The Best Italian Meatloaf

Let me start off by saying I have never been a meatloaf fan. I have a problem with ground beef and have searched and played with many recipes to make the cheap meat tasty to me.  I have made meatloaf many different ways for my family many times over the past 20ish years but it was always something I tolerated because others liked it. No longer! I actually enjoy my Italian Meatloaf!!



Meatloaf is also a great dish for the picky vegetable haters. You can dice (cut up pretty small) vegetables and mask them in a good casserole or meatloaf. For instance ,my husband and 2 close relative really do not like bell peppers. I on the other hand love them and use them in my meatloaf. Every last bell pepper hater has gobbled up this meatloaf with nary a complaint.

I do use a slightly more expensive ground beef (90/10) over the more standard 80/20 ground beef purely for cosmetic sake. The taste is practically identical. However, the first time I made this recipe it was with the 80/20. .It tasted amazing but the meatloaf did not hold its shape and fell apart (as pictured below) and there was a lot of grease in the pan. The subsequent times I used 90/10 and the meatloaf looked picture perfect and there was very minimal excess grease sitting in the pan. So healthier and prettier :)

I recently doubled this recipe for a dinner party of 9 (7 adults) and had 1 slice left over.

Ingredients

FOR THE Meatloaf:

• 3  lbs ground beef 90/10
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 Tbsp crushed garlic (7 cloves)
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced pretty small
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 4 Tbsp dried basil
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper 
• 2 cups Parmesan
• 1.5 cups Italian Bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1.5 cups jar marinara or spaghetti sauce
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utensils you will need:

• saute pan
• spoon for stirring sauteed veggies
• cutting board
• cutting knife
• mixing bowl (for meat)
• 1 loaf pan or 4 mini loaf pans
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• Directions

  FOR THE MEATLOAF:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Prep all veggies; dicing garlic, onions, and bell peppers
  3. Pour 1/4 cup of Olive Oil into saute pan turning the heat to a low-medium or a 4
  4. Add prepped veggies to pan with a dash of salt and pepper and cook until soft. I personally prefer my veggies to have a little crunch but when tying to disguise veggies you want to cook them a bit more, around 8 minutes.                                 
  5. While veggies are sauteing start mixing your ground beef with eggs, herbs, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper by hand. 
  6. Once veggies are cooked to your preference add them to the meat mixture. Give the veggies a moment to cool a hair and start mixing with the ground beef. 
  7. Once well mixed, scoop by hand meat mixture into loaf pans. I do not oil my pans because the meat has enough fat to grease the pan while cooking. Then again I use stone wear. If you are concerned about sticking them LIGHTLY grease your loaf pans. 
  8. Shape the meat in the pan so that it is arched more like a dome rather than flat across. 
  9. Open your marinara sauce and pour onto meat. you want a light layer covering the meat. Just enough so that you can not see the meat through the sauce. 
  10. Bake in the middle of the center rack for 50-60 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. When I double this recipe and cook both pans at once, it bakes for 70 minutes.                                     
  11. Once baked, let rest for 5 minutes before serving. 
  12. Enjoy!!                                                                    
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