Two of my all time favorite comfort foods, combined into an amazingly easy to make casserole! A flavor packed meatloaf topped with a cheesy, creamy, delectable layer of Mac & Cheese? Head blown!!! Why have I never thought to combine two of my all time favorite foods before?
A HUGE THANK YOU to thisisnotdietfood.com for providing the inspiration for this amazingly delicious recipe! Be sure to check out their website. There are loads of yummy looking recipes to try.
We couldn’t get enough of of this Meatloaf meal! If you love Mac & Cheese and you love Meatloaf, you are going to LOVE this recipe! Not only is it DELICIOUS, but it’s also very easy to make! This is pretty much as close as you can get to the perfect comfort food kind of meal!
Start by preparing meatloaf:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl combine the ketchup with the barbecue sauce. Set aside.
Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl and add the crushed Ritz crackers.
Add the envelope of onion soup mix and eggs.
Add ½ of the ketchup/barbecue sauce mixture.
Use your hands or use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer to combine all the ingredients.
Spread the meatloaf mixture out in an even layer of a high sided 13×9 inch casserole dish.
Top the meatloaf with the remaining ketchup/barbecue sauce mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes or until meat reaches a temperature of 140°F.
Prepare Mac & Cheese:
While the meatloaf is baking in the oven it’s time to prepare the cheesy macaroni topping.
Cook the macaroni noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cubed American cheese and cooked noodles until well combined and the cheese has melted.
Add the seasonings; salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and stir to combine.
Add warm milk and stir to coat noodles with the cheese sauce.
Add ½ of the shredded Jack and Cheddar cheeses to the bowl.
Stir to combine everything.
After the meatloaf has baked for 40-45 minutes, remove it from the oven. Drain off any excess fat that has accumulated along the edges of the casserole dish.
Spread the Mac & Cheese mixture evenly over the top of the meatloaf.
Top with the remaining shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses and return the casserole dish to the oven.
Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the Mac & Cheese is hot and bubbly and the cheese topping is completely melted and starting to brown along the edges.
Turn oven temperature to “broil” and continue to cook until cheese topping is lightly browned. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it and serving. It will be hard to wait but it is worth the wait! This allows the Mac & Cheese to set up a bit and hold its shape when you cut into this casserole. Although, in all honesty, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with ooey, gooey cheese melting down around a serving of meatloaf…LOL!
I LOVED this meal!!! I had two extra big helpings and if I had room for more I would have kept right on eating, it was that good! My son loved it too! He snarfed it down lickety quick! My husband, who prefers savory meat dishes said it was really good but it was a little too sweet for his taste. Next time I may reduce the amount of sauce but honestly, in my humble opinion, this dish is fantastic just the way it is. Give it a try and let me know your thoughts. Heavy on the sauce or light sauce? Either way, I’m betting you will totally love it too!!
Meatloaf Mac & Cheese Casserole
Equipment
- Deep sided 13×9 inch oven safe casserole dish
Ingredients
For the meatloaf:
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 30 Ritz crackers, crushed
- 1 envelope onion soup mix
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
For the Mac & Cheese:
- 3 cups macaroni noodles
- 1½ cups milk, warmed
- 8 oz Velveeta processed American cheese, cubed
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
Prepare Meatloaf:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl combine the ketchup with the barbecue sauce. Set aside.
- Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the crushed Ritz crackers, onion soup mix, eggs and ½ of the ketchup/barbecue sauce mixture.
- Use your hands or use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer to combine all the ingredients.
- Spread the meatloaf mixture out in an even layer of a high sided 13×9 inch casserole dish.
- Top the meatloaf with the remaining ketchup/barbecue sauce mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until meat reaches a temperature of 140°F.
Prepare Mac & Cheese:
- Cook the macaroni noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the Cubed American cheese and cooked noodles until well combined and the American cheese has melted.
- Add the seasonings; salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and stir to combine.
- Add warm milk and stir to coat noodles with the cheese sauce.
- Add ½ of the shredded cheeses to the bowl and stir to combine everything.
- After the meatloaf has baked for 40-45 minutes, remove it from the oven.
- Drain off any excess fat that has accumulated along the edges of the casserole dish.
- Spread the Mac & Cheese mixture evenly over the top of the meatloaf.
- Top with the remaining shredded cheeses and return the casserole dish to the oven.
- Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the Mac & Cheese is hot and bubbly and the cheese topping is completely melted and starting to brown along the edges.
- Turn oven temperature to "broil" and continue to cook until cheese topping is lightly browned. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn.
- Remove casserole from the oven and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it and serving.
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