17 Easy Ways To Elevate Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of those dishes that can be made in so many different ways. You may have a recipe you follow time and time again, or maybe you just wing it every time you decide it's meatloaf night. Whatever your current meatloaf routine is, though, there are probably some ways you could make it better. After all, even though meatloaf is a relatively simple dish, it can be really, really amazing when it's done right.

So, why settle for a boring meatloaf when you could make one that will blow your friends and family away (if you even decide to share it with them when you realize how good it is, anyway)? We've compiled some of our favorite tips and tricks to elevate a simple meatloaf into a dish that feels like it deserves a place at the center of the dinner table. Give these easy ideas a try, and meatloaf may just become your favorite weeknight dish to make when you're craving something warm, hearty, and comforting.

Although meatloaf is a simple dish, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's an easy one. In fact, it can be quite difficult to ensure your meatloaf is cooked through properly. By the time it's actually cooked on the inside, you might find that the exterior of the meatloaf is dry and brittle — or worse, burnt. But luckily, Ina Garten has a trick that will make sure your meatloaf comes out perfectly cooked through every single time.

That trick is to cook your meatloaf on a sheet pan instead of in a traditional loaf pan. Garten nixes the loaf pan altogether, instead building a loaf on a parchment-lined baking sheet. This way, she can make sure that every part of the meatloaf is the same thickness, ensuring that it cooks through evenly. If you've tried and tried to make meatloaf before but always ended up with an over- or under-cooked mess, give this trick a try.

Let's face it: Meatloaf is a dish that can be cooked with any number of ingredients. You may decide to add onions, zucchini, grated carrots, bell peppers, or even spinach. But there's one meatloaf ingredient that there's a good chance you haven't tried yet — and it may just be the best thing you could ever add to a meatloaf recipe. That ingredient is apple, and it offers the dish a note of sweetness that really complements the other savory flavors going on there. When you think about it, it makes sense. Ketchup, after all, is a sweet ingredient that's often used in meatloaf recipes. Instead of getting that sweetness from ketchup, you can get the same kind of flavor from apple instead.

But apple is a great addition for another reason: It keeps your meatloaf moist. And since the main pitfall of many a meatloaf is a lack of moisture, it makes sense to include this ingredient whenever you have it on hand.

Many meatloaf recipes call for eggs, but most of the time, they're mixed into the meat mixture when they're still raw. But what if you could incorporate eggs into your meatloaf in a different way? That's exactly what you can do when you decide to include a hard-boiled egg in your meatloaf mixture. It makes for an exciting reveal: Once you slice the meatloaf open, you'll be able to see the boiled egg inside, and everyone gets a slice of it. It's kind of like a Scotch egg — but much, much easier to make.

To pull this off, you have to cook the eggs ahead of time before you actually put them in the meatloaf mixture. The best way to do this is to put down a layer of the meat mixture, then press the hard-boiled eggs into that layer. Then, you can add more meat on top, carefully building around the sides of the eggs. You should be able to fit three to four eggs into the meatloaf.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when you're making meatloaf is not infusing it with enough flavor. You may think that meat mixture has a lot of flavor on its own, but after it's been cooked through, you may miss some of those more nuanced notes. Therefore, it's important that you pack in as much flavor as possible when you're making that mixture. That's where pesto comes in. We love this flavor hack because it's oh-so-easy. Either use jarred pesto from the grocery store, or make your own from scratch for an even fresher addition to your meatloaf. Regardless of which method you choose, this will add moisture to the loaf without making it too wet.

And if you're planning on adding some ketchup on top of your meatloaf, you can add in even more of that herbal pesto flavor. Just combine the ketchup and pesto, mix it together, and spread it on top of the loaf like you normally would. Then, you'll have a classic meatloaf that packs even more flavor than Grandma's version.

If there's one wine pairing rule that almost everyone knows, it's this: Red wine and red meat pair well together. That's certainly true when it comes to a steak and a nice bottle of cabernet sauvignon, but it's just as true when it comes to meatloaf. Of course, you can always enjoy a nice glass of wine on the side, but if you're just trying to capture that dark, rich flavor of a good red wine, you don't have to drink it at all — you can just add some to your meatloaf mixture.

