Vegetarian Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:
1 large red pepper
1 large green pepper
2 lbs. cremini mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup asparagus pieces
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 oz fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
2 large eggs lightly beaten
cooking spray

Topping:
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. To prepare meat loaf, cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 12 minutes or until blackened. Place in a paper bag; fold to close tightly. Let stand for 10 minutes. Peel and finely chop. Place bell peppers in a large bowl.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
4. Place about one-fourth of mushrooms in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until finely chopped. Transfer chopped mushrooms to a bowl. Repeat procedure 3 times with remaining mushrooms.
5. 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 bell peppers. Wipe pan with paper towels. Add asparagus and onion to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until just tender, stirring occasionally. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.
6. Arrange breadcrumbs in an even layer on a baking sheet; bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until golden. Add breadcrumbs and the next 8 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. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°.
7. To prepare topping, combine all topping ingredients in a small bowl; brush ketchup mixture over meat loaf. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes; cut into 6 slices.

Things I did differently:
I only used 1 lb of mushrooms.
I added some kale to the ingredients and I didn’t use asparagus
I did not do step 1 and 2, I simply sauteed peppers, onions, and kale in a pan in step 5.

The meatloaf was actually quite tasty. It could definitely pass as real meatloaf, I think. It even has a very similar taste. The only thing that was kind of weird to me was the cheese, because I’m not used to having a string of melted cheese when I pick up a fork-full of meatloaf. Overall, I think this is a winner, and it was very easy!

Recipe credit: myrecipes