Meatloaf
Glazed beef loaf, tender and savoury, with a tangy top.
Ingredients
- 800 g Ground beef
- 1 Yellow onion
- 80 g Breadcrumbs
- 2 Egg
- 80 ml Milk
- 100 ml BBQ sauce
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Salt
Method
- Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Finely chop the onion and garlic.
- Soak breadcrumbs in milk briefly, then mix the beef with onion, garlic, soaked panade, egg, and salt and shape into a loaf.
- Brush the loaf with BBQ sauce.
- Bake until cooked through and the glaze is sticky, about 55 minutes.
- Rest, then slice and serve.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a cornerstone of American home cooking, a humble loaf of seasoned ground beef baked until tender and sliceable, defined as much by its sticky, tangy glazed top as by the meat itself. The savory, comforting flavor comes from onion and garlic worked through the beef, while a brushing of BBQ sauce caramelizes in the oven into the sweet-tart crust that people reach for first. It's honest, nostalgic food — the sort of dish built around pantry staples and meant to feed a table without fuss.
The technique that keeps it tender is the panade: breadcrumbs soaked in milk before being mixed into the meat, which traps moisture and stops the loaf from baking dense and dry. Shaping it into a free-form loaf, glazing, and baking until the top turns sticky gives you a classic result, and resting before slicing lets it hold together cleanly. Serving six and ready in a little over an hour, meatloaf is the archetypal Sunday-supper main, traditionally paired with mashed potatoes and a vegetable, with cold leftovers making an excellent sandwich the next day.
Meatloaf: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Meatloaf?
A serving has about 419 calories — 29.6g protein, 21.6g carbs, 22.8g fat, 1.2g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 29.6g of protein, roughly 28% of its calories.
Is Meatloaf gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Breadcrumbs, BBQ sauce. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for those ingredients to make it gluten-free.
Is Meatloaf dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Milk. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Meatloaf take to make?
About 75 minutes start to finish, but only around 18 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
How many servings does Meatloaf make?
This recipe makes 6 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.