Meatloaf

The three important components of a basic meatloaf are flavor, moisture and texture. Think about each of these three things and you're guests will be asking for a second slice.

Featured In My CookbookComfortable in the Kitchen Jump to Recipe (or scroll for photos and riveting information...)
Advertisement - Continue Below

Featured Recipe Techniques

More about the skills used in this recipe.

Cooking School
How to Cut an Onion

So many recipe start with onions - diced, sliced, julienned, you name it! Here's all you need to know about...View Technique

Advertisement - Continue Below

Watch The Recipe Video

Advertisement - Continue Below

Meatloaf

  • Prep Time: 25 m
  • Cook Time: 1 h 30 m
  • Total Time: 1 h 55 m
  • Servings:
    6

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rolled oats (or fresh breadcrumbs)
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 1 carrot finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 pounds ground meatloaf mix meat, 1 pound beef, ½ pound pork, ½ pound veal
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 6 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350˚ F.
  2. Place the oatmeal and milk in a large mixing bowl and let the oatmeal soak while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Pre-heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and then cook the onion, carrot and garlic until tender, but not browned – 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl with the oats and milk.
  4. Add the ground meats, spices, parsley, eggs and Worcestershire sauce to the bowl and mix everything together with your hands just until everything is combined. Transfer the mix to a sheet pan and shape the mixture into a loaf shape of sorts.
  5. Bake in the oven for 60 to 75 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer registers 160˚ F in the center of the meat. After 60 minutes of cooking, combine the ketchup and brown sugar in a small bowl and spread this on top of the meatloaf for the last ten to fifteen minutes of baking. Let the meatloaf cool and then slice and serve.
Advertisement - Continue Below
Advertisement - Continue Below
Advertisement - Continue Below

Comments (34)Post a Reply

  1. 5 stars
    Made BJC’s meatloaf tonight (using fresh breadcrumbs) and my husband was over the moon! Moist, great texture and so flavorful! Served it with buttermilk mashed potatoes and carrots – simple and delicious! Looking forward to meatloaf sandwiches for lunch! Yum!

  2. I made Meredith‘s meatloaf using breadcrumbs. The family loved it. I have made several other meatloaf variations in the past, and this is our favorite. It will be a staple in my family from now on. Thanks, Meredith!

  3. 5 stars
    FABULOUS
    After years of giving my horrible meatloaf to the dogs; I finally have Blue Jean Chefs recipe. The entire family loves it.

    THANK YOU SO MUCH

  4. This looks great but my go to recipe ya on the back of a Lipton onion soup box. Very similar will give it a whirl

  5. My family loved this meatloaf made it with the oatmeal and I was impressed. Made mashed potatoes mushroom gravy and veg a complete meal can’t wait for leftover meatloaf sandwiches.
    Dolly

  6. 5 stars
    RlHave made this recipe a couple of times now and the results are excellent. Wondering if the ratios for the glaze are reversed? I went with 6 tbsp brown sugar & 2 tbsp ketchup, and added a pinch of nutmeg for good measure!

  7. This was my-mother-in-laws recipe which she gave me nearly fifty years ago. The only change was she added a little over a half cup of applesauce to bring out the flavor of the pork and veal. I absolutely love using oats in meatloaf.

  8. Meatloaf is baking as I’m writing this. Easy to put together. Can’t wait to try it. I did add a tablespoon of Worcestershire to the glaze mix. Gives it a depth and tang that my tastebuds love.

  9. This is pretty much identical to my mom’s meatloaf recipe that I’ve made for more years than I’m going to admit to here. However, she (and I) include about a half tsp. of nutmeg in the ketchup and brown sugar sauce and it’s wonderful.

  10. I’ve been trying different meatloaf recipes for the last few months. I ask my husband is it a MAKE AGAIN RECIPE? He always says it’s ok. Tonight I made this meatloaf loaf recipe (as written) The search is over! it was moist and tasty. Thank you BJC

  11. 5 stars
    This was terrific! I am not a meatloaf eater usually but your recipe is great. My family said it was the best they’ve had. I did use only beef and left out the egg due to allergies and it was still tender and held together well. The glaze is so good. 😊

  12. 5 stars
    I’ve made this meatloaf several times. This is the best meatloaf my family said it was delicious. I used the oatmeal I rally believe this wax the special ingredient to this recipe!!

  13. This meatloaf recipe is the best I’ve ever tried. I used the oatmeal. It is moist and full of flavor and will be my standard meatloaf from now on. Will be proud to serve it to company too. Thanks Meredith.

  14. Watched the video and you said if using a loaf pan, use a meatloaf pan to catch grease. Then you used a sheet pan and when you pulled it from the oven there was absolutely no grease on the pan. I have never made a meatloaf that did not have grease expelled when baked????? Could you explain. I AM going to try your recipe, can’t wait.

    1. Hi Claudia, There was a little grease on the sheet pan after it came out of the oven, but not much! It really all depends on the meat you buy to make your meatloaf and how much fat it has. Also, if you pack the meatloaf very hard, the grease has no where to go but out of the loaf as it cooks. If you gently pack the loaf, however, the meatloaf can absorb much of the fat and it ends up being a juicier result.

  15. Since it’s just the wife and me there is too much meat. Can I cut all the ingredients in half and still use the same time and directions?

    Regards

    1. Hi Jimmy. You could cut the ingredients in half, but if the loaf is smaller/thinner, you should also cook it for less time. Check it at about 40 minutes with an instant read thermometer to see how much longer you’ll need. You could also make the whole meatloaf and freeze the leftovers, or make delicious meatloaf sandwiches the next day.

  16. 5 stars
    I add a small can of mushroom pieces, drained. One egg, and 2/3 small can of tomato paste, in addition to the Worcestershire. The rest of the tomato paste is spread across the top. About half a cup of Panko breadcrumb. I add a little red pepper flakes to the salt/pepper, Italian seasonings spice mixture. We prefer a little kick to our meatloaf rather than sweetness.

  17. Meredith- please answer asap. should I use ground. Chuck or lean ground beef?
    I want to make again but forget what I used and desire the same results.
    This is the best Meatloaf. I followed recipe exactly and it was excellent Many thanks.

  18. 5 stars
    I made this a couple of nights ago and cooked it on my Traeger grill with a temperature probe (too hot to turn my oven on). Oh my word, it was delicious! Of course I only had ground beef (93-7%) and I cut it in half because there are just the two of us and because we both love garlic I doubled that! We’re going to reheat the leftovers for dinner tonight and we can’t wait to eat it again. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe Meredith.

    1. Rolled oats or quick-cooking oats are best for this recipe. The steel cut oats could make the texture of the meatloaf too dry.

  19. Hi Meredith,
    I quit making meatloaf because I could never make a good one. Same with pork chops. Those two are never made here.
    I decided to give meat loaf one more try with this recipe. Guess what’s back? Yep, this meat loaf. Thx so much for the recipe.
    Now if I could just get a good recipe for pork chops that are moist, I’d be in 7th Heaven.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *