Mom’s Meatloaf recipe is easy, flavorful, and the ultimate comfort food. No formal recipe is needed for this comfort food classic. There are so many recipes that it’s truly overwhelming. My easy 1-pound meatloaf is classic and simply the best. The recipe can also be doubled for sharing.
Favorite comfort food dinners include a slow cooker ham steak dinner for one , the perfect roasted cornish hen, tasty 1-pound pot roast, pan-fried ham steak recipe for one or this incredibly easy and flavorful slumgullion recipe. If you have some leftover ground beef, then try this easy cowboy stew small batch recipe, hamburger tacos, or the best homemade mini lasagna
Many times I don’t cook with recipes, I go into the kitchen and throw together tasty meals with whatever ingredients I have on hand.
Everyone has a meatloaf recipe that Mom made; this one is mine. Make this a few times then start adding or subtracting ingredients to create your own special Meatloaf recipe.
Main Ingredients
- Ground Beef: An 80/20 has enough flavor and just enough fat to give you a great flavor.
- Eggs & Breadcrumbs: These ingredients really keep the meatloaf together
- Sauce: A simple combination of Ketchup and Worcestershire sauce is all you need for that classic meatloaf flavor.
- Seasonings: Onions, salt, and pepper. I also like to sprinkle in a little garlic powder.
Which Ground Beef is good for making meatloaf?
Use regular ground beef which is usually a ground Chuck. Fat adds flavor, so don’t use anything too lean; I use an 80% lean.
Do you use milk in meatloaf?
I don’t, but some recipes call for using milk or another liquid. The milk softens the bread crumbs, but I never had any issues, so why add more ingredients than you need? I prefer my milk in mashed potatoes. :-).
Drum roll Please! Mom’s Meatloaf Recipe instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
- In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the ketchup and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, mix together, and set aside for later basting.
- Throw 1 pound of ground beef with an 80% Lean/20% Fat content into a big bowl. Break up the beef into chunks and salt and pepper. Just give the salt shaker a couple of good shakes and a little more with the pepper. If you like garlic, shake in a bit of garlic powder, NOT garlic salt.
- Dice up ½ a medium onion and toss into the bowl.
- Squirt in ketchup, probably about ¼ cup to start.
- Shake in the Worcestershire sauce until it just smells right, about 1 tablespoon. It’s a personal preference with the amount. If you really have no idea how much to use then give the bottle a couple of good shakes to start.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat two eggs and mix into the ground beef mixture
- Pour in a ½ cup of plain bread crumbs.
- Use a wooden spoon to get everything mixed up nicely. Compress into a big ball.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Plop the meatloaf onto the lined baking sheet and mold it into a rectangle. You can also bake in a small loaf pan.
- Put the meatloaf into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes then baste with the ketchup Worcestershire sauce. Continue cooking for a total of 60 minutes. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees to ensure it’s fully cooked.
- I like a little crispy to the sides; place it under the broiler at the end for a couple of minutes. Watch it so you don’t burn the top.
- Refrigerate the leftovers for cold meatloaf sandwiches. Yum!
You can also divide the uncooked meatloaf into smaller loaves and freeze them for later.
Serve the Meatloaf with classic mashed potatoes, or for a change, bake a couple of potatoes and top with sour cream and chives.
Mom’s Meatloaf will become your go-to comfort food dinner. if you enjoyed this meatloaf, then you might like this amazing baked beef stew for one.
- If you enjoy this recipe then make sure to check out my classic salmon patties .
- Try https://aweekendcook.com/lemon-coffee-cake/ for a light dessert after a hearty comfort food meal.
More Classic Comfort Foods
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Moms Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground beef
- 2 Eggs
- ½ Onions diced
- ½ cup Bread Crumbs
- ½ cup Ketchup divided
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire divided
- Salt and Pepper
- Optional: Garlic Powder
- Optional: Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- In a small bowl mix together 1/4 cup of the ketchup and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, mix together and set aside for later basting.
- Throw 1 pound of ground beef 80/20 fat content into a big bowl. Break up into chunks and salt and pepper. Just give the salt shaker a couple of good shakes, and a little more with the pepper. If you like garlic shake in a bit of garlic powder, NOT garlic salt.
- Dice up ½ a medium onion and toss into the bowl.
- Squirt in ketchup, probably about ¼ cup to start.
- Shake in Worcestershire sauce until it just smells right, about 1 tablespoon. It’s a personal preference with the amount. If you really have no idea how much to use then give the bottle a couple of good shakes to start.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat two eggs and mix into the ground beef mixture
- Pour in a ½ cup of plain bread crumbs.
- Use a wooden spoon to get everything mixed up nicely. Compress into a big ball.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and plop the meatloaf onto the lined baking sheet and mold the meatloaf into a rectangle.
- Put the meatloaf into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes then baste with the ketchup Worcestershire sauce. Continue cooking for a total of 60 minutes. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees to ensure it’s fully cooked.
- I like a little crispy to the sides so I broil at the end for a couple of minutes. Watch it so you don’t burn the top.
Notes
- Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Cold meatloaf makes tasty sandwiches. Yum!
- Use fattier ground beef, an 80/20 is perfect.
