This Traditional Homemade Meatloaf recipe is moist, tender, and loaded with flavor. Once you try this recipe, you’ll treasure it forever!
Serve with roasted broccoli, mashed potatoes, or mac and cheese for an incredible meal the whole family will love.
This recipe is super simple to make! It is juicy and flavourful and topped with a caramelized glaze that’s simply delicious.
Traditional Meatloaf Recipe
Traditional meatloaf is made simply with ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, herbs, and seasoning. These days, you see a lot of recipes adding different types of meat and crazy spices, but nothing beats good old fashioned meatloaf.
Why This Recipe Works
- Adding baking soda to the beef keeps it moist by stopping the proteins from binding too quickly (which dries out the meat).
- Using sauteed onions instead of raw ensures the onions don’t turn out crunchy and adds extra moisture to the meatloaf.
- Moistened breadcrumbs, keep the meatloaf moist and tender.
- The ketchup in the meatloaf mixture as well as the glaze adds sweetness and an extra depth of flavor.
Making The Best Meatloaf
Moisture is key to making the best meatloaf. In my recipe I add moisture in four different ways:
- Beef with higher fat content instead of lean meat. The extra fat keeps the meat nice and juicy.
- A baking soda slurry is added to the meat. This enhances the PH levels in the beef and stops the proteins from binding too quickly (which dries out the meat).
- Moistening the breadcrumbs with milk instead of using them dry keeps them from absorbing the juices from the meat.
- Using sauteed onions adds moisture (and flavor) from the oil they’re cooked in.
What Meat For Meatloaf
Many recipes will tell you to mix beef with pork or turkey meat in meatloaf, but lean meats will dry out your loaf. I recommend using a Ground Beef that’s 80 – 85% lean. Ground beef needs some fat to give flavor and keep it tender and moist.
Bell’s Seasoning
My recipe calls for Bell’s seasoning not because I’m affiliated with them in any way, but because it’s how my mother taught me and how I’ve been making meatloaf since I was ten years old.
Bell’s seasoning is a seasoning mixture that contains Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, Ginger, Marjoram, Thyme, and Pepper. It can be found on Amazon.com (As an Amazon Associate, a small commission is made from qualifying purchases), and in many American supermarkets. If you can’t find it, you can omit it or make a small mixture of your own.
The All Important Taste Test
After making your mixture, it’s worth taking the extra time to taste before forming your loaf. Do this by making a mini hamburger patty and pan-frying it in some olive oil until fully cooked. Then give it a taste. It should taste delicious! If it doesn’t, it probably needs salt. Season the raw mixture and repeat to be 100% sure.
How To Make Meatloaf
- Saute chopped onions and allow to cool.
- Mix ground beef with the cooled onions, a baking soda slurry, moistened breadcrumbs, eggs, ketchup, herbs, and seasoning.
- Add to a pan and shape into a meatloaf.
- Add the glaze by brushing over the meatloaf
- Bake until golden.
- Serve by slicing into individual servings.
Step By Step Instructions
Sauté a large onion in olive oil or butter. Set aside to cool.
In a small mixing bowl stir together bread crumbs and milk until they are fully moistened. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl mix ½ teaspoon baking soda with a tablespoon of water to form a slurry. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add the ground beef, baking soda slurry, moistened breadcrumbs, sauteed onions, eggs, ketchup, parsley, seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix well until combined.
Add to a pan lined with parchment paper or nonstick foil and shape into a loaf.
Brush on the glaze to cover.
Bake and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice to serve.
Other Great Comfort Foods
Tips For Perfect Meatloaf
- Instead of mixing with your hands, try using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (a regular hand mixer won’t be suitable).
- Don’t overmix – Mix until just combined. Overmixing will make the loaf dry and dense. If in doubt, mix the wet ingredients together before adding to the meat. This will help lessen mixing times.
- Avoid using a loaf pan to make your meatloaf. A tight fit causes steaming instead of roasting. Use a roasting pan, leaving some extra room to allow it to crisp up nicely.
