Give Your Meatloaf A Flavorful, Taco-Style Twist With One Addition

Meatloaf is, quite literally, the unsung hero of the dinner table. Jokes about dry bricks of meat aside, meatloaf was a dietary staple during the Great Depression, helping Americans stretch their provisions a little further while simultaneously creating a tasty and filling main dish. Since then, it's gone through a multitude of makeovers, with hundreds of recipes to suit every palate, preference, and dietary need. After all, one of the reasons meatloaf is still popular is that it's versatile, as the seasonings can easily be upgraded to match a specific flavor profile or theme.

Taco meatloaf is particularly popular because it offers an inexpensive, easy way to infuse this classic American main dish with new and exciting flavors — right down to the breadcrumbs. Essential to helping meatloaf keep its shape, breadcrumbs are often overlooked as a seasoning, but once you've replaced them with crushed Doritos, you may never look at them the same way again.

Whether you decide to use near-equal parts breadcrumbs and Doritos or decide to do a one-for-one swap, they'll help infuse your regular meatloaf recipe with cheesy, salty, taco-y goodness. Doritos are well-known for having an intense flavor, so you can stick with this swap to add mild taco flavor, or go all-in and zhuzh things up with your favorite taco seasoning and zesty hot sauce. You could even ditch traditional gravy options in favor of gooey, melty queso studded with pickled jalapeños and serve it with salsa and sour cream on the side.

As mentioned, using Doritos as breadcrumbs in a taco-style meatloaf is really just the beginning. However, it's worth mentioning that you don't have to stop at the original flavor — feel free to experiment with Flamin' Hot Nacho or Limon, Salsa Verde, or Spicy Sweet Chili. Crushing them finely will provide the texture of traditional breadcrumbs, but you can leave a few chips in larger pieces to deliver bursts of spice across bites.

If you're a classic Doritos purist, you can amp things up even more by adding a blend of cheeses that perfectly mimic Doritos' flavor — cheddar and Romano. Of course, it's also okay to let the Doritos stand on their own and create a personalized cheese blend with white cheddar and pepperjack, or a few handfuls of Mexican-style shredded cheese mingled with stretchy mozzarella. Adding cheese also infuses this recipe with fat and moisture, something it needs, even if you use the perfect ground beef blend to avoid dry meatloaf.

Other ways to bring the taco flavor up a notch include adding a dollop of salsa or a handful of roasted fajita-style veggies right to your meatloaf mix. Changing up the meat is also an option to tailor your flavors to one of the 15 styles of tacos specific to different regions of Mexico, such as ground pork for an al pastor style or tacos pac chuc style meatloaf. If you're keeping things light, replace half of your main meat with ground turkey.