Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a cozy, low effort comfort meal that will easily feed a crowd. The perfect make ahead meal for when times get busy.
The best meatloaf ever
Quick and easy with no fussy steps, this recipe can be whipped up in minutes. There will be no dry, firm meatloaves in my house. This meatloaf is tender, moist and full of flavor. Sometimes you have to choose between a dryer option that will slice and transfer perfectly or a soft and juicy option that is just barely holding itself together. Barely holding itself together will win every time in my books.
Serve your meatloaf with some classic cauliflower cheese, some creamy mashed potatoes or whatever other sides that you like. Meatloaf is also great the next day in sandwiches or use a generous slice to make a delicious meatloaf burger.
With its tender texture, hidden vegetables, great flavor and a delicious glaze, this meatloaf is bound to become a family favorite.
Making meatloaf could not be simpler
Make your bread crumbs – Use a food processor to blitz 2-3 slices of bread until crumb sized.
Chop and blend your vegetables – You want the pieces to be very small so that disappear into your meatloaf. You can finely grate them if you do not have a food processor.
Dump all of your ingredients into a large bowl.
Mix everything together – You can use a spatula or spoon but using your hands is definitely the quickest and easiest method
Make your sauce – simply mix the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Bake your meatloaf – Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove the covering, coat the meatloaf in the sauce mixture and bake for a further 40 minutes. It should be done after 1 hour and 10 minutes of baking or when the internal temperature is over 71 degrees celsius.
Rest for 5 minutes and then slice and serve.
Splitting into smaller portions.
If you are after a large amount of meatloaf that is perfect for a big family or meal prepping. Then this recipe is perfect as is. However this may be a lot for smaller households. The great thing is though, this meatloaf can be split into smaller portions and stored, uncooked in your freezer. I find that the best way to do this is to simply divide your meatloaf mixture between 2-3 smaller foil loaf trays. Cover and freeze for up to 4 months. When you are ready to cook you can defrost and coat the meatloaf with with the sauce. Then bake it in a preheated, 170 degree oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until baked through for smaller meatloaves.
Meatloaf
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to 170 degrees, fan bake.
- Tear your bread into smaller pieces and place them into a food processor. Blitz to create bread crumbs. Measure 1 cup or firmly packed breadcrumbs and set aside.
- Roughly dice the onion, carrot and mushrooms.
- Place the onion, carrot and mushrooms in to a small food processor and blitz until they are finely chopped and no large chunks remain.
- Place the processed vegetables into a large bowl along with 1 cup of breadcrumbs and all of your other meatloaf ingredients.
- Mix everything together well. I recommend using kitchen gloves and using your hands to combine everything together. However you can use a spatula or spoon if you prefer.
- Press your meatloaf mixture evenly into a medium sized baking dish Cover the top with tinfoil
- Place all of your sauce ingredients into a small bowl. Mix well to combine and then set aside.
- Bake your meatloaf in a preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and spread your sauce evenly over the surface of your meatloaf. Return the meatloaf to the oven and bake for a further 40 minutes or until it is fully cooked through.
- Remove your meatloaf from the oven and allow it to rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
Notes
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my meatloaf recipe. I hope you enjoy trying this out for yourself. Please feel free to add any questions or comments below. I am happy to help out wherever possible and I would love to hear how this recipe worked out for you.
