This is a traditional classic meatloaf recipe made with well-seasoned savory ground beef, packed with sauteed onions & peppers and topped with a delicious sweet tomato glaze, making it a perfect dinner main dish.
Looking for a delicious meatloaf recipe, one like your grandma’s meatloaf? Well, this meatloaf recipe might not be the lovely loaf your grandma made for you but I bet it comes close to being as good.
This was one of my grandma’s favorite things to make. She used to make a loaf on what felt like every other Sunday and it was hearty comforting and filling. The perfect dish for a family dinner on a cold evening.
What makes this a good choice for dinner:
It’s hard to mess up!! Lol! Meatloaf was a frequent visitor at our dinner table because it was so feasible, quick, and simple. Throw in the vegetables and binding ingredients, add in your seasoning and bring it together. Very simple!
It’s so easy to make that even when Grandma wasn’t in the mood to cook, it took nothing for one of her children or grands to pull out some ground beef, season it up, and bring it together with some eggs and breadcrumbs.
If it’s one thing that even the not-so-good cooks in the house couldn’t mess up, it was meatloaf. It may not have been as good as grandma’s loaf but it always came out edible no matter who made it.
Meatloaf is such a fan-favorite
Meatloaf is like that popular guy or girl at school that everyone loves. Haha! Because everyone likes meatloaf even the hard-to-please folk! Why? Because it’s ground beef, the same thing we use to make burgers which everyone loves!
Meatloaf after all is very similar to a burger – made up of similar ingredients just shaped and cooked differently. So it’s easy to see why meatloaf is a “FAN FAVORITE” dish! No one frowns at the idea of having meatloaf for dinner.
A versatile dish
Besides the fact that it’s beef and everyone loves beef including children, it pretty much goes well with almost everything you can think of, which is why I’d describe it as a versatile dish.
You can serve meatloaf with any starch side such as rice, egg noodles, or CREAMY GARLIC MASHED POTATOES which I have a recipe for… BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE, the options are limitless.
And the same goes for vegetable sides like ASPARAGUS, MIXED VEGETABLES, CORN, GREEN BEANS, etc… with some food, you can only make it if you have a certain starch or vegetable to go along with it.
But with meatloaf, it doesn’t matter what your choice of starch or vegetable sides are, it will taste just great served with it. This is the main reason I love making it besides how good it is.
Great for any dinner occasion
Another reason this recipe is such a good option is that you can make it for any dinner occasion. You can make it for a family dinner, a romantic dinner for 2, a dinner for kids, a dinner for older folk who need easy-to-eat food, a business dinner, etc.
You can make it in so many ways
I’ve had meatloaf a lot of times throughout my life and have tried it from so many people. It is easily one of the most unpredictable dishes because the ways you can make it and the things you can do with it are limitless.
It’s almost like a throw-away dish because if there’s something in ya fridge you’re trying to get rid of like a vegetable or sauce… add it to your meatloaf and it might work! Lol!
I’ve seen people put pretty much everything in meatloaf from mushrooms and hot peppers to potatoes and cheese. If ever you want to get creative with a dish, meatloaf is the one to do it with without having to worry about messing up.
Cookware and utensils you’ll need:
- Large Mixing Bowl: To combine everything in.
- Knife: You’ll need a knife to chop the vegetables.
- Cake Cutter: This is an easy way to slice and serve meatloaf.
- Skillet: You can use a skillet to sautee the vegetables.
- Casserole Dish: Use this to bake the meatloaf in.
- Non-Stick Loaf Pan: This is a better option for meatloaf.
- Spatula: To combine and smooth out meatloaf after shaping it.
- Measuring Cups: To accurately measure some of the glaze ingredients.
- Measuring Spoons: To accurately measure the seasonings.
Meatloaf ingredients:
Ok guys! Let me now get into the most commonly used ingredients for meatloaf, the things I like to put in my meatloaf, and the things that are absolutely necessary to make a good meatloaf.
- Ground beef: Go with an 80 lean/20 fat ratio of ground beef for best results. This ratio provides the perfect balance of moistness and flavor.
