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.
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!
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.
- Mix it together REALLY well.
- Pour the meat mixture into a loaf pan.
- Spread it into a flat even layer.
Make the Ketchup Glaze
- Add ketchup, brown sugar, and red wine vinegar to a bowl.
- Whisk until combined.
- Pour the glaze over the meatloaf.
- Bake it!
- Let it cool before slicing.
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. 🙂
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The Best Classic Meatloaf Recipe
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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
Nutrition
Check out all of my great ground beef recipes.
This is my go to recipe for meatloaf. The topping is the bomb! I’ve cooked it so often that now I double the recipe for those awesome meatloaf sandwich leftovers.
Just the absolute best meatloaf I have ever baked ! Following your Recipe , but with the use of Half & Half in lew of reg. milk .The few left overs will be looked forward too instead of being pushed aside ! A 5 Star rating is a under statment . ” Bon Apetite ! “
Best meatloaf I’ve ever made! Thanks for posting this. I personally like it a bit more spicy so I added cayenne, paprika, dill, a bit of hot sauce and barbeque sauce. : )
My 15 year old made this last night—her first time cooking a full dinner for the family. She followed the recipe exactly except we didn’t have red wine vinegar so she used rice wine vinegar. It turned out phenomenal! The best meatloaf I’ve ever had. No leftovers here 😩
The. Best. Meatloaf. Ever. Don’t tell my mom I said that. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Delicious and tender, I used flavored Panko for bread crumbs and sweet Thai chili in place of ketchup and thick bacon on top.
This is my go to recipe for my adult son. He loves this meatloaf. I use Ground Wagyu beef and it is delicious. I find the Red-Wine Vinegar is the key for the topping that brings out a deeper flavor for the sauce. A hearty meal with mash potatoes. Yum.
Delicious!!!!! I used fresh chopped garlic instead of garlic powder. It was so moist. Yummmmmm!
Could you used minced garlic instead of freshly chopped?
Very good !!!! Best meat loaf I’ve ever made, love the topping.
I made this recipe with “bork” (mixed ground beef and ground pork). I doubled the recipe and froze one meatloaf. My husband and I loved it. I will make it again.
This was perfect ! So delicious. Best meatloaf I have ever eaten in my life. I tripled it because I had 3 lbs of hamburger. I divided the mixture in to 2 loaves and baked on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. It is even great cold. Thank you so much for this recipe ❤
When you doubled the recipe did you have to bake it longer?
I had to stop by after making this to leave a comment. I’ve always enjoyed meatloaf, but found most to be a little to dry or bland for my liking. But this recipe right here – WOW. I’ve never tasted anything so delicious! It was moist, flavorful, and the sauce on top added just the right amount of sweetness to the savory loaf. After taking a bite, my boyfriend gave me a high five and said it was one of the greatest things he’s eaten all year – HA! So thank you! I don’t know what magic you put into this meatloaf recipe but it is absolutely excellent 🙂 Definitely will make again!
So good and easy. New go to for meatloaf.
Honestly the best meatloaf recipe I’ve ever used. I organized all the ingredients first and it made this so easy. Made this using 1lb of hamburg as it was only for me. (adjusted the ingredients accordingly) So good. I had left overs for sandwiches and breakfast ( thinly sliced meatloaf with a egg dropped on top) Moist and so good. used my favorite non stick loaf pan with draining insert and it made for an easy clean up. I bought several of these pans and printed out this recipe and put it inside the pans to give as gifts.
Why did you adjust the ingredients? The recipe calls for 1lb of ground beef. I’m just curious because that’s a lot of bread crumbs for 1lb of beef. I’m wondering if it’s a misprint and it’s actually 2lb beef
I made this meatloaf tonight for dinner. This is the best meatloaf recipe I have found. I added finely chopped celery and used cracker crumbs instead of bread crumbs. The recipe says it makes 10 servings but they would be very small. My family loved it!
Best recipe for meatloaf! So moist, I will make this over and over again.
Thank you!
This recipe is amazing. I used Italian seasoning and added 3 cups of cheddar cheese. The rest I followed to a tee except I used about 2 pounds of ground meat. It was still so flavorful.
Followed the recipe exactly, which the exception of using apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar because that’s what I had on hand. My kids gobbled it all up.
Really delicious, inexpensive, and so easy to make. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’ve made countless meatloaf recipes from the internet over the last 20 years…. this one is my now my go to….. and FAVORITE! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Made this a couple of nights ago… did not have parsley and had to use Italian Bread Crumbs but this came out amazing!!! My 2 1/2 yr old loved it!!! I will be making this again tonight minus onions and parsley… i’m sure it still wont disappoint! The sauce was INCREDIBLE!!!!
This is legit. First time trying this recipe and I bumped the amount of ground beef up to about 1 and 1/4 pounds, and I sautéed the onions first. Came out great. My two teenage kids were making fun of meatloaf before dinner but both ate it up and said it was good. The glaze on top is perfect. And the texture of the beef was great – not too much breading, not dry at all. Thanks!
AWESOME! Worried about the onions and had to
Improvise on the worcestershire sauce (since I didnt Have any) but it was delicious! Don’t skip out in the topping. That may be my favorite part!
Excellent recipe. I have made this twice in less than two weeks, each time tripling the recipe. We are 3 adults and 3 children currently staying at home and this meatloaf is one the few things everyone eats. Only change I have made is to sauté the onions and some minced garlic.