Easy Traditional Meatloaf

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Looking for an easy traditional meatloaf recipe using grass-fed ground beef? This is it. It’s so easy to throw together on a busy night and pair with your favorite sides! Just 15 minutes of prep before getting it in the oven.

Meatloaf is one of those dishes that you’re supposed to throw together quickly and have it turn out great with very little effort. Well, that’s never been the case for me. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve always used grass-fed beef and it typically has less fat or if I never handled the meat right or what… but I could never find a meatloaf recipe that I liked! It would either be too dry or too dense, too sweet or not sweet enough, in need of more salt and less onion… you name it.

I’ve painstakingly perfected my meatloaf recipe and I finally get consistent and delicious results! This is great news for me because my favorite meat to cook with is ground beef. It’s cheap and versatile and I can mix it with pasta or rice or in a chili and it will go a long way. When you’re feeding a family of five, you really do need meal extenders.

The Ingredients

There’s nothing earth shattering about the ingredients in this recipe. You should have most of it in your pantry/fridge/freezer. I just want to call out two things:

Breadcrumbs: If you make your own bread you should also be making your own breadcrumbs. Any time bread gets just a tad too old, I toast it in the oven, chop it in a food processer, and freeze it for later use. It’s quick and easy and you know exactly what the ingredients are.

Ground Beef: I get ground beef every week from the same local farm that sells raw milk. It’s cheaper, better quality, and I know exactly where it came from. When you can, try to source your meat from local farms.

Let’s get started

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place all the meatloaf mixture ingredients in a large bowl. (Diced onion, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper, tomato paste, ground beef, and Worcestershire sauce.) Use your clean hands and mix everything together until all the ingredients are well incorporated and there are no lumps. (It’s ok to really incorporate all the ingredients into the meat properly like you would with meatballs.)

Next, shape the meatloaf into a “log” and place it in a loaf pan. Set it aside while you prepare your sauce.

In another container (I use a measuring cup), stir together the sauce ingredients. (Milk, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, BBQ sauce, and a pinch of salt.) Pour the sauce over the meatloaf in the loaf pan.

Carefully place the meatloaf in the preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour.

Remove the meatloaf and enjoy it with your favorite sides. We love mashed potatoes or Mac and Cheese to go with it!

Leave a comment below letting me know if you tried this recipe and what you thought! What’s your favorite meatloaf pairing?

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