THE BEST Meatloaf Recipe in the WORLD!!

The Best Easy Meatloaf Recipe Ever is going to put an end to your hunt for the best meatloaf recipe in existence.  Strong statement, I know.  It’s something I can say with confidence.

The Best Meatloaf in the World

The Best Meatloaf Recipe in the World! - Sliced Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots
The Best Meatloaf Recipe in the World

If you’re looking for more ground beef recipes, How to Make Stuffed Pepper Soup and Salt Encrusted Prime Rib are the perfect recipes to try.

This classic, moist ground beef meatloaf is delicious with a brown sugar glaze that will leave your taste buds happy. It’s a recipe you can never get enough of – you’ll be dreaming about this comfort food.  There are never any leftovers.

In our cozy living group, I shared a photograph and story about a possum that broke into a bakery in Australia. He gorged himself on jelly pastries all night.

In the morning, he was found in a corner, unable to move. His belly was so round he lost the ability to get up.

They took a picture of him, and he looked helpless and adorable simultaneously – with his face and paws covered in sticky jam.

What does that story have to do with meatloaf? Everything.

Homemade Meatloaf Recipe
Homemade Meatloaf Recipe

You know when you start eating something; and cannot stop – even when you know you’re already full?

This juicy meatloaf recipe is a dish you’ll have to know that it’s one of those recipes before you start.

Pace yourself; otherwise, there won’t be any leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches.

You don’t have to believe me. Just read all the comments I’ve received over the last couple of years.  Then try it yourself. This perfect balance of savory and sweet will make your taste buds happy.

On my road trip through Montana, we stopped at a bakery cafe that had a meatloaf sandwich as the special. Yummm…comfort food.  I love a recipe for cheesy meatloaf.

The restaurant we went to had a 4 1/2 star Yelp rating – so it seemed so promising.

The meatloaf was dry and bland. What a letdown! This prompted me to crave my recipe for meatloaf because it’s, quite frankly…amazing.

Bold statement, I know. But I do have many supporters. When the topic of my meatloaf sandwich came up – my niece and nephew asked my sister why she didn’t make her delicious meatloaf anymore because it was one of their favorite meals.

Yes, you read that right – her meatloaf. My sister is a notorious recipe poacher.

For the rest of the road trip, I fantasized about my recipe. As soon as I got home, I zipped to the store and cured my craving.

I realized that the rest of the world didn’t know there was a brown sugar meatloaf recipe with a such delicious flavor that put all others to shame.

Today I’m giving you my special recipe for classic meatloaf. That’s right…yummy, juicy, and downright delicious meatloaf.

How long to cook this recipe for meatloaf?

It depends on how much ground beef you use and how high of oven temperature you bake the meatloaf.  This meatloaf recipe has 2 lbs of ground beef, so it takes between 1 – 1 1/4 hours at 350 degrees.

What’s in the secret meatloaf sauce?

The meatloaf glaze in this recipe has three ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.  The combined ingredients make the best tangy glaze for meatloaf.

How long does meatloaf last in the refrigerator?

If you properly store your leftover meatloaf, it will last 3-4 days in the fridge.

Can you freeze meatloaf?

When properly stored in an airtight container, cooked meatloaf will last 3-4 months in the freezer. Make individual slices before freezing for best results.

Creating a Cozy Life Group:

Since you found this recipe for this traditional meatloaf recipe, Iโ€™m guessing you like all things cozy living. I created a Facebook group, Creating a Cozy Life with over 108,000 like-minded souls.

Itโ€™s a group where we share recipes, pictures of things that leave you in awe, and ideas on how to make your life just a little bit more snug.  Join here to be part of the virtual cozy cabin.

Easy Meatloaf Recipe. Sliced meatloaf with carrots and mashed potatoes.
Easy Meatloaf Recipe with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots

Here’s How to Make The Best Meatloaf Recipe Ever

Simple Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs

1/4 cup dried minced onion

2/3 cup wheat crackers

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 cups ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Ingredients for Easy Meatloaf Recipe - Lean Ground beef, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cheddar cheese, wheat crackers, dried minced onion, and eggs. / Recipes for Meatloaf / Recipes Meatloaf / Meatloaf Recipes / Best Meatloaf Recipe
Meatloaf Ingredients

Directions for Making this Homemade Meatloaf Recipe

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a small bowl, mix the three ingredients for the ketchup mixture (ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce) together and set aside.

3) In a separate large bowl blend together the ground meat, eggs, dried onions, crushed wheat crackers, shredded cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 of the ketchup mix.

4) Press meat mixture in a loaf pan. You can use plastic wrap to form your loaf shape.

5) Put the remaining half of the ketchup mix on top of the meatloaf.

6) Bake the meatloaf at 350 degrees for 1 – 1 1/4 hours.

