Make it big or make it small; this is a traditional old fashion meatloaf like your grandma would make from memory. It is super moist and easy for even the beginner. It will become that go-to recipe that everybody needs for meatloaf.
Introduction
We all need everyday recipes for great comfort food and leftovers at times. This is it. It is not complicated and uses minimal common ingredients you already have at home. Just follow these easy step by step photos for some great old fashion comfort food.
We have enjoyed this at least monthly for 40+ years. This is my wife's recipe, and the only variation is that I actually measured things so I could publish this. Please enjoy one of our standard recipes that has had decades of development.
My Rating
Nothing less than a five will do. I do love meatloaf, and I'm very picky. This is super moist with great taste.
What is Meatloaf?
Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat that has been mixed with other ingredients. During the Great Depression, it was a way for families to stretch their budget by using inexpensive ground meat and leftover ingredients like bread or cereal. It is then formed into the shape of a loaf, then baked.
When a starch like bread or grains are combined with an added liquid that forms a "panade," which is then added to ground meat and keeps the results moist.
The number of ingredients
I have eight, and I can remember them. Even though this is my wife's recipe and perfected over the years, I always do a little research looking at some other recipes. To my horror, almost all of them had 15-20 ingredients.
Meatloaf should be fast, whip it together in 5 minutes meal. Even if you had all 20 ingredients without the trip to the store, it would still take 30 minutes to get everything out and measured. MY GOD... how stupid.
🐄The Meat
Any ground meat can be used, but I suggest ground chuck. Meatloaf is not health food. You can use lower-fat ground beef, but it will be dryer.
You can mix in some ground pork or other ground meat to make it your own. Or you can just make it with ground chicken or turkey.
📋Ingredients
Seasoning: The reason this recipe is so easy is that the seasoning salt and ketchup provides the spicing and taste. So the quality of those ingredients becomes important.
For the ketchup, I only recommend Hunts or Heinz. Please do not use generic, or your taste buds will pay the price. While I claim some expertise in ketchup, the seasoning salt is up to you, but Lowery's is my choice.
The vegetables: I suggest mainly diced onions. But carrots and celery are commonly added. But go wild and use things if you like. But they need to be cut small.
The egg: You will need one egg per pound of meat. It helps hold it together.
The “panade” is made of bread or crackers soaked in milk and is usually about ¼ to ⅓ of the volume of the meatloaf. You can use other things like oats for the starch, and, of course, you can substitute for the dairy.
The Glaze
I'm super simple here. Just a nice coat of the ketchup. Many recipes fancy this up with brown sugar, mustard, or even top with bacon or BBQ sauce. I like it simple.
⏰🌡️Time and Temperature
A two-pound meatloaf will about 1 to 1 ¼ hours with an oven temperature of 350°. That is assuming the loaf is about 1 ½ inch thick. Thicker takes longer and thinner cook faster. So sometimes it will take 1 ½ hours.
A one-pounder will probably be 30-40 minutes. And a three-pounder will take 1 ½ up to 2 hours. But always cook to the final internal temperature, never by time alone since there are variables.
The main variables for how long to cook a meatloaf is related to the oven temperature and the weight and thickness of the meatloaf. There can be other variables, so only some generalities can be given.
You can use a higher temperature or convection. The higher the temperature, the more the surface will cook and brown before the center reaches the final temperature. So 375° is generally fine and will be a bit faster and more browning. Using convection, it will be like adding 25° to the internal temperature.
Ground beef is safe at 160°, and the egg does not change that. If you use ground poultry in the meatloaf, it needs to be 165° to be safe.
A rule I have seen is 35-45 minutes per pound. I don't find that very useful. Please cook to the final internal temperature.
👫Smaller Size
This is an easy recipe to adjust down to the amount you want, but we love leftovers in our "for two" household. Leftovers are good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, and it will freeze well for 3-4 months.
This can be cut down to a 1 pound meatloaf and should take 35-45 minutes to bake depending on the thickness you make. Or you can also do a cupcake pan for smaller servings, and it should take 20-30 minutes depending on the tray material, size, and how full you make it. Of course, you are cooking to a final temperature.
📖Meatloaf Recipes
Paula Deen Inspired Basic Meatloaf
🖼️Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a shallow baking dish with PAM.
