This truly is the Ultimate meatloaf with a lip-smacking, tangy tomato sauce. This is perfect for a weeknight dinner or leftover meatloaf sandwiches! We’re talking pure comfort food at its finest!
The Perfect Meatloaf Recipe
So my Grandma’s Meatloaf recipe is one of the most popular meatloaf recipes on the internet, and, as much as I can’t believe I’m saying this, it beats that one. Sorry Gram! This recipe is my meatloaf sandwich recipe. I will purposely make this meatloaf JUST so I can make us warm meatloaf sandwiches for lunch.
While I have a few meatloaf recipes on the website, this one is more of a classic. Sorry, as much as I love ketchup, the tangy sauce is not just ketchup. This adds a bit more tang and zest. No, it’s not a BBQ sauce either, though the ingredients are the same (for the most part); what differs is the amounts used.
TKW Family Love
Five thumbs up from my husband (and me) – I finally found the perfect meatloaf recipe he loves! I’ve tried quite a few, and this is the best plain and simple loaf. Thank you so much for another great recipe that we both enjoy – all my multitudes of other meatloaf recipes went in the trash can!! This is our go-to keeper…
The Best Meatloaf Ingredients
This is the meatloaf recipe that Mr. Fantabulous actually gets excited for when I make it. It’s super tender but doesn’t fall apart when you slice it. It’s fork-tender, and you don’t even need a butter knife to cut it; just use the side of your fork.
- Ground Beef
- Eggs
- Panade: bread and milk
- Tomato Paste
- Seasonings & Herbs
- Panko
- Tangy Meatloaf Sauce
This meatloaf is one of the ‘dream’ foods, if you will. See, while most of you dream of lavish things or kissing a celebrity crush, I tend to dream of food and or being in the kitchen. This dream actually woke me up super crazy butt early on a Saturday morning. Like I could almost ‘smell’ that meatloaf I was dreaming about.
Chef Lori Explains What A Panade Is
WHAT’S A PANADE? A panade is a dish made by putting bread in a bowl and adding milk. The bread soaks up the milk after about 5-10 minutes, forming a panade. You may have heard it called “milk bread”. To me, it’s critical to help the meatloaf retain its tenderness.
In my dream, I made this huge meatloaf in my bistro and shaped it so it was the same size as a thick Texas brioche toast (the easy way would be to just bake it in a Pullman loaf pan). I served it with crazy creamy mashed potatoes and fresh sautéed corn. Like we’re talking in my dream, I could taste it!
This craving was so strong that I added the ingredients to my shopping list as I had to make it! By 9:30 am, I had finished my shopping and literally had this meatloaf in the oven. Yes – I was cooking meatloaf at 9:30 am on a Saturday morning. That’s a normal thing…. right?
How to Make Homemade Meatloaf
It’s time to get our hands dirty. Do you prefer to mix meat by hand or use a spoon? I like using my hands to mix the meat. Using a spoon can lead to overmixing the beef. Doing that can make the mixture too tough.
- While the oven is preheating, add the torn bread, panko, and milk to a bowl to make the panade. Gently “smush” the bread down into the milk and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
- Make the tangy sauce: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the Tangy Sauce; set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the remaining meatloaf ingredients and the panade mixture. Gently mix until combined. Do not overmix as the meatloaf will be tough.
- Transfer the mixture to the baking sheet and shape it into a loaf.
- Bake for 35 minutes, then remove from the oven and spread some of the Tangy Sauce over the top and sides of the meatloaf. Put the meatloaf back into the oven and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 165F.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
Back to Saturday Morning… Around 10/10:30, Mr. Fantabulous got up and came out to the kitchen. As he walked into the kitchen, he said, “Wow, is that breakfast? That smells amazing!” as he sniffed the air. I moved to the side and showed him what I just made. His eyes got huge, and he said, “Huh??? You made meatloaf for breakfast??? Wait… you had another food dream, didn’t you?” I just chuckled and whipped up some breakfast for him. Though I really, REALLY wanted this for breakfast, I opted to hold off a few hours til lunch.
Now I don’t know about you, but I cannot have meatloaf without mashed potatoes – yes, even when I make a meatloaf sandwich. And sautéed corn too. Yes, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and sautéed corn are a must. It’s like a law; well, okay, it’s a law in my house. It’s how I was raised. And as I’ve said before, I hated my Mom’s meatloaf as she put HUGE chunks of onions and (sometimes) green peppers in it. Yuck! BUT she always served mashed potatoes, corn, and warm bread.
So you guessed it, while my family would eat a ‘real’ meal with the meatloaf, I’d eat mashed potatoes and corn, buttered bread. Carbs on carbs pretty much. No wonder I was such a fat kid!
But this, this meatloaf I crave. It’s so tender and juicy, just melting in your mouth. And that tangy sauce is truly the perfect accompaniment. You’ll notice that with the sauce recipe, you’ll actually have extra sauce, which is how it should be. You can totally use that sauce as ‘gravy’ with the potatoes, or when you slice it for sandwiches, drizzle some sauce on it and then bake for a few. The sauce almost caramelized on the meatloaf, making it more perfect.
Since “bowls” are so popular today in the foodie scene, I’m voting to promote the Meatloaf Bowl served with a few toasted buttery slices of bread. This, folks, THIS is the meatloaf even your most picky eaters will ask you to make!
TKW Family Love
I made this last night as my husband was craving meatloaf. I’ve made a countless number of your recipes and knew this was going to be just as amazing as the others.
Lori, this is by far THE BEST meatloaf I’ve ever had. My husband said to keep this for life as he ate 3 helpings!
That sauce is everything! Folks this is a 10 star recipe!
Ultimate Meatloaf with Tangy Sauce
This truly is the Ultimate meatloaf with a lip-smacking, tangy tomato sauce. This is perfect for a weeknight dinner or leftover meatloaf sandwiches! We’re talking pure comfort food at it’s finest!
Ingredients
Meatloaf
- 3lb ground beef, 80/20
- 3 Xl eggs, beaten
- 4 slices bread, torn in pieces
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup tangy sauce
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Tangy Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoon molasses (not black strap)
- 1/2 cup beef stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a bowl add all of the ingredients for the Tangy Sauce and whisk; set aside.
- In a medium bowl add the bread, panko and milk. Press the bread into the milk and set aside. Allow to soak for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl add the rest of the meatloaf ingredients and the bread/panko/milk mixture. Gently mix until combined. Do not overimx as the meatloaf will be tough. Transfer the mixture to the baking sheet and using your hands, form a loaf that is about 12 inches long, 6 inches wide, and about 2 1/2-3 inches tall. The loaf should be smooth and have rounded edges. This will help the loaf stay together when serving.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread Tangy Sauce all over the top and sides of the meatloaf. You’ll use about 1 -1 1/2 cups of sauce. Save the leftover sauce for meatloaf sandwiches. Put the meatloaf back into the oven and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted reads 165F.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
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