There’s no shortage of veggies in this Vegetarian Meatless Meatloaf! All the health benefits and fiber from peppers, mushrooms, broccoli and walnuts, paired with classic, comforting meatloaf flavors. 
Wow that weekend went by quickly. I did literally nothing productive, and everything indulgent.
I drank wine, I ate Girl Scout Cookies, I read an entire book, and caught a ton of rays. GREAT weekend overall!
Thus far, I have managed to avoid the illness circulating through my group of friends, (although that means not getting to see anyone or baby Leila for a whole week) and am hoping to keep the streak alive.
Vegetarian Meatless Meatloaf
A while ago I made salmon burgers and wrote a post about my brother in Dallas who is the world’s pickiest eater. I couldn’t help but think of him again when I was making this loaf.
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to see it! Tag me @betsylife on Facebook or Instagram and I’ll share your creations!
Try these other easy vegetarian recipes
Vegetarian Meatless Meatloaf
Ingredients
Meat loaf:
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1 large poblano pepper
- 2 pounds baby portobello mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup broccoli cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup red onion choppeed
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs toasted
- 1 cup chopped walnuts toasted
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese grated
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- Cooking spray
Topping:
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon vegetable broth
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
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Place peppers on the grate directly over the top of the gas flame or in a grill pan over high heat. Let it roast for 20-25 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to give the pepper a quarter turn every 4-5 minutes until charred all over.
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Seal charred peppers in a large ziploc bag for 15 minutes to steam the peels off. When cool enough to handle, remove the stem from each pepper and cut them in quarters. Remove the peels and seeds and dice the peppers. Place in a large bowl.
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Preheat oven to 350°.
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Pulse mushrooms in a food processor about 10 times until finely chopped.
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Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add mushrooms to pan; sauté 15 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms to peppers. Wipe pan with paper towels. broccoli and onion to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until just tender, stirring occasionally. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.
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Add breadcrumbs and the next 10 ingredients (through eggs) to mushroom mixture, stirring well. Spoon mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; press gently to pack.
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To prepare topping, combine 2 tablespoons ketchup and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; brush ketchup mixture over meat loaf.
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Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°. Allow to rest in the pan for 15 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Video
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Paul says
Looks awesome!
Is the only thing keeping this from being vegan the 2 eggs?
betsy says
and the cheese
Christine Gloeckner says
use flax eggs for eggs and nutritional yeast for cheese
Shannon says
I’ve made this a couple of times now and this recipe is delicious! A little time consuming but well work it!
betsy says
Awesome! Its one of my favorites too
Delia says
What can I use to supplement for eggs?
betsy says
Maybe a flax “egg”? I’ve never tried to make it without eggs
Nancye says
Why use eggs and cheese when there are so many Vegan options out there. Humans do not need animal byproducts to cook with! Betsy our bodies are so much better off without animal derivative products…
Did you know the Meat Industry, the Egg Industry, and the Dairy Industry are the the most cruelest Industries in the world? Please think about it and choose your foods wisely…
Flax eggs will do it
Christie says
Very tasty in its own right but i have to say that if it tastes just like your ‘other’ meatloaf then you’re making meatloaf that doesn’t taste of meat.
Chef Jen says
Yum! A tip for something to fool your brother with is mushroom burgundy stew. I made it for a few nhl players that went vegan for their gfs on Valentine’s and they jokingly said they where going to sneak out to grab burgers after. Let’s say no sneaking happened as they passed out in food coma on the couches. It’s so flavorful and the meaty mushrooms makes you think
You are eating meat 🙂
Vicki says
Holy cow! I made this today and it is absolutely delicious! It’s definitely a lot of prep work, but totally worth it! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Haley says
How many servings does this make?
Vincent says
“cut into 6 slices”. I think we can safely assume that means 6 servings, however, if you’ve got big eaters in the family(like I do), it will be more like 4 😉
betsy says
Fair enough 😉
La Dale says
What can I substitute for the nuts?
betsy says
I think you can just omit them if you have an allergy
LOLIVER says
I made this dish tonight and the flavor was very good but it doesn’t have the same texture as meatloaf. I may try adding some soy crumbles next time.
Danielle says
Any good substitute for the mushrooms?
betsy says
hmmmm that’s tough. They are pretty much the essence of the recipe. I would maybe try lentils or beans? Let me know if this works out!
Christy says
I made this for my family, and we liked it. I sauteed some garlic along with the onion. Next time I’d omit the broccoli or asparagus because I had an issue with that texture. I also added some seasonings as I went along, and needed one extra egg to hold it together. Overall, it was a good meatloaf alternative, but it’s a ton of work so I won’t be making it very often.
Monica says
This was SO GOOD. Thanks for a hearty vegetarian recipe.
I additionally added a head of broccoli to this recipe just to use it up. In the future the only thing I’d do differently is pre cook the red pepper, asparagus, onion, and mushroom all in one pan, and save like 30 minutes of my time. But it’s pretty easy to throw together and well worth it. I cut mine into 4 pieces and had lunch for the week.
Carla says
I wasn’t a fan at all. Walnuts overpowered the dish making it taste really strong of walnuts. (I didn’t even use a full cup of them either) Followed the rest of the recipe as listed. I may try it again in the future omitting the nuts.
Becky says
Can this be frozen?
betsy says
I wouldn’t recommend it. With the amount of water content in mushrooms, I would get this would become very mushy if frozen and reheated
Vanessa Williams Madinah says
Can you use Eggplant instead of Mushrooms,
betsy says
I’m not sure. I think it might be too watery to hold together, but perhaps if you salt the eggplant well before cooking to draw out some of the moisture, drain well after cooking and add additional breadcrumbs it might work