- Breadcrumbs & eggs: Both ingredients are used as gluing agents to bind the meat and keep it from falling apart. The eggs provide structure, like it does in a cake, the breadcrumbs help the meat stay intact.
- Milk: The milk not only makes the breadcrumbs nice and sticky and creates a glue effect to bind the meat, but it helps to keep the meat tender as it cooks.
- Vegetables: My favorites to use are onions, green and red bell peppers, and diced tomatoes which I soften and sautee in a pan of butter for a few minutes.
- Condiments: Ketchup and Worcestershire are a must. I almost always put Worcestershire in ground beef for burgers, loafs, Salisbury stealk etc and in recipes with meats such as steak.
- Seasonings: Onion soup mix, celery salt, garlic powder, and black pepper are my favorite seasonings to use. I like using celery salt because of the celery flavor it adds to the meatloaf without having to add celery.
Meatloaf glaze ingredients:
Now with the meatloaf glaze, you can customize it to your liking so don’t be afraid to adjust the amounts of ingredients to appease your tastebuds.
Now if you just don’t feel like going through this you can simply combine equal amounts of ketchup and honey or original BBQ, or just ketchup and be done.
- Ketchup: Ketchup is the base ingredient for this meatloaf glaze aka sauce. There simply isn’t any meatloaf glaze with the ketchup! Lol! So this is a must-have and an irreplaceable ingredient.
- Brown sugar and honey: The brown sugar and honey are both for sweetness but the honey also adds a glistening shine and a silky smooth texture to create the consistency of a sauce.
- Mustard: The mustard I use in place of vinegar which is what a lot of people use. It just adds some tart and acidity to the sweet glaze to give it another layer of flavor and balance out the sweetness.
- Worcestershire sauce: The Worcestershire sauce not only helps to darken the sauce like the brown sugar does, but it adds a hint of smoke flavor which gives the sauce more depth of flavor.
How to make meatloaf
1. Combine the beef, eggs, and breadcrumbs and stir.
2. Mix in the seasonings, ketchup, and Worcestershire.
3. Chop the vegetables, sautee, then add to the meat.
4. Preheat the oven to 350, and add the mixture to a baking dish.
5. Knead the meat into the shape of a meatloaf.
6. Create the meatloaf glaze/sauce and pour it over the meatloaf.
7. Bake meatloaf for an hour then set aside..
Tips for best results:
- Don’t overmix: Doing so changes the texture of the meat and can result in a tough chewy outcome. Try to bring all the ingredients together and to shape the loaf with as little work as possible.
- Saute the vegetables: This ensures they are fully cooked before the meatloaf is done and to tame the strong acidic flavor of the raw onions and peppers.
- Don’t cover the meatloaf: The goal is to get it to come together and brown on top and you can’t accomplish that by covering it with aluminum foil – that will have the reverse effect and provide moisture, which isn’t needed.
- Let the meatloaf rest: Give the meatloaf 10-20 minutes before cutting into it and give it time to stiffen so it doesn’t fall all apart which can happen while it’s still hot and moist and the juices are being absorbed by the meat.
Add ins & Variataions:
- Ground turkey: Ground turkey can be used in place of ground beef if you want to go the healthy route. Ground beef with taste great but if I were using ground beef, I would top it with meatloaf glaze.
I would probably top if with a homemade turkey gravy which you can make using butter, turkey broth, and flour in a pot or buy some premade bottled turkey gravy in a bottle or a gravy mix packet from the store. - Toasted bread, crackers, or flour: All can be used in place of the breadcrumbs. You’ll have to break the bread and crackers up into small pieces, then combine them with the eggs and milk like you would with the breadcrumbs.
- Carrots, celery, zucchini & mushrooms: Are other options of vegetables you can put in your meatloaf. I would definitely use mushrooms, carrots, and celery if I were making it using ground turkey.
- Steak sauce or cream of mushroom: These are good replacements for ketchup if you want a more beefy meatloaf. Both cream of mushroom and obviously steak sauce goes great with beef.
- Your favorite all-purpose seasoning: Can be used in place of onion soup mix and celery salt. Im talking about the Laury’s seasonings, Adobo, and Sazon seasonings of the world.
