Comfort food at its finest Meatless Meatloaf
Comfort food. I love it. I would take “comfort food” over “gourmet” food 90% of the time. I’d have to say one of my favorite comfort food meals is meatloaf and mashed potatoes. What’s yours?
When I ditched the meat and dairy for a plant-based lifestyle, I thought I would never be able to enjoy this comfort food again. I couldn’t have been more wrong. And the truth is…I think this tastes better than my original meatloaf – and not to brag, but my original meatloaf was the bomb. No joke.
How is that possible, you may ask? With just some simple substitutions, you can make a meatless loaf that carnivores and herbivores alike will be drooling over. Just like meatloaf, you can serve it open faced on some delicious bread with my mushroom gravy or whip up a batch of mashed potatoes with vegan butter, vegan sour cream, almond milk, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Oh yeah. Don’t forget the huge helping side of your favorite steamed, grilled, or roasted veggies! Add a nice chopped salad with my favorite Italian dressing and you have a meal fit for a king (or queen!)
Here is my favorite meatless meatloaf recipe that I’d put up against my favorite comfort food (vegan) diner – the Chicago Diner. I LOVE the Chicago Diner and this meal could easily showcase on their menu! That’s a big and bold statement…well, taste this and you’ll see this has a big and bold flavor!
As with any recipe, you can add your own flare – don’t be afraid to add some jalapeno pepper or crushed red pepper flakes; or some vegan cheese; or salsa to create another meatless loaf experience. Or just make it ‘plain’.
Leave me some comments to tell me how you made yours!
Meatless Meatloaf Recipe:
Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: Approx. 1 hour
Makes: 4 – 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 TBSP ground flax seed mixed with 2 ½ TBSP hot water
- 1 package (12 – 14 oz) of Meatless Farm, Co. ground “beef” (or other plant-based ground ‘meat’)
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ¼ cup chopped green pepper
- ½ cup almond milk (or dairy-free milk of your choice)
- ½ cup dried breadcrumbs (I use Longeve brand’s plant-based breadless crumbs)
- 1 TBSP vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or 1/8 tsp garlic powder)
- ¼ tsp dried sage leaves (or 1 tsp. chopped fresh)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground mustard (dry)
- ½ tsp all-seasoning salt
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Directions:
- Heat the oven to 350 deg. F.
- Mix the flax seed and hot water in a small bowl and set aside. Mix it well – it will start to thicken when it sits for about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients and add the flax seed/water mixture last – don’t over-mix (you don’t want a ‘mushloaf’) but be sure the seasonings are dispersed.
- Spread the mixture in an ungreased loaf pan that is approximately 9 x 5 x 3 inches.
- Bake for 1 hour; can bake up to 10 minutes longer if desired.
- Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes before slicing (I slice directly in the pan if using a glass pan; otherwise, flip the loaf out of the pan onto a cutting board and slice.
