This meatloaf is tender and juicy and packed with flavor. It uses just a handful of basic ingredients and produces one of the tastiest meatloaves you will ever cook up. The secret ingredients not only add flavor but keep these loaves juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender. No hard brick of dense meat here. Just loads of flavor with a minimum of effort. Baking this up in a mini loaf pan reduces the amount of time in the oven, which means you can get dinner on the table that much faster. Plus having the larger flat surface means there’s more surface area for slathering on the delectable sauce. And we all know, you gotta have a good sauce on top…right? That sauce can make or break a meatloaf!
How To Make The Very Best Meatloaf:
Start by gathering together all the ingredients. The addition of sour cream, finely chopped mushrooms and cheddar cheese are the secret ingredients that help keep this meatloaf juicy and tender. The sour cream adds a slight tangy goodness and the mushrooms keep everything nice and juicy. And the cheese? Well it just adds loads of delicious flavor! These ingredients keep the texture nice and loose, not dense or dry. Even my mushroom hating son loves this meatloaf. He even had seconds when I served this at dinner the other night. Just mince them up nice and small and no one will be able to tell they’re even in there, but they will work their juicy magical goodness in the oven as these loaves bake up.
Instead of breadcrumbs this recipe calls for wheat crackers. Pop them in the bowl of a food processor and grind them up. Or place them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin into small crumbs.
Place the ground beef, egg, dried minced onions, crushed wheat crackers, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, paprika, minced mushrooms and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Divide the meat mixture into 6 equal portions and place it in a mini loaf pan. Smooth out the meat using the back of a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
While the meatloaf is in the oven, make the delectable BBQ sauce that gets slathered on top. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, BBQ sauce and mustard.
After 30 minutes, remove the loaves from the oven and baste them with the delectably tasty BBQ sauce.
Pop the pan back in the oven and bake the loaves for another 10-15 minutes or until the beef is cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with your favorite sides. Baked potatoes are an easy to make side to serve with these mini loaves. Just pop them in the oven with the meatloaf and they can cook together at the same time. Easy peasy! My kids personal favorite are mashed potatoes. Who doesn’t love mashed potatoes?
Or perhaps you have pasta lovers in the house. Nothing compliments meatloaf like a side of rich and creamy Classic, Oven Baked, Macaroni & Cheese. If you’ve been looking for a more classic, traditional style, oven baked Macaroni & Cheese, one that’s extra rich and creamy and loaded with tons of sharp cheddar cheese, then you’ve got to try this recipe. This one is my personal favorite and it’s freaking DELICIOUS! My Tante Elizabeth was famous for her oven baked Macaroni & Cheese. This is one of those recipes that’s been handed down from generation to generation.
No matter what side you decide to serve up with this meatloaf it will be absolutely delicious! This is one of the tastiest meatloaves you will ever cook up. It calls for just a handful of ingredients and you’ll get consistently good results with this recipe. Give this one a try, you might just decide to ditch your old recipe for this one. The ultimate comfort food. Yes, it’s that good! Any left overs make the best meatloaf sandwiches for lunch the next day!
The Very Best Meatloaf
Equipment
- mini loaf pan or muffin pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup dried minced onions
- 1 cup crushed wheat crackers
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 4 oz can mushrooms, drained and minced
For the sauce:
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup BBQ sauce
- 1 tbsp mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉.
- Spray mini loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the ground beef, egg, dried minced onions, crushed wheat crackers, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, paprika, minced mushrooms and sour cream.
- Divide the meat mixture into 6 equal portions and spread into a mini loaf pan. Use the back of a spoon to flatten the meat mixture into an even layer in each cavity.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir together ketchup, BBQ sauce and mustard.
- After 30 minutes, baste the tops of the loaves with the sauce.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until beef is cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and allow meatloaf to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Did You Make This?
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1 Corinthians 10:31
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