Cheesy Meatloaf with No Ketchup or Bread Crumbs

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We’ve tried a lot of recipes for meatloaf over the years, but have landed on this cheesy meatloaf without ketchup as our family favorite. If you are looking for the ultimate comfort food that’s an easy addition to your family meal plans, look no further!

I’ve never been a fan of ketchup heavy meatloaves. I think it’s the sweetness of the ketchup that’s a bit too overpowering for my tastes. But we do love cheese and—with having a family milk cow—always have it in abundance in our homestead kitchen.

While this is a very juicy meatloaf on its own, if you are more of a saucy meatloaf fan, we often have bbq sauce or a tomato sauce mixture available on the side instead of putting them on top of the meatloaf. This way, it’s appealing for the entire family!

Meatloaf Ingredients

This basic yet flavorful meatloaf has only simple ingredients and can be easily adapted to whatever your preferences are, or the ingredients that you have on hand.

What do you need?

Fresh Onion or onion powder

Garlic Cloves or garlic powder

Cooking Fat for sautéing garlic and onions. Lard is our go-to but you could use olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, or butter.

Ground Meat. My favorite is to use a combination of a pound of beef with one pound ground pork. But, we’ve often made this with only lean ground beef or even a combination of beef and ground venison, or lamb.

Egg

Almond Flour or Oat Flour. These are my favorite substitutes for bread crumbs in the meatloaf mixture to make it more friendly to those with dietary restrictions. To make the oat flour, we use One Degree certified gluten free oats, blend rolled oats in your blender or food processor until a coarse meal is formed. For a more traditional meatloaf, you could stick with using bread crumbs.

Worcestershire Sauce

Herbs. With this no ketchup meatloaf, the herbs you add play a bigger role in how much flavor your meat loaf has. We like to use a combination of dried or fresh parsley, thyme, and oregano with sea salt and pepper. Feel free to play around with the kinds and amounts of spices and herbs you add.

Cheese. We like to use a combination of our shredded farmhouse cheddar and mozzarella cheeses in this recipe. The farmhouse cheddar grates similar to a parmesan which we mix in the meat mixture itself. And the mozzarella we use for melting on top of the loaf. You can experiment with the types of cheeses you use here! 

How to Make Cheesy Meatloaf

This easy meatloaf recipe requires only a few minutes of hands-on time making it the perfect meal for any night of the week.

Sauté onion and garlic over medium heat in oil until soft and aromatic.

Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl reserving some cheese for topping your meatloaf.

Mix thoroughly until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. I find that hands make the best mixers.

Form into loaf shape and place in a casserole dish.

Bake at 350°F for a cooking time of 45 minutes.

Sprinkle reserved cheese over the top and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.

To test doneness, use a meat thermometer to make sure that your meatloaf has an internal temperature of at least 160°F (71°C).

Cheesy Meatloaf without Ketchup or Bread Crumbs Recipe

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp cooking fat
2 lb ground beef (or other combo ground beef + pork, venison, or lamb)
1 egg
¼ cup almond flour or oat flour
1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1.5 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup extra shredded cheese for topping the cooked meatloaf (optional)

Directions:

1. Sauté garlic and onion over medium heat.

2. Remove from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl except for the reserved shredded cheese.

4. Mix thoroughly until everything is combined (hands are best for this).

5. Form into the shape of a loaf and place in a baking dish.

6. Bake in at 350°F oven for 45 minutes.

7. Remove and top with reserved cheese.

8. Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and meatloaf has an internal temperature of 160°F.

Can you make this meatloaf directly in a loaf pan?

You can but we’ve found that it tends to get soggier when cooked this way. We prefer to form it into a loaf and put it into a larger glass baking pan to let the juices run off. You can transfer to another plate before serving.

How to serve this cheesy meatloaf with no ketchup?

Even though this meatloaf isn’t topped with a meatloaf glaze on top, it is still very moist and full of flavor. If you are missing the meatloaf sauce with this recipe, you can serve it alongside a side of barbeque sauce or tomato-based sauce.

How do I freeze this meatloaf?

This cheesy meatloaf without ketchup is a great recipe for making ahead and freezing. I prefer to cook before freezing. Follow the recipe instructions and, once cool, place the cooked meatloaf in a freezer bag. You can cut individual slices before freezing if you would like to remove individual portions. Or you can freeze the meatloaf whole.

To reheat, simply thaw and warm in the oven.

Can I make it ahead of time?

Yes! I love to prep this meatloaf the night before so that all I have to do before serving is pop it in the oven to bake.

Pro tip, bring to room temperature on the counter for an hour or two before cooking, otherwise you will need to add some extra cooking time.

How to store leftover meatloaf?

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and reheat as needed.

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For more of our favorite easy family dinners:

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chili
Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Chicken
Beef Heart Burgers for Extra Nutrients

Pit it for later!