Old-fashioned meatloaf is easy, delicious, and comforting. With ground beef and a few simple ingredients, we’ve made this classic recipe for nearly 50 years. Scale it to any size—from the 3–4 pound loaves of years past to the 1-pound mini loaf we make for two today, or anywhere in between.
⏱️ Quick Answer: How Long to Cook Meatloaf
At 350°F, bake a 1 to 1½-inch thick meatloaf for:
- 1-pound meatloaf: 40–50 minutes
- 2-pound meatloaf: 60–75 minutes
Always cook to a final internal temperature of 165°F, not just by time.
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 👨🍳 TL;DR (Recipe Summary)
- 🐄 Ingredients
- 👨🍳 Quick Overview: How to Make Meatloaf
- ⏰ How Long to Cook Meatloaf
- 🐄 Ingredient options and variations
- 📖 Other Ground Beef Recipes
- ↕️ How to Scale This Meatloaf Recipe
- 🤔 How to Make Cupcake Meatloaf
- 🍽️ Serving Meatloaf
- ❄️ How to Store Leftover Meatloaf
- ❓ FAQs
- 📖The Recipe Card
Featured Comment by Catherine:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Great Recipe. I grew up making this and remember fondly my mother and grandmother making this. "
👨🍳 TL;DR (Recipe Summary)
What it is: A small, classic meatloaf recipe—a 1-pound mini loaf, or scale down to 2 servings or up to 2 pounds or more for larger needs.
Why you’ll love it: Old-fashioned flavor, simple ingredients, and a ketchup glaze that caramelizes perfectly.
How to make it: Mix the ingredients, form a 1–1½ inch thick loaf, top with ketchup glaze, and bake at 350°F to an internal temperature of 165°F.
Jump to the Recipe Card or keep reading for tips, photos, and size options.
🐄 Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Egg
- Onion
- Bread crumbs
- Ketchup
- Milk
- Seasoning salt and black pepper
👨🍳 Quick Overview: How to Make Meatloaf
1. Mix: Chop the onion. Add all ingredients to a large bowl—except the ketchup for topping—and mix gently until combined. Don’t overmix.
2. Assemble: Move the mixture to a prepared pan and form a 1–1½ inch thick loaf. Spread ketchup (or your preferred topping) over the top.
3. Bake: Bake at 350°F until the internal temperature reaches 165°F—about 30–40 minutes for a 1-pound loaf or just over an hour for a 2-pound loaf.
4. Drain and serve: Remove any drainage from the pan or lift the meatloaf out to serve. Discard the drainage.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰ How Long to Cook Meatloaf
A 1-pound meatloaf baked in a 350°F oven will take 40–50 minutes, while a 2-pound meatloaf will take about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Always cook to a final internal temperature of 165°F, not just by time.
Approximate cooking times at 350°F:
- ½-pound meatloaf: 30–40 minutes
- 1-pound meatloaf: 40–50 minutes
- 2-pound meatloaf: 60–75 minutes
- 3-pound meatloaf: 75–90 minutes
These times assume a loaf that is 1–1½ inches thick. Thicker loaves take longer, and thinner loaves cook faster. Time is only a guide—use 165°F as the true endpoint.
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🐄 Ingredient options and variations
Meat options:
Use ground beef (80/20 suggested), which gives the best moisture and flavor. Leaner beef works but will be a little drier. You can also mix in ground pork, or make a turkey or chicken meatloaf.
Vegetable options:
Onion and garlic are often included in seasoning salts but can be added fresh. Other additions include celery, green bell pepper, or carrot—just chop them small so they cook through.
Glaze options:
Ketchup is the classic glaze, but you can dress it up with brown sugar, mustard, bacon, or barbecue sauce.
Seasoning options:
Seasoning salt (Lawry’s suggested) plus ketchup offers the classic flavor. You may also add thyme, Worcestershire sauce, or tomato sauce—but if using tomato sauce, add extra seasoning since it’s milder than ketchup.
📖 Other Ground Beef Recipes
For a change of pace, try Paula Deen Inspired Basic Meatloaf. To change the flavors and add some onion gravy, try my Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy.
Meatloaf Burgers
Meatloaf burger patties make a perfect single serving of meatloaf or serve as juicy, flavorful meatloaf burgers. It's easy to cook these meatloaf patties in the oven, on the grill, or fried on the stovetop.
