Why do I love meatloaf? It reminds me of being a kid. Where does one get meatloaf other than at home or at a school cafeteria? When I lived in San Francisco I bought meatloaf already mixed and seasoned from my local butcher. Just mixed in an egg, put it in a loaf pan, and popped it in the oven for an hour. These days I wait for my father to whip up a batch. He makes the Best. Meatloaf. Ever. His trick? Italian pork sausage (half sweet, half spicy). He once substituted this sausage for regular ground pork and never looked back.
Classic Meatloaf Recipe
Many meatloaf recipes call for ground veal or pork in addition to ground beef. You might want to experiment with a third each of beef, pork, and veal. If you don't have access to spicy ground pork or Italian sausage, add a pinch of fennel seeds and a half teaspoon of hot sauce to regular ground pork.
Preparation time: 20 minutes to prep, 1 hour to cook.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of finely chopped onion
- 1 celery rib, chopped fine
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 carrot, chopped fine
- 1/2 cup of finely chopped scallions (can substitute onion)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoon salt (use 1 1/2 teaspoons if using Italian sausage)
- 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2/3 cup ketchup
- 1 1/2 pounds of ground chuck
- 3/4 pound of spicy ground pork sausage or Italian sausage (a mix of sweet and hot if you are using links)
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs, beaten slightly
- 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Method
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2 In a large heavy skillet cook the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and scallions in butter, over medium heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Cover the skillet and stir occassionally until the carrots are tender, about 5 more minutes. Stir in salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/3 a cup of ketchup. Cook for 1 more minute.
3 In a large bowl, combine the meats, eggs, vegetables, bread crumbs, and parsley. Form into a loaf and put into a rectangular baking pan with 2-inch high sides. Cover the loaf with remaining ketchup.
4 Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6, with plenty for leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches.







I had to reclaim meatloaf from boarding school memories where it was grey paste specked with peas and carrot. Meatloaf is good food I’ve since found.
A cup of cream, bay leaves on top and cooking the baking pan in a tray of water helps further erase childhood terrors.
This recipe for meatloaf is the best! The spicy ground pork sausage adds a little something to it. My fiance loves it and requests it quite often. He brags about how good it is. Thanks! I give it an A++++++!!! Try it, you’ll be happy you did.
I also have found that everyone loves this meatloaf. I add one red pepper to the mixture as well. And I actually put all the vegetables in the food processor before cooking. The glaze I use is a mixture of ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. Yummy!
Just finished dinner. I followed this recipe to the letter and it was absolutely divine! My husband and my daughter loved it!
This sounds like a great recipe.
When I make meatloaf, I don’t use a loaf pan – I form it into a little mound and bake it on a cookie sheet. That way I get a lot more crispy surface area on top (the best part!)
I’ve also discovered an alternative to ketchup. Plain old Progresso chunky tomato soup has huge bits of tomatoes and is actually quite good. I heat it up and use it as a tomato “gravy” to top the loaf with. My husband loves canned soup as “comfort food,” so we always have it lying around.
I’ve had good luck incorporating 1-2 TBSP soy sauce in meatloaf, and slightly reducing the salt accordingly. It seems to me to enhance the “beefy” flavor of the loaf, without imparting any soy sauce flavor of its own. I got the idea from the use of soy sauce in an excellent “au jus” recipe for roast beef drippings.
I’ve used Watkins Meat Magic in meatloaf instead of soy sauce. Again, it’s a beefy flavor with no “soy” taste. It has less salt than soy sauce, also. There are nearly as many meatloaf recipes as there are people who make it! We use 1/3 ground chuck, 1/3 ground veal and 1/3 sweet Italian sausage (removed from casings) in ours. Actual amounts of each depends on the size meatloaf we are making. My DH does like bacon on his, but to reduce the fat, I pre-cook the bacon about 1/2 – 2/3 done before laying it on top of the meatloaf (on top of the ketsup topping). Meatloaf sandwiches are a joy forever – with a little pickle relish, mustard, mayo and a cold glass of milk! Yummm! Another thing, he now likes his meatloaf made in large-size muffin tins. Easy to freeze the extra.
So glad you posted this!
