In this post, you will find traditional meatloaf recipes you will love including an easy meatloaf recipe that requires only 5 minutes prep time, a tasty bacon cheese meatloaf, extraordinary meatloaf and more! You’ll also find 12 ways to make meatloaf and meatballs, which give you lots of tasty options for easy family dinners everyone loves!
Traditional Meatloaf Is Easy And Delicious!
Meatloaf is a traditional comfort food that has been popular for generations! Today I will share some easy meatloaf recipes to make traditional meatloaf like my great grandmothers used to make!
I am including several easy meatloaf recipes, each of which has its own variations. Generally, any meatloaf starts with ground beef and then includes oatmeal, bread crumbs, crackers and sometimes other grains. In the Great Depression, these were used to stretch the meat to make the meatloaf cost less, but they also add a slightly different texture to the meat.
Then the meatloaf is placed into a bread baking pan and baked into a loaf, shaped like a bread loaf. When it is served, the meatloaf is usually served cut into thick slices a little bit thicker than bread slices.
Meatloaf is usually topped with ketchup and then baked, but it can also be topped with barbecue sauce, steak sauce or other specialty sauces if you prefer.
You can also sprinkle the top with grated cheese like Cheddar or Mexican cheese, or you can leave the sauce off the top altogether and simply sprinkle cheese on top. Yum! My easy meatloaf recipe is topped with ketchup or barbecue sauce, but I include other traditional meatloaf recipes below that call for cheese and sometimes bacon as a topping.
What To Do With Leftover Meatloaf
Leftover meatloaf is great for sandwiches because it tastes great and you can easily cut it into the size you prefer and place it on the bread.
If you make meatballs, you can cut them into halves and make sandwiches from them, too. Meatball sandwiches are delicious, especially served warm with mozzarella cheese, Italian sauce and other Italian-style add-ins.
If you have leftover meatloaf, recipes like these are perfect for using the leftovers:
Easy Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
Hamburger Casserole Recipes For Quick And Easy Meals!
Easy Homemade Chili Recipe
Break leftover meatloaf pieces into chunks and serve with spaghetti or use as a pizza topping.
Homemade Taco Meat Recipe For Tostadas, Enchiladas And More! Use the leftover meatloaf to make taco meat instead of starting with uncooked ground beef.
Here are the easy meatloaf recipes:
The easy meatloaf recipe below, which is included in volume 1 of our cookbook is my original meatloaf recipe. My mom and grandmother never made meatloaf, so when I got married, I came up with this easy meatloaf recipe because my husband loved meatloaf! It is so easy and delicious! It’s a no fail recipe for meatloaf that will be a hit with your entire family!
This traditional meatloaf recipe makes a delicious moist meatloaf just like grandma used to make! Not only does it taste great every time, it only takes 5 minutes to put together and then bake!
If you use this easy meatloaf recipe for any of the above purposes, you will probably want to use ketchup instead of the barbecue sauce that is mentioned in the basic meatloaf recipe.
Super Easy Meatloaf Recipe!
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This easy meatloaf recipe is a super delicious traditional meatloaf recipe that is easy to make with just 5 minutes’ prep time! This is an easy family dinner idea that everyone loves!
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal or 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mix the ground beef and all other ingredients together except the ketchup.
- Put the meat mixture into a loaf pan.
- Spread ketchup over the top.
- Bake 1 hour or until done.
This easy meatloaf recipe is from volume 1 of our cookbook:
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Meatloaf Glaze Recipe
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Ingredients
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients.
- Pour on meatloaf about 15 minutes before it is done.
If you’re in the mood for another tasty variation on an easy meatloaf recipe, try this tasty bacon cheese meatloaf recipe!
Bacon Cheese Meatloaf Recipe
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This Bacon Cheese Meatloaf Recipe is an easy meatloaf recipe with the delicious taste of bacon and cheese! Who thought meatloaf could get any better?
Ingredients
1 egg
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, grated
1 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled (about 10 slices)
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (leftover dinner rolls are especially good)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Combine everything except for 1/2 cup of the swiss cheese and 1/4 cup of the bacon.
- Mix well and shape into a loaf.
- Place the meat mixture in a greased loaf pan or baking dish.
- Bake uncovered at 350° for 1 hour, until meat is no longer pink or a thermometer inserted in the center reads 160° or higher.
- Drain.
- Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bacon.
- Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
- Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
This extraordinary meatloaf recipe is another meatloaf with a unique and delicious flavor! Using half ground beef and half sausage along with a generous amount of cheese gives it a more seasoned flavor than a typical meatloaf. For even more zip, you can use hot sausage in this easy meatloaf recipe. Tou can also experiment with other cheeses, like pepper jack.
Extraordinary Meatloaf Recipe
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Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. sausage (hot if you like it)
1 cup bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 lb. (3 cups) Colby cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Place in a loaf pan.
- Bake 45 minutes. When finished baking, a thermometer inserted in the center should read at least 160°.
Aunt Mary’s Best Meatloaf Recipe
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This best meatloaf recipe has been a family favorite for years! It is a traditional meatloaf recipe with the addition of Parmesan cheese and cooked layered in a generous amount of bacon for an extra delicious flavor!
- Author: Mary
Ingredients
Meatloaf Ingredients
12 slices of bread
2 cups milk
4 lbs. ground beef
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
8 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tbps. parsley, chopped
1 (16 oz.) package bacon
Sauce Ingredients
2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Soak the bread in the milk in a bowl.
- Mix the remaining ingredients, except the bacon, in a second bowl.
- Mix the soaked bread into the ground beef mixture.
- Place a layer of bacon on the bottom of 2 loaf pans.
- Make the ground beef mixture into 2 loaves.
- Place one meatloaf into each loaf pan.
- Top the meatloaves with the remaining bacon slices.
- Stir sauce ingredients together. Pour half over the meatloaf. Use the other half of the sauce for basting and serving.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Add more sauce and bake for 25 more minutes.
Meatloaf, Meatballs and Hamburger Recipes And Ideas
Buy 5 pounds or more of hamburger and prepare your favorite traditional meatloaf recipe. Then form part of it into any combination of the following:
- 1 or 2 meat loaves
- meatballs
- mini meat loaves (the size that will fit into mini loaf pans)
- portions that will fit into muffin tins
- form the rest into nice sized patties
Lay everything out on cookie sheets and freeze. When frozen, place into freezer bags. When you need something quick for dinner, just pull a bag of something out of the freezer.