↕️ How to Scale This Meatloaf Recipe
This recipe is written for a 1-pound meatloaf, but you can scale it from a ½-pound loaf (2 servings) up to any size. We usually bake a 2-pound loaf for our “for two” household—one dinner and a couple of rounds of leftovers.
- Adjust servings in the recipe card to the amount you want.
- Use the ingredient amounts from the adjusted ingredient list (round up to a whole egg if needed).
- Form a 1–1½ inch thick loaf in a baking pan that doesn’t crowd the sides.
- Bake to 165°F, using the cooking times listed above as a guide.
🤔 How to Make Cupcake Meatloaf
Cupcake meatloaf is an easy way to make smaller portions or freeze individual servings for later.
- Prepare the mixture: Make the amount of meatloaf you want.
- Portion: Divide the mixture into the wells of a cupcake or muffin pan, forming each portion about 1–1½ inches thick.
- Bake: Cook at 350°F for 20–30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Choose leaner meat: Use leaner ground beef or poultry, since you can’t drain fat from a cupcake pan after cooking.
🍽️ Serving Meatloaf
Serve with a hot vegetable like Baked Green Beans, corn, or peas. A nice potato, like Twice Baked Potato, or Old Fashioned Scalloped Potatoes. And don't forget the bread, like my Everyday Stand Mixer Bread or Easy Dinner Rolls.
Leftovers make great meatloaf sandwiches, or reheat slices in the microwave.
❄️ How to Store Leftover Meatloaf
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- For freezing, slice the meatloaf, wrap the pieces well, and freeze for up to 4 months.
❓ FAQs
Plan on ¼ to ⅓ pound per serving. We usually make a 2-pound loaf for our “for two” home—one dinner and a couple of rounds of leftovers. A 1-pound loaf makes four larger servings.
No. Meatloaf should be baked uncovered. It will stay moist without foil.
It depends on the size:
• A small onion (lemon-sized) gives about ½ cup
• A medium onion (baseball-sized) gives about 1 cup
• A large onion (grapefruit-sized) gives about 2 cups
For this recipe, you’ll generally want about ½ cup per pound of meat.
A meatloaf is a mixture of ground meat combined with a panade (bread, crumbs, oats, or crackers soaked in liquid) to keep it moist and tender. The mixture is shaped into a loaf and baked. It became popular during the Great Depression as a way to stretch inexpensive ground meat.
A panade is a mixture of bread, breadcrumbs, oats, or crackers soaked in a liquid like milk or broth. When added to ground meat, it provides moisture and prevents the finished meatloaf from becoming dense or dry.
📖The Recipe Card
Small Meatloaf Recipe (Mini for Two or Full Size)
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 egg
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ⅜ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup milk
- 1½ teaspoons Lawry's Seasoning salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup ketchup
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a shallow baking dish with cooking spray.
- Chop about ½ cup of onion (one small onion or half a medium).
- Add all ingredients—except 2 tablespoons of the ketchup for topping—to a large bowl.
- Mix gently until well combined; avoid overmixing to keep the loaf tender.
- Move the mixture to the baking pan and shape it into a 1 to 1½-inch thick loaf. Spread the remaining ketchup over the top.
- Bake until the internal temperature reaches 165°F—about 30–40 minutes for a 1-pound loaf or just over an hour for a 2-pound loaf.
- Remove from the pan for serving and discard any drainage.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- ½ cup of chopped onion = one small or half a medium onion.
- Good ketchup matters—use Hunt’s or Heinz for the best flavor.
- When scaling the recipe, use one egg per pound of meat. Round up if needed when adjusting servings.
- Reheats well in the microwave when sliced; also great cold for sandwiches.
- Store in the refrigerator for 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
- You can make it ahead and refrigerate for a day before baking.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally published on February 17, 2010. Updated with refreshed photos and a total rewrite with options and variations.
Catherine Yoss says
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 says
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 says
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 says
What size baking pan do you use for the 2 pounds of ground beef old fashioned meatloaf recipe?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
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 says
Thank you...just like mom's 🙌😀
Debra says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Getting ready to make this again. I've made it over and over; the only meatloaf recipe I use!
DrDan says
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 says
This is our favorite meatloaf!! Very good!
DrDan says
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 says
Yum a keeper will make this many times 😌
Dan Mikesell says
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 says
Do you use 80/20 hamburger?