I’ve tried countless meatloaf recipes, but they invariably crumble as soon as you take them out of the pan. The meatloaf is excellent and holds together well when served. With mayonnaise, leftover meatloaf makes delicious sandwiches.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 30 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cubed
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 3 small stalks celery
- 1 ¼ pounds ground beef
- 1 pound mild pork sausage
- 1 ½ cups cracker crumbs
- 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a food processor or blender, combine the bell pepper, onion and celery. Process until finely chopped, but not liquid. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the ground beef, ground pork, cracker crumbs, onion soup mix, salt, pepper, sage and milk. Mix well using your hands, or if you have a stand mixer, mix using the paddle attachment. Transfer to a 9×5 inch loaf pan and form into a loaf, mounding in the center. Cover with a generous layer of ketchup.
- Bake for 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers, slice and serve cold in sandwiches.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 413 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 68 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 18 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 790 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 28 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Ingredient by ingredient, step by step, exactly as stated… The flavors are spot on, but please STOP claiming it stays together… Serving time was a disaster as usual, each family member ate a little crumbled plate of definately NOT stuck together meatloaf, so disappointed…
This is the best meatloaf, don’t go changing anything. It does make great sandwiches, too. Try a meatloaf grilled cheese.
I have made this meatloaf a few times and it is delicious. I decided to make it a little different this time. I sauted onion, celery garlic and mushrooms and added salt, pepper, sage and also allspice to the mixture. I added salt, pepper and onion soup mix to the meat. I used italian style breadcrumbs as that is what I had and added them to the milk to soak. For the topping I mixed together brown sugar, ketchup and dry mustard. A little twist to the original recipe and it was also delicious. Each time I omitted the green pepper. This has become my go to meatloaf recipe. It stays together and anyone can add their own twist.
While it still fell apart, Hubby said it’s the tastiest meatloaf I’ve ever made, so it’s a keeper! Not sure what to do to make the slices more dense/compact so that it’s delicious AND sliceable, but maybe I’ll scroll through more reviews to see suggestions. Eggs? We’ll find out! Thanks for posting this!
I added 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan. the whole family loved it!
Tasty meatloaf and leftovers made good sandwiches ! I adapted a couple of things based on ingredients I had on hand. I omitted the pork sausage. I also subbed bread crumbs for the cracker crumbs and a yellow bell pepper for green.
I made it today, sunday, and this was the first time my meatloaf didn’t crumble amd the favor was yummy!! I had to do seconds! Thanks.
I did not care for what the sauce called for. So I looked up another sauce on this same site and used that instead. Ketchup is just not an acceptable topping for such a wonderful meatloaf. I was nervous about adding the milk , it killed the sturdiness I wanted. I could do with less next time, even sub it for a couple eggs. I love the flavor love the texture. Using a good food processor and stand mixer is essential for consistency. I love this recipe! I used Ritz crackers and the beef flavor onion mix. I also added red bell pepper a few cloves of garlic and scallions (I love their flavor). I’ve made about 8 BAD meat loaves. This is my first that did not fall apart. I’m hooked! And stuffed! Lol
Followed the recipe and it was great! Will definitely make it again!
the only substitution I made was to add chopped jalapeños (2 large) for the celery. I also by mistake put the ketchup in with the other ingredients when I mixed the meatloaf. it was excellent. I made 6 mini meatloafs in a large muffin tin using about half of the meat mixture and the rest I made into a loaf using a glass bread dish to cook it in. I was perfect for serving the mini meatloafs for dinner and then using the rest for sandwiches. I also sprinkled the top with a bout a cup of sharp cheddar cheese. It was enjoyed by all.
Awesome… it didn’t fall apart either!!!
Best meatloaf by far. Went with the exact recipe except I added a pound of deer burger with everything else and use plain bread crumbs. My kids rave about how great the flavor is. I won’t use any other meatloaf recipe from now on.
I followed the recipe exactly and it was a crumbled mess!
I added 3 cloves of garlic and 1/2 cup of parm cheese.
Tweaked it for ingredients I had in hand but it still came out great and held together well. Ended up with 2lb just beef and didn’t have soup mix so I did tbls dried onions, tsp powdered onion and 2 tbls better than boullion, also just used regular bread crumbs. Next time I’m going to flavor up the ketchup a bit more for the top but this is definitely replacing my old meatloaf recipe.
I did not have the veggies to add, bummer, I bet it would have enhanced the flavor. I had the rest of the ingredients and added an egg just to be sure… and it was super good! I will make again, its a keeper recipe.
Delicious flavor! I didn’t believe it would be a loaf that holds together … yet it does and remains tender to the bite. We’ll be making this again.
This recipe turned out good I only used half of the onion soup mix because of the salt and added worstershire sauce to the meatloaf mixture. And it didn’t crumble.
I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. This was amazing and it stays together. Imagine that?! 🙂 The few changes I did make. RED bell pepper, medium onion and three medium stalks of celery, chopped and sautéed in a little olive oil for 5 minutes, until just soft, then pulsed 5-7 times in a mini processor. A whole roll of Ritz crackers, ground PORK (plain) and Heinz 57 for the sauce. The rest as follows. Thank you!
my husband called it awesome! really good! used panko breadcrumbs, everything else as written. had Spanish rice and string beans.
I had searched for a meatloaf recipe that did not crumble, had flavor, and was good as I remember my mother made, this recipe met all requirements. I had tried at least 15 different recipes all failed and I began to lose hope. I have made meatloaf with this recipe 15 or more times without failure. For those who like left over meatloaf sandwiches, stop looking, this is the best.