Amazing Meatloaf Basics: For a Crowd, a Couple, or a College Student

I never understood why meatloaf got a bad rap. The meatloaf I grew up eating was fabulous.

When I went away to college, Momma showed me the basics of making great meatloaf, so no matter what seasonings you chose, you always had a great meal.

In this blog, I’ll show you those meatloaf basics, as well as tips for making it for a crowd, a busy couple, or a college student.

“MEATLOAF IS GROSS”

I have heard this more times than I can count. Not from my kids, mind you, because they never had bad meatloaf. But foster kids, neighbor kids, guests, and my kids reporting to me the comments from their friends BEFORE trying my recipe.

If you look online, you’ll see nearly every comment says something like, “Meatloaf is only good if it’s done right.” I ordered meatloaf at a restaurant once, and it was this slice of thick, heavy meat with no seasonings or sauce. So let’s look at how to make great meatloaf regardless of what flavors you like. If you’re in a hurry and don’t need all the details yet, click here to go straight to my basic recipe.

FIVE BASIC MEATLOAF INGREDIENTS

I have a favorite version of meatloaf, but basically, you can make any combination of flavors with the five basics.

• 1 1/2 lb. ground Meat
• 2 cups dry
• 1 cup wet
• Seasonings
• 2 eggs

That’s it. That’s meatloaf. Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that, but not much. I’m sure you’re saying, “What do you mean dry? Wet? Which seasonings?” I’ll get to that, but just realize, you can make whatever flavor profile you want. AND you can include some add-ins. Basic tomato and onion? Check. Spicy southwest? Check. Asian? Check. Smokey BBQ? Check. When I say seasonings, it CAN’T be just salt and pepper. Well, it can, but then it’s going to be that gross meatloaf I was talking about earlier.

Cooking by the Seat of Your Pants

If you’ve seen any of my recipes, you know I was taught to cook by “feel”. Momma cooked by throwing stuff together and tasting. After a while, you just kinda know. So I’m going to give you some basic measurements, but rest assured they are not steadfast, do-this-or-else type directions. I think the biggest error is when people don’t add enough seasonings to their dishes.

Be brave.

Let’s go through each of these five ingredients:

Ground Meat

You can use whatever ground meat you want. Ground beef, venison, elk, turkey, opossum, whatever. What makes MY meatloaf fabulous is that I ALWAYS use 1/2 a pound of ground sausage. ALWAYS. We’re a hunting family, so often I combine the ground sausage with a pound of ground elk or venison, and it’s not a whole lot different than beef. I use whatever is handy. We like wild game because it’s lean.

If your meat has a lot of fat, it is going to pool around the edges of your pan when it’s cooked. I prefer using a lower-fat content ground meat. Sometimes you can afford what you can afford, though. So don’t be surprised by the fat. Just pour it off after cooking.

Dry

The dry ingredient can be whole or instant oats, leftover cooked rice, crushed up saltines, breadcrumbs, quinoa, you name it. You can’t use uncooked rice or quinoa, though. It has to be cooked. I love this because it’s so flexible with whatever I have on hand. Sometimes you just have leftovers (usually rice) in the fridge that need a home. My most often used ingredient is whole oats, and it’s the favorite of my girls when they make it.

Wet

You can combine whatever wet ingredients make you glad. I grab my glass measuring cup and add whatever flavors I want till it’s at 1 cup. My standard mixture is 1/4 cup(ish) Worcestershire, ketchup, and bbq sauce (Sweet Baby Rays is the bomb). Sometimes I’ll throw in some mustard or liquid smoke. If you want a kick, add tabasco.

The sky really is the limit, though. You can stick to basic ketchup at the beginning. That’s all my mom used even though she’s the one that encouraged me to try various combinations.

If southwest is your thing, then use salsa with an add-in of 4 to 7 oz of green chiles (standard American can sizes as of this writing).

Are you a fan of Ranch dressing flavor? Use that and maybe add a tad bit of sour cream and milk. Don’t make it too watery.

Is Asian your thing? Then make your meatloaf with Teriyaki and soy sauce. Oyster sauce?

Italian? Spaghetti sauce and Italian dressing.

Honestly, don’t be afraid to try new things. Worse case is it won’t be your favorite, and you’ll know you don’t want to try that again.

Seasonings

Naturally, these seasonings are going to compliment whatever flavor profile you’re using. If you’re in a rush, (what moms aren’t?) you can throw in an envelope of onion soup mix. If you want to make your own, I like this recipe because it doesn’t call for any sugar or ingredients I don’t have on hand. I’d use the packet a lot more often, but I can’t remember to put it on my shopping list. Hold on while I add it to my shopping list right now. (No, seriously.)

My standard seasoning combination is:

• 1/4 cup dry onion flakes
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 or 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• 1 tsp salt or seasoned salt

Remember that these are approximates, because I usually cup my hand and pour what looks right into it. Or even dump right into the bowl. I’d dare say it’s even more onion flakes than that.

