Momma’s Meatloaf

Meatloaf may seem like a bit of an old-fashioned meal, but it’s still a go-to at my house. I hear a lot of people say they HATED their momma’s meatloaf when they were young, but not me – I quite enjoyed my momma’s meatloaf. I might have made a tweak or two along the way, which is why I’ve dubbed it Mainly Momma’s Meatloaf. My whole family enjoys it and I hope yours does, as well.

TWEAKS TO MOMMA’S MEATLOAF

Keep in mind, I lost my mom when I was 26, so I hadn’t learned all of her recipes by heart – just had a pretty good idea of how some of them were made since we did cook together a lot. And she was one of those people who rarely wrote anything down, either. It was all in her head 🙂 So, some of my tweaks were simply because I wasn’t sure what to use and others were primarily for convenience.

The first change is the crushing of the crackers. Mom always crushed her own crackers (instead of breadcrumbs) – they were the Zesta kind, and I THINK there may have even been some bread slices. Something about sopping up the milk? Or maybe there were bread slices and the crackers went in something else?

See, I told you it was confusing!

Thanks, mom 🙂

Me, I’m all about convenience most of the time, so a can of breadcrumbs works just fine for me. And honestly, I use whatever I have on hand. Plain, seasoned, Italian. Heck, I’ve even used Panko a time or two.

Mom always diced an onion, too! Me, I use Lipton Onion soup mix. I mean, seriously? Is there anything you can’t do with that stuff. I nearly always have a box in my pantry, along with all sorts of my other pantry favorites! How about you? What do you like to keep on hand in your pantry?

What’s great, though, is that this recipe makes 2 full loaves, so it will feed a big family nicely OR you’ll have plenty of leftovers for the next day! Which works out perfect, because my boys like to go for a meatloaf sandwich on day 2.

I also added a little garlic to mine, because my family tends to like things a bit more seasoned than I remember growing up with. Whether it’s hot (think cayenne) or just flavorful, spices take center stage at my place.

I nearly always pair mine with homemade mashed potatoes, a veggie such as green beans or whatever else I happen to have on hand and some sort of rolls or biscuits. and comforting, for sure, which is sometimes exactly what you need, right?

Give it a try and let me know what you think! Have a tweak of your own? I’d love to hear about that, too, so I can give your tweaks a try 🙂

Momma’s Meatloaf

A hearty, homestyle meatloaf the whole family will love.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: meatloaf
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Author: Lori Wallace-Roberts

Ingredients

Meatloaf

  • 3 pounds ground beef
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire
  • 2 packs onion soup mix
  • 1 tbsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder

Sauce

  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Mix all meatloaf ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined. Be sure to mix until JUST combined!
  • Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
  • Split meatloaf into two sections and place into two loaf pans.
  • Spread a liberal bit of sauce atop each meatloaf.
  • Bake for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes until temperature reaches 165°.
  • Let rest for about 10 minutes prior to serving.
  • Serve with extra sauce, either slathered on top or for dipping.
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