Mmm, sounds like something I’ll try! My classic (and I’ve never found one I like more) is:
2lb lean ground beef
1 tube ritz crackers, crushed
1 egg
1 small onion, diced
1 grated carrot
Minced fresh parsley
Salt, pepper to taste
Heinz Chili Sauce
A few dashes of worshteshire sauce
Mush the meat, crackers, egg, onion, carrot, parsley, salt, pepper, worshtesire sauce and 1/2 a bottle of chili sauce together until mixed. Form in to a loaf on a baking sheet. Spread chili sauce on top of loaf as you would ice the top of a cake. Bake for an hour. Yummilicious!
Mix
This is very similar to meatloaf that I make, but I do not use any veal. Also, what my family likes, is a can of cream of mushroom soup poured over the top. When cooked about half through, I drain out the grease and put the soup over the top. This makes a great gravy as well!
Like a poster above, I don’t use a loaf pan. I just make a mound on a rimmed sheet pan. In fact, lately I’ve started making two small loaves instead of one big one so that it will cook faster. It’s usually done in 30 minutes or so that way.
I had my dad make this meatloaf for dinner, and it was delicous. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Thanks so much for posting this recipe, thank you.
This meatloaf rocks!
I tried testing a wheat-free version of this using 1 cup of puffed rice instead of the bread crumbs, worked well.
I’ve always like meatloaf. Especially
meatloaf sandwiches. This reminded me
of a recipe my Mom used to make where she
mixed in a can of Campbell’s Vegetarian
Vegetable soup.
Made this for the family the other weekend. It was pretty good. Next time I might substitute
chili sauce for the ketchup. Wasn’t sure
what was meant by “spicy ground pork
sausage” so used some hot and mild Ital.
sausages we had in the freezer. Think I put too
much ketchup on the top as it never go crusty,
even after baking for an hour.
Regards,
RD
Awesome recipe. Best thing about meatloaf is the room to creative. I “empty the fridge” sometimes — last time I added maranara sauce, garlic chunks, and a little shredded parmesan that had dried out (but not gone bad). Different taste, but it really worked. A-1, a little barbeque sauce, black strap molasass, a touch of cayenne, a small spoonfull of grape jelly, all add to the flavor — just don’t do too much of any one thing. Straight tomato paste on the roof, sprinkled with chives is the only best topping for me.
This was by far the best meat loaf I have ever had. My wife wanted a recipe for meat loaf with tomato sauce and I found this one. I just can’t say enough good about the recipe.
I just made this meatloaf and it’s a delicious recipe with a lot of flavor! I really like your idea for cooking the onion and other veggies on the stove, before they go into the mix, so they don’t end up tasting raw in the finished meatloaf. Thank you for introducing us to using Italian sausage in meatloaf. That adds a lot of flavor.
Thank you for helping out a total novice at cooking. This makes my fifth dish I have ever made and it was gooooood. I had more trouble trying to figure out what a scallion was supposed to look like in the store than making the whole meal.
I also use chili sauce on the top of my meat loaf, then I lay 3-4 strips of bacon across the top to keep it from drying out and adding excellent flavor.
I’m going to try this recipe. I’ve never had meat loaf before. What’s more, I’m going to make it with kangaroo mince (which has a more beefy/gamey flavour).
Wow! What a great recipe. Absolutely delicious!! This one is a keeper, thanks for sharing.
I like to top my meatloaf not only with ketchup but I mix the ketchup with tomato soup and a dash of washtishire. This add a great taste, just thought I’d let all you meatloaf lovers know its fun to try new things and you don’t always have to follow the recipe.
Wicked. Good.
I added a bit of diced bell pepper just cause I had it, and I did a barbecue + ketchup topping, but otherwise followed your recipe. Mine took about an hour and 20 minutes to cook all the way thru, but it was worth the wait. Most moist and tasty meatloaf I’ve ever made. THANKS!! Time for meatloaf sandwiches…. :)
A great sauce for meatloaf is to cover the top before baking with a sauce made of:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dried mustard
My favorite meatloaf:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 can original Rotel (undrained)
1 egg
1 onion, diced
about 1/2 a sleeve (or until texture is right) of Saltine crackers
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients, except cheddar, together in a bowl with your hands.
Form into a loaf in a baking pan. Bake at 350 for about an hour. Top with cheese and return to oven about 5 minutes to melt cheese. Let it rest a few minutes before slicing.
This meatloaf is delicious! I’ve tasted others but this is the best!
This was Grrreat! My sis is one of the best cooks next to grandma from southern to show off meals and now thinks I’m one in the making after making this. I used some Ragu, mmm mmm! Thank you!
