Ultimate Turkey Meatloaf Recipe

In an age of viral recipes and TikTok food hacks, humble dishes like meatloaf can sometimes get overlooked, relegated to the category of family comfort food rather than being seen as something craveable and exciting. Of course, meatloaf is still a delicious and satisfying meal to serve your loved ones, and it certainly doesn't have to be boring. Recipe developer Jessica Morone shakes things up by adding some unexpected ingredients to her meatloaf, and makes the classic dish a bit lighter by using ground turkey instead of the usual beef.

"There are a couple of special ingredients in this recipe," Morone explains. "The first is the potato chips, which add texture to the meatloaf and help it retain moisture. I used plain potato chips but you could also use flavors like sour cream and onion or BBQ for added flavor." That's not all: "I put maple syrup and dijon mustard into the ketchup glaze, as the maple syrup adds a bit of sweetness and the dijon helps to balance the flavors of the glaze," she says. Is your mouth watering yet?

You need quite a few ingredients here, but they're all rather standard and most of them are pantry staples. You'll need ground turkey, of course, plus chopped mushrooms and onions, minced garlic, two eggs, potato chips, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, milk, and salt and pepper. For the glaze that graces the top, you'll need ketchup, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard.

Start by heating a skillet over medium-low and cooking the onions, then the garlic, then the chopped mushrooms with some salt and pepper. Let the mushrooms cook down for a bit until their liquid is released and everything's smelling nice. While you're at it, preheat your oven to 400 F and place foil in a loaf pan, then spray the foiled pan with cooking spray.

While your mushroom mixture is cooling, mix the breadcrumbs, potato chips, and milk together and place the turkey in a bigger bowl. Add in the mushrooms, garlic, and onions, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, and the mixture of breadcumbs and chips and use your (clean) hands (or a spatula, if you prefer) to make sure everything gets evenly combined.

Now for the glaze. This part's easy: Just stir together your ketchup, maple syrup, and Dijon. Place the turkey in your prepared loaf pan, top it with the glaze you just made, and pop it in the oven. When it's done baking, don't dig in immediately: "You want to let the meatloaf sit for a little while before slicing it so that it can cool down a bit, as it will hold its shape better if it cools before you slice it," Morone explains. "Letting it rest also helps it retain its moisture better."

Once your turkey meatloaf is good and rested, you're ready to enjoy! "I think meatloaf and mashed potatoes are a classic combination and they are perfect together. I think anything can really go as a side dish with this though," Morone says, so feel free to let your culinary imagination run wild.

Since this recipe makes 8 servings, you're likely to end up with extra if you're not feeding a group. "You can keep leftovers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days," Morone adds. "This meatloaf is very moist so it doesn't dry out easily, I like to just microwave individual slices when I want to eat them, but you could also reheat it by putting it in the oven at 350 F covered with foil for 10 to 15 minutes until it is hot." With this recipe, you may never think of meatloaf as boring again.