Meatloaf Burgers—Baked, Grilled, or Fried

Name: Meatloaf Burgers—Baked, Grilled, or Fried
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds lower fat ground meat (beef, turkey, or chicken); 1 cup bread crumbs; 1/2 cup milk; 1/2 cup ketchup; 1 tablespoon seasoning salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 2 eggs; 1 onion (medium or 1/2 large diced )

Recipe Table of Contents

4.34 from 63 votes

Juicy and tender meatloaf burgers make a perfect single serving of meatloaf or serve as a wonderful burger. Using only pantry ingredients, it is easy to make baked in the oven, on the grill, or fried on the stovetop.

Jump To:

👨‍🍳How to make this recipe
🥣Ingredients to use
❓FAQs
📖Classic Comfort Food Recipes
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
📝Recipe

Introduction

One of my wife's favorite meals is a leftover meatloaf sandwich. It is the reason we make very large meatloaves— for the leftovers. So I thought I would "cut out the middle man" and go directly to the sandwich phase.

I started with our favorite meatloaf, made generous burgers, and provided a variety of methods to cook.

👨‍🍳How to make this recipe

Chop onion.
Mix the meat mixture. Form into a loaf and cut into equal size burgers. I suggest about ⅓ pound. They may be between ¼ and ½ pounds, but the cooking time will vary.
To Bake: Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and coat the top with ketchup. If not non-stick, use parchment paper. Bake at 350° convection or 375° conventional for about 20-25 minutes until 165° internal temperature.
To Grill: Preheat the grill to high. Clean and oil grates. Grill for about 5 minutes, flip and coat the top with ketchup. Grill for about 5 more minutes until 165° internal temperature.
To Fry on the stovetop: Using a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat until hot. Add the patties and flip in about 5 minutes when the bottom is darker brown. Add ketchup to the top and fry for about 5 more minutes until 165° internal temperature.

🥣Ingredients to use

Ground Meat

A lower-fat ground meat is preferred for this recipe if baked. Less fat drainage for the burgers to set in, but less important if grilled or fried.

I use ground beef, but ground turkey or chicken works well but will have a slightly different taste. Lower-fat ground meat will still be moist due to the milk and breadcrumbs.

Full-fat ground meat may be used if you wish.

Topping

I use good-quality ketchup for the topping. Some people will add brown sugar and other things to the ketchup, but I don't think it is needed if you use good quality.

Also, BBQ sauce can be used or skip the topping.

❓FAQs

The meatloaf burgers stick to the grill. What can I do about that?

First, be sure to clean and oil the grill grates. Second, a light spray of PAM on both sides helps prevent sticking.

My meatloaf burgers want to fall apart. What can I do?

The egg works as the binder, and it is always better to have a bit too much than not enough. 1 egg per pound or part of a pound of meat is a good rule.

Too much liquid, not mixing enough and not packing together enough are other possible issues.

How to store leftover meatloaf burgers?

Meatloaf is good refrigerated for 4 days if sealed well. Or frozen for 4 months if sealed airtight.

📖Classic Comfort Food Recipes

Old Fashioned Meatloaf

Paula Deen Inspired Basic Meatloaf

Cheesy American Goulash

Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole with Parmesan Topping

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

ground beef with ingredients for meatloaf

Preheat the oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.

Dice 1 medium or ½ large onion.

pouring chopped onion into the meat mixture

Mix 2 pounds lower-fat burger, 1 cup bread crumbs, ½ cup milk, ½ cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon seasoning salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, two eggs, and the diced onion.

meat formed into loaf cut into equal pieces

Divide into six portions and form into 4-inch burgers—dimple the center of the burgers about ¼ inch to prevent puffing during cooking.

To Bake: Continue with these instructions.
To Grill: Preheat the grill to high. Clean and oil grates. Grill for about 5 minutes, flip and coat the top with ketchup. Grill about 5 more minutes until 165° internal temperature.
To Fry on the stovetop: Using large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat until hot. Add the patties and flip in about 5 minutes when the bottom is darker brown. Add ketchup to the top and fry about 5 more minutes until 165° internal temperature.

meat mixture formed into burgers with dimples

Place on a large rimmed tray. A non-stick tray is preferred, but if you don't have that, cover the tray with a sheet of parchment paper.

Cover with a nice coat of ketchup.

wide view of meatloaf burger on baking tray

Bake until an internal temperature of 165°— about 20 to 25 minutes.

📝Recipe

Meatloaf Burgers—Baked, Grilled, or Fried

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

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4.34 from 63 votes

Print Collection

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 6

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.
Dice 1 medium or ½ large onion.
Mix 2 pounds lower-fat burger, 1 cup bread crumbs, ½ cup milk, ½ cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon seasoning salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, two eggs, and the diced onion.
Divide into six portions and form into 4-inch burgers—dimple the center of the burgers about ¼ inch to prevent puffing during cooking.
To Bake: Continue with these instructions.
To Grill: Preheat the grill to high. Clean and oil grates. Grill for about 5 minutes, flip and coat the top with ketchup. Grill about 5 more minutes until 165° internal temperature.
To Fry on the stovetop: Using a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat until hot. Add the patties and flip in about 5 minutes when the bottom is darker brown. Add ketchup to the top and fry for about 5 more minutes until 165° internal temperature
Place on a large rimmed tray. A non-stick tray is preferred, but if you don't have that, cover the tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
Cover with a nice coat of ketchup.
Bake until an internal temperature of 165°— about 20 to 25 minutes.

See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

An easy recipe to cut in half.
A lower fat burger is preferred for this recipe. Less fat drainage for the burgers to set in. Ground turkey or chicken will be good here, also.
These are about ⅓ pound each. You could make them smaller if you want.
Good quality ketchup is required for this to be good.
This would serve very nicely as an individual serving of meatloaf.
Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Nutrition Facts

Meatloaf Burgers—Baked, Grilled, or Fried

Amount Per Serving

Calories 337 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 4g20%

Cholesterol 149mg50%

Sodium 506mg21%

Potassium 700mg20%

Carbohydrates 21g7%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 38g76%

Vitamin A 223IU4%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 87mg9%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Main Course

Cuisine : American

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Editor's Note: Originally Published August 9, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.