Oatmeal! There used to be a great recipie on the Quaker Oatmeal box. I actually called Quaker and they gave me the recipe.
1 – 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
3/4 Cup oatmeal
1/4 Cup chopped onions
salt & pepper
1 C tomatoe juice (I use V-8)
1 egg
Loaf pan, 350 for an hour or so. I top it with chili sauce. Yum.
Also good with a can of green chili or two.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I had already bought the ground pork and beef so didn’t use the sausage you recommended but I will next time. I think sauteeing the veggies makes a huge difference – it was so moist and tasty!!! What a great recipe…..way better than the one I’ve been using and easy too. Thanks again,
I had never made meatloaf before and I was looking so a simple but good recipe, and instead i found a very simple and deliciouse one. Everyone loved it, even teenagers who were use to school meatload where hesitant at first but know they are meatloaf lovers. I did substitue BBQ sauce for the ketchup and went with mild italian sausage. Thanks for posting it and i will defenetly add it to my collection. AL
The sauce I put on meatloaf is ketchup, maple syrup and dry mustard. It’s a great combo and really makes the meal!
Its been a long time sine I’ve made meatloaf, but this recipe is wonderfully easy. I added red pimientos for color and a little brown spicy mustard for a light tangy taste.
Make it quicker with use of a food processor…
the fresh bread crumbs are so easy to crumble in the food processor.
and use it for the carrots and celery too, they get to be a nice fine chop that looks attractive in the meatloaf without being too obvious.
Elise, your website has brought much joy to my family. I am finding *favorites* of your recipes, such as this one for meatloaf. I am 12 weeks pregnant and a little under the weather. The solution? Your meatloaf recipe. Who knew?!
Looks great! I’ve always made my meatloaf half beef half hot sausage. Using chili sauce instead of ketchup is pretty good as well.
I tried this recipe last night and it was a WINNER! OMG! So delicious…thank you.
Hello, when I was younger I used to go to the Unites States twice a year, and loved it. My favourite foods were Meat Loaf and Sloppy Joes (can’t find a recipe for Sloppy Joes). I am about to try this recipe as I have tried over 50 already and find them not ‘beefy’ enough. I am from Jaen, Andalucia, Spain and am confused by the ingredient ‘ketchup’. We have lots of tomato products in Spain, Frito etc. but not ketchup. I have found a product called ‘Heinz Tomato Ketchup’ – would this be OK? Thank you.
Note from Elise: Heinz tomato ketchup is perfect.
What am I doing wrong? This meatloaf has *amazing* taste. I’ve made it 3-4 different times. The problem I am having is getting the meatloaf to cut into a slice and not fall apart into chunks. I let it cool for 10-15 min. but it still does it. I make sure the veggies are chopped fine (I use a food processor to ensure it). To me, I guess it’s not that big of a deal, but DH is insistent that it should be cut into a firm slice. Any advice, anyone?
Cut thicker slices? That’s what we do. Once it has been refrigerated (we always have leftovers) the loaf slices up quite thin. We then either make sandwiches with the slices or heat them in the microwave for lunch. You could also experiment with putting a weight (wrapped in foil) on the loaf while cooking. That’s how pate gets made so that it is firm. ~Elise
First time meatloaf maker! … I made this last night and everyone loved it. The sausage is really the key ingredient. My boyfriend said it was “the best meatloaf [he's] ever had.” And I agree! I also used Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs, and I’ve heard that mashed-up-croutons are another great version to use with meatloaf. Two thumbs up!
This was incredible- I work at a supportive housing building and do cooking classes. Four tenants and I made it and the directions were easy to follow, it was fun, and the results were mouthwateringly delicious. We doubled the recipe, which perfectly filled three loaf pans. Thank you!
Would there be any problem with prepping everything this the night before, putting it in the refrigerator, and then popping in the oven the next day?
Sounds like a great way to go about it to me. ~Elise
This is THE BEST recipe for meatloaf and I’ve tried a lot. Thank you so much! What a flavorful dish.
My mom always added a 3 oz softened cream cheese to her meatloaf. I have given her recipe out to friends and they swear by it now!
I found this recipe this afternoon and made it for dinner. I didn’t have any carrots, but had a sweet red bell pepper (go figure) and used it instead. The recipe turned out very good and my husband loved it. I make my regular meatloaf with a few more herbs, so I missed more of an herb thing going on, but this is definately going to become part of “the rotation.” Can’t wait for the sandwiches! Thank You for taking the time to post this for all of us!!