I might add some parsley. I’ve used Mrs. Dash. I have a Monterrey seasoning mix I like. You can use Italian dressing mix. These are all a very basic seasoning profile. If you like stronger garlic flavor, add more. I do. You can also use fresh.

For southwest, add chili powder or cayenne. How hot do you like it? Chili flakes. Paprika.

When I’m doing Asian flare, I add ginger to my standard seasonings.

If I want more smokey flavor to go with my BBQ, I might add chipotle seasoning.

Again, don’t be afraid to open your cabinet and go for it.

Eggs

I always use two eggs. I’ve seen recipes with one, and when I was low once, I only used a single egg. But it did not turn out well. It was way too crumbly. Egg is the binder that helps hold it together.

Optional Meatloaf Add-Ins

If you’re trying to get more vegetables in your kids, meatloaf is a great place to “hide” them. Corn and green chilies goes great with southwest. You can finely grate some carrots and throw in. Same with zucchini, but you’ll need to squeeze the liquid off the grated zucchini, because it’s water content will give you mushy meatloaf.

DIRECTIONS

This is easy. Throw it all in a bowl and mix it together. Wash your hands first, of course, but just squeeze and squish and fold together. You can use a potato masher or any other mixing spoon if that grosses you out. But I find that hands work best to get everything incorporated. Kids LOVE to help with this part.

Large Family

If you’re cooking for 6 to 12 people, I recommend placing the meat mixture in a 9×13 or 9×9 cake pan. For easier cleanup, you can line it with tinfoil. I don’t really care for this, simply because sometimes a piece of foil gets served along with the meatloaf. Ick. I don’t like picking it out. Do NOT pack the meat down. This makes it very dense. I also don’t spread from edge to edge. I form my loaf/mound a finger-width away from the edges. This makes for better coverage of sauce and some crispy edges that my family loves.

Generously spread — or squirt in a pattern — the sauce of your choice. (I use both BBQ and ketchup for traditional.) You can leave it “naked” if you like, but it’s not going to be as good. Cover with foil to retain moisture if desired. (I do sometimes, but not usually.) Bake in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.

Small Family

If you’re cooking for 4 to 6 people, you can divide the meat between two loaf pans (hence the name, meat loaf). As above, don’t pack down, make a nice mound, and spread the sauce of your choice then cover in foil if desired. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. You can cook both and put one in the freezer (wrapped in foil) after it’s cooled. This is the fastest method for having a second meal. You can also cook one and wrap the other in foil and stick it in the freezer. It’s a little fresher this way, but you have to remember to pull it out of the freezer and thaw in the fridge or with the microwave if you used a glass dish.

Meatloaf for Couples, Singles, or Quick Meals

When I need made-ahead meals, this is a great method. It’s a great choice for having single servings that are ready within fifteen minutes. You can obviously serve a large family this way, too. It’s fun to top these little meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potatoes using a piping bag, to resemble real cupcakes.

Divide your meat into a cupcake tin that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Because they’re so small and my meat is very lean, I’ve found this makes it much easier to get them out. This recipe will make 12 large single servings. In my prep for this blog, I made 12 medium servings and put the extra in a mini loaf pan. This serving is so small it is going to fill the entire cupcake space. Spread with sauce of your choice. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

After you’ve baked the meatloaf and eaten what you want for that meal, cool the remainder. Put the meatloaf in a gallon-sized zip lock freezer bag. I like to write the date and food on the bag so when I forget about it, I’m not playing “Mystery Meal” later. Place in freezer. As a college student it was terrific to grab one out and thaw it in the microwave, then heat for about a minute or two. I also did this when preparing for a baby to come. I needed easy meal choices.

RECIPE

Ingredients

Directions

Mix all ingredients together thoroughly in a large bowl. Form meat into a mound in a 9×13 or 9×9 pan, keeping a finger-width between the meatloaf and the side of the pan. Generously spread or squirt ketchup and BBQ sauce over the top. Cover with foil if desired. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until done. Makes 12 servings.

meatloaf to the rescue!

I made this recipe several weeks ago for this blog and since there was only three of us eating, the rest went in the freezer. I forgot about it. This past weekend, I had an ME crash. I was on the third day of being down, and although my husband was in charge of dinner that night, he had a very long day and overslept when he should have started. It was almost 8 pm when I remembered the meatloaf. I can’t tell you the relief!

I defrosted the entire bag using the automatic defrost for 1 lb of meat then reheated five of the eight “cupcakes” on a plate at 70% power so they wouldn’t get tough. There was leftover baby carrots from a veggie tray, so I steamed them, draining and adding butter and sugar to glaze. I cut up a crookneck squash that desperately needed to be used and sauteed it, adding Mrs. Dash. It was great, and the entire meal was ready in about 20 minutes. What a life-saver!!

I hope this meatloaf basics blog becomes a staple in making your life easier, no matter what phase you’re in.

Your turn

Meatloaf eaters are in two camps — Love It or Hate It. What camp are you in? Have you tried a recipe similar to this before? If you have a great meatloaf recipe, how is it different than this one? Do you think you’ll try some of the variations? Which flavor profile is your favorite?