While experimenting with sangria recipes, I came up with this. My family actually became disappointed when I missed the one Thanksgiving and Christmas when I didn’t make it because it has now become a tradition!
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 55 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 20 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 15 saltine crackers, crushed
- 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and green pepper and saute until onions are soft.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- In a large mixing bowl, place ground beef, crushed crackers, Cheddar cheese, taco seasoning, and sauteed onion and green pepper. Mix thoroughly.
- Press beef mixture into a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until done. Check with a meat thermometer for doneness. Internal temperature should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 325 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 76 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 18 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Sodium | 610 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 23 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
The name says it all! This meat loaf is excellent. I did modify the recipe slightly. I added 1/2 pound of ground pork to the ground beef. I also used a spicy hot taco mix ( old el paso ). The meat loaf came out juicy, terrific flavor, and very satisfying. My hats off to the person who submitted this recipe.
I have made this recipe about ten times now and I absolutely just love it! No one in my family except me and my mother like it . But! It is a great spin on regular meatloaf and I will never go back!
Too small so I made it bigger. 3Lbs ground beef. 1 whole sweet onion diced, 1 each small red, orange and yellow bell peppers diced, couple diced celery stalks , 2 packs of taco seasoning, 8oz mexican shredded cheese. I did not have any saltine crackers so i used a couple handfuls of crushed Cheez It crackers. Same process – saute the veggies with about 1/2 stick of butter. Mix beef, seasoning, crackers and cheese. Then mix both beef and veggie mixtures together. Put in 9X13 with grove on top for some salsa. 375 degrees for about 1 hour and 10 or 15 minutes. It came out awesome. Smelled, looked and tasted great.
I made this meatloaf and I added half of a red pepper and about 1/4 cup of brown sugar ….to me it was delish.
This is a perfect meal. I think it does take time but my family loves it. Very versatile I use ground turkey or meatloaf mix even ground chicken. I mix it up with the crackers sometimes I use whatever leftover crackers I have other times I use bread crumbs. Most of all I hide lots of vegetables in there. I chop whatever I have on hand mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots. I stopped sauteing the onion and pepper before adding to meat it’s just another dirty pan and more time. I know it probably changes the taste but it’s my family’s favorite meal so I guess it’s good enough. Thanks for the recipe I never liked meatloaf growing up and now I enjoy it.
This was amazing! I used oat nut bread that was bigger than an average slice, I used Triscut whole wheat crackers and 90/10 lean ground beef. I skipped the optional milk. Texture and taste was awesome. The sour cream really added that something special. The oats and nuts in the bread gave it an occassional great moist and subtle kind of crunch. I will dial the pepper back 1 teaspoon or so next time, it was a bit over the top. Caramelizing the onion and garlic and then adding the salt and pepper to soak up the essential oils in the skillet really added to the flavor.
Add crouton and 1 cup of water instead of the saltines does wonders
I added tortilla chips instead of crackers yummo
realy good
We had this tonight. And I normally do make a few changes only because I modify with what I have on hand or try to cut down on calories. I know people don’t like that…but oh well 🙂 So yummy! Didn’t have crackers, so I used bread crumbs (3 tbsp). Only used 1/2 amount of the cheese (and I used 1/2 of it IN the loaf and 1/2 on top later). I DID add an egg since I have never had a meatloaf w/out egg. I added just a hint of worchestershire sauce, too. Turned out really well 🙂 It was like a taco w/out a shell!! Hubby and the kids loved it!!
Great taste, but was falling apart. Does seem to need some type of binder. Might try an egg, or two, next time.
Excellent recipe. Yummy and simple.
Love this recipe! I make it for my family all the time. Success always!
This recipe is wonderful!! I have a little one that as a rule will not eat meat. She always asks for seconds with this. I did make a couple changes. We do not like green pepper so I left them out. I also did not have any garlic cloves so I added a little garlic powder. I added two eggs to keep it together. Thanks for the recipe!
This is probably my favorite meatloaf recipe. We are not a big “taco” family, so I substituted Mushroom Gravy mix for the Taco Seasoning. Even my two year old eats a second helping.
I followed the recipe exactly and we loved it! This meatloaf has more flavor than any others I have tried. My son has an egg allergy, so I loved that it did not contain an egg. I had no problem with it falling apart (I did let it sit a short time before slicing).
It always amazes me how many people on this site change up the recipes before trying it the original way the first time and then wonder why they don’t turn out as they had hoped! As written, the recipe is very good and flavorful. However, next time I think I will add an egg or two with the hopes of binding it all together a bit more since mine pretty much fell apart when I tried to serve it, even after leaving it sit out for 10 minutes to “set”. I added a couple of tablespoons of salsa to the top during the last 15 minutes of cooking, and it added a nice zip to it (it’s not necessary, it’s just that I grew up with my mom’s meatloaf always having ketchup on the top of it, so I guess it’s just something I’m prone to do with all my meatloaf recipes) I would recommend this recipe; the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because it didn’t hold together when I tried to cut into it.
This was actually my first meatloaf and my boys loved it. I did substitute a pack of mushroom gravy mix for the taco seasoning and left out the green peppers. It was very greasy, so i have bought a draining meatloaf pan for future use. Definitely will make this again. The cheese is what makes it a hit.
I am an Australian who has never eaten meatloaf in her life and I made this for my American husband…who gave it the thumbs up! Didn’t have green peppers so I used red instead. I practically pureed the vegies before frying, heaven forbid my fussy 3 year old could see any hint of vegies in her meatloaf. My 11 month old son devoured it nicely. Tips for next time: replacing the taco mix for beef gravy packet mix worked well, needs a little salt and pepper, husband suggests coating the top surface with tomato paste/puree before baking or serving with a gravy to mop up his side of mashed taters! Will make again! Yay!
This was pretty tasty. But I prefer the Italian meatloaf in W&S: Food Made Fast: Simple Suppers
I was looking for something to do with a pound of hamburger and happened upon this recipe. I made it exactly as listed and got rave reviews from my family. The extra zip from the (low sodium) packet of taco seasoning was just perfect for my gang. I already have requests to make it again.