I absolutely LOVE this meatloaf recipe, as do my friends and family. This is comfort food at its finest, and it is great leftover.
This is recipe s just great! Love it especially when you use it as a filling in a croissant. Delicious!
I have made this meatloaf several times, and it always receives great reviews. My boyfriend hates celery and carrots, but yet he loves my meatloaf. This meatloaf is so full of flavor, and exceptionally moist. I cannot say enough good things about this.
I don’t eat beef or pork, and have never had meatloaf. Can you make this recipe with turkey or chicken sausage? Would you just cut the binding from the meat inside?
I suggest doing a search on Food Blog Search for turkey meatloaf. You’ll find some ideas there. ~Elise
Really nice meatloaf recipe! I use Italian sausage in mine too. My mom used to put hard boiled eggs in the middle of the loaf. It was like having a little treasure hunt at the dinner table!
Make your own bread crumbs. Save all of your leftover bread and crumble it up and place in a cookie sheet. Let the crumbs sit out until they dry out (about 3 hours) Then season them to your liking and pop them into the oven at 300° for 15 minutes. Turn them once and bake for another 15 minutes. Let cool and put in plastic reclosable bag. Never buy bread crumbs again. I don’t. I freeze them in the Ziplock bag and get them out when I need them. (let them cool completely before putting them into the bag or you will have a soggy mess)
Great ideas, thanks! What we do is take the ends or any leftover pieces of loaves of bread that get hard (happens all the time with baguettes and French or Italian loaves) and put them in a tray in a cabinet. When we need bread crumbs we take out some of these hard pieces, break them with a meat hammer into smaller chunks, and put them in the blender. Any leftover crumbs we store in the cabinet in a mason jar. ~Elise
I’ve been working on a meatloaf sauce, and here is what I have so far:
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup of dijon mustard
2 TBS Brown Sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
I throw this on top of my meatloaf during the last 1/2 hour of baking. It’s a work in progress, but it’s pretty good.
I always line the bottom of the pan with a couple of pieces of bread. It soaks up the fat. When you pull the meatloaf out of the pan (we like it cold) it isn’t attached to a gob of grease.
I love meatloaf but most places don’t make it well…here’s my mom’s which I absolutely love to death. I think the ammounts are about right. Never really measure.
Ingredients
Meatloaf
1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
1 cup of chopped onion
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 shot of Worscestershire sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1 cup italian bread crumbs
2 large eggs
Potatoes
4 potatoes
Half stick of butter
Splash cup of milk or cream
Directons
1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2: Combine meatloaf ingredients in a bowl until reasonably well combined
3: Form into a loaf on a flat baking sheet or pan with 2 inch high sides and bake for 45min.
4: While baking boil the potatoes until fork tender and drain
5: Add butter and cream and mash
6: cover meatloaf with potatoes and sprinkle with paprika
7: Bake 15 additional minutes or so till potatoes brown a bit
Enjoy!
My mom’s trick was to add 3 oz. softened cream cheese! Try it, you won’t believe how good it is!
I have been secretly watching your recipes for years now. Your recipes never fail me! I grew up in The Bay Area so your stories of California always bring a smile to my face.OOO how I miss Cali! It was actually quite funny to see this recipe today. As I was eating my meatloaf sandwich look what I found. I have one quick question – I am curious whether or not you could make this meatloaf and cook it in the crockpot? I actually made mine in crockpot and it turned out pretty moist. But it had milk and soft bread crumbs in it. Would you suggest adding something to keep it moist if I did cook it in the crockpot? Thanks again for all your wonderful recipes!
Since crockpots tend to hold moisture in, unlike ovens where you have a lot of dry heat, I don’t think the problem will be keeping it moist. More likely the problem will be that the loaf will not get browned on top. But if that’s not an issue for you, then you should be able to make this in a crockpot. ~Elise
Excellent recipe–the sausage is the key–I like to use a ground chorizo I get at the local market, but Italian sausage will do as well.
And tossing the sauteed veggies in the food processor really helps add more moisture to the loaf mix.
Another fun addition is to place a couple of balls of fresh mozzarella cheese inside each meatloaf–then when you cut open the loaf you get a lava flow of gooey, melty molten cheese oozing out of each slice!
