Michele MacGregor
Momma Mac's Cooking Corner: Classic Meatloaf
Updated: Apr 4
This traditional meatloaf recipe is just like Mom used to make. The only thing is, I am the Mom and I do make this.

Meatloaf is traditionally made with a combination of ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal, but in the MacGregor house, we did things differently.
I used to make our meatloaf using ground turkey. There were a couple of reasons for this. First and foremost was that Amanda used to be allergic to red meat and pork for most of her life. The other reason is that both myself and Amanda's sister Ashley did not eat meat, except for chicken and the occasional turkey.
When Amanda grew out of her red meat allergy and moved in with Joe, they ended up trying the recipe with ground beef instead of turkey. They were able to report back that it came out just as good, and is still moist and tender without the triple mixture of meats.
Whether you are making it with ground turkey or ground beef, brush the top of the meatloaf with ketchup before it bakes for about an hour and 30 minutes. The result is a real comfort food favorite.
For our mashed yuca recipe to enjoy with the side of your meatloaf, click here to jump to the location for the instructions inside our Shepard's Pie recipe.
Momma Mac's Cooking Corner:
Classic Meatloaf
Ingredients
1 to 2 pounds of grass-fed ground beef or ground turkey
1 egg
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon parsley, with extra for garnish
1 teaspoon oregano, with extra for garnish
½ teaspoon sea salt
Breadcrumb - we made our own homemade breadcrumbs by toasting Happy Campers GF bread and adding it to a food processor until crumbled.
Ketchup, for topping
Oil, for cooking dish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 365° F.
In a large bowl, using your washed hands, combine the beef, egg, garlic, onion powder, parsley, oregano, and sea salt. Add breadcrumbs as needed to lessen the "wetness" of the meat mixture. Combine until firm.
In a cooking dish with a lid, add oil to the bottom to prevent the meat from sticking. Place the meat mixture on the dish, and form into a loaf, about 9 inches long and 4 to 5 inches wide.
Using a spoon, cover the top with ketchup, as much as you desire. Then sprinkle breadcrumb, parsley, and oregano for garnishing.
Cook for 1 hour covered. Then cook uncovered for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until the meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.
Let the meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.