Best Homemade Meatloaf
Tired of watching the kids push meatloaf around on their plates because it’s kind of dry? Watch it disappear when you serve the best homemade meatloaf ever!
Fresh breadcrumbs, finely minced vegetables and an egg, along with a simple ketchup glaze make a traditional meatloaf recipe exceptionally moist and delicious.
It takes about 20 minutes to throw everything together, so preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get started. Grab a large bowl for lean ground beef—it’s a bit more expensive so stock the freezer when it goes on sale.
Add fresh breadcrumbs and sneak a blend of minced onion, green pepper, celery, button mushrooms and garlic into the bowl. They’ll be nicely chopped so the kids won’t even realize they’re eating them!
Make sure your hands are clean so you can dig in to combine all the ingredients then add a beaten egg, salt and a little pepper. Transfer the mixture to a broiler pan—it’ll catch the fatty drippings as the meat cooks.
Bake your meatloaf for 30 minutes. While it is baking, make the ketchup glaze. When 30 minutes is up, carefully spoon your glaze over the meatloaf then bake for another 30 to 45 minutes until cooked—it should be firm in the center.
Take your soon to be favorite meatloaf out of the oven, allow the aroma to beckon the kids as it sets on the counter for 10 minutes and serve.
Best Homemade Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients
meatloaf
- 1 1/2 - 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, fresh, soft
- 1/2 medium yellow onion
- 1 green bell pepper, cored and seeded
- 1 large celery stalk
- 10 medium-sized button mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
glaze
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 - 2 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place ground beef and breadcrumbs in a large bowl.
- Mince onion, bell pepper, celery, mushrooms and garlic very finely or pulse in food processor until small, but not puréed. Add minced vegetables, beaten egg, salt and pepper to the ground beef mixture. Mix by hand until combined well.
- Place mixture on broiler pan and shape into loaf and bake 30 minutes.
- Mix ketchup and water in small bowl while meatloaf is baking. Spoon over loaf and spread to edges. Return meatloaf to oven for additional 30−45 minutes until cooked through or internal temperature registers 155 degrees on meat thermometer. Remove from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.
Yes! Looked at many recipes on the net – yours was the only one that had celery and bell pepper in the ingredient list – must like my mama used to make it!
And if you don’t know – it’s yuummy for the tummy dummy….. :)