dry once you mix everything together, add 1 tablespoon of liquid to the mixture and stir. Add more as needed.

Step 9

Add the onion mixture to the beans and gently stir the ingredients until they’re well combined. For best results, use your clean hands to mix. If the mixture feels too wet, add more cornmeal by the tablespoon until it holds together and is firm. Spoon into the bread pan and press the mixture until it's evenly distributed throughout the pan, make sure that the loaf ingredients are pushed into the corners of the pan.

Step 10

Evenly spread the 1 cup of BBQ sauce on top of the loaf and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. NOTE: If you're baking this in a convection oven, check on it at 50 minutes to see if it's done. Convection ovens cook faster than traditional ovens. Additionally, the calibration of your oven will affect the cook time. Please use a long wooden toothpick or even a chopstick to test the center of the loaf.

Step 11

Cool for fifteen to 20 minutes to allow it to set before cutting.

Step 12

Mix the cornstarch and water together and set aside.

Step 13

Put the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until fully combined and smooth. Pour into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook for twenty minutes, stir occasionally to avoid scorching the sauce.Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until fully combined and cook for five more minutes.

Step 14

Enjoy!