Bold, intense red wines like cabernet sauvignon and merlot work especially well here because they are bold enough to stand up to the strong flavors of the red meat. They often have relatively high acidity levels, as well, which can add a balancing, acidic note to your loaf. Plus, all that red wine can also help ensure that your meatloaf doesn't get too dry.

There are few ingredients more flavorful than mustard. Bold, sometimes spicy, sometimes searingly acidic, mustard may just offer your meatloaf the boost of flavor it needs. Which type of mustard you choose really depends on what kind of flavor profile you're going for. If you want to add a touch of spiciness to the dish, then a Chinese or horseradish-infused mustard may just be the way to go. If you're more interested in a boldly acidic flavor, try some plain yellow mustard. But if you're really trying to capture a level of complexity in the dish, Dijon may just get the job done.

Whatever type of mustard you choose, you should avoid grainy varieties and instead stick with a smooth mustard. These mustards will more easily blend into the meat mixture and won't leave any whole, intact mustard seeds behind. Because this kind of mustard is so thick and doesn't evaporate easily, it'll also ensure a moister meatloaf.

If you're cooking red meat, you're probably trying to capture a bold, umami flavor profile. You can get that flavor from red meat alone, but why not try to pull it out even more by adding ingredients that can add an extra layer of umami to the dish? That's where fish sauce comes in. Fish sauce is one of those ingredients you should always have on hand, since just a dash of it can transform a boring, bland dish into one that's bursting with umami complexity. And that's exactly what it'll do for your meatloaf.

All you really need is a splash of the stuff before you mix all the ingredients together. And don't worry — it's not going to make your meatloaf taste like fish. Rather, it just adds a bit of salt and enhances that umami flavor you're going for.

The vast majority of meatloaf recipes are going to tell you to cook your meatloaf in the oven. Sure, you might find some odd recipe telling you that you can technically make meatloaf in your microwave, but those are few and far between. For the most part, the oven is the standard cooking tool a meatloaf recipe will call for. But it turns out that the oven doesn't necessarily make the very best meatloaf. In fact, you might just get better results when you cook your meatloaf in an air fryer instead.

Taste-wise, the appeal of cooking your meatloaf in the air fryer mostly comes down to texture — your air fryer may be able to give the meatloaf a crispier, crunchier exterior. But it's also a great hack to use when you don't want to heat up your kitchen too much (or you want to use less electricity to cook your dinner).

Sometimes, you can make a meatloaf mixture that technically tastes really good, but when you go in for a bite, you realize that something's missing. The problem may not be the flavor but rather the texture of your meatloaf. That's when you may want to start looking for ingredients that can add an interesting textural element to the dish. You may already have an ingredient in your pantry that can take your average meatloaf to the next level: potato chips.

When potato chips are combined with the meat mixture and cooked, they develop a sort of chewy texture. This breaks up all that plain meat and gives you something more toothsome to bite into. Plus, potato chips tend to be somewhat greasy, which also adds moisture to the dish. Finally, they're salty, which means you can use less salt in your recipe.

There may have been a time in your life when you were told that it's always best to choose lean meat when possible. If that's the case, you may be using lean ground beef for your meatloaf. Although that may be a good move if you're trying to cut down on the amount of fat from animal sources in your diet, it's not the best move if you want a meatloaf that actually tastes good and doesn't crumble as soon as you cut into it. For the best results, you need meat that has a higher fat content.

There are a few different ways to make sure you have more fat in your meat for a better meatloaf. First of all, you could just choose beef with a higher fat content. If you want to add more flavor, though, you might consider adding some pork in the form of ground pork, sausage, or even bacon. You can even include dark meat from poultry for a richer, fattier flavor profile. This can make a big difference in the final product, so leave that lean meat behind.

Some people try to avoid spiciness in their foods. But if you're the kind of person who always wants more fiery flavor in your dishes, then adding a bit of heat to your meatloaf isn't a bad idea. There are so many different ways you can incorporate spice into your meatloaf, but our favorite has to be gochujang, a Korean chili paste that offers both heat and a touch of sweetness.

You can use gochujang in much the same way you would use tomato paste. Just keep in mind that it does pack some spice, so make sure you taste a little bit before you add it to the meatloaf to determine just how much spice you want to add. There are different gochujang varieties that offer different levels of heat, so choose accordingly when you're grocery shopping. Gochujang's complexity and sugar content can make an average meatloaf into something truly special.

