Dairy Free and Egg Free Meatloaf

I love meatloaf. It’s comforting and makes me happy. There’s just something about it… Now that we are dairy and egg free, I’ve been toying around with different recipes. All of my attempts have been pretty good, but without the real eggs, my meatloaf kept falling apart- even with the egg substitutes. However, I think I finally have just the right recipe.

A quick tip: Make two meatloaves. Freeze one and bake the other for dinner that night. You’re already doing the work- why not just do it twice and save yourself time in the future?

Here’s my latest and greatest meatloaf recipe:

Ingredients:
For Meatloaf:

• 2 lbs ground chuck
• 3 “flax eggs”
• 1/3 c finely chopped veggies (I used carrots. In the past I’ve used green peppers and carrots and even zucchini.)
• 1/2 c finely chopped onion (Another quick tip- chop an entire onion and put whatever onion you don’t use in a freezer safe baggie and freeze to throw in future recipes.)
• 1 c Panko breadcrumbs (Hy-Vee brand is safe for us.)
• 2/3 c ketchup (We use Simply Heinz.)
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

For Glaze:

• Ketchup
• Brown Sugar

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare flax eggs first. In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp milled flax seed and and 3 Tbsp of warm water PER EGG. So, 3 Tbsp flax seed and 9 Tbsp warm water. Stir well and let sit until it reaches an egg white consistency. (5-10 minutes)
2. While the egg is gelling, combine everything else (except glaze stuff) in a big bowl. Add the flax eggs. Get your hands in there and mix well.
3. If you’re baking it right away, plop it into a loaf pan and pop in the oven.
(I kind of messed up here because I forgot to write down the exact time it took to bake- I think it was an hour and a half. Check after an hour with a meat thermometer and go from there. Sorry about that!) Once the meatloaf is almost ready, dump some ketchup and a little bit of brown sugar in a bowl. Mix well. Spread on the top of the meatloaf. Put the meatloaf back in for 10 minutes to let the glaze do it’s “thang.”

If you’re freezing the meatloaf, spread the meat blob on plastic wrap. Shape into a loaf. I wrap my meatloaf twice in plastic wrap and once in foil. On the foil, use a Sharpie to label and date your meatloaf. Freeze. Allow 24 hours to defrost in the fridge. Bake as directed above in a loaf pan.

Living dairy and egg free can be a challenge, but it can be done. And it can be done well. Happy eating, my friend.