The Best Classic Meatloaf

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This is the best meatloaf recipe ever! This traditional meatloaf recipe is just like mom used to make, made with ground beef and a sweet and tangy glaze topping.

Three slices of meatloaf with ketchup glaze on top.

What Makes A Really Good Meatloaf

I think the trick to good meatloaf is using lean ground beef.  The problem with a lot of meatloaf recipes is that they call for ground beef with a high fat content.  As the meatloaf cooks, the fat cooks out and makes a greasy mess.  Not this recipe!

Best Meatloaf recipe - 2 slices on a blue plate

How To Keep It Moist

You may be thinking, but won’t lean ground beef make the meatloaf dry?  Not at all!  The milk, egg, ketchup, and diced onion in the meat mixture are all working to keep the meatloaf moist and delicious.

Loaf Pan Versus Baking Sheet

I prefer to use a loaf pan because it keeps all the glaze in place perfectly and the meat is juicier.  But, you could line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Shape the meatloaf into a loaf shape.  Top with the glaze.  And, bake as normal.

How To Make The Best Meatloaf

*Note: This is a summary. The full printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.

Make the Meatloaf:

  • Add 90% lean ground beef to a large bowl.
  • Add dried bread crumbs  and some diced onion.
  • Add milk, an egg, ketchup, and worcestershire sauce.
  • Add dried parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Meatloaf recipe ingredients in a mixing bowl: ground beef, onion, breadcrumbs, egg, milk, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, dried parsley, garlic powder, salt, pepper.
  • Mix it together REALLY well.
Meatloaf ingredients mixed together in a mixing bowl for the best meatloaf recipe
  • Pour the meat mixture into a loaf pan.
  • Spread it into a flat even layer.
Meatloaf mixture pressed into a loaf pan, ready to bake

Make the Ketchup Glaze

  • Add ketchup, brown sugar, and red wine vinegar to a bowl.
  • Whisk until combined.
  • Pour the glaze over the meatloaf.
Uncooked meatloaf with ketchup glaze in a loaf pan, ready to bake
  • Bake it!
  • Let it cool before slicing.
The Best Easy Meatloaf sliced on a white plate

Can This Be Made Ahead Of Time

Absolutely!  Just cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you’re ready for it.  Then, uncover it and let it come to room temperature as you’re preheating the oven.

Can This Be Frozen

Yes!  Prepare the meatloaf, put it in a loaf pan, and top with glaze according to the recipe directions.  Cover the pan and freeze.

Place the frozen meatloaf in the refrigerator to thaw about 24 hours before you want to bake it.  Then, uncover it and let it come to room temperature as you’re preheating the oven.

I’ve been playing around with this recipe for the past few months, making it many times.  And, I didn’t mind the repetition at all because I do believe I ended up with the best classic meatloaf recipe ever. 🙂

Find more of my recipes on TikTok

Three slices of meatloaf with ketchup glaze on top.

The Best Classic Meatloaf Recipe

4.97 from 1986 votes
This traditional meatloaf recipe is just like mom used to make, made with ground beef and a sweet and tangy ketchup glaze topping. 
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Video

Servings 10 slices
Calories 164 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 lb. 90% lean ground beef
  • 1 cup dried bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 2 tbsp. ketchup
  • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley leaves
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • For the Topping:
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
  • In a large bowl, add the beef, bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, 2 tablespoons ketchup, worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Use your hands to mush and mix these ingredients together until well combined.*
  • Add the meat mixture to a loaf pan. Pat the meat down into an even layer.
  • In a small bowl, add ¼ cup ketchup, the brown sugar, and vinegar. Stir to combine. Pour the sauce on top of the meatloaf and spread it into an even layer.
  • Bake uncovered for 55 minutes.
  • Let the meatloaf rest for 8-10 minutes before serving (or it may fall apart).**

Notes

*Be sure to mix the meat really well.  This is a very moist meatloaf recipe so under mixing can cause the meatloaf to be too soft/mushy. 
**I use two thin spatulas to remove the meatloaf from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. You could also slice and serve the meatloaf directly from the loaf pan, or use parchment paper to line the pan for easy removal.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/10th of the meatloaf | Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.8g | Protein: 11.7g | Fat: 5.7g | Saturated Fat: 2.2g | Cholesterol: 49.9mg | Sodium: 399.3mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 6.7g
Course Dinner, Entree, Main Course, Main Dish
Keyword best meatloaf recipe, classic meatloaf, meatloaf with ground beef
Cuisine American
Author Amanda Finks
the best classic meatloaf with glaze in a loaf pan
meatloaf

Check out all of my great ground beef recipes.

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Comments

  1. My family and I were not crazy about it. Defiantly not the best I’ve ever had. Meatloaf was really mushy. (Mixed it well like recipe says but very soft and mushy ). Will not make again. Sorry.

  2. I made this meatloaf with venison and beef. 2 lbs total. So doubled ingredients. Turned out very soggy and mushy. Didn’t look like your picture at all . Tasted good, msybe alittle salty. Since I’m gluten free, I used gluten free crumbs in a can. I really dont know what went wrong to fix it.

    1. 4 stars
      Followed the recipe exactly. Good flavor, but way too many breadcrumbs. Kind of feels like your biting into a hushpuppy with meat. I will try again with half the breadcrumbs and will see if I need to add another 1/2 egg or more milk to bind. Also, I added a teaspoon of garlix powder and 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder to the glaze because it was too sweet for my tastes.