Chop a medium onion.
In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients minus ¼ cup of ketchup for topping. Mix well, being sure not to leave any chunks of burger not mixed. I use clean hands for this. Officially, use a wooden spoon.
Place in the baking pan and cover top with ketchup.
Place in the preheated oven and cook to an internal temperature of 160 — about 1 to 1 ¼ hour.
Remove from the pan for serving.
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If you enjoyed this recipe, the pleasure of a rating on the recipe card below is requested.
📖 Recipe
Classic Meatloaf
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Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 egg
- 1 onion - medium - minced
- ¾ cup bread crumbs
- ¾ cup ketchup - divided ½ cup plus about ¼ cup on top
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoning salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a shallow baking dish with PAM
- In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients together. Mix well, be sure not to leave any chunks of burger not mixed. I use clean hands for this. Officially use a wooden spoon.
- Place in baking pan and cover top with ketchup.
- Place in oven and cook to 160 internal temperature. This will be about 1 to 1 ¼ hours..
- Remove from the oven. Move to a serving plate. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Cheap ketchup would probably spoil this, so I always use Hunt's or Heinz.
- This is a very easy recipe to adjust. You need one egg per pound of meat.
- This can be cut down to a 1 pound meatloaf and should take 35-45 minutes to bake. Or you can also do cupcake pan for smaller servings and it should take 20-30 minutes depending on the tray material, size and how full you make it. Of course, you are cooking to a final temperature not by time estimates.
- Ground beef is safe at 160°, and the egg does not change that. If you use ground poultry in the meatloaf, it needs to be 165° to be safe. We like a final internal temperature of 165.
- I like to use a 7-8 inch spatula to remove the meatloaf from the pan.
- Reheats well in a microwave when cut into slices but good cold for sandwiches.
- You can cut this recipe down, but we usually do about 2 pounds since the leftovers are great.
- Lots of handwashing, please. We have raw ground meat and eggs, so the risk of contamination is relatively high.
- We usually put a couple of baking potatoes in the oven with this. Cooking time is a good match.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. Good frozen for 3-4 months. You can also make ahead and hold in the refrigerator for a day before cooking or freeze for a few months. If frozen the thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking.
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
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Editor's Note: Originally published on February 17, 2010. This is a completely redone post from the second month of this blog. I was using an early Kodac digital camera that was beyond its prime; my writing was bad and my blogging skills minimal. Everything has been updated except the recipe itself.
EFT3
Super quick and easy and great recipe. If, however, you have destroyed a meatloaf trying to get the meatloaf out of the pan, as I have, a recommendation. Make two sheets of foil or parchment, one as wide as the pan is long and one as wide as the pan is wide. When placed in the pan each should be higher than the loaf pan by about 1”. After the meatloaf is done let it sit for 10 minutes to set. Then you can easily lift the meatloaf from the pan.
Debra
Lol on the proof read! I do love your recipes and your pups!! In fact your pulled pork recipe is the Best!!
Mary Kissell
Hi Dr. Dan, Thank you for sharing, I look forward to your posts as I get tired of trying to figure out what to cook for my husband and myself. Your recipes are always keepers.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Mary,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad you are enjoying the recipes.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Debra
Dr. Dan
Whip not wipe❣️
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Thanks for the proof read. That exact sentence has been in this post since February 2010.
Fixed and thanks again.
Dan
Catherine Yoss
Great Recipe. I grew up making this and remember fondly my mother and grandmother making this. Thank you for reminding me. Your recipes have been really helpful because most of them make small amounts. Very important if you are cooking for one. I look forward to each new entry.
Catherine Yoss
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Catherine,
Welcome to the blog.
This can be cut down to a 1 pound meatloaf and should take 35-45 minutes to bake. Or you can also do cupcake pan for smaller servings and it should take 20-30 minutes depending on the tray material, size and how full you make it. Of course, you are cooking to a final temperature. And it will freeze well.
