When it comes to easy, oven-baked, comfort food there’s nothing better than a traditional meatloaf recipe. Moist, tender, and of course, meaty this is everything a good meatloaf should be.
This recipe is just like the recipe my grandma and mom used to make. The smell of it baking in the oven literally is so delicious, it brings my whole family to the dinner table.
I hope you’ll try my brown sugar meatloaf, stove top stuffing meatloaf, Cracker Barrel meatloaf, and air fryer meatloaf next. Really, I don’t think anyone can ever have too many delicious meatloaf recipes! I promise your fam will love all of these recipes!
What Is The Best Meat For Meatloaf?
To make a tender meatloaf, use meat with 20% fat. I like 80/20 ground beef and in some recipes, like this one, I add ground pork too. The combo is delicious!!!
What Is The Basic Meatloaf Formula?
Generally, the basic formula is 2 pounds of ground meat, 1/2 to 1 cup of a bread component, one onion, eggs to bind everything together, and seasoning.
Traditional Meatloaf Recipe Ingredients
Meatloaf:
- Oil: Use any neutral flavored oil.
- Onion: Use a yellow or white onion.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is always my choice. I avoid the minced garlic from a jar because it’s preserved in a funky-tasting liquid.
- Saltine Crackers: This is the bread component in the panade.
- Milk: I use whole milk because I like the flavor of the full fat.
- Ground Pork + Ground Beef: I love the combo of these meats together. It’s really so much better than just a single meat.
- Eggs: I use large eggs.
- Dijon Mustard: You can use any type of mustard in this recipe but Dijon is my favorite.
- Worcestershire Sauce: This adds a lot of flavor and really enhances the beef flavor.
- Thyme + Parsley: Dried thyme works nicely but I like to use fresh parsley.
- Salt And Pepper: Add the perfect seasoning!
Glaze:
- Ketchup: This is the base of the glaze and brings a lovely tomato flavor.
- Brown Sugar: Makes the glaze deliciously sweet.
- Dried Mustard: Adds a little kick.
- Liquid Smoke: This is my favorite ingredient in the glaze. Don’t skip it it’s widely available at most supermarkets.
- Hot Sauce: Just a little so it doesn’t make the glaze spicy.
Tips For The Best Meatloaf
- Overmixing: Use care to not overmix the loaf. Doing so will make it tough and dense.
- Line The Baking Sheet: I prefer to line the baking sheet with a double lay of foil for easier clean-up.
- Skip The Loaf Pan: I use a baking sheet for this meatloaf, instead of the standard loaf pan, because it produces crispier edges on the sides of the loaf.
- Let It Rest! Before slicing the cooked meatloaf, allow it to rest for 10 minutes. This will help to keep it juicy.
What Is The Secret To Tender Meatloaf?
Yes, indeed there are a couple of wonderful secrets to making tender meatloaf.
First, is a French term called a “panade”. It refers to a bread component combined with milk to create a paste. The parade is mixed in the meatloaf and releases moisture through the cooking process. It’s as easy as mashing saltines, in the case of this recipe, with milk!
Second, is using a ground meat or meat combination that has a good amount of fat to protein ratio. I start with an 80-20 blend of ground beef and add a higher-fat ground pork to create my favorite meat mixture.
How Long Does Meatloaf Cook?
It generally takes 50-60 minutes to cook a meatloaf made with 2 pounds of ground meat, in a 350ºF (177ºC) oven. Use an instant-read thermometer to check doneness. It’s recommended that it register 160ºF (71ºC).
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This classic meatloaf will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes. I generally store it in a resealable plastic bag. It will last for 3-4 months.
- Make-Ahead Tips: Bake this traditional meatloaf recipe with ketchup glaze ahead, refrigerate, and reheat.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
How to Make Traditional Meatloaf
Make Meatloaf:
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Mix the meatloaf ingredients.
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Transfer the meat mixture and form it into a loaf about 9X5 inches.
Make Glaze:
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Mix all the glaze ingredients in a liquid measuring cup.
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Pour half the topping over the meatloaf. Brush the sauce over top and sides in an even layer.
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Bake the meatloaf.
***See the full instructions below.
What To Serve With Classic Meatloaf
I love this with make ahead mashed potatoes, old-fashioned corn pudding, Arkansas green beans or Southern style green beans, sautéed asparagus with lots of garlic, or my favorite cheesy roasted Brussels sprouts!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
More Ground Beef Recipes
Traditional Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients
Meatloaf:
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion chopped fine
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2/3 cup (about 17 crackers) Saltine crackers, coarsely crushed
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef, 80/20
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large yolk
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
Glaze:
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- hot sauce, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º (177ºC). Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- In a large skillet, add oil (2 teaspoons). Heat over medium heat until it shimmers. Add onion (1) and cook until it begins to brown, about 7-9 minutes. Stir in garlic (2 cloves) and continue, to cook, stirring often, until garlic becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove cooked veggies to a bowl.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the saltines (2/3 cup) and milk (1/3 cup) until it forms a smooth paste.
- Add the pork (1 pound) and beef (1 pound) to the food processor and pulse it until the mixture is evenly combined.
- Add whole eggs (2), egg yolk (1), mustard (2 teaspoons), Worcestershire sauce (2 teaspoons), thyme (1/2 teaspoon), parsley (1/3 cup), 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to bowl and mix with hands until combined.
- Transfer the meat mixture to the prepared cookie sheet and using your hands, form into a loaf about 9X5 inches.
Make Glaze:
- Mix all the glaze ingredients in the liquid measuring cup.
- Pour half the topping over the meatloaf. Brush the sauce over top and sides in an even layer.
- Bake meatloaf in a preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and brush the remainder of the sauce over top and sides in an even layer. Return the meatloaf to the oven and cook until meatloaf registers 160ºF (71ºC), about 15-20 minutes. Allow meatloaf to cool for 10 minutes then serve.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Overmixing: Use care to not overmix the loaf. Doing so will make it tough and dense.
- Line The Baking Sheet: I prefer to line the baking sheet with a double lay of foil for easier clean-up.
- Skip The Loaf Pan: I use a baking sheet for this meatloaf, instead of the standard loaf pan, because it produces crispier edges on the sides of the loaf.
- Let It Rest! Before slicing the cooked meatloaf, allow it to rest for 10 minutes. This will help to keep it juicy.
Nutrition
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Yummmy! I haven’t tried making meatloaf before, I just follow the instructions to the T.
I loved it! I’m gonna make another one this week!!
Hi, Rose! Yaaay, I’m glad you tried this one as your first meatloaf recipe 🙂