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10 Tasty Meatloaf Tips & Tricks
Mixing It Up Helpers: Some say meatloaf HAS to be mixed with your bare hands. Others say a thick wooden spoon or even a potato masher will do the job just fine. You could also put all the ingredients in a large ziploc bag, seal, then mash all ingredients together without getting your hands messy. Mix until everything’s blended fairly well, overmixing can result in a tough meatloaf.- Make Ahead: When making meatloaf, try making 2 or more batches at once. You can cook the meatloaf then freeze or shape into loaves, wrap the uncooked loaf well and freeze. Just take the meatloaf out of the freezer and it’s ready to cook. I’ve also mixed up all the ingredients, taken out the amount needed for one loaf and packed it in a ziploc bag (without forming into a loaf first). Squish all the meat in from side to side, top to bottom to force out all the air and to make the package really flat. Seal then freeze, it’s a real space saver in the freezer since you can stack the flat packs one on top of the other. All that’s needed is to shape into loaves once the meatloaf mix has thawed.
- Loaf Sizes: You can make a single loaf in a loaf pan or shape into smaller, individual loaves by cooking them in muffin tins–great for portion control and kids love them too! You can also make them “free form” and cook directly on an oven rack which results in a nice crust all over (have a pan on the rack underneath to catch drippings).
- Meatloaf Cling: If your meatloaf always sticks and clings to the bottom of the pan, try laying a strip of raw bacon on the bottom of the pan before filling with meat. The bacon not only helps prevent the meatloaf from cooking to the bottom, it also adds flavor.
- Crumbling Meatloaf: If your meatloaf is always crumbling apart when you slice it, let it sit for a few minutes first and then cut into pieces. The meat will hold together better.
- Meatloaf Filler Ideas: These help bulk up the loaf and stretch your meat, also used to help bind the wet ingredients with the ground meat. You could use cracker crumbs, bread crumbs (seasoned or plain), quick cooking oats, corn flakes, mushrooms, garlic or seasoned croutons, Stove Top Stuffing and even rice or chopped/grated veggies like carrots.
- Mixed In Sauces & Liquid Ideas: These help keep the meat moist and many also increase the flavor, try–chili sauce, tomato sauce, ketchup, mushroom soup, sour cream, pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, milk, beef stock, cream, wine, sweet & sour sauce, bbq sauce, steak sauce, V8 juice, salsa, plain yogurt, soy sauce, prepared mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salad dressings (like ranch), apple sauce, lightly beaten eggs, canned diced tomatoes & peppers, canned chicken & rice or tomato soup.
- Flavor Mix In Ideas: Kick up the flavor with one or more of these ideas–dry onion soup mix, Italian seasonings, chopped onion, minced garlic, horseradish, thyme, sage, oregano, chopped green olives, celery, generous amounts of shredded cheddar cheese.
- Meatloaf Topper Ideas: Try pouring a can of mushroom soup over top 20 to 30 minutes before the meatloaf is done for a tasty mushroom sauce. You could also use your favorite tomato sauce or chili sauce–the zestier the better! Also slices of bacon over top is another tasty idea.
- Yummy Meatloaf Split: Place half of the ground meat in the pan, cover with grated cheddar cheese or mozza cheese and onions then top with the other half of ground meat. Cook as you normally would. Lightly sautéed mushrooms, garlic & peppers are a nice addition too.
Do you have a meatloaf secret not listed above? Please share it by adding the tip below–we’d all love to hear it!
Updated: New tips added as well as tips from comments below included for convenience (thanks for sharing!). Originally published April 17, 2007.
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My grandmother’s secret meatloaf ingredient RoTel brand diced tomatoes and green chiles. Mmm mmm, that’s good stuff!
Ohhh that does sound good Greg, thanks for that! I edited the original post asking for more meatloaf tips, hopefully we can get a good list going
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I use lots of chopped mushrooms, any kind, as a filler. It makes a moist and tasty turkey meatloaf.
mmmmmm I love mushrooms and I never thought of using them as filler in meatloaf. Great tip Beverly, thanks!
I also save the “dregs” in salad dressing,mustard, steak sauce sauce etc. bottles, add a little water to bottle, shake real good to mix and add to meatloaf as part of the liquid.
georgia
I’ve found that cooking a meatloaf in a crock-pot doesn’t have to be a big, ugly mess! Take a few potatoes, cut them into thick strips, (think steak fries) put a layer in the bottom of the crock-pot and place your meatloaf on top. All the greasy fat is absorbed by the potatoes, leaving your meatloaf nice for cutting. Plus my dog loves the greasy potatoes! Or for quick cooking, I put the meatloaf mixture in muffin tins, and it cooks in half the time.
Great ideas sara & Georgia, thank you for sharing those!
I was going to say the same thing Sara said about the muffin tins…my kids love them that way. I usually make 2 separate batches, one for the adults who like it spicy (with jalpeños) and onions. And the other mild for the kiddos. I bake the kids batch like they are muffins, and they are the perfect portion for them. I had no idea anyone else did this, but Sara was right it does cook in half the time, but tastes just as good as the loaf! Thanks for all the ideas, believe it or not, meatloaf is a favorite in this family!
