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    Home » Casseroles

    Special K Loaf aka Cottage Cheese Loaf

    Published: Jan 6, 2010 Last updated: Apr 1, 2022 by Shelby Law Ruttan · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Special K Loaf, also known as Cottage Cheese Loaf, is a vegetarian meatloaf full of flavor and protein. It is a delicious recipe to serve over the holidays for the vegetarians in your life.
    Special K Loaf aka Cottage Cheese Vegetarian Loaf

    This Special K Loaf aka Cottage Cheese Loaf, is a delicious high protein vegetarian recipe popular in the world of Seventh-Day Adventists. It is a main dish recipe that is often served at church potlucks, holidays, and for dinner with guests.

    This vegetarian loaf is made with ingredients that may surprise you! You might not imagine that Special K Cereal, Cottage Cheese, and eggs could come together to replicate a meatloaf and be so delicious! However, this combination of ingredients turned out to be so delicious that the vegetarians in your life will come back for more!

    Special K Loaf on a plate with a side of sauteed zucchini
    Jump to:
    • SDA Vegetarian Loaf
    • High Protein Vegetarian Loaf
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 🔪 Instructions
    • 📖 Variations
    • 💭 Top Tips
    • 🥗 Side Dishes
    • Related Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    SDA Vegetarian Loaf

    I grew up eating this Special K Loaf. We were first introduced to the recipe when my mom joined the SDA Church. It is highly likely we had it at a church potluck one week and because Mom enjoyed the cottage cheese loaf, she asked for the recipe. We had this often in our home and to be quite honest with you, it was also one of my favorite recipes!

    This really is a great recipe. Despite the "ugliness"of the loaf before it is actually baked! It may seem like a plain jane type of recipe, but I promise you it is not! The flavor is completely there! I made this recipe for my children when they were growing up and it is one of the recipes they remember enjoying also. And, even my meat eater hubby eats this Special K Loaf recipe! That should be the biggest telling factor to its deliciousness.

    Special K Loaf aka Cottage Cheese Vegetarian Loaf

    High Protein Vegetarian Loaf

    Special K Cereal was chosen for this recipe because of its high protein content due to the fact that vegetarians are trying to keep their nutritional levels intact. This recipe has 17 grams of protein per serving. Which, for a vegetarian loaf is a good number. Cottage cheese, Special K, and eggs are all great sources of protein.

    The flavor cottage cheese loaf is surprisingly "beef" like. If you mix the ingredients as instructed, the loaf bakes up into what looks like a meaty texture. If your going for that look, bake this in a loaf pan instead of a 9x13 pan. The end result will be a thicker loaf that resembles a meatloaf even more so.

    🥘 Ingredients

    Eggs

    Cottage Cheese

    Butter

    Walnuts

    George Washington Broth Mix

    Onion

    Special K Cereal

    Half and Half

    🔪 Instructions

    Step 1:

    1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
    2. Mix together the boullion and hot water until bouillon is dissolved.
    3. Pour 5 cups Special K Cereal in a large mixing bowl. Pour the half and half, and water with boullion over top of cereal. Stir to combine. Let cereal sit and soak in liquid for 10 minutes

    Step 2

    1. Using a hand food processor, process walnuts. Remove the nuts from the processor and add onions and garlic to chop.
    2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic. Simmer until onions are translucent.

    Step 3:

    1. Add the butter, onion, and garlic mixture to the cereal mixture. Sprinkle in the chopped walnuts.
    2. Whisk the eggs and pour over top of the cereal mixture. Stir to combine well.
    3. Add cottage cheese to cereal mixture and stir to combine.

    Step 4:

    1. Pour the cottage cheese mixture into a 9x13 pan that has been coated with cooking spray.
    2. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the top of Special K Loaf is no longer wet.
    3. Remove from the oven, let cool 15 minutes before serving.

    📖 Variations

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from affiliate links.

