Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Recipe

Nora Rušev | Savory Nothings

This Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf is pure comfort food! This classic dinner recipe gets upgraded with yummy flavors and a bacon wrapping - the best way to serve this traditional family meal!

I have never admitted this publicly, but meatloaf has kind of become one of my favorite hearty, comforting dinners for the fall and winter season.

I used to despise it, ever since my Bacon Wrapped, Mozzarella Stuffed Meatloaf got so popular on the blog - it was just kind of… Too much meatloaf, ha!

But then I slowly started easing back into it with a Greek Turkey Zucchini Meatloaf.

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Photo

And BBQ Turkey Meatloaf.

And all of a sudden I was stocking my freezer with meatloaf after meatloaf, loving on it all in secret.

Bottom line: Consider this my open confession. I love meatloaf. Meatloaf is awesome. Seriously. Meatloaf is the best.

How do you make the best meatloaf? My Tips to Make it EASY and perfect!

Making a really good meatloaf is not too hard, as long as you know a few tips.

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Picture

In short, these are my best tips to make the best, awesomest, most delicious bacon wrapped meatloaf:

1 - Dice the vegetables as small as you can

There’s onion, celery, carrot AND green peppers in this meatloaf. But nobody likes having huge chunks of onion in their meatloaf!

Also, leaving large chunks of vegetables in your meatloaf will make it harder for the loaf to stick together, so it’s more likely to fall apart.

I chop the veggies for this meatloaf recipe as small as I can, sometimes I even pulse them in my food processor if I’m feeling lazy!

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Image

2 - Use your hand mixer

One time I was cooking at a camp for 60 people, and I made meatloaf with part-frozen ground beef. I had to knead by HAND. My hands basically froze off.

That was the moment I vouched to find a better way to make meatloaf (and meatballs, while we’re at it).

Now I ALWAYS use my hand mixer with the dough hooks attached to mix up the ground meat, veggies, eggs and breadcrumbs for meatloaf. It’s easy, my hands don’t get messy, and it’s FAST!

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Pic

3 - Shape the meatloaf really well

This is the most important part if you want a meatloaf that sticks together, slices well and also FREEZES well.

I usually just dump the meat mix on a lightly oiled sheet pan, gather it all together and push it into a very firm loaf.

It’s important that you try to put together a very firm meatloaf without many cracks, or it will split or crumble.

Now on to some FAQs I get asked about meatloaf all the time:

What can you put on top of meatloaf?

So I know not everyone wants ketchup on their meatloaf But you can definitely use ketchup if that’s what you have.

You can also use a bottled BBQ sauce (which is something we sometimes do, too - we buy an all-natural organic one occasionally).

OR you can use the homemade one I suggest in the recipe below - that’s my favorite, actually.

How do you freeze meatloaf?

It’s the easiest thing ever to freeze meatloaf. I do it all the time!

A few tips to freeze meatloaf:

  • Wait for the meatloaf to cool completely before freezing it (otherwise your freezer could heat up too much and affect the other frozen goods in there).
  • Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
  • Label the bag or container with the contents, today's date AND the use-by time (the meatloaf is best eaten within 3 months).
  • Defrost thoroughly before reheating, and make sure the meatloaf is piping hot and steaming all the way through.

What do you eat with meatloaf?

There are so many nice dinners you can put together with meatloaf!

Some of our favorites side dishes for meatloaf:

Green beans and mashed potatoes

Fall panzanella salad (so good to transition into autumn!) or Harvest Wild Rice Salad

Cranberry Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash - we bake this in the oven right with the meatloaf, so easy!

Grab the printable recipe here:

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Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Recipe

    6 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Ground Beef
  • 1 medium Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk Celery, finely chopped
  • 1 medium Carrot, finely chopped
  • 1/2 small Green Pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 large Egg
  • 4 tablespoons Breadcrumbs
  • 1 handful Fresh Parsley, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
  • 1 teaspoon Prepared Mustard
  • 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon Paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
For Topping:
  • Bacon
  • 1/2 cup of Your Favorite Meatloaf Sauce
Nora's Meatloaf Sauce:
  • 3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
  • 2 tablespoons Hot Water
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Apricot Preserves, or your favorite fruit preserves
  • 1 tablespoon Honey
  • Salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Make the meat mix: Place all ingredients for the meatloaf in a large bowl and mix very well.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  3. Shape the loaf: Lightly oil a sheet pan and dump the meat mix on it. Shape into a firm loaf.
  4. Add the topping: Place the bacon slices on top of the meatloaf, overlapping slightly.
  5. Spread 1/3 of the meatloaf sauce all over the bacon wrapped meatloaf.
  6. Bake: Bake the meatloaf for 30 minutes. Spread with another 1/3 of the sauce.
  7. Finish baking for another 20-30 minutes, or until the meatloaf is browned and cooked all the way through.
  8. Remove from the oven and immediately spread with the remaining sauce. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing to serve.

To Make the Sauce:

  1. Stir together until smooth and use as directed in the recipe.

 

 

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Published:
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Cooking Method:
Baked
Category:
Farm to Table
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Related Recipes:
Farm to Table Recipes, Easy Dinner Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Family Meals and Snack Recipes, Sauce Recipes, Baked Recipes, Ground Beef Recipes, Bacon Recipes
Recipe Yields:
6 servings
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Related Post:
Published:
Author: Nora Rušev
Recipe Yields: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 80 minutes

Nutrition Facts

Servings Per Recipe 6

Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 71
Calories 215

% Daily Value*
14%
Total Fat 9g
1%
  Saturated Fat 0g
12%
Sodium 296mg
5%
Total Carbohydrate 16g
1%
  Dietary Fiber 1g
  Sugars 8g
34%
Protein 17g

* Percent Daily Value are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrition Facts are estimated based on ingredients and data provided by Fat Secret. Please consult a doctor if you have special dietary needs.
Nora Rušev

About Nora

Nora loves to create fresh and easy family meals on her site, Savory Nothings. We're excited to have her as our Farm to Table fanatic. Things are about to get delicious!

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