  3. 5 stars
    My husband loved this recipe saying it was very tasty. I made it with 1# lean gr.meat and 1# ground chicken breast. Turned out very moist. Also good as a cold sandwich. Yum.
    Worth a try

    1. Gone are the days when people know that # doesn’t mean hashtag. Love It. Recipe was also a goodie. I love a down and dirty classic recipe like this one..but also adore throwing whatever vegetables that “need to go” in.

      And speaking of chicken…My other 1/2 had just made some chicken stock and I used the vegetables which would have just been thrown (celery carrots onions) sorta smushed into a paste with the egg and seasonings and bread crumbs (which happened to be toasted rogge brood) (a sticky Flanders [Dutch] rye/pumpernickel bread). DELICIOUS!

      And the meat was a mix of beef and a bit of lamb.

      OK OK a different recipe..but had to say something about the # symbol. Be Well Everyone…

      1. 5 stars
        I believe Barbara’s use of # is meant to be a symbol of pound (weight), not as hashtag that’s now more common in social media. She is saying she used one pound each of ground meat & chicken.

        With regards to this actual classic meatloaf, I tried it and it’s really good! Used dried onions only because I didn’t have fresh one at time of prepping. We all enjoyed it! I’ll certainly make it again!Thank you, Amanda!

  4. 5 stars
    I made this meatloaf for my husband and I and it is the world’s best meatloaf we have ever had in our life

  5. 5 stars
    This meatloaf is absolutely fabulous! I omitted the milk for dietary reasons substituting tomato sauce (out of ketchup). The rest stayed the same. Sliced perfectly. Great texture and taste.

  6. Do I double the time it should cook if I double the ingredients? I don’t have an internal meat thermometer to check that way. (Love your recipe by the way, and so did my husband!)

  7. 5 stars
    Best meatloaf I ever made. I used Italian style bread crumbs because that’s all I had and it was marvelous. Only meatloaf recipe I’ll ever make again.

  8. 5 stars
    This recipe is 5+ stars!! So quick and easy! I used a large muffin tin to make individual meatloaves – I baked @ 350 for 40 minutes – they were delicious!! My husband said it was the best meatloaf he had ever had!! I only had 80/20 ground beef and it was fine!!

  9. 5 stars
    Loved this! We will probably be cooking this a lot in the future. The store was out of garlic powder, so I used garlic salt in place of it. I left out the regular salt so that it wouldn’t be too much with the garlic salt. I also left out the parsley.

  10. I use Sweet Baby Rays Barbeque sauce in the mix and on top. Tastes amazing!!! You can also throw whatever veggies you have into the meatloaf.

    1. 5 stars
      I tried this easy meatloaf and it was awesome my family loved it so I’ve tried others but I will stick with this one. Thanks for this amazing recipe.

  11. 5 stars
    My son is going off to college tomorrow and he requested meatloaf for dinner tonight. It has been a while since I made meatloaf so I looked up recipes and came across this one. WOW! I used 2lbs of meat instead of one and I wish I had used 3! There wasn’t one morsel or bit left. This recipe is a winner, for sure! Thank you!

  12. If you have European tastes, don’t make this.
    I followed this recipe and it was too sweet. Also my meatloaf was soggy and crumbly even though I let it rest. I’m not sure what went wrong. The tomato sauce topping seemed excessively sweet in my opinion. We couldnt keep eating it and threw it away

  13. 5 stars
    I like to substitute the salt and pepper for McCormick’s Montreal steak seasoning and it is absolutely divine; even my mother said it was better than anything her mom ever made! Even using gluten-free breadcrumbs is a seamless swap! Still testing out other substitutions, but definitely the best recipe I’ve found! So easy to make!

  14. 5 stars
    I will be age 64,grew up in eastern Pennsylvania and ate my share of meatloaf…This is hands down the best recipe I have EVER made and had.!! Shared it with a Venezuelan friend who NEVER had meatloaf and she went bonkers.WOW ,WOW and more WOW..I used fresh parsley cause I had some and was a little short on milk so added half and half..Very little effort for amazing results….

  15. 5 stars
    Very good meat loaf I changed a few things I use the scallion and the onion and some shallots bell pepper cut very fine and a couple slashes of tabasco . Everyone loved it my son said that meatloaf with his new best friend. Will definitely make again thanks for a great recipe

  16. 5 stars
    Made this meatloaf but whisked the milk and breadcrumbs together separately before mixing it into the meat for a more moisture . This was a trick I learned off Gordon Ramsey (Cooking video) . I also added chopped garlic and more salt. 3 tablespoons to be exact and it did not come out salty at all. Super flavorful and juicy! Great recipe and very comforting.

  17. 5 stars
    My family loved it! I substituted ground turkey for the ground beef (and added 15 minutes to the cooking time). I also added cut up celery, potatoes, carrots, and a little water around the meatloaf. I cooked the bbq glaze in a sauce pan on the side, as everyone in my family does not like bbq sauce. I will definitely be making this recipe again!

About Amanda Finks

I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist living in Zionsville, IN. I’m an avid cook, travel nerd, & lover of good food! I’m trained in Food Science & recipe development. It’s my mission to bring you the BEST recipes your whole family will love!

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