This Brown Gravy Meatloaf is the best meatloaf recipe ever! Every time we make this meatloaf, it comes out perfect – and we make it a lot!
I know you’re going to love this meatloaf recipe! All you need is our simple Brown Gravy Recipe, a side of super crispy Shoestring French Friesor our favorite Mushroom Riceand dinner is served!
Why Meatloaf With Brown Gravy Is One of Our Favorite Recipes
Meatloaf night is big at our house – we are a meatloaf loving family. This Brown Gravy Meatloaf recipe is one we make very often, too.
It’s a perfectly seasoned meatloaf covered with a homemade brown gravy that only takes minutes to make! it seems like you’re either a meatloaf with brown gravy person or a classic meatloaf with tomato glaze person.
We’re both.
Tips For Making The Best Meatloaf With Brown Gravy
Onions. Onions people. Onions are what makes this meatloaf recipe taste as good as it does.
Not undercooked crunchy onions, but tender, super sweet onions that practically melt into the meatloaf. SO make sure in the first part of this recipe you take the time to really cook the onions down.
Super sweet onions are really a big part of why this meatloaf recipe is the best.
The other trick to giving this meatloaf the best flavor and texture is not over mixing the meat. Just mix the meat well enough to get all your ingredients combined and walk away.
Lastly, you have to make sure that you season your meatloaf properly before you go through all the trouble of shaping it into that loaf and cooking it. Take a small ball of the meat after you’ve mixed it and fry it up really quick in a pan.
Taste it to make sure it’s seasoned to your liking then move on to your loaf shaping.
Can You Make This Meatloaf Recipe Ahead Of Time?
You definitely can, and you’ve got a couple of options here.
You can make the meatloaf mixture and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake, or you can make the meatloaf all the way through, let it cool and reheat later.
Either way works totally fine so pick your method.
This Brown Gravy Meatloaf Recipe is our adaptation of an old meatloaf recipe we used to make all the time from Ina Garten. It’s a classic meatloaf recipe, kicked up with fresh thyme and lots of onions.
And let’s be honest, Ina knows how to make everything perfect so you know it’s going to be good.
How Can You Tell When Meatloaf Is Done?
Your meatloaf should register at 160 degrees using a meat thermometer when you take it out oft he oven. Or you can cut into the middle of the meatloaf to see if the pink is gone, then you know it’s cooked all the way through.
When this meatloaf comes out of the oven, you can pour the brown gravy all over the top and serve with extra gravy on the side.
All that delicious brown gravy is screaming for a pile of mashed potatoes or crispy french fries to soak it up, so don’t forget to get those going while this meatloaf is cooking in the oven!
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Author:Dan
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 5 minutes
Yield:81x
Print Recipe
This Brown Gravy Meatloaf Recipe is so easy and delicious, you’ll be making it all the time! Serve this beef meatloaf with our simple brown gravy recipe that can be made in just 5 minutes!
Scale
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Brown Gravy Recipe(for serving)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add the oil to a skillet over medium heat.
Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook for 7-8 minutes until slightly caramelized and softened.
Add the garlic, stir and cook for a minute longer, then add the thyme, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce.
Work the tomato paste into the onions and garlic, then pour in the chicken broth and stir. Let the chicken broth reduce for 1 minute and then turn the heat off and remove the skillet from the burner to cool.
To a large bowl, add the meatloaf mix along with the eggs and breadcrumbs. Once the onion mixture has cooled, add it to the bowl with the meat and mix to combine. (Clean hands work the best!)
Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. (You can also use a piece of parchment paper) Form the meat into a loaf shape and place in the oven.
Cook the meatloaf for 50-55 minutes. Check the meatloaf after 50 minutes to see if it’s cooked through, this will depend on the size and shape you made your meatloaf.
While the meatloaf is in the oven you can make the brown gravy by following the recipe link. When the meatloaf comes out of the oven, pour the gravy over the top of the meatloaf or slice the meatloaf and serve the gravy on the side.