Tips for Making this Easy Moist Meatloaf Recipe

  • Turkey can be substituted for ground beef, which tastes just as fabulous. Adding a combination of ground pork and lean ground beef also tastes delicious.
  • You can serve this ultimate comfort food with green beans, mashed potatoes, carrots, or apple sauce for a great meal.
  • Check the meatloaf after an hour of cook time.
  • You can add garlic powder or onion powder to the meatloaf mix for more flavor.
  • Let your meatloaf sit for 10 minutes to ensure clean slices.
  • Plain bread crumbs can be substituted for wheat crackers.
If you're looking for the absolute best recipe for meatloaf, you've found it! This recipe is absolutely amazing!! It's so easy to make too. / Meatloaf Recipes Easy / Meatloaf Recipes Best / Easy Meatloaf Recipe / Easy Dinner Ideas / Delicious Food / Dinner Recipes for Family / Recipes with Ground Beef / Beef Recipes for Dinner / Beef Recipes for Dinner Main Dishes / Easy Family Recipes
Best Classic Meatloaf Recipe

Weโ€™ve reached the end of The Best Easy Meatloaf Recipe Ever.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Tell me in the comments below how you liked this Easy Cheesy Meatloaf Recipe.  

Make sure you join our Creating a Cozy Life โ€“ Hygge Style Facebook group.  Youโ€™re not going to believe how amazing it is.  Join here to be part of the virtual cozy cabin.

I created a pin for this good meatloaf recipe to add to your favorite Pinterest food board so you can refer back to it.

You can follow me here on PINTEREST. If you make this meatloaf recipe and take a picture, be sure to tag me here on INSTAGRAM.

Thanks for stopping by! I’m so happy you found us.

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Printable Recipe Card of this Great Meatloaf with Nutrition Information

The Best Meatloaf Recipe in the World - Sliced Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots
Yield: 8 servings

Most Delicious Meatloaf Recipe Ever

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

This is one of those perfect recipes you've been searching for, but thought deep, down in your heart that it didn't exist. It does. This is the best meatloaf recipe ever. I pinky swear.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup dried minced onions
  • 2/3 cup wheat crackers
  • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups ketchup
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the three ingredients for the ketchup mix (ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce) together and set aside.
  3. In a separate large bowl, mix together the ground beef, eggs, dried onions, crushed wheat crackers, shredded cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and half of the ketchup mix.
  4. Press the meat mixture in a loaf pan.
  5. Put the remaining half of the ketchup mix on top of the meatloaf.
  6. Bake the meatloaf for 1 - 1 1/4 hours.

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185 Comments

    1. I made this for dinner, it was really delicious. Since I live alone I cut the ingredients in half, still had plenty left over. I’ll be making this again for sure!

    2. I make this pretty much the same way except I don’t use organic stuff or green grass fed cow. Tastes just as good. I mean, organic is fine but why fix something that isn’t broke?!

    1. @Tina, I use ground up cheese crackers (the little fish kind.) The meatloaf is always a hit, but you can use any crackers

  1. This is the only meatloaf I will ever make from now til eternity! So good and so easy to make! The next batch is going in the smoker!

  2. Gonna give this a try tonight. If you set your meat loaf on top of a couple of slices of bread, it soaks up the grease!

      1. Looks like a great recipe; reminds me of my momโ€™s so much! Actually though, I like a touch of grease in my meatloaf. It just adds a bit of a southern blend to all the contents. Iโ€™ve actually made my momโ€™s meatloaf for the fabulous sandwiches with lots of Hellmanโ€™s Mayo!

  3. I’m going to use ground turkey. It’s a stretch but family prefers GT. Will add green peppers & onion. More to come

  4. I cooked this tonight but I didn’t add the sauce with the W. I am not familiar with that product. How ever I just want to say it smells delicious! I can’t wait to taste it!

  5. About to put in the oven as I type – excited to try this out! Also used some BBQ sauce (didn’t want to run out of ketchup – my little one is really into hot dogs with “dipping sauce” right now). Will let you know how it turns out!

  6. Made this tonight. Smelled so good, I couldn’t wait to try it. Got rave reviews from the whole family. Finally a meatloaf that all enjoy!

  7. I seen your meat loaf recipe on pinterest and i can’t wait to try it. I have tried several recipes but they were not what i expected, I am excited about trying your recipe.

  8. 10 out of 10. When i first saw the post i couldnt stop thinking about it. Made it tonight and i cant wait to make it again!! Lol

  9. I am making this for dinner tonight, can’t wait. Hubby is a big meatloaf lover, uses leftovers for sandwiches.

  10. Had saved this pin a couple of weeks ago and finally got around to making it last night. We loved it, and the leftover meatloaf grilled cheese sandwiches today were so good. Tried many recipes over the years and finally have a winner! Thank you

  11. I am using 3 pounds of meat. Should I add more of the other ingredients? Also I don’t have dried onions? Can I substitute onion powder, if so how much?

