Looking for a dinner that brings everyone to the table? This homemade meatloaf is incredibly moist, tender, and packed with flavor thanks to a blend of fresh vegetables. With just 20 minutes of prep time, you can have a comforting, family-tested meal in the oven that is sure to become a weeknight staple.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Incredibly Moist Texture Dry meatloaf is a thing of the past with this method. The secret blend of onions, carrots, and celery releases moisture as it bakes, steaming the meat from the inside to ensure every bite is tender.
- A Glaze That Caramelizes The simple topping is more than just ketchup. By mixing yellow mustard and brown sugar into the sauce, you get a sweet and savory finish that caramelizes beautifully in the oven.
- Quick and Easy Prep Because the food processor does all the chopping for the bread and vegetables, you only need about 20 minutes of hands-on prep time before the oven does the rest.
- Great for Meal Prep You can form the loaf up to 4 or 5 hours ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. When dinner time rolls around, just add the glaze and bake.
The Ingredients for the Easy Meatloaf
- Ground Beef: I typically use 80/20 or 85/15 ground beef. The fat content helps with flavor, but since we are adding veggies, you can get away with leaner mixes or even turkey.
- Fresh Bread: Using three slices of bread processed into crumbs acts as a binder. It absorbs the juices and keeps the meat tender rather than tough.
- The Veggie Trio (Onion, Carrots, Celery): This "mirepoix" adds incredible savory flavor and, most importantly, moisture. As they cook, they release water, steaming the meat from the inside so it never dries out.
- The Glaze (Ketchup, Mustard, Brown Sugar): This simple combination creates a sticky, sweet, and tangy coating. The brown sugar caramelizes in the oven, adding a delicious crust.
How to Make This Moist Meatloaf
- Prepare the Binder Start by tearing your bread slices into pieces and tossing them into a food processor. Pulse until you have fine crumbs, then transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
- Process the Vegetables Add the onion, baby carrots, celery, and garlic cloves to the empty food processor. Pulse these until they are finely diced. You want them small enough to blend into the meat but not so processed that they become a puree.
- Mix the Loaf Add the veggie mixture to the bowl with the breadcrumbs. Add the ground beef, egg, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to mix everything until just combined—be careful not to overwork the meat, or it can become tough.
- Chill and Shape Let the mixture rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes; this makes it easier to handle. Shape the meat into a wide, flat loaf (about 2-3 inches high) on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake and Glaze Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. While it bakes, whisk together the mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar. After the first 20 minutes, pull the loaf out, brush the glaze liberally over the top, and return it to the oven for another 20 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F).
Try our favorite meatloaf recipe with the Pommes Anna recipe!
Yes! While beef is traditional, you can use a mix of pork, beef, and veal—or even turkey. Just note that turkey is leaner, so the veggies help keep it moist.
Onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and mushrooms all work great. You can customize the mix based on what your family enjoys.
A food processor makes it quicker to chop the bread and veggies, but you can finely chop them by hand if needed.
Shaping it flatter allows for more even topping coverage, so everyone gets a bite with the caramelized glaze.
The simple and delicious topping is a mix of ketchup, yellow mustard, and brown sugar—it adds a perfect sweet and tangy finish.
Yes, you can prepare the meatloaf mixture in advance and refrigerate it. Just add the topping before baking.
Including vegetables and not overbaking are key. For leaner meats like turkey, the added moisture from the veggies is especially helpful. Also, the topping helps.
Any bread will work—white, whole wheat, or even leftover rolls. The food processor helps turn them into fine crumbs easily.
Leftover meatloaf can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can warm slices in the microwave, in a skillet over medium-low heat, or in a 350°F oven until heated through.
Yes, this meatloaf freezes well. You can freeze it baked or unbaked. For an unbaked loaf, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before baking as directed.
Looking for more cozy inspiration? Browse my full collection of Comfort Food Recipes to find your next family favorite.
Recipe
Easy and Moist Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of ground beef
- 3 pieces of bread
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 8 baby carrots
- 1 large stalk of celery
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon each of sea salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of yellow mustard
- ¼ cup of ketchup
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
Method
- Place bread into a food processor and blend into bread crumbs. Place bread crumbs into a large bowl and set aside.
- Next, place onion, carrots, celery, and garlic into a food processor and process until finely diced.
- Place vegetable mixture into a bowl with bread crumbs.
- Next add ground beef, egg, and salt and pepper to the bowl. Mix until well combined.
- Let the mixture set in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
- Place the mixture on top of a parchment covered baking sheet and form into a loaf. See the writeup above for instructions for forming the mixture.
- Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F
- After 20 minutes place the topping on top of the meatloaf.
- Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until thermometer reads 165 degrees F
Nutrition
Notes
- Don't Overmix: When combining the meat and veggies, mix only until the ingredients are incorporated. Overmixing compresses the meat proteins and creates a dense loaf.
- Make Ahead: You can shape the loaf up to 4 hours in advance and keep it covered in the fridge. Add the glaze right before baking.
- Freezing: This meatloaf freezes beautifully. Wrap the unbaked loaf tightly in plastic wrap and foil for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
Jordan says
I have never been a fan of meatloaf, probably because I have never had any GOOD meatloaf before. I decided to try out this recipe in hopes that I could change my mind, and I did. This meatloaf was the best I've ever had!! The carrots make it sweet, and the ketchup/mustard topping was great! I think next time I'll add some paprika in too!! 🙂 Thank You Cleveland Cooking for turning me on to good meatloaf
clevelandcooking says
Thank you so much for giving it a try! Your comment made my day!