- Let it rest. Just like roast beef, it’s important to let meatloaf rest for at least 10 minutes (loosely covered with foil to keep it hot) before slicing. This helps the loaf set easier slicing and, locks in the juices.
FAQs
Yes, you can! make meatloaf ahead and freeze it before cooking. Once you form the loaf, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze. for up to three months. Defrost in the refrigerator for 18-24 hours before baking in the oven.
To freeze cooked, allow to cool completely and freeze in an airtight container.
Adding milk to breadcrumbs helps keep the meatloaf moist. Without it, the breadcrumbs would suck all the moisture from the meat.
Yes, sauteeing onions not only enhances the flavor and moisture, but it ensures they will be fully cooked.
Pink ground beef is an indicator that it’s not cooked through which can cause food poisoning. Be sure to cook until there is no pink color with an internal temperature of 180F.
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Let’s Make Traditional Homemade Meatloaf
Ingredients
For the meatloaf:
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup milk or water plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 large onion chopped
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 lb ground beef 80-85% lean
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons Bell’s Seasoning* optional
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- freshly grated black pepper to taste
For The Glaze:
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a small mixing bowl stir together bread crumbs and milk until they are fully moistened. Allow to soak while sautéing the onion.
- Sauté the onions in oil or butter until soft. Set aside to cool.
- In a small mixing bowl mix ½ teaspoon baking soda with a tablespoon of water to form a slurry.
- Add the beef to a large bowl and pour over the baking soda mixture before adding the moistened breadcrumbs, eggs, cooled onions, parsley, ketchup, Bell’s Seasoning, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix with your hands until everything is just combined (trying not to over-mix).
- Transfer the meat mixture to a roasting pan lined with nonstick foil (or parchment paper) Form into a loaf shape pressing with your hands.
- In a smaller bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the glaze. Spread evenly over the top.
- Bake the meatloaf for 55 minutes or until it has an internal temperature of 160°F.
- Allow to rest 10 minutes (lightly tented with foil to keep it hot) before serving.
Tips + Notes
- Before forming the meatloaf, it’s worth taking the extra time to taste test your mixture by making a mini hamburger patty and pan-frying it in some olive oil until fully cooked. Then give it a taste. It should taste delicious! If it doesn’t, it probably needs salt. Season the raw mixture and repeat if you want to be 100% sure.
- Don’t overmix – Mix until just combined. Overmixing will make the loaf dry and dense. If in doubt, mix the wet ingredients together before adding to the meat. This will help lessen mixing times.
- Avoid using a loaf pan to make your meatloaf. A tight fit causes steaming instead of roasting. Use a roasting pan, leaving some extra room to allow it to crisp up nicely.
- Let it rest. Just like roast beef, it’s important to let meatloaf rest for at least 10 minutes (loosely covered with foil to keep it hot) before slicing. This helps the loaf set easier slicing and, locks in the juices.
Teri says
This was a really good meatloaf recipe. I didn’t have Bell’s Seasoning so I subbed other seasonings. I’ll make it again after I get some Bell’s. But the taste & texture were good. I was specifically looking for a recipe for a moist meatloaf and this was fairly moist!
(Just a note on your instructions…you didn’t include the breadcrumbs in the mixture! It would have been easy for me to forget to put them in! 😉)
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Teri. Thank you so much for pointing that out! I will definitely make sure to add that in. I am so glad you enjoyed it even without the bells seasoning and that it met your wishes for a moist meatloaf! 🤩
Lisa says
This was the very best meatloaf I ever made–so flavorful and tender! The spice combination is unique and delicious, and the addition of extra liquids and baking soda (and not overworking the mixture) evidently make all the difference in the meatloaf’s texture. A thousand thanks for sharing your expertise!!
Erren's Kitchen says
Lisa, thank you so much! What a wonderful review! We are so happy that you loved the meatloaf recipe! We appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback and we look forward to you trying more recipes in the future. Enjoy! 😊