- Savory beef gravy: Which you can make yourself as I said earlier about turkey gravy, using butter, beef broth, and flour in a skillet or buy some premade bottled gravy or a gravy mix packet from the store.
This is if you’re going for a more beefy-smothered meatloaf. You can X OUT the ketchup BBQ sauce, and the glaze altogether because you’ll be replacing it with a beef gravy as I just mentioned.
If you go this route, you will also replace the ketchup you add in the loaf with steak sauce, cream of mushroom or you don’t have to replace it at all just omit it.
What to serve with meatloaf:
- Mashed potatoes: I think this is an obvious answer. The most common side dish for meatloaf is mashed potatoes and I have a delicious Smooth Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe you can try here on phillyjaycooking.
- Egg noodles: Egg noodles is my 2nd choice for a side dish. This is typically what I would serve with it if I didn’t have potatoes or just wasn’t in the mood for mashed potatoes because I eat it all the time with meatloaf.
- Green beans: I dont know what it is but I love eating certain vegetable with certain dishes and green beans is what I love to eat most with meatloaf for some reason. Maybe it’s the way I make them they taste so great together.
- Creamed Spinach: I absolutely love creamed spinach. Whenever I’d order meatloaf from Boston Market, I’d always choose the Garlic dill potatoes and creamed spinach as my sides.
Frequently asked questions
How to drain fat from meatloaf? Even though I use a casserole dish as you see in the featured photos, using a non-stick load pan, which you can find in my cookware and utensils section is the best option.
I say this because not only does it give your meatloaf a classic meatloaf shape, but it drains the fat as it cooks so you’re not left with load of fat/grease in the casserole dish you’re serving the meatloaf out of.
How to remove fat from a casserole dish? Ok so say it’s too late, and you’ve already cooked it in a Casserole dish like I did, the best way to remove the fat is with a baster and suck up and discard it.
You can also use a small spoon to scoop out most of the fat. You can also lift it up with a cake lifter, remove the fat, and clean the casserole dish out, and carefully lay it back into the casserole dish. But that’s a lot! Lol!
Check out my latest hit recipes:)
- Creamy Tangy Beef Stroganoff
- Baked Steak And Red Potatoes
- Scrumptious Spaghetti And Meat Sauce
- Moist Southern Style Cornbread
- Banging Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe
Guys I hope yall enjoy this meatloaf recipe. If you do help me out with a 5 star rating, like, and share the recipe with family and friends. Please remember to subscribe to be notified on all future recipes.
Enjoy, later!
PBJ~
Grandma Val’s Easy Classic Meatloaf Recipe
This is a traditional classic meatloaf recipe made with well-seasoned savory ground beef, packed with sauteed onions & peppers and topped with a delicious sweet tomato glaze, making it a perfect dinner main dish.
- Prep Time: 30 Mins
- Cook Time: 1 Hr
- Total Time: 1 Hr 30 Mins
- Yield: 8
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 Lbs Ground Beef
1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Milk
2 Eggs
2 Tbs Butter
1/4 Cup Onions
1/4 Cup Green Peppers
1/4 Cup Red Peppers
1/4 Cup Diced Tomatoes
2 Tsps Minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Ketchup
2 Tsps Worcestershire Sauce
1 Pack Lipton Soup Mix
1 Tbs Celery Salt
2 Tsps Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
MEATLOAF GLAZE
1 Cup Ketchup
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 Tbs Honey
2 Tsps Yellow Mustard
2 Tsps Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
1. Place ground beef in a large mixing bowl.
2. Beat eggs and milk together then add to ground beef, then add in breadcrumbs and mix.
3. Add in all the seasonings, ketchup, and Worcestershire, then mix again.
4. Chop the vegetables into small pieces, and drain the diced tomatoes.
5. Place a skillet over high heat, add in the butter, and then add in the chopped vegetables, diced tomatoes, and minced garlic, then saute for 3 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Pour the sauteed vegetables and garlic from the skillet into the loaf mixture and mix well.
8. Add to a baking dish, and shape into a loaf.
9. In a small bowl, combine all the meatloaf glaze ingredients and stir well, then pour over meatloaf.
10. Place meatloaf in the oven and bake for 1 hour then remove and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
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