Cheesy Oozing Vegan Meatloaf
Introducing a mouthwatering vegan oozing cheesy meatloaf. 100% plant based, this meatless loaf is the ultimate comfort food that you’ll love.
This is the kind of meatloaf I grew up with, me and my family always loved the creamy oozing cheese that you get when cutting it.
I still cannot believe I made an amazing plant based version of it, I’m sure you are going to fall in love with it too!
I know it can be sometimes hard to hold off the cravings for foods we used to love before going vegan, especially during the transition. As I try to eat healthy and mostly whole food plant based I think that treats and cheat days must occur every now and then, and allow ourselves to indulge into some palate rewarding good old vegan comfort food.
This meatless loaf is:
- hearty
- comforting
- cheesy
- juicy
- easy
- delicious
- filling
- mouthwatering
- perfect for any occasion!
There’s one question I get asked pretty often (I’m sure you all do and can relate!) when talking with non vegans, and that is “why you vegans still eat meat resembling dishes?”.
My answer to that is more or less the following: because we are vegan to save the animals, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we never liked the taste of meat. So, if we can still enjoy the taste without causing any harm why shouldn’t we?
And the fact that dishes like this can come really handy for those times to me it’s a win-win!
How to make this Cheesy Oozing Vegan Meatloaf
Comfort food is comfort food, and for me that means that you should not be spending ages to make it.
This is why for this vegan meatloaf I decided to cut out the chopping and the sautéeing and use store bought vegan burger patties. They are already flavoured and sticky enough to be shaped into a pretty good loaf that holds its form without putting it into a bread loaf mould.
You are absolutely free to use whatever burger patty you like or have easy access to. For those interested I’ve used Tesco Plant Chef’s that I find very good in taste and also pretty affordable too.
I’ve used 6 plant based patties in total, that yield roughly 6 portions (can be more or less, depending on the serving size you’d like to have).
Along with the burgers we are going to need:
- a vegan cheese sauce – completely homemade. This will result in an irresistible cheesy and stretchy sauce that will ooze out the freshly baked loaf when cut. Awesome stuff guys.
- a bag of spinach – preferably fresh, if you can find spinach with big leaves even better. If you can’t frozen spinach will work as well.
- bread crumbs – to coat the loaf with and give a good crunch to it. I actually have used ground vegan corn flakes (make sure they do not contain any honey or an animal sourced vitamin D) to make it 100% gluten free as my vegan patties already are.
These are the not-so-secret ingredients to give birth to this gorgeous piece of vegan meat, let’s now see what steps are required.
STEP ONE
The cheese sauce. Making this stretchy and melty sauce cannot be easier my friends. All you need to do is combine all the ingredients to a pirex bowl, give them a thorough blend and cook in the microwave for a couple of minutes. DONE!
STEP TWO
The spinach. As well as the previous step, even this one is dead easy. What we have to do is to wilting the spinach for a few minutes in the microwave to make them easier to work with in the next step.
STEP THREE
The spinach and cheese insert. Now we are going to create an insert that will go in the center of our vegan meatloaf. To do so simply cut a piece of clinging film and arrange it on the table or your working surface. Create a layer of wilted spinach making sure to overlap the leaves. This will create a sort of a barrier that will keep our cheese sauce inside. Add a layer of cheese sauce in the center of the spinach one.
Carefully wrap the spinach layer around the cheese sauce with the help of the film, seal the edges and gently roll it on the table to create a sausage. Place in the freezer to firm up for at least half an hour (you can do this step the day before of a few hours prior baking the loaf if you like – the important thing is that the insert firms up before placing it into the loaf to achieve the desired outcome).
STEP FOUR
Assembling the loaf. Place the burger patties on another film sheet or baking paper. Flat them until they are 4-5 mm thick and all stuck together.
Take the spinach and cheese insert from the freezer and place it in the middle of the burger layer.
Gently wrap the burger patties around the insert, making sure to fill all the holes (use a bit of water to wet your hands to work the paste easily).
Coat the loaf with crumbs (bread or corn flakes). If the loaf seems too soft to work with, wrap it in film and place in the freezer for a few moments before coating it with bread crumbs.
STEP FIVE
Baking the loaf. Preheat the oven at 200°C (390°F) and bake the meatfree loaf for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and firm.
Serve it straight away with your favourite choice of veggies or sides.
I served mine with simple roasted potatoes and steamed carrots. If you’d like some ideas to serve this loaf with check this Potato and Courgette Bake, this Italian Style Potato Salad, this refreshing Russian Salad or this Light Coleslaw Salad.
If you’re looking for other “meaty” inspiration, here are a few recipes that I’d recommend:
– Seitan Legs with Crispy Skin
– Lentil Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Perfect for Spaghetti!)
– Vegan Braciole
– Quinoa and Mushroom Burgers
– Gluten Free Homemade Sausages
– Tofu Ribs with Homemade Spicy BBQ Sauce
– Easy Vegan Burgers (made out of Seitan and TVP)
– Easy Tofu Parmesan
– Marinated Tofu Puff Skewers
– Black Bean Meatballs with Cranberry
– Best Vegan Beef Stroganoff
– Air Fried Oyster Mushrooms
– Ultimate Vegan Freekeh Burgers
– Mushroom Souvlaki
– Italian Style Vegan Sausages
– Juicy Homemade Vegan Wellington
If you make this recipe don’t forget to leave me a comment on the section below or tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@avegtastefromatoz or #aVegTasteFromAtoZ ).
Do you want to make this recipe another time? PIN it for later!
Cheesy Oozing Vegan Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients:
6 Vegan Burger Patties
100 g Fresh Spinach
3 tbsp Bread Crumbs (or Corn Flakes for a GF version)
…for the cheese sauce…
180 Soy Milk
20 Tapioca
15 g Coconut Oil
1/2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 pinch Sea Salt
Method:
1. Make the cheese sauce simply combining all the ingredients to a pirex bowl, give them a thorough blend and cook in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
2. Wilt the spinach for 2 minutes in the microwave.
3. For the spinach and cheese insert simply cut a piece of clinging film and arrange it on the table or your working surface. Create a layer of wilted spinach making sure to overlap the leaves. Add a layer of cheese sauce in the center of the spinach one. Carefully wrap the spinach layer around the cheese sauce with the help of the film, seal the edges and gently roll it on the table to create a sausage. Place in the freezer to firm up for at least half an hour.
4. Place the burger patties on another film sheet or baking paper. Flat them until they are 4-5 mm thick and all stuck together. Take the spinach and cheese insert from the freezer and place it in the middle of the burger layer.
5. Gently wrap the burger patties around the insert, making sure to fill all the holes (use a bit of water to wet your hands to work the paste easily). Chill the loaf in the freezer for a few minutes if it’s too soft.
6. Coat the loaf with bread crumbs to add a bit of a crunch.
7. Preheat the oven at 200°C (390°F) and bake the meat-free loaf for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and firm.
8. Serve it straight away with your favourite choice of veggies or sides.
