Vegetarian Meatlaof

My mom grew up on a meat and potatoes diet. Her dad had some very specific ideas about what a man should eat, none of which included a salad. Although I wasn’t raised as a strict vegetarian, Mom rarely cooked meat at home, so it’s hard for me to imagine a meat entrée three times a day with nary a fruit or vegetable to keep it company. That said Mom’s upbringing ensured that every meal we ate included a healthy portion of protein and often a starchy potato as well.

This probably explains my love affair with veggie meat. Although I’ve been a solid vegetarian for the last eight years or so, I haven’t really bothered to confine myself to vegetarian recipes. There are SO many different kinds of vegetarian meat products out there. Countless brands are making every sort of meat substitute in every size, shape, color, texture and flavor profile. Some of them even taste similar to the real thing. For these reasons, you can replace the meat in most recipes with the substitute of your choice.

I put this idea to practice last night when I made a good old-fashioned meatloaf, minus the actual meat. While perusing Foodnetwork.com for some new recipes, I came across a pretty easy meatloaf by Alton Brown, host of Good Eats with Alton Brown. Although the recipe called for ground chuck and ground sirloin, I knew I could make some adjustments and end up with something just as tasty.

Vegetarian Meatloaf
Serves 6-8

6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and broken
3 whole cloves garlic
1/2 green bell pepper
36 oz of Worthington Vegetarian Burger
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 egg
½ cup mayo

For the glaze:
1/2-cup catsup
1 tsp ground cumin
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
1 Tbls honey

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a food processor* bowl, combine croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and green pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture and vegetarian burger with the breadcrumb mixture. Add the salt, egg and mayo and combine thoroughly.

Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray.

Combine the ingredients for the glaze. Brush half of the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes.


Place back in oven and cook for an additional 35 minutes. Serve Heat up the rest of the glaze in the microwave or on the stove just until hot and serve alongside the meatloaf.

Tips: If you don’t have a food processor, you can combine the breadcrumb ingredients in a plastic baggie and crush together with a cup. You can also just finely chop the vegetable ingredients, although this will definitely take longer. Another option is processing small portions at a time in a blender. Also, the original recipe calls for a red pepper, but I rarely have these on hand and they’re a bit pricier. You can even omit the pepper altogether, but I definitely think they enhance the flavor and color of the loaf. It's also worth noting that since this dish is already dairy-free, an egg replacement could easily make this recipe entirely vegan.