I Tested the Top Meatloaf Recipes—This One Stole the Show for Sure

I will keep returning to this one repeatedly.

The autumn leaves now emerging across the scenery have me longing for something different. comfort food In grand style. Hand over the casseroles, fetch the soups, let's prepare a meatloaf. Serve it fresh from the oven while still hot. mashed potatoes , letting it chill under the tap late at night, or frying it up and turning it into a sandwich the following day—meatloaf holds a special place as comfort food for me. To discover the ultimate meatloaf recipe, I tested out the top five from News Diwida, left our household with quite the appetite, and identified the absolute best version among them.

What Constitutes an Excellent Meatloaf?

The perfect meatloaf needs to be juicy yet firm within, with an exterior that’s crunchy but still tender enough to yield under pressure from a fork. It must hold together well after resting and being removed from the pan, allowing clean slices when served. Seasoning should enhance rather than overshadow the primary flavor of the meat. In terms of ingredients, numerous recipes suggest using either pork, veal, beef, or some combination thereof. To streamline my experiment, however, I focused solely on beef-based formulations.

‘Meat’ The Contestants

• Rempel Family Meatloaf submitted by Connie Levesque
• Cheeseburger Meatloaf by Douglas Tuccinardi
• Brown Sugar Meatloaf by tangastar
• Air Fryer Meatloaf by aigerekairfryer
• Easy Meatloaf by Janet Shum

The Criteria:

I utilized three primary classifications to evaluate the participants:

• Texture: Meatloaf should never be soggy. However, even more crucially, it shouldn’t turn out dry either. The ideal consistency comes from soaking breadcrumbs or crackers in milk for moisture, using eggs for structure, and adding seasonings for both texture and taste. How you handle the preparation significantly impacts the final texture. After mixing all components together, gently forming the mixture into a loaf shape is essential; overworking can make the meat tough, whereas insufficient handling might cause everything to fall apart.
• Flavor The finest meat loaves derive their taste from aromatic elements, veggies, and thoughtful seasoning such as shredded onions, carrots, celery, and herbs. Starting with salt and pepper is ideal, but if you lack fresh components, garlic and onion powders can be used instead. Ingredients like mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, and even fish sauce enhance the savory profile of the dish.
• Crust: Preferably, the exterior portions of your meatloaf ought to appear uniformly caramelized and slightly crunchy. Traditional meat loaves are typically cooked or brushed with a coating of ketchup on top; under these circumstances, the primary objective is to prevent the mixture from becoming gummy. To accomplish this effectively, you can cook the loaf first, then apply the glaze midway through baking or immediately after removing it from the oven.

The Results

Best for Meatloaf-Related Emergencies

• The recipe: Rempel Family Meatloaf , from Connie Levesque
• Average Rating : 4.6
• Rave Review "I've been making this for years. I've experimented with other versions but inevitably return to this one." - Vicki

This recipe proved to be the simplest to follow among them all, as it didn’t require any vegetable chopping or grating. It called for beef, crackers, Cheddar cheese, and more. onion soup mix The ingredients are mixed together while the eggs are beaten separately and then blended with ketchup and steak sauce. These two mixtures are subsequently combined and formed into an attractive meatloaf, which cooks beautifully in about sixty minutes. It boasts a delightful crispy exterior and a soft, easy-to-slice inside. Using the onion soup mixture instead of raw onions gives you a smoother texture throughout. My relatives really enjoyed this dish.

Most Creative

• The recipe : Cheeseburger Meatloaf , from Douglas Tuccinardi
• Average rating : 4.4
• Rave review “It was incredibly tasty. Everyone in my family enjoyed it immensely. I included some crushed bacon since we're big fans of bacon cheeseburgers. This recipe is going into our family cookbook.” -David0029

Without a doubt, this was the most entertaining meatloaf to prepare—plus, it yielded an impressively large portion size. The recipe requires a substantial quantity of two pounds of ground beef mixed with breadcrumbs, onions, eggs, salt, and pepper. Next, you spread this blend into a big rectangular shape, top it with three cups of grated cheddar cheese, and roll it up like a jellyroll before placing it in a 10x13-inch baking pan where it bakes for one hour. The exterior had a delightful crunch, while the gooey interior offered a delightfully unconventional twist on traditional recipes.

Best For Sandwiching

• The recipe : Brown Sugar Meatloaf , from tangastar
• Average rating : 4.5
• Rave review “I’ve experimented with many methods for making meatloaf, but this particular recipe has become my absolute favorite!” – Dinie

This dish lives up to its title by requiring half a cup of packed brown sugar mixed with ketchup and spread at the base of a well-greased loaf pan. For the beef mixture, combine eggs, onions, milk, crushed saltines, and grated ginger. Once baked and allowed to rest, you'll be rewarded with an exquisite presentation from above. While scrumptious alone, my first bite inspired visions of serving it between slices of buttered white toast, topped generously with additional pickles. The delightful contrast of sweet caramelized brown sugar paired with tangy pickles could easily induce culinary bliss.

Best Texture

• The recipe : Air Fryer Meatloaf , by aigerekairfryer
• Average rating :4.6
• Rave review "The air fryer easily produces this incredible dish with perfectly crispy edges, making it really impressive." - Russell

Several years back, convincing me to purchase an air fryer was out of the question. Why clutter up my cramped kitchen with yet another bulky appliance? Absolutely not. But the numerous instances where an air fryer dish has astounded and delighted me are countless. Can you believe it’s possible to cook meatloaf using an air fryer? This particular recipe nails every aspect—from soaking bread crumbs in milk, adding eggs and onions—to incorporating fresh thyme, giving it a subtle complexity and earthy touch. A glaze applied towards the end creates just the right amount of crispiness on top. Cooking this entire meal took merely twenty minutes—now I’m compelled to get myself an air fryer!

Best Classic Meatloaf

• The recipe : Easy Meatloaf , by Janet Shum
• Average rating : 4.7
• Rave review “This was a straightforward and tasty meatloaf. My entire family had big smiles. Although I generally don’t enjoy meatloaf, I have to say I devoured this one and really loved it. The topping completely elevates the whole dish! It’s awesome.” – news diwidamember

Janet’s dish relies on traditional ingredients: beef, eggs, onions, breadcrumbs, milk, and salt and pepper. Following the preparation steps of blending and molding, these components receive an upper layer made from a mix of ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar, then go into the oven. This process yields a glossy crimson crust. Her creation embodies American cuisine. It features straightforward yet comforting taste profiles; has a tender consistency without being runny; and boasts perfectly executed toppings. This is the meatloaf recipe I’ll keep serving my loved ones repeatedly.

Read the initial article on All Recipes .