Homemade Meatloaf Recipe – Best Ever!
With this easy Homemade Meatloaf Recipe, you’ll make the Best Meatloaf Ever—tasty, juicy, and doesn’t crumble when you slice it.
Secrets to the Perfect Meatloaf
When it comes to making a great meatloaf—the best ever—you’ll need to know a few secrets. Yes, ground chuck and ground pork make the best meatloaf mix because of their high-fat content. They’re also my favorite combination of meats for this recipe. But if you want to try part or all, sirloin for a lower fat content (or even ground chicken or turkey), you can still make a great meatloaf with my tips.
Why is Fat Important for Your Meatloaf?
First, the secret to a juicy meatloaf that doesn’t crumble when you slice it is the fat that’s part of your ingredients. But how do you achieve a juicy recipe with lower fat meats? Well, the secret is…bone broth!
Bone broth is high in gelatin, so it brings a much needed binding agent to the meatloaf when there is less fat in the mix. And it doesn’t matter what type of bone broth you use—beef, chicken, or turkey—it won’t affect the taste of the final dish. Plus, thanks to the bone broth, you don’t need to go overboard with the breadcrumbs, which would otherwise cut into the nice meaty taste of meatloaf.
What About Moisture in Your Meatloaf?
Second, the next secret to a juicy meatloaf that doesn’t crumble when you slice it is moisture. The fat certainly helps with this, but you need something more, especially when using lower fat meats. The bone broth helps bind the lower fat meats because it is a liquid that adds moisture in addition to gelatin. But no matter what type of meat you use, you want to make sure there is plenty of moisture mixed in with your meat.
With the traditional mix of chuck and pork, I like to use milk as my liquid, and it works great, especially full-fat milk since it adds moisture as well as additional fat. But whether you are using milk or bone broth to moisten your meat mixture, you also want to make sure that you add at least one cup of minced veggies, which can include onions (any variety), carrots, celery, and sweet bell peppers. Even jarred-chopped pimentos will work in a pinch!
Mix Your Meatloaf with a Light Hand
Once you assemble all the needed ingredients to make this meatloaf, you’ll want to make sure that your meat is cold and that you mix everything together with a very light open hand. Your hand should be in the shape of a claw—no squeezing the meat through your fingers! And just mix until everything is combined. Don’t over mix. Otherwise, you’ll get a tough meatloaf. And you don’t want that! You want a meatloaf that is going to melt in your mouth.
Shape and Bake!
Once your meat mixture is nicely combined, all you need to do is shape, glaze, and bake your meatloaf. You can shape the meat free-form, or you can use a loaf pan to shape it and then turn it out on to a baking sheet. I show you how to do this little trick in my recipe video, so be sure to watch it.
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Homemade Meatloaf Recipe – Best Ever!
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf
- 2 pounds Ground meat mixture chuck, sirloin, pork, chicken, or turkey
- 1 cup Breadcrumbs, fresh
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup Milk, full-fat or bone broth—beef, chicken, or turkey
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced, optional
- 1 Onion, any variety, minced You can substitute any mixture of veggies, including carrots, sweet bell peppers, celery, etc. Just make sure that you have 1 cup total.
- 1 teaspoon Fine ground sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Fresh parsley, minced, optional
- 1 teaspoon Dried thyme substitute with 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
- 1 Large Egg
For the Glaze
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Place the breadcrumbs in the bowl and gently mix with milk or bone broth to saturate. Add up to 1/2 cup of milk or bone broth.
- Once the breadcrumbs are saturated, add egg, garlic, onion, salt and pepper, 1/4 cup of ketchup, parsley, and thyme to the bowl and mix well.
- Add meat to the breadcrumb mixture and mix gently with an open hand until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix and do not squeeze the meat through your fingers.
- Free-form meat mixture into a loaf on a foil-lined baking sheet or use a loaf pan to shape the meat mixture. (See the recipe video.)
- Mix the remaining 1/4 cup of ketchup and the Worcestershire sauce together, and brush over the top and sides of the meatloaf.
- Place meatloaf into a preheated 350°F oven and bake until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Video
Notes
Shop for items used in this blog post or video
Favorite Meatloaf Making Supplies
- Glass Bowls
- KitchenAid Food Processor
- Spatula
- Baking Sheet
- Loaf Pan
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- Parchment Paper
- Basting Brush
- Organic Ketchup
- Worcestershire Sauce
Recommended Reading
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Learn where I buy my Beef Bones, Wild-Caught Fish, Sprouted Grains, and more…and learn about Special Discounts for Mary’s Nest visitors, including from US Wellness Meats, Vital Choice, Masontops, and Breadsmart.
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Hi Mary:
I made your (best ever) meatloaf tonight and my husband approved! I remember on the video that there was 1 egg but it is not in the printed version. So I had to watch the video again. I just wanted to let you know so that you could fix your printed recipe. Thanks for all you do to help us eat healthy!
PS> It looks like since I printed the recipe there has been an egg added to the glaze. The video puts that egg in the meatloaf.
Thank you!! ❤️🤗❤️