Recipe Notes
Meatloaf mix is a ground meat combination of beef, pork and veal which is sold in most grocery stores.
A chef's secret trick to making an amazing meatloaf is to use a mixture of ground beef, pork, and veal for a more flavorful and moist texture. Another trick is to use a combination of fresh and dried herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, and parsley, to enhance the overall taste.
The most traditional meatloaf binder is probably torn up bread soaked in milk, but you can also use bread crumbs, Panko, dehydrated potato (instant mashed potatoes), or just about any other grain.
To help your meatloaf stay together add things such as eggs, bread, crushed croutons, oatmeal, crackers, and breadcrumbs, these are all key ingredients that help meat stick together. I hope that this helps to answer your question. What are the secrets to a firm, sliceable meatloaf that slices and won't fall apart?
Milk and other dairy products, like heavy cream and buttermilk, contain both water and fat, adding two types of moisture to our meatloaf. There's a long-held theory that milk can tenderize ground meat, and this is the reason often cited for cooking ground meat in milk to make a Bolognese-style ragù.
All recipes for meatloaf start with the same basic formula: 2 pounds of ground meat and a “panade” made of bread or crackers soaked in milk. Along with a few eggs, this panade helps to hold the ground meat together and adds some essential moisture to the mix.
While both are great options for cooking your meatloaf, each has its own advantages and you will get slightly different results. Sheet pans have more surface area which exposes more of the dish's surface area to the oven's direct heat to create a crunchier crust that's nicely browned.
Should I cook my meatloaf covered or uncovered? The meatloaf can be cooked uncovered. However, if you are concerned about it burning, you can cover the meatloaf with foil for the first 45 minutes and uncover it for the final 15 minutes to allow the meatloaf to brown on top.
The oven temperature is typically set at 350 degrees F for making meatloaf. That's the temperature you want to be sure to use so the meatloaf cooks and doesn't dry out. Too high, and the outer crust will burn before the interior is cooked all the way, too low and you don't get that delicious crust.
Eggs bind the mixture, add flavor and increase browning, but too much egg will make a meat loaf tough and rubbery. Use about one egg per pound of meat. If using pork sausage, skip the egg. Milk adds flavor and moisture and helps distribute the seasoning throughout the mass.
When this happens, it's because you didn't use enough. Next time, try adding in an extra egg and/or some more breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rice, barley, corn flakes, crackers, and dried soup mix can also stand in as binding ingredients as well. Including larger quantities of these items should help solve the problem.
Usually, milk is used to soak chunks of bread, that are them mixed into the meat in order to improve the moisture and texture of the loaf. You can simply substitute vegetable, chicken or beef stock for the milk in any recipe, soak the bread in that, and then add it to the mix.
All Recipes explains that having a sweet element in your meatloaf like ketchup is critical to creating a delicious dish. The reason? It balances out the flavors.
Cool before slicing: Let the loaf cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. If you baked your meatloaf in a loaf pan, carefully drain off the liquid fat before transferring the meatloaf to a cutting board. Cut into thick slices and serve.
Should I cook my meatloaf covered or uncovered? The meatloaf can be cooked uncovered. However, if you are concerned about it burning, you can cover the meatloaf with foil for the first 45 minutes and uncover it for the final 15 minutes to allow the meatloaf to brown on top.
Use Extra Egg: Eggs act as binders and provide moisture. Add one or two eggs per pound of meat for a moist texture. Make Use of Milk: Soak breadcrumbs in milk before adding them to your mixture. This will keep your meatloaf moist during baking.
A neat trick to soak up the grease under your meatloaf is to line the bottom of the pan with bread slices. The bread soaks up the grease as the loaf bakes. When the meatloaf is done, you can either throw out the bread or bake it to make some truly indulgent toast.
Introduction: My name is Aron Pacocha, I am a happy, tasty, innocent, proud, talented, courageous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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