I to use muffin tins to make meatloaf , I then slice and use as lunch fillings in with salad in a bun/roll for school and work lunch, I all so use the very small muffin tins to make meat balls for home made spaghetti, I pack in containers and freeze
Wow! I guess I know what I’m making for dinner tonight
. It’s always a struggle to get my youngest to eat veggies so I grate up a carrot or two and mix it in. She doesn’t even realize she’s eating her “hated” carrots. I’ve heard that mixing meatloaf by hand is okay as long as you don’t compress it as it’s supposed to be sort of fluffy?
a few things to add to this already great list:
1. A meatloaf pan! It is a pan inside a pan and the top pan has holes in it so that the grease can drop into the other dish and keep it from getting greasy.
2. French’s fried onions on top. I layer them on to for the last 5 minutes of cooking and my family goes wild. I’ve even made meatloaf for company and they loved this addition.
3. I substitute ground turkey to make it a little leaner. Just up the seasonings and its fine.
We are vegetarians, but still love making fake-meatloaf with ground fake hamburger.
For “filler” I add wheat germ, along with italian seasoned bread crumbs and grated cheese – it adds a “nutty sweetness” and lots of nutrition.
I also encrust the outside of my meatloaf with very coarsely ground black pepper – adds a nice zing!!!
After mixing the ingredients, I form the meat into small loaves by hand and then set them in a cookie sheet (ones with sides) and bake. I love the crunchies and like the fact that the grease can be pushed away.
this is my husbands favorit
hambuger ( about 1 lb.)
one egg
handfull of rolled oats
onions (diced)
dry mustard about 1 teaspoon)
tablespoon of gound flax
pepper
put in loaf pans cover with ketchup and bake. if you liek a couple of slices of bacon is also nice.
You can add bead slices to the bottom of the loaf to suck up the grease just peel and toss when you’re ready.
Shapping into oval patties bake on a broil pan, when done surve with brown gravy and you have salisbury steak.
You can also add left over baby cereal as a filler.
TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) soaked in a bit of beef broth to soften can be added to yuor beef and it really stretched the budget.
Hope this helps someone.
I use grated zucchini and carrots, W sauce, or sometimes a layer of spinach leaves when filling the pan. Ground turkey is a standby. Since my husband is a deer hunter, ground venison is also good made into meatloaf. Enjoy!
Pizza meatloaf is a big hit with kids..use your favorite meatloaf recipe, put half the meat mixture in the pan, then layer pepperoni, pizza sauce, onions, mozzerella cheese, (any favorite pizza toppings)over it, then cover with the rest of meat mixture. Top with remaining pizza sauce and cheese, and bake as usual.
Take a hint from Americas’s Test Kitchen and do’t put the meatlof in a pan. Instead mold it like a loaf and place on a cookie sheet. You will find that not only does it cooker faster but more evenly.
My mom used to do this and I’ve made it for my children hundreds of times.
Make the meatloaf as usual, whatever ingredients you’d like; then I make 2 or 3 hard boiled eggs, remove the shell, make a well deep enough in the meatloaf to place the eggs on their sides, length wise. Be sure to cover them with meat you’ve set on the sides to cover the eggs. Cook as usual. It’s a bit different and my kids love it.
I use thick cut onions on the bottom of a regular loaf pan for my meatloaf. The drippings fry the onions, the aroma and flavor travels up into the meatloaf and the texture of onions is completely missing! As another bonus, a half inch slice of onion rather than dicing an onion means way less onion-weeping, which is the real reason I do it this way.
I make my meatloaf in a black iron skillet with a little brown sugar mixed in with ketchup and spread on top for the last 20-30 minutes. YUM!!
My secret to complet mix together, mix all ingredients together, except the meat, then pour over meat and mix with hands, shape and into the black iron skillet into a preheated oven! VOILA double YUM!!
I would like to add that I have used Italian bread crumbs for years and served it with a tomato sauce topping. People usually rave over it. I think it is because of the seasonings in the bread crumbs. They make it tastier and provide a fuller flavor. I generally add about 1-1/2 cups of Italian bread crumbs per pound of ground beef. I then moisten it with eggs (2) and tomato sauce. I also add beef bouillion to the mixture to “beef” up the flavor. Generally no more than 2 cubes or a tablespoon of the powdered beef bouillion. I hope this makes your meat loaf tastier and your family happier!
I’ve tried lots of different ways with meatloaf, but the best one is just one egg, chopped onions, about a cup of Cheese-its(crushed), and salt and pepper to a pound of ground beef- 350degrees for an hour.
mixed my meatloaf(veal, ground beef, pork) with bread crumbs, eggs, onions and mushrooms. Made it today and want to know if I put in refrig uncooked will it be alright to cook tomorrow. Thanks, Carol
I don’t like the feel of cold, raw, ground meat between my fingers. So, when I make meatloaf I use the dough hook on my Kitchen-Aid mixer to incorporate all the ingredients. Now I love to make meatloaf. Be sure to use the dough hook though, because over working the the mixture will make it tough.