Meatloaf recipe sounds great…BUT…here’s the missing ingredient:
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
Try it!
Shane
I like to add a package of frozen spinach to my meatloaf, which is basically like your recipe except for that. Just prepare the spinach according to the package directions (I use the microwave), DRAIN WELL (key step!) and mix in. I can’t claim credit for this idea, but it’s been so long now that I don’t recall where it came from. Maybe The Joy of Cooking?
Also, I’ve seen some recipes that use lamb instead of veal, if anyone out there wonders if that would work. Personally, I like the beef and pork sausage mixture best, but that’s mainly because I don’t have lamb or veal routinely on hand.
The recipe in the 1979 edition of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook was the one that turned me on to meatloaf. The ground mustard in the Fannie Farmer version is my secret. Mom’s was always straight ground beef, and she used rice as her “stretcher”. Me – I use half ground beef (of some kind) and half pork sausage. If you’re in a hurry, Jimmy Dean Italian Sausage or Hot Sausage will do the trick. I’ll use the Progresso Italian breadcrumbs instead of fresh (I’m lazy that way). And I never use any sauce on it – maybe I’ll have to give that a try. To the poster who wonders why her meatloaf “crumbles” – maybe weighting it (like a pate) would help? Just a thought. . .
How funny! I just prepared this last night for baking this evening.. I don’t eat pork, so I used turkey italian sausage–tasted great! Unfortunately, I added all 2/3 c ketchup to the “batter” instead of only 1/3c and it ended up so moist that it was falling apart. ….still good, though! We ate it with pita bread.
My mother used oatmeal in place of bread crumbs. And of course we all know that mashed potatoes go with meatloaf … and maybe creamed corn. Heaven!
This is my standard recipe and I can’t recall where I first saw it. It’s delicious, keeps well, and is easy to prepare. We eat it hot, cold (sandwiches), with, without. Good standard fare (and what we called a “cottage” loaf).
This was amazing. My entire family voted this the best meatloaf ever and we are all eating meatloaf sandwiches today!
My 12-yr old son wanted to make meatloaf. This is what I told him:
Meatloaf is as good as your imagination. I make it according to a theme: Mexican, Italian, Greek, etc. Instead of using ketchup, use salsa, speghetti sauce, beer, red wine, etc. Instead of bread crumbs, use crackers or oatmeal (that gives it a whole different texture and taste). I just go through the fridge and cupboards and grab anything that sounds good, veggies, condiments, etc. I have started using 1 pound each burger, sausage and ground turkey. I thought if I started a restraunt I would offer “Never the Same Meatloaf” as it would be different each time I make it. HA
This is an amazing meat loaf recipe! I liked the flavors so much that I use the mixture (along with rice, parmesan, and italian seasonings) for making stuffed peppers. I also like to make my meat loaf with a tomato sauce mixture. I form the meat loaf and let it brown slightly in the oven. While it’s browning, I make a sauce mixture of tomato sauce, italian-style diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, italian seasonings, and some red pepper flakes. I then pour that into the pan to cook with the meat loaf.
We also use sausage in our meatloaf. I will have to give this version a try though, it sounds delicious.
Just a note to keep the crisp part crisp and the grease at bay. Take a cookie sheet, place a cookie cooling tray on it. Place a sheet of aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray on top of the cooling rack. Pierce the foil several times for drainage. Form the meat into a loose loaf shape. While cooking, the grease drains off while giving a nicely crisp edge. When done, the loaf pulls nicely off the foil if you sprayed it well with cooking spray. Great recipe, by the way. Love the sausage, but use turkey sausage for less fat. It’s usually available in both mild and spicy links….
I love meatloaf, and posted my personal recipe on my blog a while back. (I even included a link to your site in the comments!)
I’ve been using pork sausage in mine for a while now and it just makes the meatloaf come out so much better.
I’m looking forward to trying out your recipe some time soon.
When my mom makes meatloaf, instead of using fresh bread crumbs, she usually uses StoveTop brand stuffing. It’s really good; it adds some extra flavor and leaves it nice and moist. Although I suppose any brand of stuffing will do…
HHHHMMMM, Yummy, I made it just as is . . . we loved it! I’m so happy my daughter had the chance to meet you this summer and share this website with me!
I have the same problem as a poster above – my meatloaf always turns out crumbly. From looking at the pictures, it seems that maybe my ground meat isn’t ground as finely as what you’re using. Is it okay to put it all (including the meat) into the food processor together? I’ve heard that working the meat too much will give it a tough texture, and I don’t want that.
