Vegetarian Cheese and Nut Thanksgiving Loaf

Me being in a family with multiple vegetarians, growing up, instead of having meat loaf we had nut loaf! This loaf was one of my favorite dishes growing up, and to this day it's my favorite thing to have on Thanksgiving. For anyone looking to try a new delicious vegetarian recipe, try this!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups walnuts
• 0.5 cup pecans
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried marjoram
• 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
• 12 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 0.25 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place walnuts and pecans on a baking sheet.
2. Roast nuts in the preheated oven until golden and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and chop nuts when cool enough to handle.
3. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
4. Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, parsley, marjoram, and thyme; cook until mushrooms have softened, about 7 minutes.
5. Add cooked rice, chopped nuts, Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, salt, and pepper; stir until everything is combined. Transfer mixture to the prepared loaf pan.
6. Bake in the oven until the top is rounded and golden, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.