Meatloaf For A Sunday Roast
If you want a Sunday dinner but don’t want to spend out on an expensive joint of meat, or if you fancy a roast dinner mid week, this meatloaf recipe is the perfect solution. Served with all the trimmings such as roast potatoes, parsnips, stuffing and Yorkshire pudding, you will hardly notice it isn’t a joint of meat!
It is also a very easy way to cook minced beef. It even takes less preparation time than Spaghetti Bolognese or Chilli Con Carne. It just requires 5 minutes preparation and then cooks in the oven for an hour while you can get on with something else
Low cost, delicious alternative to a joint of meat for Sunday dinner, or an easy midweek family supper
Meatloaf With Roast Vegetables
You can use the oven to do baked, or roast potatoes and other roast vegetables to go with the meatloaf. You could even pop in a pudding too such as Apple Crumble or Eve’s Pudding.
It makes a really easy meal. Some meatloaf recipes suggest you cook the onions and carrots first before combining it with the meat. However I don’t find this necessary. If you chop it up small, it cooks well within the meatloaf.
You can use this recipe as a guide but make your own changes to seasoning or the vegetables you add to the meatloaf. Add a bit of cumin and coriander for a spicy flavour. Add some chilli powder to heat things up a little! I have also added oats to the mixture as these make the meatloaf go a bit further and it will feed up to 6 people.
This recipe will work well with lamb mince too. Just alter the amount of stock to get the right texture and may be add a little mint too!
I have added small amount of stock, just to ensure the loaf is moist enough. You may need to adjust the amount so it is best just to put in a little at a time and then stir. The mixture needs to be solid enough to form into a loaf shape. Once formed it will stay in that shape.
Do place it in a baking dish or roasting tin rather than on a baking sheet as it will ooze some juices.
Serves 4-6
Easy Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 500g / 1lb beef mince
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 teaspoon worcester sauce
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 150ml stock
- 1 egg, beaten
- 85g / 2oz oats
Cooking Directions
- Preheat the oven 180 degrees C
- Place the beef mince in a large mixing bowl
- add the onion, garlic, grated carrot and mix well
- Add the herbs, tomato puree and worcester sauce
- Add the oats
- Add the stock, a little at a time
- Season with pepper
- Stir in the egg to bind all the ingredients
- In a roasting tray or baking dish form into a loaf shape
- Bake for about 1 hour until brown on the outside
- Serve in slices with vegetables and gravy
As I don’t eat beef, or any red meat, could you use either chicken, soya or quorn mince instead?
Hello Penny, Great website you have here.
I am looking at making the meatloaf for an elderly relative, I am planing if possible to make up batches of small meatloaves for one, using small bread tins and a variation of mince of beef, lamb, pork and turkey or chicken tweaking the recipe to taste, would you suggest cooking them first then freezing or freeze them uncooked.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards
Nigel
That sounds like a great idea! You can freeze them cooked or raw. Either way you will need to defrost them thoroughly before reheating – ideally in the fridge. You may find the texture might be better if you freeze them raw but cooking after defrosting will be quicker if you precook them. You will also make good use of the oven heat if you cook several at a time. Or may be make an apple crumble to freeze as well!
I checked on the internet and there is quite a lot of discussion on the subject but no definitive answer.
Let me know what variations you come up with.
Hi Penny
I made this the other week and it turned out fine, but there’s no clue about whether to use the egg as a binder or a glaze – I used it to bind it all together, but I’d be interested to know exactly what I should have done with it.
Thanks
Sarah
PS – Making your lentil and veg stew tonight – it involves pretty much the exact post holiday contents of my fridge!!
Hi Sarah
You were right to put the egg in to bind the ingredients and I have ammended the recipe accordingly – thank you for mentioning it – I hope you enjoyed it. Enjoy the Lentil and Vegetable Stew too!
Lovely recipe always use it ?