Why Crumbled Meatloaf Might Be The Smartest Leftovers Trick You're Not Using

Meatloaf is a quick and easy way to get a protein-heavy meal on the table, but let's face it — it can be a bit tricky to get the family excited about it sometimes. And leftover meatloaf? Forget it! But with the price of groceries today, tossing those leftovers just doesn't make sense. Instead, make your leftover meatloaf exciting by crumbling it up and repurposing it into new meals. The meat is already seasoned and cooked — and moist and tender as long as you choose the right blend of ground beef — so it makes meal prep easy and quick and adds great flavor to any dish.

Turning leftovers into something equally delicious is a long-used habit in the culinary world — chop suey and the iconic Cobb salad are two such examples. With meatloaf, a common leftover option is a meatloaf sandwich (which is actually pretty good, especially if you use a waffle maker), but crumbling the leftovers lets you think outside the box. Use it to bulk up a pasta sauce, build a hearty soup, or even add it to a casserole. It can be a savior for any meal (except for dessert, unless you fancy a bit of meat in your sweets). Mixed with potatoes, onions, peppers, and seasoning, it makes a great breakfast skillet hash, and mixed with spices and topped with pico de gallo, you've got delicious lunchtime tacos. You can even create a Greek-inspired dinner entree by mixing the crumbled meat with oregano, cilantro, onions, and garlic to make stuffed tomatoes or peppers. This method not only uses up your leftovers and saves time, but it also gives whatever new dish you are creating all the juicy, flavorful personality of your meatloaf.

There are plenty of great reasons to crumble your leftover meatloaf and repurpose it (like adding extra flavor to dishes, reducing food waste, and cutting back on grocery expenses), but there is something to keep in mind for those new creations to be successful. The meat has already been cooked once, so there's a higher risk of your new dish turning out too dry. There are a couple of easy ways to avoid this. First off, don't overwork it. When you are turning that crumbled loaf into something like a casserole, don't spend too much time mixing the ingredients together — you'll end up with a dry and dense meal that is almost as boring and unappealing as plain old reheated meatloaf. You'll also want to add plenty of ingredients like cheeses and sauces that bring complex flavors to the dish while also keeping things moist and tender.

Perhaps the most important tip is to pay attention to time. According to the USDA, you can keep leftovers for three to four days as long as they are properly stored in the fridge, so you'll want to crumble your leftover meatloaf into something yummy within a couple of days. You can also store those leftovers in the freezer so you can put together a tasty dish in a pinch (or whenever the budget is tight), but after three or four months they will start to lose their moisture.