The concept of meatloaf kind of makes me raise an eyebrow because, well, it’s a loaf of meat. But when it’s executed well it’s just so good. Meatloaf is so filling, so cozy, and so delicious that I look forward to eating the leftovers over the next few days (hello meatloaf sandwich, I’m looking at you). This Homemade Meatloaf recipe is the traditional meatloaf that we all know and love—tender, juicy, full of flavor, and with the perfectly tangy tomato glaze on top. It’s so perfect when paired with mashed potatoes and green beans. Like a plate of pure comfort!
Ingredients for Meatloaf
This homemade meatloaf recipe is super simple, yet incredibly good. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Ground Beef: Ground beef is the base for this recipe and we suggest using 85/15 (15% fat) ground beef. The fat gives flavor and keeps the meatloaf moist.
- Onion: Onions add a wonderfully subtle savory flavor to the meatloaf.
- Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs soak up moisture from the ground beef, milk, and eggs as the meatloaf bakes, keeping the loaf super tender and moist.
- Milk: Milk adds moisture and flavor to the meatloaf.
- Egg: Egg acts as a binder for the meatloaf so it doesn’t fall apart when sliced, plus it adds flavor, moisture, and richness.
- Seasoning: This meatloaf is seasoned simply with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. It’s just enough seasoning to add flavor without overpowering the natural beef flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Worcestershire sauce is used in both the meatloaf and the glaze. It offers a deliciously savory umami flavor with just a hint of sweetness.
- Ketchup: Ketchup is the base for the sweet and tangy glaze that goes on top of the meatloaf.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar helps balance the ketchup’s acidity and gives the glaze its beautifully glossy finish.
- Yellow Mustard: Mustard adds depth and savory flavor to the glaze.
The Secret to Good Meatloaf
Milk. The secret to good meatloaf is milk. It sounds weird, but it makes a HUGE difference. Milk hydrates the breadcrumbs that are used as a binder in meatloaf, which keeps the loaf super moist and tender.
During the testing phase for this recipe, I made one without the milk just to see if really made a difference and I’m here to say that the difference was ENORMOUS. The meatloaf without milk was dense, a little tough, and notably drier than the meatloaf made with milk. So don’t skip it! P.S. I’m sure that non-dairy milk would have the same effect.
Loaf Pan or Baking Sheet?
There are two camps when it comes to meatloaf: baking in a loaf pan or on a baking sheet. I’m team baking sheet, but I think ultimately it’s going to boil down to personal preference. I find that loaf pans don’t allow for quite enough evaporation so the bottom can get a little soupy. Baking sheets allow for a little more evaporation, leaving the meatloaf perfectly juicy and flavorful.
But if shaping is difficult for you or you want those perfect square edges, you might prefer a loaf pan.
How to Keep Meatloaf from Falling Apart
There are a couple of tricks to making a meatloaf that holds together in nice slices. Here are a few tips:
- Use a recipe that has the right amount of binders (egg and breadcrumbs). This is essentially the glue that holds the meat together.
- Use ground beef with a finer grind, or that has been double ground. Really coarse ground beef won’t mix as thoroughly with the binders and may crumble when sliced.
- Mince the onion as finely as possible. Large chunks of onion will prevent the loaf from holding together as well.
What to Serve with Meatloaf
My favorite pairing for meatloaf is what I have pictured here, Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans. It’s so simple, classic, and balanced with the meatloaf and its tangy glaze. But here are some other good side dishes for meatloaf:
Classic Meatloaf
Servings 10 slicesIngredients
Meatloaf
- 1 large egg ($0.21)
- 1/3 cup milk ($0.14)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs ($0.32)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup minced onion ($0.14)
- 1.5 lbs. ground beef (85/15) ($8.03)
Glaze
- 1/2 cup ketchup ($0.40)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.06)
- 1 tsp yellow mustard ($0.03)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and Worcestershire sauce. In a separate small bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mince the onion.
- Add the ground beef, egg mixture, breadcrumb mixture, and minced onion to a large bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until evenly combined. Avoid over mixing.
- Place the meatloaf mixture on a rimmed baking dish and shape it into a loaf that is approximately 4-inches wide, 8-inches long, and 2-inches tall.
- In a separate small bowl, stir together the glaze ingredients (ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard). Spread the glaze evenly over the top and sides of the meatloaf.
- Bake the meatloaf for 50-55 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Allow the meatloaf to rest for 5-10 minutes after baking, then slice and serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Classic Meatloaf – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Start by pre-mixing some of the ingredients for the meatloaf so there will be less mixing required for the meat (overmixing the meat can make meatloaf tough). In a small bowl, whisk together ⅓ cup milk, one large egg, and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. In a separate bowl, stir together ½ cup breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt.
Mince about a ½ cup onion. Make sure to chop or mince the onion as finely as possible. Chunky onion can make the meatloaf fall apart more easily.
Add the milk mixture, breadcrumb mixture, and minced onion to 1.5 lbs. ground beef (85/15). Mix with your hands until everything is evenly combined. Avoid overmixing.
Place the meatloaf mixture on a rimmed baking sheet or baking dish and shape it into a loaf that is approximately 8″ long, 4″ wide, and 2″ tall.
Next, combine the ingredients for the glaze. Stir together ½ cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
Spread the glaze over the top and sides of the meatloaf.
Bake the meatloaf in the preheated 350ºF oven for 50-55 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Let the meatloaf rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
This was so good! Simple recipe to follow. I’ve never put milk in meatloaf before but wow, so moist as described!! I only had a pound of meat so I minced up mushrooms and added it in to bulk up the loaf, was a great addition. Will definitely make again!
Looks delicious 😋
I used almond milk and 80/20 ground beef, which worked fine. Definitely use a meat thermometer, mine took an extra 20 min. I served with the balsamic glazed carrots (I just baked them in the same oven for longer at 350) and garlic herb mashed potatoes recipes. Yum!
Yummy! I love the flavor of this meatloaf!
My rating didn’t go through lol.
This recipe was great! I substituted oat milk for cow’s milk and did a combination of 1 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb wagyu ground beef. Turned out so moist and flavorful!
I have lots of frozen ground beef in my freezer – can I thaw it out, mix and shape the meatloaf, then freeze it raw?
That’s a little tricky, I’d need to try it first to make sure it works okay. The most important thing is that you want to make sure the meat stays within a safe temperature (below 40F) during the thawing process so it stays safe. Repeated freeze-thaw can affect the texture some, as well.
Looking forward to making this, but I’m slightly worried as my store doesn’t carry fine-ground ground beef. Is there anything I can do to compensate or should I just not worry too much?
It will still taste great, so I think you’ll be fine. At most, the slices might not be as stiff, but that certainly won’t make it any less delicious. :)
my first ever meatloaf, and it turned out so well! so cozy and flavourful! thank you for the great recipe.♡
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! :)
Can I cook meatloaf with my electric griddle??
No, you really need to bake this in an oven to get the even heat from all sides.
This is too much for one person. Would it freeze ok?
Yes, meatloaf should freeze well.
You didn’t ask, but some years back I discovered a freezer trick that has made almost everything right for freezing in single servings: For the meatloaf, slice into portions. Freeze flat on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper, making sure to keep some distance between the slices (the sauce will travel a bit, but it’s going to freeze, so it doesn’t matter).
Next day, wrap slices individually in Saran wrap and then pop into a freezer bag to heat up another day.
It’s a lot of plastic, but I get frost when I don’t double-wrap, and yuck.
The advantage of freezing this way is that it “dry-freezes” the food, evaporating any surface liquid and further limiting frost. Also, single portions!
p.s. I’ve been known to chop up leftover meatloaf and toss it in a tomato sauce for pasta, soup of even pizza topping.
I’ve also found adding ground pork to my very lean beef to make a very flavorful meatloaf! A 2:1 ratio, 2 lb of ground beef, 1 lb of ground pork! I make a lot, so I’ve got leftovers!
That’s a great idea!
My daughter makes a glaze that calls for these same ingredients but adds in Apricot Jam!
Absolutely the best Glaze I’ve ever had!! And you heat it up a-bit to allow the jam to liquify, it also allows the brown sugar to melt.
Made this last night using half a pound of Mexican chorizo and a pound of ground beef. It was easy and good. I didn’t put the glaze on top because I didn’t think it would go with the chorizo. Instead, I made the Easy Red Enchilada Sauce, and we spooned some of that onto the meatloaf when we served it. It was fine, but I’m really looking forward to making some enchiladas with the remaining half pound of chorizo. and the sauce.
Just to say, you really didn’t make the recipe at all, and rated it lower. That seems silly to me.
Not here to rate, just to warn the newbies not to try to substitute ground chicken or turkey for the beef in this recipe. (There are other good recipes for turkey meatloaf, but ground poultry cooks differently from ground beef and the recipe has to take that difference into account, otherwise you can get a loaf that tastes like dry sawdust.)
I made this with ground turkey and it was phenomenal. I didn’t use fat free, but a mix of 85/15 and 97/3. Everything else I kept the same. I use a meat thermometer, and don’t remember if it needed extra time, but it was GREAT!
Meatloaf is one of my favorites! I splurged on a specialty 2-piece meatloaf pan that has a drainage rack that the loaf sits on, so the soupiness drips through. Worth it!
I love a good meatloaf but lately I can’t eat any type of onion or garlic. Do you think it would be okay to omit the onion? Or does it also give moisture other than flavor (which I’ll compensate for with some herb+spices) without which the meatloaf suffers? Btw when I made your cheddar-studded meatloaf my mom was so blown away, that sometimes she asks for it 😀
Hi — It’s fine to omit the onion! It’s just there for flavoring. You’re right that herbs will punch it up a bit.
Side note: Have you tried sauteeing the onions or garlic before eating? (Yes, I’d even do that before adding to a meatloaf if it helped, though I’d make sure they were well-drained before adding.) I ask because I faced this same issue for some years and found that if they were well-cooked, even before added to a recipe, it helped a lot. Or it may not! Worth a try.
Thanks! The longer I cook onions and garlic the better they are for my stomach, but they still hurt me unfortunately. Even slow cooked sauces.