This flavorful, homemade meatloaf recipe is probably one of the most popular recipes that I’ve included in my menu plan service. I’ve had many people tell me that they were a little bit iffy in seeing the ingredient list but once they made it, their whole family loved it.
Since my homemade meatloaf recipe seems to make it into my menu plan often during this season, I decided to share my recipe with all of you. It’s really very simple. The staple ingredients in my homemade meatloaf recipe is garlic, onion, parsley, and carrots.
The garlic, onion, and parsley give it depth and flavor while the carrots sweeten the meat. Together, these ingredients create umami. I’m not even kidding… it’s these simple ingredients that take an ordinary meatloaf and make it something worth remembering.
Also, I make my meatloaf with a combination of ground grassfed beef and ground pastured pork. It makes the final loaf incredibly moist.
A Flavorful Meatloaf, The Real Food Way
To get started, the first thing I do is process all of my ingredients that I’m planning on mixing in with the meat into a fine mince.
If you notice the picture above, for this particular meatloaf I added some leftover cauliflower that I had in my crisper. When I make a meatloaf I enjoy adding in leftover vegetables in small amounts to give it added vitamins and minerals. It’s completely optional but if you do decide to do this, just make sure to add them in small quantities so that it doesn’t overshadow the flavors of the garlic, onion, parsley, and carrots.
Once my vegetables are minced to my liking, I toss them together with the beef, pork, homemade breadcrumbs, and egg.
Once it’s all mixed I place the meatloaf mixture into a loaf pan and form it in the pan.
I top it with organic ketchup and bake. Super simple!
A flavorful, homemade meatloaf recipe the real food way. A simple recipe that your entire family will enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1lb ground pork
- 1lb ground beef
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup packed fresh parsley, finely chopped OR 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- ketchup
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- In a large bowl, mix together the pork, beef, onion, carrots, parsley, garlic, breadcrumbs, eggs, and salt.
- Add the meatloaf mixture to a loaf pan, form into a tight loaf, and drizzle with ketchup on top.
- Bake for 1 hour at 375F.
Who said cooking real food had to be difficult 😉
So tell me, do you make your meatloaf recipe differently? Please share your recipe with us in the comments below.
Wow–that looks yummy and I am thinking it is going to go into my recipe file for later. Thanks for sharing. I bet the secret is the mixture of pork and beef —-that would make it really moist, I bet. Yum. Thanks again.
I like oatmeal in mine. and to change things up sometimes I will change the catsup for sala and add cheese to the middle.
I never thought to add oatmeal. I’ll have to try that next time 😀
Thanks for the recipe, I enjoy trying new varieties on a favorite. Have you tried making mini meatloaves in a muffin pan? I find that a recipe with 2 lbs of meat typically fills 12 muffin tins perfectly (I find there is enough fat in the meat not to even grease the pan ahead) and they bake for only 20-25 minutes at 375. For nights when I am short on time, it works nicely!
That’s a great idea, Sarah! Thanks!
Just curious, do you use the food processor to mix the meat together with the ingredients or by hand? This looks really good!
Thank you, DeLyndia
No, DeLyndia. I do not use the food processor to mix the meat in.
Our receipts are almost identical except I add 1/2 cup of finely chopped baby bella mushrooms, two eggs, 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs, and top with two or three strips of all natural bacon:-) Now I want meatloaf!
Oh man… bacon! Yeah, I’m going to do that next time 😀
I like the idea of ground pork and ground beef. I also finely chop green peppers and put in mine. I have a garlic allergy so omit the garlic but sometimes add rosemary and freshly ground pepper.
My family loves my Southwest Meatloaf: 6 green onions, sliced and sauteed with 1 clove garlic, minced, in 1 Tbs. olive oil. Stir in 1 tsp chili powder, saute 1 minute. Mix 1 lb. lean ground beef with this mixture, adding 3/4 cup crushed corn chips, 1/3 cup chili sauce, one egg, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Pat into loaf pan and spread with additional 1/3 cup chili sauce. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.
You can find chili sauce near the catsup in the condiments aisle. I will look forward to trying YOUR recipe, Diana. I am a 65-year old grandma who has always loved cooking from scratch. Your Humble Kitchen has inspired me to try new things. Thank you!
Oh wow… a southwest version sounds awesome! I’ll have to give your recipe a go as well 😀
This looks SO good! We are having meatloaf tonight, but now I am wishing I had more veggies in my produce drawer 🙂 Thanks for this delicious idea!
No problem, Amy! Thanks for stopping by 😀
Thank you!
I also use oatmeal when making my meatloaf. Never thought about adding carrots to mine or even other veggies as you suggested. So I will try that the next time. I also use to put mine in muffin tins for portion control and speed. They only take 15 minutes or so to cook! But I did not like the them sitting in the grease. So now regardless if I make it loaf size or muffin size. I place mine on a cooling rack that fits in side a rimmed cookie sheet. The fat drips off the meat and on to foil lined cookie sheet! It’s great and save a few more calories and less fat consumed! Love your site and appreciate the time you spend sharing with us. Thank you
No problem, Theresa! I’m definitely trying oatmeal next time!
