No Fail Meatloaf

By Chelsey Dankert

Not long after getting married, I felt compelled to make a meatloaf for dinner. To this day, my husband still lovingly refers to it as “meat-brick.” In all my infinite meatloaf-making wisdom, I decided it would be better to add shredded cauliflower and carrots and not enough of whatever makes it less “brick” and more “loaf.” 

In the last twelve years I believe I perfected this dinner staple (that I honestly don’t recall having much as a child myself), and it has quickly become a family favorite - most nights at least, when my children’s tastes don’t change dramatically and without notice. 

This is a great recipe to double for an easy freezer meal, or roll into meatballs!

The base of this recipe is gluten- and dairy-free. The variations you choose may impact this. Please be aware of any dietary restrictions or allergy concerns. 

I should also add a short disclaimer that I don’t really ever take measurements. I am a tried and true “follow your heart” kind of person in the kitchen. This is why you may find some odd descriptions, or why you’ll likely never get a baking recipe from me. 

“No-Fail Meatloaf”

What you’ll need

• Parchment paper

• Bread pan

• Rolling pin or other item to crush veggie straws

• Large bowl

Ingredients

• 2 lbs total of ground meat

• I generally use 1 lb of ground sausage and 1 lb ground beef. However you can use a combination of preferred meat. Just be aware of the fat content. Often if I use sausage and ground beef, I will end up using a kitchen syringe to pull grease off of it while it’s cooking

• 1 egg (you may want 2 of they are small)

• 1 cup of BBQ sauce, maybe a little more

• 1 quart zip-loc back about ¾ way full of veggie straws

• You can totally use the plan, ranch, or cheddar varieties. Be cautious of gluten and dairy restrictions, if needed. 

• ¼ cup onion, finely chopped

• You can also use onion powder

• Chopped garlic - who am I to tell you what is enough? If I had to guess it would be close to a Tablespoon or so

• Garlic powder is also an option. The flavor might not be as robust as actual garlic.

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400*

• Crush veggie straws in a bag until the size of breadcrumbs 

• Be careful, some bags break easily

• Measure BBQ sauce and set egg out

• Size parchment paper to your bread pan

• Fold over edges

• You can use binder clips to hold it in place if needed.

• If you are doubling the recipe, set another section of parchment paper down to form over extra for easy freezing 

• Open meat into a large bowl. Break up into large pieces and mix together well (I usually do this by hand)

• Add egg(s) and BBQ sauce and mix well

• I’ve found that doing this by hand gets the best results. But a stiff spoon could do the trick as well

• Add onion and garlic

• Next add in about ⅓ of crushed veggie straws

• Mix well

• Continue adding until the mixture is still wet, but the BBQ sauce is not dripping 

• You may need to add more BBQ sauce if you overdo the veggie straws

• Once you’re satisfied with your mixture, place in the lined bread pan

• Be sure to stuff it into the corners

• The meat will settle as it cooks, so having some overlap is ok

• If you’re worried about dripping over, cook on a sheet pan to save the bottom of your oven

• Place pan in oven and cook for 60-75 minutes, checking the temperature and pulling out grease as needed

• Cook until the internal temperature is 165*

(I don’t have a completely finished photo to share because it was devoured so quickly!)

Enjoy!