Moist Make-Ahead Meatloaf
I made a meatloaf without the typical addition of ketchup. An onion and mushroom sauce added to the top of this meatloaf makes this the most delicious comfort food recipe.
I have found that using equal parts ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal for my meatloaf. That combination is also what I use for my Swedish Meatballs. It gives a depth of flavor and moist texture that you don’t find with other combinations.
This recipe makes a large batch that I divided into three mini loaves so that we could have one meal for dinner and some leftover for my lunch the next day. With the other two loaves tucked into the freezer, we have two quick weeknight meals.
I also made my favorite make-ahead mashed potato casserole recipe and also divided those up into three loaf pans so we have meat and potatoes ready for dinner. We just need to add a vegetable or a side salad.
This post contains affiliate links, and I may be compensated if you purchase through my link. See full disclosure HERE
My Meatloaf Ingredients
The secret to my delicious meatloaf is not only the meat mixture it is also a combination of sweet onions and shallots that I sauté before mixing it with the meat. I find that by using this combination and sautéing softens the onion flavor.
I also use fresh bread crumbs which I moisten with milk and an egg.
Finally, using fresh herbs takes this meatloaf from drab to fab!
Moist Make-Ahead Meatloaf
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Saute Pan
- Whisk
- sharp knife
- Food Processor
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 3 mini loaf pan I used 3 small aluminum disposable pans but you can use one large regular loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup sweet onions diced
- 1/2 cup shallots, diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground veal
- 4 slices bread
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 tbsp Redmond Real Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- Mushroom and Onion Sauce, Recipe Below
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- In a small sauté pan, over medium high heat add the olive oil and the diced onions and shallots. Stirring often until the onions are translucent. Set aside to cool while you assemble the remaining ingredients
- Put 4 slices into my food processor and pulse until they are fine crumbs. (Other options below)
- In a large mixing bowl place the beef, pork, and veal. Add the bread crumbs, cooled onions, milk, eggs, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined.
- You can make one big loaf or divide it into three small loaf pans like I did. This will be dinner for us for three nights and lunch for me for 3 days.
- Top the meatloaf with the mushroom and onion sauce. I divided it up between the three loaves.
- Bake @ 375° for 50 minutes or until thermometer reaches 160. If you're making one large loaf it will take longer.
Mushroom and Onion Sauce
Equipment
- sharp knife
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- sauté pan or sauce pan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup sweet onions, diced
- 1 pint mushrooms, sliced I used crimini – I only used about 3/4 of a cup sliced as "Handy" doesn't like mushrooms
- 2 cups chicken stock you can also use beef or vegetable stock
- 3 springs thyme
- 2 tsp Redmond Real Sea Salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Over medium high heat add the olive oil and 1 tbsp., of butter to a sauté pan or sauce pan. Then add the onions and the mushrooms and cook until soft and tender.
- Add the broth along with the whole sprigs of thyme, salt, pepper and butter. Bring to a boil then turn to simmer and let cook for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes take out the thyme springs. Most of the leaves will have dropped from the stalk into the sauce. You just want to remove the stalks.
- Scoop about 1/4 cup of the sauce into a small bowl and mix the cornstarch into the sauce until dissolved. Add the mixture back into the sauce, turn up the heat and let come back to boil – about 5 minutes, stirring as it thickens.
- Take the sauce off the heat.
Other Meatloaf Options
You can make some changes to this meatloaf:
- If you can’t find ground veal or are opposed to using it, you can add an additional 1/2 pound each of ground beef and ground pork.
- Instead of the mushroom and onion sauce you can use a traditional ketchup topping
- Handy wishes I would save the sauce for a gravy to use after the meatloaf has baked but I think that contributes to the amazing flavor. Next time I might double the sauce recipe and add it to the top before baking and then have more to add as a gravy.
- If you don’t want to make your own bread crumbs you can use pre-made crumbs or panko. the 4 slices of bread are equivalent to about 2 cups of crumbs.
Making Meals for Two
Making meals for two isn’t always easy because it’s hard to get the recipes to translate well when you scale the ingredients.
I also don’t want to scale for two on most recipes because many people are cooking for more than two.
Freezing
This recipe will freeze well. I covered the top of the container with foil and then the plastic lid provided with the pans. I marked the top so I know what is in it. Then into the freezer, it goes. When I want to prepare this I will let it thaw and then put it in the oven to bake per the directions.
What we like to do is make meals that freeze well. We have dinner for one night and then an additional meal or two in the freezer. If a meal isn’t one that freezes well, I save the leftovers for my lunch the next day or two. If we find that at the end of the week we have enough leftovers in the refrigerator, we have a leftover dinner night on Friday.
Enjoy,
Meet Me
Created by Lynn Vogeler, Small House Kitchen is a celebration of the joy found in mostly from-scratch cooking and the magic that happens when great ingredients meet limitless imagination. In our small house, we turn simple ingredients into extraordinary meals with big flavors.
You can find out about all of my other passions; decorating, entertaining, organizing, and gardening over at livinglargeinasmallhouse.com
A great way to remember this recipe is to save it to your Pinterest boards. You can find the pin button when you hover over the photo below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest
This sounds delicious! Will be making this soon and we love mushrooms! Love the new blog!!!
Hi Carol – It is such a great recipe. My VA who is a food stylist told me “don’t do meatloaf because it doesn’t photography well” But it tastes so good I did it anyway! So glad you’re here.