A family staple has been simplified for this healthy meatloaf dish.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 1 9×5-inch loaf |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup diced sweet onion
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 pound extra-lean (95%) ground beef
- 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- ¾ cup shredded carrot
- ¾ cup shredded zucchini
- 2 large eggs
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup ketchup, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir green bell pepper and onion in hot oil until onion is transparent and bell pepper is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat.
- Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, carrot, zucchini, eggs, salt, pepper, and bell pepper mixture in a large bowl; mix well using your hands. Press meat mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 35 to 40 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Spread ketchup on top of meatloaf and continue baking until bubbling, about 5 minutes more.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 378 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 157 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 457 mg |
| Sugars | 7 g |
| Fat | 20 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I have used this recipe three times with five pounds of 90% lean ground bison. Ground bison can be tough, but the veggies help the meat seem tender and moist. The recipe holds the meat together well. I use the recipe as written, but I bake the meatloaf in a turkey roaster. Salt and pepper make a non-spicy meatloaf, but the overall flavors meld together beautifully. You might want to cook the grated carrots for a minute or two with the onions and bell peppers. I use a meat thermometer and pull the meatloaf from the oven when the center of the loaf reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A 5-pound bison meatloaf takes about double the recommended time in a 400-degree oven. I do not add ketchup. I cut and freeze large single servings of meatloaf for grab-and-go meals.
Very easy and delicious.
No changes, perfect the way it is. But I will say when my daughter was very young, I use to make the meatloaf and put it in a lrg jello mold. Turn it out , cook it and make mashed potatoes and put them in the center. She is now 48 yrs old. She loves it. Sheila M. Edwards
This meatloaf has a nice smooth and firm texture even though I made it with a combo of Turkey and pork. I left out the green pepper and zucchini and added some fresh herbs so it wouldn’t be too bland and it was excellent. I’m looking forward to having what’s leftover on a sandwich!
I loved it so much. My alterations: I used celery instead of zucchini and panko breadcrumbs instead of whole wheat and lean ground beef instead of extra lean.
I made this for my family and they liked it. I would add more garlic next time, and grate the carrots finer to mix better with the other ingredients. I used 1 and 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs as that’s what I had on hand. I would have rated 5 stars but it took much longer to get up to the proper internal temperature, an extra 15 minutes at least at 400. I would try cooking at 425 for the first half next time. Yes, my oven is usually quite hot. I also added a bit of salt-free chicken seasoning to the onions and peppers when I was sauteing them in the first step. I didn’t use oil to fry veggies either, as it’s already got enough fat from the meat. Leave yourself at least 1.5 hours just in case you need more cooking time. Great recipe for added veggies though, as it’s still a solid meatloaf. Serves 4 hungry men.
My husband and even my very picky kids loved this (and they don’t like eggs or veggies!)! I soaked homemade breadcrumbs in 3% milk, and added an extra egg since I used just a little more than 1 lb of lean meat. Instead of lean beef, combined half ground pork with half ground chicken breast. We all love garlic in this house so next time I’ll be doubling the amount of garlic. Adding this to my favourite comfort food recipes from now on.
Made as is. Loved the combination of vegetables. Will definitely make again.
Awesome meatloaf recipe. Very moist and delicious!
it was good
This is an outstanding recipe and even my picky husband loved it! Didn’t have any carrots so just increased the amounts of the other veggies. Also substituted gluten-free quick oats for the bread crumbs. Absolutely loved it!
The best meatloaf I’ve ever had and even messed up the recipe! Added regular breadcrumbs instead and a little Parmesan cheese to the mix, did not cook the bell pepper before. Paired with sweet potato mash.
I had to cook it about 45 minutes but it was excellent! I will make this again.
Great recipe! I did change some things. Less bell pepper, a little less carrot (because carrot flavor can take over. I had that happen making chili once so I’m cautious now.) And 1/4 less bread crumbs. I used worcestershire sauce, thyme, oregano, a lil chicken broth, and tomato sauce instead of ketchup. And I used 90% lean beef. I think that’s about all I changed. It came out very well. The carrot was identifiable but not too strong. Couldn’t even taste the zucchini.
Vegetables really helped maintain moistness. Great taste, a keeper!
This is the best meatloaf recipe..and easy too! I used meatloaf mix from the butcher which i think is beef and pork and I omitted the zucchini. I doubled the recipe and froze the other one. Its delicious!
This turned out wonderful! I’m not big on meatloaf, but was looking for something to make with my ground deer. I used 3/4 pound of meat because that’s what I had. I also think more garlic would be good. So many vegetables mixed in this and you can’t tell!
Super yummy and super easy
I made this meatloaf, my family enjoyed it. It was moist and flavorful, I will definitely make it again. I used 4 lbs of meat. I stuck with this recipe bug added these. I added celery, 1 more egg, 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, oregano, thyme, black pepper, parsley & rosemary. I added some olive oil to the meat so it doesn’t get dry. It came out good.
WOW! This is the moistest, most delicious meatloaf recipe I have ever tasted. Kudos to ” Momma”.
Love the recipe, even better my guys love the meatloaf. One change I made was with the topping. I made a mixture with ketchup, chutney and BBQ sauce and then rebaked it.