Our classic meatloaf recipe is so tender and always moist thanks to a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage. Using a little sausage in the meatloaf makes it so flavorful and rich, it’s one of our favorite tricks for big flavor without much effort. Grated onion is another way we load this meatloaf up with flavor! Grating the onion makes it really melt into the meatloaf as it bakes, giving every bite a savory richness that everyone will adore. A glaze made of ketchup and brown sugar tops the meatloaf — just like we use on our delicious Turkey Meatloaf and Mini Meatloaf recipes — for even more deliciousness. And the best part of making meatloaf for dinner? Meatloaf sandwiches for dinner tomorrow!
Key Ingredients For Classic Meatloaf
- Meat: We use 90/10 ground beef (which is pretty lean) because it’s combined with mild Italian sausage, which is fattier (and delicious!).
- Onion: Grate it with a box grater or use your food processor’s grating attachment. Grated onion is a trick we borrowed from our Gryo recipe and there’s just no going back.
- Breadcrumbs: Some folks use panko breadcrumbs, but we keep it classic with plain breadcrumbs.
- Eggs: The binder! Eggs hold it all together (much like you).
- Milk: Whole milk is best, but if you’ve only got 2%, use that. If you can’t do dairy, a rich, plant-based milk is OK.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, Worcestershire, garlic & onion powder, salt and pepper. Because our recipe has sausage in it, you don’t have to worry much about adding a lot of additional seasons. Yay!
How To Make Meatloaf
- Mix the topping: Ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Grate the onion. It’ll be kind of watery, so we like to grate it into a bowl lined with a kitchen towel. That way, you can grab the corners and squeeze out the liquid before adding the onion to the meat.
- Use your hands to gently combine the onion with all of the other meatloaf ingredients.
- Form it into a loaf on a lined baking sheet.
- Cover the meatloaf with the ketchup glaze topping.
- Bake for 50 minutes.
Tips For The BEST Meatloaf
- No loaf pan: Form the meatloaf into a loaf with your hands (use the damp-palms trick that we’ve talked about in all our Meatball Recipes to keep your hands clean). Then, bake the meatloaf on a sheet pan just like that (the same technique we use for mini meatloaves). Why? It’ll bake more evenly, get a delicious outer crust, and taste WAY better.
- Make it moist: That ketchup glaze topping doesn’t just taste good, it tastes great!
- Make it so tender: mix the meatloaf with your hands so that you don’t accidentally overmix it. Overmixing will make the meat tough.
- Use two kinds of meat! While you could use all beef if you prefer (if you do, use 80/20 ground beef so that the meatloaf is super moist), we think that using Italian sausage for part of the meat makes our meatloaf recipe just a little better than all the rest. It adds richness, moisture and a next-level flavor that’s hard to beat.
- Let it rest: A ten minute rest may not seem essential, but it actually serves a really important function! It’ll trap the juices in the meatloaf and ensure that every bite is super tender and juicy when you finally do cut into it.
What To Serve With Meatloaf
- Mashed potatoes: We’re thinking Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Classic Mashed Potatoes, or our Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes.
- Broccoli: Roasted Broccoli, or Broccolini au Gratin, if you want to get snazzy!
- And for dessert? How about another home cooking classic: Fudgy Brownies
More Ground Beef Dinner Ideas
More Classic Comfort Food
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