The Best best BEST Vegetarian Meatloaf

The consistency is satisfyingly meaty, but the flavor is BETTER

My beef (get what I did there? BEEF?) with the vegetarian meatloaf recipes I’ve tried is the texture. It’s mushy. There’s nothing for your tongue to do but shrink in disgust. And as far as flavor goes? Meh.

That’s why I’m recommending you try this recipe, which I inflicted on my New Year’s Eve guests, and there wasn’t a piece left. We gobbled it down like a pack of starving jackals. I won’t lie—the sous chefing takes the better part of an hour if you don’t have a food processor (I don’t), but if you do, the prep is cut in half. And I promise you, the minute you’re done eating, you’ll want more.

Plus, comfort food. I’m a big believer in comfort food.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice (good quality; not the instant stuff)

• 1 ½ cups walnuts

• ½ cup cashews

• 1 large yellow onion

• 3 cloves garlic

• 3 ounces shiitake mushrooms

• 3 ounces baby bella mushrooms

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried sage

• 4 large eggs

• 1 cup cottage cheese

• 12 ounces Swiss cheese, grated

• 1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce

  For the glaze

• 3/4 cup ketchup

• 1 tablespoon Coleman’s Dry Mustard or flavorful wet mustard of your choice

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Cook the brown rice, salting the water first per package instructions.

2. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

3. On a baking sheet, toast 1 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup cashews, toasting for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

4. Finely chop 1 onion and mince 3 cloves garlic. Clean and finely chop the mushrooms and 2 tablespoons fresh parsley. After the toasted nuts have cooled, finely chop them with a knife or in a food processor, taking care not to overprocess.

5. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, between 3-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon marjoram, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon sage. Cook about 5 minutes until the mushrooms are a dark golden color. Pour into a large bowl.

6. In a small bowl, beat together 4 eggs.

7. In the large bowl, combine the onion, mushrooms, toasted nuts, parsley, 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 cup cottage cheese, 12 ounces Swiss cheese, beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 dash Worcestershire, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper.

8. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9” loaf pan, line the pan with parchment paper, and butter it again. Pour the mixture into the pan.

9. In a separate bowl, add ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir until blended.

10. Bake 45 minutes, remove meatloaf from oven and pour your ketchup/sugar glaze over the top, spreading it out to the edges. Continue baking another 15-20 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes before slicing into pieces and serving warm.

Buon appetito!

Do you have a favorite vegetarian meatloaf recipe or suggestions you’d like to share? I’m all ears! Leave your comments below.