This Method For Better Meatloaf Is Too Good To Keep To Ourselves

Whether you're a longtime meatloaf stan or a recent convert still looking for the perfect recipe, one of the best secret weapons for making meatloaf that'll make anyone jealous is stuffing it with various delicious ingredients. Meatloaf has a reputation for being tasteless, dry, and generally unexciting as far as weeknight dinners go, but add a cheesy, savory center full of broccoli and aged cheddar, or mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes, and suddenly you have a crowd-pleasing meal your family will ask for regularly.

The trick here is that filling up your meatloaf with moist, flavorful ingredients helps you avoid some of the most common mistakes that prevent you from making the perfect meatloaf by adding lots of both moisture and flavor — usually in the form of cheese, but veggies and other meats can work, too. The best part is that it's really no harder to make a stuffed meatloaf than a regular one. Just mix your meatloaf together as normal, divide the mix in half and place one half in the bottom of your pan, followed by your stuffing, and top it with the rest of the meat mixture.

If you're worried about your stuffing spilling everywhere, use the back of a spoon to make a shallow depression along the center of the first layer of meat to contain it. Additionally, if you're elevating an existing recipe with this trick, you'll want to add a few minutes to the cook time to ensure the stuffed center is hot all the way through.

Just as it's crucial to choose the right ground beef for a perfectly moist meatloaf, it's also important to consider the properties of any ingredients you plan to stuff into its center. Cheese is one of the most popular options because there are so many kinds that melt into a beautifully gooey, moist, flavor bomb, making it hard to mess up. Similarly hearty ingredients, like leftover mashed potatoes with some gravy mixed in, or dollops of thick, rich three-bean chili, will impart moisture and flavor without leaking into the surrounding meatloaf and causing it to fall apart.

That means you'll want to avoid things like raw veggies and super runny liquid ingredients, sticking instead to roasted or sauteed mushrooms, broccoli, and dense gravies and sauces. Other than that, however, you can get really innovative with your stuffing components. For instance, you could mix shredded cheddar with minced deli ham and roasted broccoli. Or, trade the ham for a few dollops of refried beans, swap the broccoli for seared fajita veggies, and drizzle in just a touch of salsa or enchilada sauce.

If you're a big fan of hearty Italian pasta dishes, recreate those flavors inside your meatloaf with shredded mozzarella, a little pesto, and cubes of various preserved Italian meats like capicola and mortadella. You can also match the seasonings you mix into your meatloaf to the stuffing and use them to jazz up your tomato sauce or gravy for a more cohesive dish.