I’ve never ground up meat in a food processor so don’t know what to tell you. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out. ~Elise
I made the “Classic Meatloaf” exactly as described. I never made meatloaf before and don’t even remember ever trying it. However, my wife’s family is into it and they raved about the final product. They said it was the best they’ve ever had. I bought the ingredients at Whole Foods, including the bread crumbs. I suspect that the good quality ingredients contributed to the great taste. I’ve since made a second batch and added some ground cayenne peppers and about 1/3 cup of red wine with no ill effect… :-)
I made this meatloaf for the first time 4/07 and forgot all about it. Went to a wedding today and my bf didn’t want to eat the food there. Instead he asked for this meatloaf! It must be good. :)
This meatloaf is so good all my family like it. Everybody ask me for the receipe. And is better tomatoe sauce, the ketchup is more like sweet. Its delicious mmmmmm!
I use to cook for a recovery home and I would use a couple of dashes of kitchen boucet(unsure of the spelling)barbecue sauce and ketchup equal parts dried chopped onions and dried chopped bell peppers and sometimes would use corn flakes instead of bread crumbs some garlic and parsley. I would cook it covered for 45 min and then uncover it the last 30 min to brown it on top. Also don’t forget the worcestershire sauce and egg to set it up
This was the best meatloaf I have ever made. I made it pretty much as written and it was perfect. Love the addition of the sausage as it gave it great flavor.
Every time I make this I have to control myself or I will be up in the middle of the night finishing all the leftovers. Seriously delicious meatloaf.
I use a pound of reg pork sausage with 2 lbs beef, 2 eggs and a few strips of bacon, or a couple of lids of smoke flavoring, it kind of gives it a outdoors taste and about anything else I want to throw in, zuccini, yellow squash. Just don’t use watery veggies like tomatoes unless you want to cook it along time because it causes it to be mushy. I always use the ketchup or bbq sause on top. Put in whatever looks good and what your family likes.
My son is allergic to beef and I was wondering what I would replace the beef with?
Good question. Most meatloaf recipes call for beef. If I were you I would experiment subbing out the ground beef with a combination of ground turkey and ground pork. Good luck! ~Elise
Once made, can it it be frozen. How about defrozing it? Does it taste the same or it loses its flavor? Thanks a lot and congrats on your recipe. It’s great. I have tried it and I have leftovers that I’d like to freeze for future use! Hahaha…
Thanks,
Celest
I haven’t tried freezing it, so don’t know what to tell you. If you do try, please let us know how it turns out. ~Elise
I made the classic meatloaf and was it good
in fact my wife thought somone else made it and
and wanted to thank them, you really have a geat
meal there!
Michelle, what about lamb? I’ve had meatloaf made with just ground lamb before and it was really delicious.
This recipe is meatloaf perfection! I added diced olives to mine (as I have done in the past) and it was meatloaf-alicious!
Delicious! The only time I had meatloaf prior to making this tonight was a bite or two from my husband’s plate when he has ordered it. On a whim, I decided to make it and I couldn’t be more pleased. I used a mix of beef, pork, and sweet sausage. I followed the recipe, adding some chili garlic sauce for heat. Per another reviewer’s recommendation, I put all the veggies in the food processor, which made this recipe super simple. Will definitely make again.
This is what I made for dinner Friday night. I didn’t have any carrots left, so subbed a red pepper. It was a resounding success. I loved it. My guy LOVED it. It is perfectly flavored and dreamy alongside mashed potatoes.
I even caught him making a meatloaf sandwich for breakfast this morning. =P He made one for me too! haha Much better than the yogurt and granola I was going to have.
The best meatloaf ever!! I didn’t add ketchup because my husband hates it and it still was amazing!! Thanks Elise! I LOVE your site!!
I add red wine and tomato juice or sauce to my meat loaf mix along with some crumbled basil. Instead of ketchup, I cover mine with crushed tomatoes. I feel when using ground pork or pork sausage, internal temperature of loaf should be 160 degrees.
My son and I tried this tonight. It was our first time making meat loaf. I thought we followed the directions, although I did use a lean ground beef instead of ground chuck. The loaf came out swimming in liquid and it was soggy. Was this becuase of the type of meat we used or could there be another reason? Was I supposed to drain it during cooking like someone suggested above? Also, we felt it tasted a little too much of hot Italian sausage. We used two links of hot Italian sausage and three links of sweet along with 1.5 lbs of ground beef. I would try this again if I could figure out how to solve the liquid problem. I would probably not use the hot sausage again. Thanks!