I do have some recipes that will "feed an army" but I try to keep it small.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Sonia Kuczynski
to make the meatloaf moist use a shredded zucchini peeled of course and squeeze out the water and shredded carrots , will also give you a great taste too and shredded onion or even brown the diced onions in a skillet and add to the meatloaf , I use a brush to baste the meatloaf with ketchup but not too much as it burns a lillte on the top and I drain off all the fat juice too and let the Meatloaf to Rest for about 15 minutes before I slice it. Delicious try it
Larry Emmons
What size baking pan do you use for the 2 pounds of ground beef old fashioned meatloaf recipe?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Larry,
Welcome to the blog.
For 2 pounds, it fits in a 6 by 9 well. If you are making bigger, it won't fit. Also, "too big" is fine since it holds its shape well.
Dan
Lou Ann
Thank you...just like mom's 🙌😀
Debra
I like this recipe for my husband and I I also threw in a quarter cup of diced jalapenos. Always looking for recipes for two
Philip Dally
This is really good! Imixed everything together, placed it in the casserole dish and let it sit for a couple hours to let all the ingredients get to know one another before tossing it on my pellet grill set at 375 for an hour.
I would feel comfortable using a large loaf pan for this. The particular pan I used caused a darker edge that I think would be eliminated with a smaller pan and let the meatloaf be a little thicker.
Don't forget to grease the pan.
YUM!!
KJill
Sometimes the classics are the best! Very good basic recipe, I do like to add a little Worcestershire sauce as my mother does. I try to use very lean beef but I also just form meatloaf in a sort of long mound (or mounds) on a rimmed baking sheet so it isn't sitting in any fat that cooks out. The bread and ketchup topping help keep it moist and I have never had a problem with dry meatloaf.
DrDan
Agreed, classics are best for things like this. I use lower fat frequently and just be sure not to short the bread crumbs.
Dan
Janie
Hi Dr. Dan, what size pan do you use to make this? Your Goulash recipe was excellent! I will be making it again soon. Thank you
DrDan
Hi Janie,
Sorry for the delayed reply.
The baking dish san be almost any size. The meatloaf if formed up and holds it shape. You should try to keep the thickness under 2 inches since it will be difficult to get the center to 165.
Having said the above, for a two pounder something in the 10X6 range works well. I usually use corning ware an that is about 10X7
Dan
Donna
Can not wait to have meatloaf sandwiches tomorrow night! I ran out of ketchup and didn’t have enough for the topping. We did use store-bought BBQ sauce as a dipping sauce. Didn’t have fresh onions, so used dried minced onion. Used Panko bread crumbs. I also only had a pound of hamburger, but still used a whole organic egg (local chicken raiser). Amazing meatloaf! Will definitely be making this again, but using 2 pounds of hamburger! And will have the baked red potatoes as a side dish.
Linda Miller
Have you tried a tablespoon of Worcester sauce? It really kicks the flavor up a notch. I have made this many times and Worcester is the only addition I have used.
Nancy L
I have been making your meatloaf for a couple years now! I have it saved on pinterest and continue to return to it because it's easy and I actually liked the old post as it made me laugh whenever I read it! Thanks for keeping this recipe up and updating it. Will be making again this weekend. Thank your wife also for such a simple and tasty recipe. Everyone loves this stuff!
Dale
Great meatloaf. I used a cup of crushed butter garlic croutons in place of the bread crumbs. Worked perfect. Going to try a thinner dish next time for more of that crispy edge.
DrDan
Hi Dale,
Thanks for the note. I do love simple everyday comfort food like this. Really this is a base recipe so change around whatever you want and it will probably work great.
Dan
Karen
Getting ready to make this again. I've made it over and over; the only meatloaf recipe I use!
DrDan
Thanks Karen,
It is one of our go-to meals. Great comfort food once or twice a month. I do admit to cheating and using premade bread crumb frequently.
Dan
Judy Uhl
This is our favorite meatloaf!! Very good!
DrDan
Mine too. I have a Paula Deen recipe that is more popular but this is much better and simpler.
Thanks for the comment.
Dan
Ernestine Banycky
Yum a keeper will make this many times 😌
Dan Mikesell
That is 80/20 ground beef. I usually do not buy the meat labeled "hamburger". Ground beef just has the fat in that piece of meat. Hamburger can have any beef fat trimmed elsewhere added.
I frequently buy a better (read lower fat) meat which works great here since the bread/milk keeps the whole think moist.
Heather Watson
Do you use 80/20 hamburger?