Let’s start the holidays with a simple and quick meat main course: the classic baked meatloaf recipe! Yes, indeed, I was convinced it had been on the blog for several years, but I realized it wasn’t! I noticed this last week because I am preparing a Collection of Delicious and Easy Meatloaf Recipes, so I needed the recipe for the classic baked meatloaf!
I am indeed preparing this collection, starting with the classic meatloaf you find below with the step-by-step video recipe and the written instructions you can follow while preparing the baked meatloaf.
Starting from this basic preparation we will move on to more elaborate and delicious recipes, like the meatloaf with smoked cheese and ham, the crusty meatloaf that my friends adore and request every single time they come for dinner! You’ll also find two stuffed meatloaves: the spinach and cooked ham meatloaf and the meatloaf with mashed potatoes, which is now a holiday classic in my house. It’s requested by my family during Christmas or Easter holidays!
As you may have guessed, there is a meatloaf for every taste: an easy, quick, and delicious main course to prepare, loved by both adults and children, perfect for lunch or dinner all year round, to serve with the classic roasted potatoes with rosemary or with other sides. If you want something simple to cook in a pan, I can recommend the easy and quick pan sides recipes to prepare!
Each link below is clickable and will take you directly to the recipe of the meatloaf you have chosen to read. You will also find the Meatloaf Collection that I am editing in these weeks linked. I hope to be of help to discover new recipes or maybe to try your hand for the first time with baked meatloaves!
I remind you that I’ll wait for you every morning in the group and the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day, a must-see appointment to start the day with a sweet or savory treat!
Now let’s move on to the recipe and video recipe of the classic baked meatloaf with rosemary potatoes!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Affordable
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, All Seasons
- Energy 373.92 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 13.64 (g) of which sugars 2.02 (g)
- Proteins 28.60 (g)
- Fat 22.13 (g) of which saturated 8.44 (g)of which unsaturated 8.88 (g)
- Fibers 0.83 (g)
- Sodium 845.55 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 133 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a Baked Meatloaf
- 1.1 lbs ground beef (mixed ground meat is also fine)
- 1 sausage (fresh)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup cheese (grated)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg (if you like it)
- to taste parsley (in my case dried)
Tools for the Simple and Quick Classic Baked Meatloaf Recipe
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking dish
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Oven
- 1 Knife
Steps of the Classic Baked Meatloaf Recipe
Let’s start by preheating the oven in static mode to 350-375 degrees F, so it is hot when we put the baked meatloaf in. Gather all the necessary ingredients for making the meatloaf mixture and place them on the work surface in front of you. Also set up the bowl and the baking dish with a sheet of parchment paper on the work surface. Weigh the cheese, in my case a aged Grana Padano, and the breadcrumbs. We can begin.
In the bowl, add the ground beef, remove the sausage skin by cutting it off with a knife, crack the egg and add it whole to the bowl with the other ingredients. Add the measured cheese and breadcrumbs, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg if you like. Finally, add the parsley and you can choose: either fresh parsley, finely chopped, or dried parsley, as in my case, much more practical and quick to use.
With your hands, work the mixture until you achieve the right consistency: the meat will remain sticky and compact. Transfer the meat mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper on the work surface. Using the paper to help, shape the loaf and apply firm pressure, so the meat compacts well and prevents holes that could cause the meatloaf to split during cooking, whether oven or pan. Sprinkle the surface of the ground meat loaf with breadcrumbs, so during cooking it absorbs moisture and creates a nice crunchy crust on the entire classic meatloaf.
Wrap the classic meatloaf in the parchment paper, seal it like a candy, place it on the baking dish and bake in the center of the oven, cooking for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. After this time, open the parchment paper leaving the meatloaf in the center, continue cooking for another 30 minutes, still at 350 degrees F in static mode.
If you decided to prepare the roasted potatoes with rosemary, you can read my recipe: you’ll get crispy and super tasty potatoes! A simple and always delicious recipe, and you will see that everyone will ask for seconds of both the meatloaf and the roasted potatoes!
After cooking, you can serve the classic baked meatloaf with the potatoes we prepared. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to dress the meatloaf slices, if you do not want to use the juice from the cooking.
All that’s left is to wish you a good appetite and remind you that I’ll be waiting for you every day here on my cooking blog with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips and Variations of the Classic Baked Meatloaf Recipe
You can vary the type of grated cheese to use for this recipe: you may choose a Pecorino Romano, much more flavorful compared to Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano. You can choose the type of ground meat you prefer: I like to use veal or beef either mixed together or used individually. As for the sausage, I suggest choosing a soft one and preferably not too flavorful, otherwise during cooking it might change the saltiness of the classic baked meatloaf! As mentioned earlier, you can choose whether to use fresh parsley finely chopped or dried parsley, as I did for my meatloaf! You can also add or omit the nutmeg following your taste; we love it at home, and I sprinkle it on almost everything!