  12. I’m giving this a shot tonight! My hummus favorite meal is meatloaf and this will be the first time cooking for him! Wish me luck!

  13. I always take and tear slices of bread in half and lay them on the sides of my meatloaf…it soaks the grease up terrifically! And by the way, this recipe is simple and wonderful!!

  14. This is the third time Iโ€™ve made this meatloaf in the last two months. Needless to say my family loves it.

  15. Iโ€™m having a guest for dinner tomorrow and wanted to make some delicious comfort food. I have several good meatloaf recipes, but canโ€™t wait to try this one. The reviews are fabulous. Will let you know how it goes.

  16. Do you do anything special to turn it into a sandwich? Specific toppings or a special bread? I love meatloaf and have been trying different sandwich twists lately.

  17. Made this tonight and it was a big hit! Even the pickiest people in my family enjoyed it. Not a single leftover! Thanks for an easy and delicious recipe!

    1. This recipe looks like it’s the bomb! Can’t wait to try! Is the cheese necessary, or can I replace with an alternative?

  18. This was hands down the BEST meatloaf I’ve ever had!! Everybody loved it. The only alteration I made was using 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of ground pork it was fantastic! Also used breadcrumbs instead of the crackers since that’s what I had at home. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!

  19. I canโ€™t wait to try this tonight! Iโ€™m going to use 1 lb hamburger and 1 lb pork sausage..I love that this doesnโ€™t call for oatmeal. Iโ€™m so excited!

  20. My hubby drives a semi, so he’s gone all week. This sounds so good, and something different for him in his lunch cooler! Looking forward to making him smile!!

  21. Is the cheese a really big deal in making this moist and yummy? Iโ€™m lactose and this recipe sounds SO good! Would you sub anything else in or just cut the cheese out?

  22. This looks SO good! I’m going to add this to our meal plan this week! Thank you–I haven’t ever found a meatloaf recipe I like, and I have a feeling this one will be perfect!

  23. We are trying this tonight! My mom is allergic to raw peppers and onions so I was trying to find a recipe that would be safe for her to eat! Never had a meatloaf with cheese it and super excited about the addition!! Still has 30 min to go and my house smells amazing! Can’t wait until it is done. We are limited in our small town with all the organic stuff, so we are just using regular.

  24. Hi! Could you make this with bread crumbs instead of the crackers? Also, how much salt and pepper do you recommend? This looks delicious!

  25. I just found this recipe on Pinterest. It is seriously THE MOST DELICIOUS MEATLOAF EVER! I used Italian breadcrumbs instead of crackers because I had it on hand. To cook faster, I scooped it into muffin tins. It made 18 mini meatloaf muffins. I baked for 30 min on 350. They taste so good! I will definitely use this recipe from now on!

  26. I love this recipe! Finally found one that I really like and I didn’t screw up! Lol! Moist, tasty… For me, I would add just a little less brown sugar, but that’s simply a matter of personal taste, and I used Ritz crackers. This is a fabulous recipe! Thank you for sharing!

  27. This was delicious! And was mother in law approved ๐Ÿ˜. I only used 1 egg and used equal parts ketchup and bbq sauce (sweet baby ray). Oh and I used plain breadcrumbs. Made mashed potatoes for side and we couldnโ€™t stop eating. This is going in the dinner rotation. Thank you

  28. I am soooo excited to try this! My fiancรฉ told me he likes meatloaf (totally didn’t know he did!) so I was on a search for a good recipe and found this one! going to the store this weekend to buy the ingredients ๐Ÿ™‚ two questions! If i can’t find dried minced onion what should i use? fresh onion that i just chop? or onion powder?? also, I’ve never heard of a meatloaf that uses cheddar. I have always seen mozzarella cheese used. is there a reason you use cheddar instead?

  29. This was excellent. Used Ritz and fresh onion because that’s what I had, with 1 lb hamburger and 1 lb elk. Family loved it, the entire thing is gone without leftovers. This will be my new go-to meatloaf recipe! Thanks!

  30. Pingback: Best Meatloaf Recipe Ever - Dinner-Recipes.Site
  31. Hi there! Planning on making tomorrow night, never made meatloaf before! I’m only using 1lb beef since it’s just me…. How long should I cook it?? Thank you!

  32. In the oven now, I used honey wheat ritz. Iโ€™m not a huge fan of meatloaf but the other half is. We will see

  33. This is the best meatloaf Iโ€™ve ever had. It is the only recipe we use now. Thank you so much for posting it!!

  34. Tasted delicious but took way longer than 1 & 1/4 hour. It was also very mushy/didnโ€™t hold together when sliced even after letting it set for 15 minutes out of the oven. I will try it again and hope for better results as the flavors were there.

