The Prep Step You Should Move To The Food Processor For Faster Meatloaf

Every family has their own tried and true meatloaf recipe. The possibilities are endless to create this classic dish that begins with ground beef and ends with whatever you like to add to the mix. Not to give away too many secrets, but for generations, moms have used meatloaf as a way to sneak vegetables into their children's meals. When done carefully, veggies such as carrots, celery, peppers, and onion are all hidden in a warm and comforting meatloaf.

The problem with meatloaf is that although it seems like a simple meal to whip up, the chopping and dicing is time consuming. All of those vegetables add necessary flavor and added nutrition, but they also take a lot of time to get chopped into small enough pieces for a meatloaf. Thankfully, there is a better way to get the chopping done and add even more vegetables than you hoped to in your meatloaf. 

It starts with a small appliance you likely already have in your kitchen.

Without vegetables in your meatloaf, it certainly lacks flavor. You're basically left with a loaf of meat and that's it. To make a perfect meatloaf, you need several things, including ground meat, moisture, binder, and vegetables. Ground beef is the most common choice for a meatloaf but you can certainly use ground turkey or whatever ground meat you prefer. Keep in mind that you need a high-fat meat, however, to produce a moist and tasty meatloaf. For additional moisture, try eggs, Worcestershire, ketchup, or milk, and for a binder you can use bread soaked in milk. Vegetables are a personal preference. If you aren't sure what to use, start with the popular mix of carrots, celery, and onion. Sauté your veggies until they are soft. And after that, set aside your chopping knife and try a food processor instead.

Imagine the time you'll save when crumbling up the vegetables in a food processor rather than chopping them. Some people may not enjoy the texture of too many chunks in their meatloaf, and the food processor takes care of that. Pulse vegetables until they are the consistency you prefer. You can nearly puree them for almost no vegetable detection in your meatloaf. No one will ever know, and you're secret remains between you and your food processor.