- Serve with mashed potatoes.
Nutrition Disclaimer
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below is an estimate only and provided as a general guide only.
What I love about this recipe is your laid back instructions, how you use colloquial language like plop in, squirt in, and how you tell it like it is.
Mine’s in the oven now at 175°C.
This is so kind of you to say! I’m so happy you like the way it is written, this recipe is very special to me, and I wanted to write up the recipe they way my Mom would explain it.:-). Enjoy the meatloaf and have an amazing weekend.
I made it with gluten free bread crumbs, was delicious
Best 1 lb meatloaf recipe! This was the first time I made meatloaf using 2 eggs without adding the milk. It came out perfect! The only change I made was at the last minute when I realized I was out of ketchup. I used tomato sauce with one teaspoon of Heinz 57 and a tablespoon of brown sugar for sweetness. Perfect!
This was a simple recipe and I thought the flavor was great. I plan to use this recipe in the future. Thank you!
Trying it right now, smells great
A friend gave me your recipe and it really is the best homemade meatloaf I’ve tasted. Really is like Moms! anyway I wanted to leave a rating and let you know i live it and its my go to recipe!
so good, the best recipe!
Love it. Easy! Today I put the same amount of oatmeal into a grinder to use in place of the breadcrumbs. Should be fine. It’s my ‘go to’ recipe because I like to use just one lb ground beef usually and I always have these ingredients. I don’t always have breadcrumbs but do always have oatmeal.
Thank you, I’m so happy you like the recipe! And your tip about the oatmeal is a great one.
Cheers
I used one egg and cut the bread crumbs in half and added about about 1/4 cup of sliced green olives, cutting down the salt to make up for it since they are so salty. The recipe is a great base recipe for a one 1 lb meatloaf and I daresay it would work for a 2 lb one too, using the 2 eggs and half cup of bread crumbs. My meatloaf was done in about 45 minutes.
I’ve made this recipe twice and it’s so good and so easy! Love it❤️
Awesome. Easy. Did it as written but used up half a pepper with the half onion. Also added Italian seasoning thinking the recipe would call for seasoned bread crumbs LOL. Mine are plain. It’s great. I like to cook an entire pound, just one, of ground beef in a meatloaf so I can save leftovers if I am alone or also with one other person sharing a meal. The cooking of veggies first really is not necessary. Milk was not necessary. It worked great and I didn’t have to measure anything. Thank You so much. It’s a keeper.
I’m so glad I found this recipe and website! I’ve made this one-pound meat loaf so many times and really love it. I’m a simple cook so I substitute garlic and herb chunky tomato sauce for the ketchup and herbs, and I use panko to keep this gluten-free. I’m exploring more recipes on this site!
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe, I like to keep it simple also! You might like the lasagna, it’s so easy and really yummy.
thank u so much for the recipe, my husband usually does all the cooking and he’s very good, so when he started a new job with very long hours, I had to start trying to have something for him to eat when he would get home. but to take the chance of messing things up and challenging myself to the test of my husband, was very nerve racking to say the least! but u have to start somewhere and if I mess up my husband doesn’t even have to know about it! but on that note, I’ve been making a few things and they actually turned out great! my husband has been praising me on making great dinners, and I’m gaining a lot of confidence! so tonight I’m trying out ur meatloaf and it sounds like I will b able to handle it well! thank u for ur easy recipe and advice, wish me luck!
Perfect beginners recipe! I may have made meatloaf before but it was decades ago and apparently forgettable. I had the ingredients all on hand and used exactly as prescribed with extra shakes of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Split into two mini loaf pans. used one small whole wheat slice of bread, toasting it first until crispy, then crumbling it with fingers to reasonable course crumb size. Ended up cooking only one mini loaf to save time (half the recipe mix) and used half the time suggested for full recipe on that one mini loaf: 9 mins at first, then basted, then another 30 mins until done. Just checked for doneness by slicing inside and it looked good to me! No thermometer used. Saved the other mini loaf for another day as only two of us eating. Yummy taste and very simple. Thank you! This is a keeper!
1 hour for a 1lb meatloaf?
Hi Rachelle,
Yes, it’s a total of 60 minutes. You are cooking for about 15 minutes, then baste the meatloaf with the sauce and continue to cook for a total of 60 minutes. Ovens may not always heat the same, watch the meatloaf and ensure it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
This meatloaf is so yummy!
It’s an easy recipe that produces great results. I use it every time I make meatloaf and my family loves it.
This is such an easy to make, delicious meatloaf recipe! My husband usually doesn’t rave about meatloaf, but he went nuts for this! He said it was the best dinner I ever made 🙂 this is my new go to meatloaf recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Thanks for this 1 lb. meatloaf recipe! All I could find in my cookbooks were for 1-1/2 or 2 lbs. Your recipe was tasty and easy to make. Thank you!
I have tried a lot of meatloaf recipes over the years, and they are never quite “right”, or at least not to my liking. This recipe hit the bullseye for me; it’s exactly how I want it to taste, the right texture, etc. My Go to Meatloaf recipe from now on!
very easy and tasty recipe!
This meatloaf was wonderful!! Will definitely be making it again.