    • Use Wheaties or Grape-Nuts in place of Special K.
    • Boost the protein a little more and use the higher Protein Special K Cereal.
    • Substitute chopped pecans, cashews, or almonds in place of the walnuts.
    • Stir in 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
    • Cashew milk makes a good substitute. It adds a creamy richness that is similar to half and half or evaporated milk.
    • I prefer a concentrated bouillon. It is easy to mix with hot water and easy to find in the store or on Amazon.
    • Use the traditional chicken-style instant broth or this rich brown seasoning and broth used in the original recipe.
    walnuts in nut chopper

    Serving Suggestions

    • Easy Homemade Gravy Recipe works great for that comfort food feel. Just be sure to use a vegetarian based broth if you want to keep it vegetarian.
    • Make this Homemade BBQ Sauce. Just warm it up a little before topping the cooked Special K Loaf.
    • Warm up some of your favorite marinara sauce and spoon some over top of the loaf prior to serving.
    cottage cheese loaf

    💭 Top Tips

    Like many of the other recipe cards from our family files, there are no directions. Apparently everyone just “knew” how to transform the ingredients into a delicious dish! However, since there are some people without that knack, I've come up with some tips to help you succeed in making this cottage cheese loaf recipe!

    • Always add the liquid to the cereal first. Then begin the other preparations.
    • Small curd cottage cheese works best. Large curd can be used, but for aesthetics, I prefer small curd. I don't like seeing big hunks of cottage cheese in my finished loaf!
    • Dice those onions and garlic up fine. Dicing them up really fine helps bring out more flavor.
    • Use a hand nut chopper to quickly chop the nuts you will use in this recipe. I love this nut chopper the best. I will also use it for my onions and garlic!
    • If using a loaf pan instead of 9x13, you will need to increase your baking time by 15 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on the loaf. It will be considered done when it is no longer let on top.
    cottage cheese vegetarian loaf

    🥗 Side Dishes

    When it comes to sides for this recipe, you can serve up traditional recipes that you would serve with meatloaf.

    Mashed potatoes are always a great choice when eating meatloaf. If you want to cut the carbs some, serve this recipe for Garlic Mashed Cauliflower. We love the slight sweetness Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple Browned Butter is another mashed vegetable you could serve in place of potatoes. to the squash.

    If your into the squash as a side, this sweet and spicy Roasted Delicata Squash is another great recipe to serve. Or, A garden salad topped with Thousand Island Salad Dressing compliments the flavors in this vegetarian recipe.

    Related Recipes

    • Vegetarian Patties with Marinara Sauce
    • Mom's Homemade Vegetarian Meatballs
    • Cookie Butter Caramel Swirled Brownies
    • Spiced Pumpkin Bread
    • Vegetarian Meatloaf -Easy and Delicious

    Don't forget to check out my Amazon storefront for some of my favorite products!

    When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!

    If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating

    📖 Recipe

    Special K Loaf aka Cottage Cheese Vegetarian Loaf

    Special K Loaf

    Shelby Law Ruttan
    Special K Loaf, also known as Cottage Cheese Loaf, is a vegetarian meatloaf full of flavor and protein. It is a delicious recipe to serve over the holidays for the vegetarians in your life.
    4.17 from 31 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Go to Collections
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 40 mins
    Total Time 55 mins
    Course Dinner
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8
    Calories 380 kcal

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Ingredients
      

    • ½ cup butter
    • ½ cup onion diced
    • 3 garlic cloves minced
    • 5 cups Special K Cereal
    • ½ cup half and half
    • 1 cup hot water
    • 2 beef-flavored bouillon
    • 4 large eggs
    • 2 cups cottage cheese small curd preferred
    • ¾ cup finely chopped walnuts

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
    • Mix together the boullion and hot water until bouillon is dissolved.
    • Pour 5 cups Special K Cereal in a large mixing bowl. Pour the half and half, and water with boullion over top of cereal. Stir to combine. Let cereal sit and soak in liquid while you move on to step 4.
    • Using a hand food processor, process walnuts. Then process onions and garlic.
    • Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic. Simmer until onions are translucent.
    • Add butter, onion, and garlic to cereal mixture. Sprinkle in chopped walnuts.
    • Whisk eggs and pour over top of cereal mixture. Stir to combine well.
    • Add cottage cheese to cereal mixture and stir to combine.
    • Pour into a 9x13 pan that has been coated with cooking spray.
    • Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Until top of Special K Loaf is no longer wet.
    • Remove from oven, let cool about 15 minutes, then serve.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 380kcalCarbohydrates: 21.02gProtein: 17.16gFat: 25.59gSaturated Fat: 11.298gCholesterol: 160mgSodium: 992mgFiber: 0.9gSugar: 5.21g
    Keyword Cottage Cheese Loaf, Cottage Cheese Vegetarian Loaf, Special K Loaf
    Tried this recipe?Mention @grumpyshoneybunch or tag #grumpyshoneybunch!

