Simple Meatloaf Recipes, Classic to Exotic

Meatloaf is an American classic; a comfort food for those who grew up on the frugal favorite. It has earned its spot on the menus of  American housewives because it is a simple and relatively economical main dish.

How do you make a good meatloaf? There are about as many meatloaf recipes as there are cooks who make it. In fact some of the best meatloaves don't have a recipe. They are the ones that loving hands put together with the items they happen to have on hand at the time. The most simple meatloaf recipes involve only a handful of ingredients; ground meat, liquid, spice, and filler.

Start with the barebones meatloaf recipe. Pretty simple recipe don't you think? The classic meatloaf, what I grew up with, and what I more typically make now, involves a few more ingredients, but really is still a very simple recipe.

The possibilities for making meatloaf are never ending. Whether you like the traditional beef and ketchup, or prefer to add variety to the old classic, meatloaf is a simple and frugal main dish to serve your family.

Barebones Meatloaf

2 pounds ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup tomato sauce
salt & pepper

Combine all the ingredients. Shape in a loaf pan. Bake at 350° F for one hour.

Classic Meatloaf

2 pounds ground meat
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
3/4 cup ketchup, split
1/2 cup milk
1 onion chopped fine
1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and garlic powder

A frugal way to make your own bread crumbs is to save the heals, day old pieces or other odds and ends of bread in the freezer. When you need bread crumbs simply process the scraps of bread in the food processor.

Mix all together, reserving ¼ cup ketchup, put in a loaf pan, frost with remaining ketchup, and bake at 350° F for one hour.

Ingredients for meatloaf

In general leaner meats are best, but if you use meat with a higher fat content simply drain the fat off after the loaf is baked. Try making your meatloaf with one of the following or going with half hamburger and half of another kind of meat.

Some favorite variations of the classic recipe

As good as classic meatloaf may be, we all like a little variety now and again. The above  simple meatloaf recipes are easily adapted to create a wide variety of tastes. Change up the meat, the liquid, the filler, the spices, and/or the topping to create a new favorite from the classic model. You may have to adjust quantities slightly when using different ingredients.  Just remember that you want to be able to form the mixture into a loaf. Here are some ideas.

Tamale Loaf - Add one can of corn, use cornmeal instead of bread crumbs, and add chili powder.

Salmon Loaf - Use two cans of salmon, bread crumbs, milk, onion, salt, and pepper.

Barbeque Loaf - Barbeque sauce in the loaf and top with bacon!

And some more exotic ideas:

Asian Loaf - Use ground turkey, rice, teriyaki sauce, and season with ginger and garlic.

Mediterranean Loaf - Use half beef, half lamb, tomato sauce, rice, and fresh herbs.