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- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 3 slices bread, torn
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup grated carrot
- 1 cup shredded cheddar or part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil, thyme or sage, optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- TOPPING:
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and bread; let stand until liquid is absorbed. Stir in the onion, carrot, cheese and seasonings. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.
- Shape into a 7-1/2x3-1/2x2-1/2-in. loaf in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45 minutes.
- Combine the topping ingredients; spoon half of the mixture over meat loaf. Bake 30 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a thermometer reads 160°, occasionally spooning remaining topping over loaf. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 servings.
Reviews forBest-Ever Meat Loaf
My Review
Average Rating
"Very good. Love the cheese & carrot in this. I did reduce brown sugar to 2 tbsp (sugar restricted diet), but this is a deliciouse meatloaf."
"I make this meatloaf all the time and it really is the best ever!! I use panko bread crumbs and add some ketchup and mustard when I add the meat. And I use ketchup and mustard as the topping instead of the mixture the recipe calls for also. Oh, and I always cook up the onions in a pan with some garlic before I add it to the mix because I read some other reviews that said the onions did it cook well inside the meatloaf."
"This has been my go to meatloaf recipe for close to 17 years. My Aunt gave the recipe to me when I got married. It is always moist and flavorful. Best-Ever Meatloaf is a great name for this meatloaf."
"I wish people would read recipes correctly before making judgments that ."
"This was pretty good. I'll make it again with some modifications. Mainly, my husband and I both thought the sauce was way too sweet. Next time, I'll cut it by at least half. I also added a couple cloves of garlic.
ETA: I have since made it again. I didn't have tomato sauce and used barbecue sauce with mustard mixed again. Much better than the original sauce!""This meatloaf was amazing! I really enjoy all the ingredients added to the meat, I did add celery to the carrots and onion and it was great. I also added a little bbq sauce and worchestorshire sauce to the meat while mixing it. My only thing I’d do a little different next time is not make the sauce so sweet. I think the brown sugar was way to much, so next time I’ll add less. Just personal preference. My kids loved it though! Had no problems with my meat staying together. And it was great the next day too! I think this would make a good meatball too. I may try it one of these days."
"Turned out perfect but I have had better in the flavor department."
"I am going to make this even following Rhoni's post from several months ago. I don't see sweet additives othen than topping, and my optional ingred will be thyme. made meatballs today so won't make this for prob a week from now. will report after making/eating. tnx for posting recipe"
"I couldn't get my meat loaf to really stay solidified, which was frustrating. I had even added an extra piece of bread since it seemed there was too much liquid that wouldn't fully absorb into the 2 slices of bread recommended in the recipe. Also, the loaf pan size recommended was too small, I couldn't add the topping on it without it leaking out over the sides - I had to put a sheet pan under it to catch the drippings. If it tasted good even with these recipe flaws, I would have just made notes for next time, but it also did not taste good - I felt the parsley and basil were too strongly flavored for this which I realize it said they were optional, but I don't feel those flavors suited the recipe. All in all, it needed more flavoring, maybe if it was cooked in a bigger loaf pan next time it would have come out better."
"Never any leftovers!"