  35. Great recipe, but even better with veggies added (sweated in minimal olive oil) โ€”onions, carrots, celeryโ€”all diced. Even a touch of rosemary is good. Substitute the crackers with cooked barleyโ€”still moist and tasty!

  36. AB.SO.LUTE.LY the best meatloaf Iโ€™ve ever eaten! This will be the only recipe I ever use. The simplicity of it and traditional taste alone make it a MUST TRY! I highly recommend this meatloaf recipe!

  37. Pingback: Beef and Pork Meatloaf Recipes - 9 Delicious Ideas! - Pip and Ebby
  38. LOVE this recipe! Have used it for several years now and I swear by it! Thank you for sharing it!! Wonโ€™t make it any other way!

  39. I almost didnโ€™t make this recipe because I thought, it seems too simple to be good. However, when I got to the store, I realized I didnโ€™t want to cook down onions and do all sorts of prep work to make meatloaf and decided to stick with this recipe. Iโ€™m happy I did because it turned out to be so much better than I anticipated. So much so, that Iโ€™m thinking about turning these into meatballs for a holiday appetizer. Have any suggestions on how to make sure these turn out right when flipped into meatball form?

  40. I dont use cheese and prefer real onions chopped fine. I like to add a little splash of milk. It keeps it from being dry with the crackers. If I’m wanting alittle something different I put Italian seasoning and garlic in the mix. But the best cooks add lots of love!!!

  41. This was an epic fail for me. It tasted good but fell apart, would not slice. I did mix it in the morning, put it in the fridge, for about 5 hours . Maybe I put too much sauce in it? I may heat it tomorrow and put it on buns like sloppy Joes.

  42. We tried this for the first time a few months ago and both my husband and I loved it. I had such a strong craving that even though I HATE touching raw meat, I made it anyways. I added onion powder, garlic, (1/2tsp ea) and basil (tsp) and subbed breadcrumbs. It was absolutely delicious. My husband loved it SO much he was eating leftovers for a few days. Normally when I cook he might eat it 2 meals before he “gets tired of it” and then I am left to finish it. We throw away a lot of food because of that. Not this meat loaf though. I had to make him promise to leave me the last piece.

  43. My daughter in law gave me this recipe and is the best I’ve ever had, and I’ve made a lot! ha Thank you so much!!!

  44. Finally a meatloaf recipe without bell peppers or celery! This whole time I thought I was crazy for feeling they don’t belong. I made it exactly as written and yum…..thank you thank you thank you…oh, my big family enjoyed it as well …2 teenaged boys and a grown daughter as well as myself, my husband and his mother. This is now a part of our rotation.

  45. We added some fresh mushrooms to it and Just put in the oven!! My son and I canโ€™t wait to try it!!!

  46. My husband always complains my meatloaf is not flavorful enough! Used your recipe last night and he said after 2 bites โ€œThis one is a keeper!โ€

    He even had a slice with his egg sandwich instead of ham this morning for breakfast!

    Thanks for a winner!

  47. Great meatloaf! My husband loves it. Iโ€™m not a meatloaf fan, but Iโ€™ll be making this from now on. I used onion soup mix and regular bread crumbs. Also I put it on 2 slices of bead and it helped absorb some of the fat. Thanks!!

  48. I won with this recipe!! my neighborhood had a Meatloaf Cookoff dinner, with blind testing. I won by a landslide even thought I don’t (or anyone else) consider myself a cook. I made it exactly as the recipe reads. I am pretty sure it annoyed the real cooks in the Cookoff. It really is the best meatloaf recipe!

  49. Throwing all other recipes away..finally found the one that hits the mark. No pictures due to being devoured. Thank you ๐Ÿคค

  50. I have made so many different meatloaves that I couldnโ€™t remember where I have gotten all of the recipes! This is the one thing that I make that someone always has an opinion about! I guess you canโ€™t please them all! I sure do try ๐Ÿฅฐ

  51. I tried this recipe and IT REALLY IS the BEST meatloaf recipe. I followed the recipe exactly and my very, very picky husband was amazed and said “that was the best meatloaf I ever had”. I had to agree — it was amazing. Thank you for the recipe. My husband and I have only been married for one year so I was hoping to get some credit for a good meal — this one did it !!!!!

  52. I am so excited to try this!!! Been craving meatloaf and meatloaf sandwiches!!! Iโ€™ve been searching and reading dozens of recipes comparingโ€ฆ this has the fewest ingredients and seems it will be perfect! Texture is a big one for me with meatloaf, it has to have enough binder to be smoothish – not really soft and meaty, if you know what I mean! ๐Ÿ˜‚ Iโ€™m going to make it this next weekend! Thank you for sharing this surprisingly simple and exciting recipe. LOVE that there is no chopping involved!!!

  53. I make this recipe at least twice a month. It is great: meatloaf is not dry, does not fall apart, and is very tasty!