The Best Meatloaf Recipe Ever!

Everyone loves meatloaf! It’s just a wholesome and delicious dish that is always really comforting. Most of us have memories of our Moms or Grandparents making this dish so it brings happy memories flooding back everytime you eat it.

We wanted to find the best Meatloaf recipe we could that kept close to traditional flavors. This would not only taste great but give you that comforting and nostalgic feeling we all love to have every now and then.

So let’s get started! This is what you will need:

Ingredients

  • Two pounds ground beef
  • Two eggs
  • Three-quarters of a cup of cow’s milk
  • Three-quarters cup breadcrumbs
  • A Third of a cup of diced onion
  • One teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Two tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley
  • One tablespoon chili sauce
  • Half a cup of chili sauce
  • Half a cup of ketchup
  • Meatloaf Sauce
  • Two tablespoons of brown sugar

Instructions

1. Get your oven going and preheat it to 350 degrees F.

2. Use some cooking spray to prepare a foil-lined baking tray.

3. Combine the eggs, breadcrumbs, and milk in a bowl. Give them a mix with a wooden spoon and then let it rest for 5-10 minutes.

4. Once rested add the beef, onions, 1 tablespoon of the chili sauce, the seasoning and the parsley. Give everything a thorough mix.

5. Take the mixture and form it into an 8×4 inch loaf and place it on your prepared baking tray.

6. While the loaf is baking combine the remaining chili sauce and ketchup.

7. Once the 40 minutes is up spread the sauce mixture over your loaf and then return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes. Once the meatloaf is cooked through, remove from the oven. If you want to get specific you can use a temperature probe to make sure the center of the loaf is 160 degrees F.

8. Allow the loaf to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

 

Common Problems with baking meatloaf.

Overmixing

This is the most common mistake people make. It can be tempting to give everything a super mix or even use a mixer to mix it altogether. This just isn’t necessary and could cause the loaf to become overly dense and ruin what should be a really tasty meal.

Not letting it rest

It’s tough to let it rest when you want to eat it as soon as possible but this is a really important step. If you find your meatloaf os falling apart it might be because you skipped this step or didn’t let it rest long enough. With any meatloaf recipe, you should be letting it rest for at least 10 minutes once it comes out of the oven. Leave it in the foil to rest.

Too Much Liquid. 

Obviously, you don’t want it to be dry but adding too much liquid to your mixture will ruin the end product as it will end up either being soggy or falling to bits.

Using a loaf pan

Looks like a good idea but it really isn’t. This doesn’t let the juices run away and your loaf will end up being soggy and it will fall to bits on you.

Cook it right

If you have a meat thermometer probe, use it! The best results come when the middle reaches 160 degrees F.

Can you Freeze Meatloaf?

Yes! You can freeze your cooked meatloaf or even freeze your prepared mixture to cook it on another day.

For best results when freezing prior to cooking: Place the loaf in a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. Completely wrap the pan and then freeze. Make sure it is completely frozen before defrosting. To defrost, place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. You can then bake as normal.

To freeze cooked meatloaf I recommend slicing it up. Place the slices on a parchment lined pan and then once frozen transfer them to freezer bags.

Conclusion

Let us know if you tried this recipe and what you think of it if you did. If you think you have a better recipe then send it to us and we will publish it on our site!

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