Hmm, not sure what could be causing that. It’s not an issue we encounter. Perhaps the recipe needs the extra connective tissue and fat that one would typically find in ground chuck versus lean ground beef. ~Elise
I made this last night and it was UH-mazing! :-) For purposes of on-handedness, I used Italian style bread crumbs – other than that I followed the recipe to a “t”. I baked it in a 9X13 stone cake pan, and there was very little grease. I served it with homemade mashed potatoes, green beans and (Southern girl staple) sweet iced tea. It was heaven! I’ll never make meatloaf another way!
I made this for dinner last week. I’ve made about 5 or 6 different meatloaf recipes, all which were pretty good but NOTHING like this. Thanks Elise for this recipe. This was unbelievably good, and I couldn’t follow the recipe exactly because I didn’t have all the exact ingredients. It still turned out ridiculous (in a really good way). Did I mention it was really good?
In regards to a previous poster who said that there was too much juice at the bottom of the pan: I’ve found that putting a couple slices of bread under the loaf sucks up all the drippings so no sucking juices required.
Thanks again Elise.
Hi!
Stupid question but I’m no chef.
Do you cook the ground beef before mixing and popping it in the oven?
See.. told you it was a stupid question.
Thank you!
Good question, actually. The answer is no, we did not cook the ground beef first. The meat goes in the oven raw. ~Elise
Hi,
I have a soy allergy, and the thing that’s stopping me from making meatloaf these days is Worcestershire Sauce. Any suggestions for what I could use as a substitute?
Thank you!
Vietnamese fish sauce. Or half a mashed up anchovy. What makes Worcestershire sauce so good is the anchovy in it. You can’t taste the fish when added to dishes, it just makes them taste good. ~Elise
My boyfriend’s meatloaf is the only meatloaf I will eat.He puts onion, celery, peppers, crackers,eggs and whatever other veggies might sound good that we have.Then, instead of ketchup he uses barbecue sauce and brown sugar.Mixed in and on top.And if we have any oranges he’ll squeeze it over top and bake it with orange slices on top.I don’t really care for red meat but this is delicious!It’s even good with ground chicken.
This meatloaf was excellent! I usually use Ina Garten’s recipe but I wanted a new one with sausage. I did cook it to an internal temp of 160 since I used pork sausage. It was moist and meaty and my family loved it.
I found your site a few days ago and have been perusing it ever since. I tried 2 of your recipes for guests last night. I used breakfast sausage from my freezer instead of Italian sausage and half the amount of bread crumbs, otherwise followed it exactly. Everyone really liked it and I know I will make it again but with the sausage you suggest. I know that will make it even better. It’s certainly one I’ll make for guests again.
The other recipe was Potato Salad with Apples and Bacon. I halved the recipe but failed to half the thyme so it was a bit “earthy”. It was SO much different than traditional potato salad (I loved it)and the other 3 at my table were not so enthusiastic. One said I should not have told them I was serving “potato salad” because they expected something quite different. I will make it again though, for a different “type” of folks.
Thank you, Elise, for your website and for sharing your many recipes, I will try more, for sure! I like the way you write in such a friendly and down to earth way, and that you share your life with your readers. I love your new home, it’s so intimate and cozy looking! Please share photos when you finish the remodel!
Thanks BJ! I’m so glad you like the recipes. ~Elise
I am going to try this recipe – would it be okay to substitute dry seasoned bread crumbs or panko bread crumbs for the fresh? Thanks!
We only make this with freshly made breadcrumbs, but if you try it another way, please let us know how it turns out for you. ~Elise
I am SO going to try this recipe. I LOVE meat loaf and especially enjoy trying new meat loaf recipes. I’m sure it will be as delicious as it looks and sounds
I love this meatloaf- only had beef today, no pork or sausage-so I decided to finely chop several slices of bacon, and cooked them down with the vegetables.added some panko bread crumbs to the the fresh breadcrumbs, and it was very good. the cooked/carmelized veggies impart such great flavor.this is the best meatloaf I’ve ever had-and my girlfriend agrees!
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this site for recipes? Really, tonight was another success with the meatloaf recipe above. Thank you, thank you!
