Serve with our Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes for a cozy dinner at home. This meatloaf recipe is coming from our family archives. Do you have such a recipe you used to love and then completely forgot about it? Well this meatloaf, alongside my version of classic meatloaf, is one of those. It used to be on a regular rotation for midweek dinners, weekends and even when guests came over. Then I decided it was too retro. Silly me! This meatloaf is delicious and it’s time to bring it back. Although I realise I might not impress you with a recipe (who doesn’t have one, right?), I might entice you with my stuffed meatloaf ideas.
Stuffed Meatloaf Ideas
The one I am sharing today is a meatloaf stuffed with mushrooms, sautéed with onions, fresh thyme and garlic and then folded into luscious cream cheese. I’ve also added a handful of fresh arugula to my stuffing mix for a peppery flavour and extra shot of the greens. If you are not into mushrooms, you can substitute with chopped artichokes. I would recommend using canned artichokes in brine, not oil or frozen artichokes. You can also use spinach instead of arugula. Alternatively, you can stuff your meatloaf with cheese like mozzarella or cheddar. It will also work well in this recipe as a substitute for cream cheese. Simply cool the cooked mushroom mixture, then mix it with grated mozzarella or the cheese of your choice and stuff the meatloaf with cheesy mushrooms.
How to avoid dry meatloaf
Start with good quality beef. If using lean beef, add a little liquid like milk, water, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or even a bit of jarred salsa can all work wonders. Traditionally breadcrumbs or oats in combination with beaten eggs are added to a meatloaf mixture for binding. However, dry breadcrumbs or oats will draw moisture out of meat. That is why adding extra liquid is recommended. I like adding Worcestershire sauce for flavour as well as fresh herbs, sautéed onions and a dash of paprika. However, the spice mixture is easily customisable to your own taste. I find adding sautéed onions instead of raw ones significantly improves flavour and texture.
Serving suggestions
Meatloaf is a robust dish, and the added creamy filling means that it is not getting any lighter. That means that a fresh, zesty side dish is pretty much perfect. It’s hard to go wrong with a fresh salad, but I love adding veggies like roasted Tenderstem broccoli with lemon garlic vinaigrette, or roasted rainbow carrots. Potatoes are also welcome alongside meatloaf. A tasty champ or herb and garlic mashed potatoes will do very well!
Storage and Leftovers
Leftovers will keep well in a refrigerator for 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container. I don’t recommend freezing anything that contains cream cheese, which tends to separate when defrosted.
More delicious recipes with ground beef
Porcupine Meatballs in Creamy Tomato Sauce Russian Meat Patties in Wild Mushroom Sauce Beef Stuffed Eggplant Beef and Black Bean Burritos
