Quick and Easy Meatloaf Recipe With Bread Crumbs
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Quick and easy meatloaf recipe with bread crumbs is the perfect comfort food. Not sure what to make with that pound of lean ground beef you picked up at the store? Try this quick and easy meatloaf recipe with bread crumbs tonight.
Perfectly seasoned with a few pantry staples and topped with a tangy glaze, this quick and easy meatloaf recipe with bread crumbs is sure to become a weeknight regular on your table. Quick and easy is an understatement for this savory family favorite.
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Easy meatloaf recipe with breadcrumbs is a fast and simple comfort food dish the whole family will love. Your pickiest eaters are sure to gobble it up. A sweet and savory glaze tops this succulent meatloaf. In my house, we love to pair this classic meatloaf with mashed potatoes and peas. Let’s get cookin!
How To Make Quick and Easy Meatloaf Recipe with Bread Crumbs
Just a few minutes of prep and this bad boy is ready for the oven. Kick back and relax while your easy meatloaf recipe with breadcrumbs bakes. Or take that time to prepare your sides.
What You Need:
Here’s what you’ll need from the store. The exact amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Kitchen Tools Needed:
- Best chef knife
- Mixing bowls
- Baking sheet or loaf pan
- Aluminum foil
- Non-stick cooking spray
- Instant read digital thermometer
Ingredients Needed:
- Ground beef (80/20 or 85/15)
- Egg
- Milk
- Onion
- Bread Crumbs
- Brown sugar
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Salt
- Pepper
Tips for Quick and Easy Meatloaf with Bread Crumbs
Substitute for Bread Crumbs in Meatloaf
What if I don’t have any bread crumbs on hand? No bread crumbs? No problem. Simply substitute crushed crackers instead. Saltine crackers or a buttery round such as Ritz work best.
You will need bread crumbs or cracker crumbs of some type. They act as a binding ingredient when mixed with the milk, egg, and ground beef and this is what holds your meatloaf together. Without them your meatloaf will just fall apart.
Gluten Free? Many grocery stores now accomodate a gluten free lifestyle. Kikkoman makes a gluten free panko breadcrumb. In lieu of this, you can also easily substitute crushed gluten free crackers.
How to Make the Glaze
Easy meatloaf recipe with ketchup uses this versatile tomato sauce as the base for it’s glaze. Simple mix the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar together and spread over the unbaked meatloaf before popping it in the oven.
For a fun twist, try substituting barbecue sauce for this glaze and voila! you’ve got yourself a barbecue meatloaf. Serve it with a baked potato and corn on the cob.
Time and Temp for Easy Meatloaf Recipe with Bread Crumbs
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Form your loaf on a lightly greased foil-lined baking sheet or press into a loaf pan. Bake the meatloaf for 45-55 minutes in the preheated oven.
An instant read digital thermometer comes in real handy. Your meatloaf should reach a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees. A little higher is ok, the fat content of the ground beef will prevent your meatloaf from drying out. However, if looking for a slightly healthier version feel free to substitute ground turkey but keep a close eye on your cooking temp. Ground turkey should be cooked to 165 degrees and will dry out much more quickly than beef.
Quick and Easy Meatloaf Recipe With Bread Crumbs
SERVINGS
Equipment
- Large Loaf Pan
- Instant Read Food Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 pound of Ground Beef 80/20 or 85/15 is best
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 chopped onion
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- In large bowl, mix ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, milk, egg, salt and pepper. Use two hands and mix well.
- In a separate small bowl, mix ketchup, mustard and brown sugar.
- Lightly grease a shallow baking pan (a loaf pan is ideal), and shape the beef mixture into a loaf. Cover with ketchup mixture and bake in oven for 45-55 minutes. Check with instant read thermometer. Internal temperature should be 160 degree F.
Nutrition
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This is so quick and easy and my wife complimented me on my cooking skills. I did follow other people’s advice and lined the tin with bacon and put boiled eggs in the centre. Can’t wait for the grandchildren to come and help me make it again.
I’ve made this so many times. My family LOVES it! I doubled it for a family dinner last night and I got a ton of compliments! Thank you for sharing such a delicious dish!
This was super easy, but next time I will add some Italian seasoning and maybe garlic?? It was a little bland.
I added some onion powder, and garlic & herb spice. Was much better.
Try using Italian bread crumbs instead of plain ones. It adds more flavor
I do that everytime and my family loves it.
I substitute chopped bread n oatmeal to breadcrumbs. Add 1 egg n make 1/2 milk ~1 cup.it smell so so good n taste good. Moist.
I make this recipe every time I make meatloaf my kids and fiance love it ! I do not put the ketchup mixture on top while baking and sometimes use bbq sauce instead !! Thanks
This is easy and so good. I goofed the first time and mixed the ketchup top seasoning into meatloaf, then more on top. Hubby loved the mix up, but now I leave the milk out.
I love how easy this is. I add mozzarella cheese in the center like my mom does an its so good. An all the kids love it.
This is my favorite meatloaf recipe. The only thing I do different is sometimes I add gr. pork with the gr.beef. like 3 parts beef to 1 part pork.
This is, hands down, the best meatloaf I’ve ever had. Made for us by a caretaker of our elderly family members. She had never made it before and the raves were so positive she tried a second time with equal success. A hint of sweet and sour with nothing more than ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar.
I used Italian style breadcrumbs. I added garlic powder and crushed red pepper. In the topping, instead of 1/3 cup ketchup, I combined a 1:1 ratio of ketchup and tomato sauce in the required 1/3 cup. Also I put in a dash of cholula hot sauce in topping.
I added Italian bread crumbs, red peppers, and the best thing of all. I package of Onion soup mix. You can crush up the soup mix with a pistol and mortal if you like.
I was needing a quick and easy meatloaf recipe in a pinch, and found this. It was so simple and delicious and will be my go-to from now own. Sometimes you just need to stick with simple! I was rushing and not paying attention and I put some ingredients in my ‘meat bowl’ before I realized it was 1 pound instead of the 2 in my bowl. I just doubled the recipe and formed it on a jelly roll pan into 2 loafs since I only have 1 loaf pan. Wasn’t paying attention and it went to 175 degrees (I guess I formed them too flat lol) but it was still MOIST! Next time I’ll pay closer attention but I’m glad I made extra. Looking forward to browsing the site for other recipes.
Its super quick to make throw some potatoes corn and in leas then 10min your dinner is being cooked no fuss no mess and OMG delicious!!!!