Oftentimes, home cooks make their meatloaves too dry. But if you do use a fattier type of meat, you could have the opposite problem and end up with a soggy meatloaf, which can be just as bad. But luckily, there are ways to cut down on the extra grease if that tends to be a problem for you. One of the easiest ways to rectify the issue? Line your meatloaf pan with bread to cut down on all that greasiness. White sandwich bread works well here, as it easily soaks up that extra moisture, but you can use any type of bread you have on hand.

Once your meatloaf is cooked and out of the oven, you can simply trash the leftover pieces of bread. On the other hand, if you want to enjoy all that flavor that seeped into the bread, you can also eat it as toast. It also makes for a deeply flavorful sandwich.

Most of us could do with eating less meat. Whether you're trying to give up meat for good or you just want to work a meat-free day or two into your week from time to time, this vegetarian meatloaf should definitely be on your monthly meat rotation. It's made with mushrooms instead of meat, but because mushrooms have a similarly meaty, umami flavor, they work really well here. They also develop a nice, toothsome texture that makes you feel like you're biting into something heartier than a plain mushroom.

You can use whatever mushrooms you happen to have on hand for this recipe, but your best bet is to go with a mix of different varieties. This will give your meatloaf a more varied, interesting texture than one variety alone can provide. You'll also include some walnuts in the dish, which will add even more weight to the finished product.

Look at most meatloaf recipes, and you'll find that they call for breadcrumbs. This isn't a problem for most people, but if you follow a gluten-free diet, it presents an issue. Breadcrumbs play an important role in the dish — they help bind the meatloaf together — so you can't just leave them out. So, how can you possibly make a meatloaf that gluten-free people can enjoy without worry? Turns out, it's easier than you may think. All you need to do is swap out the breadcrumbs for rolled oats.

Rolled oats are gluten-free, so you can eat them even if you have a sensitivity to gluten. Just like breadcrumbs, rolled oats can hold the other ingredients together, ensuring that your meatloaf doesn't fall apart as soon as you take it out of your pan. And since they have quite a mild flavor to them, you don't have to worry about adding in a strange new flavor that won't mesh well with the other ingredients.

If you're the kind of person who always wants to add onions to whatever you cook, you almost definitely include them in your meatloaf mixture. But if you find that they always come out too chunky or strong-tasting, you're not alone. It's important to make sure you prep your onions the right way in order to avoid getting a mouthful of too-raw onion in every bite. So, how exactly should you prep them to ensure they achieve just the right consistency?

One of the best ways to do this is to grate your onions before adding them to your meatloaf mixture. When you grate an onion, you break it into tiny little pieces. Unlike larger pieces of onion, these small pieces will break down more easily, essentially "melting" into the mixture. That way, the onion flavor is more evenly distributed throughout. Take this extra step to avoid an overly oniony meatloaf.

You know those days when you have leftovers, but you really, really don't want to eat them? Well, maybe you just have to incorporate those leftovers into a totally new dish. That's definitely what you should do if you find yourself with some leftover corned beef because it can transform your basic old meatloaf recipe into something super special.

Take your leftover corn beef and chop it up as small as you can make it — you don't want to leave any big chunks in the mixture. Then, simply combine it with your ground beef and whatever else you're including in your meatloaf mix. The corned beef will give your meatloaf a complex, smoky flavor that you can't achieve with ground beef alone. Once you give this hack a try, you may always want to plan for meatloaf night to come directly after corned beef night so you can take advantage of those leftovers.

There's one sin that a lot of amateur meatloaf-makers commit, and that's not properly cooking your vegetables before adding them to your meatloaf. You may assume that since you're going to be cooking the entire meatloaf, you can just throw raw veggies into the mix, put it all in the oven, and go on with your day. But if you do that, you're likely to end up with a meatloaf that has way too much crunchiness from veggies that haven't cooked all the way through.

For best results, you should cook your veggies beforehand. Just a few minutes on a pan can help break those raw vegetables down so they're not so crunchy, and it'll also give them a more mellow, sweeter flavor. Then, stir them into the meatloaf mixture, and you'll have a deeply flavorful meatloaf to share with friends, family, and anyone else around the dinner table.