I see cauliflower in the processor but not on the ingredient list. Did you forget it?
No, Caro. I didn’t add it into the recipe because it’s totally optional. I wrote a bit about it in the post above. You can add or omit any veggie really, as long as you don’t put too much in that it overshadows the flavors of the garlic, onion, parsley, and carrots.
I use oatmeal, sometimes blend it into flour ( so grandkids don’t see it). I’ve put in spinach, broccoli ends, small amount of chard. Also I brown the chopped veggies in a skillet just to soften them before adding to the meats. If the grandkids seem picky…I have puréed them in a blender before adding eggs, oatmeal, and meat. Then I cook the meatloaf in a 9″ x 13″ glass dish. Most times I cut the cooked meatloaf into cubes and freeze for speghetti and meat cubes later.
Meatloaf is such a great dish. As you can see by the many posts above, there are so many things you can do to make meatloaf taste different, each time you make it. Maybe we should have meatloaf every night of the week…..okay, well, maybe that is a little excessive ( : But it is still a great dish. It’s also a great way to hide some veggies, for those family members that won’t eat them. Thanks for the recipe Diana. We will be trying that next week. I have added to my menu.
I’m with you, Kelly! I love meatloaf and yes, there are so many different ways to make it. I want to try some of these other ways 😀
Just here with foodie friends checking out your blog which I have to commend. I usually use prime organic Essex Saddleback pork for my hog roasting business in London UK. Just wondering if I could make a pork only meatloaf. It isn’t something we Brits eat but you made it look really tasty.
Keep up the excellent work!
This sounds delish! I have a question though…I have experienced in the past when making meatloaf that there tends to be so much grease coming from the meat. Is there a trick to eliminating this? Do you just drain it once the meatloaf is done? Thanks!!
This one looked greasy for me too but once I lifted the meatloaf out of the pan (it all came out in one piece), the meatloaf itself wasn’t greasy. The veggies were still a tiny bit crunchy, so next time I may saute them just a bit before adding them in. It tasted delicious and my four year old went back for seconds!
I usually drain it once the meatloaf is done. 🙂
In my regular meatloaf, I add some diced stewed tomatoes (really keeps the loaf moist) and use pretzel crumbs instead of bread crumbs.
I’ve made pizza meatloaf with great results – with various pizza toppings mixed in and saltine cracker crumb for the filler. I like to top that with pizza sauce and cheese instead of the ketchup.
Hi Diana, I thought I had ground pork in the freezer, but it turned out to be our homegrown sausage instead. It is mild with a bit of salt, red & black pepper, sage, & sugar. Do you think that will substitute for the ground pork? I’ve never used your meatloaf recipe before, so I wasn’t sure how the extra spices would affect the flavor (might have to leave out some of the others in the recipe???). TIA for the advice & the yummy recipe!!
I can see all the pictures for the meatloaf, but I cannot see the recipe. Is there any way to see the recipe. I am trying to find new healthier meatloaf recipe.
Thanks, Nina
my meatloaf recipe is fairly simple but really good what I do is I take about 3 pounds of hamburger meat crush up Nacho Cheese Doritos about 4 big handfuls, & then I add the seasoning packet from beef top ramen, probably about 1 or 2 depending on how much you want for flavor, I use 2. Then I put 3 eggs in and mix it all together the best I’d can. and if you want add a little bit more season to it while you mix you may but usually I don’t. then I put it in the oven at 350 for an hour and a half or till done. 🙂 its a simple recipe that my dad tuaght me that I added a little to. 🙂 and sometimes I add BBQ sauce to the top about 5+ minutes or so before I take it out of the oven to serve. 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Kimberly. I’d really love to encourage you to give the meatloaf a try with real ingredients instead of processed ones. You’ll find that the flavor is good or even better and the health benefits are tremendous 😀
I forgot to mention above that the first half of the time that the meatloaf is in the oven I cook it covered with aluminum foil so the flavor is cooked into the meat loaf then I remove the cover to brown. 🙂
I used flavored triscuit in place of the bread crumbs. It really gives it extra flavor, especially if you can have onion or I also used goats cheese on top of the meatloaf, it was great! I tried to make it as healthy as possible, because my husband can’t eat alot of foods or spice’s.☺
Thanks for sharing, Lisa!
WOW, that is one beautiful meatloaf! I am planning to make it for our Christmas Eve dinner, making 2 free-standing loaves in a large baking dish, using 100% grass-fed organic beef. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I too like to add oatmeal to our meatloaf, but this time I will use homemade breadcrumbs from good sourdough bread. Thank you for taking the time to share your recipe.
No problem, Jen!