This is truly a delicious meatloaf recipe. I’ve made meatloaf many different ways, some good, some bad. This is the best, and the only one I use now. The only thing I do different is use olive oil instead of butter to saute the veggies in.
You had me at “leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches”.
I have had many meatloaves over the years and this is by far the best! Taken the fact that my taste buds are not the best, this is saying a lot.
My son and husband think that meatloaf tastes best when fresh out of the oven (husband will eat meatloaf sandwiches). I’m wondering if anyone has mixed the ingredients, formed the mix into smaller meatloaves (perhaps in a muffin tin?) and then froze these unbaked? It might be a way for the son to have that fresh-baked taste he loves, but made-ahead somewhat.
This was the first recipe I’ve tried from your site and it was DELICIOUS! I can’t wait to try your other recipes…..as a single guy who hates cooking for himself, your website has made me excited about cooking! Thank you!
Do you think the meat ratio will affect the finish product (i.e: half veal, half pork instead of beef, veal, pork)? When I made meatloaf, it tends to either crumbly or too firm.
Thank you for your suggestion.
I don’t really know. I always thought the meat ratio had more to do with the taste. ~Elise
I love meatloaf, but I don’t get it all that often because it seems to be a dish that takes some time to get into the oven. It would totally be worth it except that my hubby, who claims to be a “meat & potatoes” guy, doesn’t like meatloaf. Weird I know. He gobbled up two helpings of this. This was very good especially with the italian sausage. Meaty, moist, with a bit of sweet from the ketchup. I had enough leftover for another loaf and a few meatballs. Thank you for giving me meatloaf back!
Tried this tonight using beef and italian sausage. I used olive oil instead of butter but still came out greasy …but good!!! Must be the sausage. I’m looking for a way to make it healthier. What if I sauteed the sausage and drain the fat before adding to the mix?
Sounds like a good idea! ~Elise
L-O-V-E this meatloaf recipe! I did not pay attention to the note about cutting the salt in half. This made it a bit salty, however I still could not get enough of it! Thank you for showing me the light!! :)
great recipe! I tried it, it was delicious but, like what a previous poster have said, my meatloaf was swimming in oil..probably because I did not use lean beef? So disappointed with that, but maybe next time will be better..
For those asking about freezing – this is my first time making this particular meatloaf recipe and I won’t be freezing it because I’m making it right away. That being said, I have frozen lots of other meatloaf recipes in the past with absolutely no problems. Just make sure it’s in a freezer-safe container or at least tightly sealed, otherwise it could get freezer burn just like anything else you put in the freezer.
I’d recommend thawing it first, but you could just put it into the oven frozen and cook it for a longer time. I used to cook meals for the Ronald McDonald house and they much preferred meals that could be frozen – lots of tuna casserole, lasagna, and meatloaf was sent their way.
This is good! I made a couple changes based on what I had available – used all beef and oats instead of bread crumbs. Split into two loaves on foil with holes poked in the foil on top of a cooling rack on top of a cooking sheet like someone had mentioned (to let the grease drain, since I was using 80/20 ground beef). Perfect! I did add some red pepper flakes since I didn’t have sausage and used dried parsley – just under 2 tablespoons – instead of fresh. It only took about 35 minutes with the mixture split into 2 loaves.
This is the best meatloaf that I have ever had in my 25 years. I will never pour a meatloaf flavor packet into hamburger and call it meatloaf ever again. I will make this meatloaf from now on. It is so so so soooo good!
This is very, very similar to the meatloaf my mother (now 89 years old) used to make. She added poultry herbs, such as sage and thyme, which to me, is essential for a good meatloaf that uses sausage. She also added a bit of dry mustard and a little bit of milk. No carrots or celery though.
One thing she also did that I always do is to roast quartered, peeled, and buttered potatoes around the loaf, basting with the drippings. To keep it from swimming in grease, use a turkey baster to remove the excess fat but leave enough so the potatoes get good and crispy. Yum!
This is delicious meatloaf. I used spicy pork sausage, but next time I will try Italian sausage, as I think that will be even better. Thanks!
i helped my mum make this tonight, it’s a very good recipe.
I made this tonight and it turned out great! My husband loved it. I didn’t have any sausage on hand, but I took your advice and added a pinch of fennel seeds to the ground beef and a few dashes of hot sauce. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly as written. I couldn’t have asked for better results. Thanks Elise.