This is Not Your Mama's Meatloaf! Packed with mushrooms, green onions, and tomatoes, this meatloaf is moist, flavorful, and topped with a Calabrian tomato paste that gives it just the right amount of kick.
I love a good meatloaf recipe—it's easy to make and perfect for a simple sheet pan meal during the week. What makes this one extra special is that it's loaded with vegetables, making it both nourishing and comforting.
During busy weeknights, I focus on getting nutritious meals on the table quickly. Not Your Mama's Meatloaf is my go-to for a flavorful protein, and I love roasting fresh vegetables around it while it cooks. It pairs beautifully with my Baked Fennel or Tri-Color Carrots recipe. You can also chop up zucchini, bell peppers, onions, potatoes, broccoli, or green beans to round out the meal.
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Ingredients
- Ground beef: I’m using ground beef, but you can also try ground pork, bison, venison, or a combination of meats. I love using ancestral blends that are typically 80% ground beef and 20% organ meat for a more nutrient-dense meal.
- Cremini mushrooms: These add rich flavor, but you can also use any white or button variety.
- Green onions: Green onions or chives bring a great punch of flavor. You can swap for regular chopped onions or omit them if you don’t have any on hand.
- Roma tomato: Feel free to use beefsteak, campari, or any tomato you have available.
- Garlic cloves: A must for that deep, savory garlic flavor!
- Bread crumbs: pro-tip-use extra bread and grind in blender or food processor.
- Milk: Helps bind the meatloaf mixture together. You can also use water or coconut milk as an alternative.
- Eggs: Essential for the best texture. If you need an egg substitute, replace each egg with ¼ cup of water and one tablespoon of ground flax seeds.
- Flaky sea salt: Enhances all the flavors in the dish.
- Ground pepper: Freshly ground pepper adds an extra layer of depth.
- Parmesan cheese: Any hard cheese such as Parmesan, Romano, or Pecorino works well.
- Olive oil: I usually cook with olive oil, but other healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado oil, beef tallow, or ghee work just as well.
- Tomato paste: Provides rich tomato flavor and texture. If I run out, I substitute it with organic ketchup. Any leftover tomato paste can be stored in a glass jar and frozen for future use.
- Calabrian chili paste: This adds a mild to medium spice level to the meatloaf. If you love more heat, simply add more chili paste! I personally enjoy using Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce Fermented Crushed Calabrian Chili Peppers from Trader Joe’s, but any Calabrian chili paste or even red pepper flakes will do the trick.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Chop the mushrooms into small pieces, mince the garlic, chop the green onions and tomato, set aside.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, chopped mushrooms, green onions and tomato.
Step 3: Add the minced garlic cloves, eggs, sea salt, ground pepper, parmesan cheese, and bread crumb mixture. Mix the ingredients with your hands until fully combined.
Step 4: Place the beef mixture on the sheet pan and form into a rectangle. Top with tomato paste mixture and bake 45-50 minutes until the internal temperature is 160°F. Serve with side vegetables and enjoy!
See below for the full detailed recipe.
Hint: The meatloaf will have quite a bit of runoff liquid on the sheet pan from the mushrooms and tomatoes, this is normal, you can discard the liquid when serving.
Looking for other great comfort food recipes? Try my Steak and Mashed Potatoes, Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta or Creamy Chicken Noodle recipes!
Substitutions for Not Your Mama's Meatloaf
- Ground Beef - I’m using ground beef, but you can also try ground pork, bison, venison, or a combination of meats. I love using ancestral blends that are typically 80% ground beef and 20% organ meat for a more nutrient-dense meal.
- Parmesan Cheese - Any hard cheese such as Parmesan, Romano, or Pecorino works well.
- Bread Crumbs - Don't over think this one! I hardly ever buy bread crumbs in a jar from the store. For recipes like this one that call for small amounts, I grab some leftover bread and pulse in the food processor or blender for a few seconds and just use that. I also love to make bread crumbs out of stale bread or bread that is about to go bad and store the bread crumbs in the freezer for when I need them.
- Calabrian Chili Paste: The chili used in this recipe is fairly mild, if you like a higher spice level, add more chili paste to taste to your spice level. You could also use red pepper chili flakes here, I would add ½ teaspoon at a time to taste.
What Temp to Cook Meatloaf
I always prefer to cook my meatloaf at 350°F. This ensures the meat stays moist and you still get a nice even cook on your meatloaf. How long to cook meatloaf at 375°F? If you are in a pinch for time, you can always cook your meatloaf at 375°F and check the internal temperature at 30-40 minutes until it hits 160°F.
Meatloaf Cook Time
I love using a thermometer that can go in the oven while the meatloaf cooks. You can place it in the center of the meatloaf and set the alarm to go off at 160°F and you don't need to worry about checking the time!
If you don't have a thermometer 45-50 minutes should do the trick. You can also insert a metal butter knife into the center of the meatloaf, once removed, the knife should be warm to the touch and not cool.
Equipment
Baking Sheets: I like to use stainless steel baking sheets and line them with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Storage
Store the Not Your Mama's Meatloaf in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. This will also freeze well for 3-6 months.
Related
Looking for other great dinner recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
Looking for the perfect dessert to go with your dinner? Try these!
Not Your Mama's Meatloaf
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms chopped (about 10 mushrooms)
- 4 stalks green onions chopped
- 1 small roma tomato chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ c bread crumbs pro-tip, use extra bread and grind in blender or food processor
- ¼ c milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper about 8-10 pepper grinds
- ¼ c parmesan cheese shredded any hard cheese like parmesan or romano will work as well
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Topping:
- 8 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon calabrian chili paste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk to soak, set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a baking sheet and set aside.
- Chop the mushrooms into small pieces, mince the garlic, chop the green onions and tomato, set aside. In a small bowl combine the tomato paste with the calabrian chili paste, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, chopped mushrooms, green onions, tomato, garlic cloves, eggs, sea salt, ground pepper, parmesan cheese and bread crumb mixture. Mix the ingredients with your hands until fully combined.
- Place the beef mixture on the sheet pan and form into a rectangle. This mixture should cover the length of the sheet pan, shape the mixture as evenly as possible to ensure even cooking.
- Next add half of the tomato paste mixture and spread into an even layer over the meatloaf. Place in the oven and cook until the internal temperature is 160°F about 45-50 minutes.
- The meatloaf will have quite a bit of runoff liquid on the sheet pan from the mushrooms and tomatoes, this is normal, you can discard the liquid when serving.
- Let the meatloaf rest for about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the tomato paste mixture evenly on top and enjoy!
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