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    About Shelby Law Ruttan

    Shelby is the author/owner of Grumpy's Honeybunch. Established in 2007, she shares and preserves family recipes as well as recipes for cooking light and keto. She has authored the One-Pot Paleo Cookbook and The Pescatarian Keto Cookbook. She is an experienced, self-taught home cook who loves to share recipes with others. She also authors the websites Honeybunch Hunts and The Best Vegetarian Recipes. You can see her work on websites such as Veal Made Easy, Parade, Community Table, SoFab Food, Yummly, and FoodGawker.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Marsharee Wilkens

      December 18, 2022 at 10:00 am

      How do I make this ahead and freeze it? Do I mix ingredients and freeze that or do I bake it first then freeze that? Making for Christmas but have to cook a week early because a daughter is getting married this week and I have to focus on that.

      Reply
      • Shelby Law Ruttan

        December 18, 2022 at 2:21 pm

        Hi Marsharee, you can make it and then freeze it in an airtight container. Then reheat thawed loaf in a 300 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. My mom used to wrap it in foil to trap the heat, you can do that or cover the pan with foil. Congrats on the wedding!

        Reply
    2. Ashley

      January 10, 2022 at 4:27 pm

      What are your thoughts on substituting Rice Chex for Special K cereal? My local grocery store's have completely sold out of the special K original due to the ongoing shortage. I've compared ingredients of the two cereals and both seem pretty similar. The major difference is in the texture of the cereal....but maybe it'll work out once all the recipe ingredients are combined.

      Reply
      • Shelby Law Ruttan

        January 11, 2022 at 9:44 am

        Hi Ashley, I have substituted with wheaties and cornflakes before and assume Rice Chex would work as well. Shelby

        Reply
      • Linda

        November 24, 2022 at 2:10 pm

        5 stars
        I used Total cereal and it was wonderful!

        Reply
    3. Linda

      September 26, 2021 at 12:05 am

      5 stars
      I've ever tried this combo but this sounds so interesting and fun!

      Reply
      • Shelby Law Ruttan

        September 26, 2021 at 6:37 am

        Thanks Linda, I know it might seem odd, but boy is it delicious! Hope you try it! Shelby

        Reply
    4. Shannon Christensen

      April 01, 2021 at 11:16 pm

      I am SDA and my mom has the same handwriting and hand written recipe card too! Made me laugh. Going to make this for Easter

      Reply
      • Shelby Law Ruttan

        April 02, 2021 at 6:03 am

        Hi Shannon, thanks for stopping by! I loved this loaf and mom made it often. Have a great Easter! Shelby

        Reply
    5. Ashley

      January 17, 2021 at 11:28 pm

      I was raised SDA and my mom is not the greatest cook but she makes a cottage cheese, nut, special K loaf that is amazing!

      Reply
      • Shelby Law Ruttan

        January 18, 2021 at 12:29 pm

        Hi Ashley, thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it so much. I hope you try this recipe, we absolutely love it! Shelby

        Reply
    6. Grace

      August 29, 2020 at 7:36 pm

      I made it with the recipe on index card photo. It was like thick soup going into the oven. I'm still trying to get it to set up 2 hours later. I'm going to give it another 30 minutes. If it doesn't set up, we're just having sides for dinner. I'm sad. 🙁

      Reply
      • Shelby Law Ruttan

        August 31, 2020 at 5:47 am

        Hi Grace, the recipe on the index card photo did not have instructions on how to assemble the loaf, it is basically a part of the post to show my mother's hand written card, not to follow as a recipe. Did you read the recipe card at the bottom of the post? There are detailed instructions on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Shelby

        Reply
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    Welcome! I'm Shelby Law Ruttan, I'm a mom, grandmother, and cookbook author for HoneyB's Kitchen who started blogging family recipes in 2007 for.... 

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