I never knew that I liked meatloaf until I tried this several years ago. I mean, really. Meat loaf? Loaf of meat? I understand its an accurate description of the dish, but it certainly could use a better name.
But never mind that. The most important thing about this dish is that kids like it too. Mine ate all of our leftovers. And I don’t share my leftovers, so that should tell you something.
It must be the sweet tomato sauce on top.
I bet my kids would eat anything as long as it was topped with that sauce.
I bet I would, too.
Ingredients:
1 C. Ketchup
1/2 C. Brown Sugar, packed
1 T. Olive oil
1 C. Onion, diced
1 t. Garlic, minced
3/4 C. Carrot, grated
Pepper, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
2 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C. Parsley, chopped
1 C. Bread Crumbs
1/3 C. Milk
1 Egg
1 Egg White
1 LB. Ground Turkey
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and 1 t. of the Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a small skillet and saute the onion, garlic, and carrot until the onion and carrot are soft. Stir in the pepper, salt, and remaining 1 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce and then transfer the mixture into a large bowl.
Pour the breadcrumbs, milk, and parsley into the bowl.
Add in the eggs, turkey, and 2 T. of the ketchup mixture. Mix everything together until well combined(I prefer to use my hands) and then transfer the mixture to a loaf pan, patting to smooth the top into a rounded loaf.
Pour 1/2 C.-3/4 C. of the remaining ketchup mixture on top of the turkey and spread evenly. I like to save a bit of the sauce to serve along side the meatloaf.
Bake 50-55 minutes.
Slice and serve.
Hide a few slices for yourself somewhere where the kids will never find it.
This is almost exactly like my Mom’s meatloaf. I now make it and everyone who has ever tried it loves it!! One exception is she uses beef, but I have a pack of ground turkey in the freezer and I am going to use it next time! I have also used honey, and/or molasses with the ketchup in a bind and had great results. I just found your site and have already printed out many recipes and cannot wait to try them! Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re welcome, Vanessa! I love the idea of using molasses or honey to sweeten the sauce, I might try that next time I make this! =)
I just made this… I have never made meatloaf before. It tastes really awesome, but mine is falling apart like crazy. It is more like a meat pile than a loaf. I followed the instructions exactly. Any idea what I did wrong? I want to make it again soon.
Hi Lindy! I’m sorry your meatloaf isn’t staying together! I haven’t had that happen, but it could possibly have something to do with the amount of fat in your ground turkey. Try using a very lean blend of ground turkey and that may help. =)
It might be your binder. The more dry ingredients you add, like breadcrumbs, the more binder it will need. Try adding more egg to your mixture.
Made this tonight and it was very good! I also added some chopped spinach to the carrot and onion mixture. Both my husband and my 19 month old son loved it! I also added a teaspoon of dry mustard to the ketchup mix.
Glad you liked it, Nikki! Spinach sounds like a great addition!
I made this tonight and my family loved it. Even my one year old. I thought the ketchup sauce was too sweet so next time I won’t add so much sugar, but perfect otherwise.
So glad you all liked it, Antionette! My little kids always eat it well too =)
I, my husband and son lived this recipe.
I’ve been using this recipe for the past 2 yrs, basically when my little one started eating proper solid food. It’s a hit with everyone! In a pinch, I use store bought BBQ sauce, and it turns out great. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I love meatloaf and I always use turkey when I can in place of beef. I included this recipe on my blog’s Weekly Meal Plan, so I hope a lot of my readers check it out 🙂
This was delicious I will make it again my family loved it
This is now my go to meatloaf recipe. I love the sauted vegetables it makes it so tasty. my hubby loves it to and he is picky! we use half the amount of topping. thank you.
It’s great as a meatloaf. Do you think I can do the same and make turkey burgers instead?
Definitely!
My family loves this recipe! Do you think it would work well as a freezer meal? I’m wondering if I can make ahead but freeze before cooking?
Hi Melissa! Thanks! It’s one of our favorites too! I think it would be fine to make ahead and freeze, though I would give it some good thaw time before baking to avoid frozen spots of beef that don’t fully cook 🙂
Hi Kayley, Beautiful day her in Cali. I made this about 10 minutes ago. Great recipe, I put a handful of fresh spinach in with the onion and carrots. Turned out really yummy.
Thank you for sharing!
I love this recipe. Agree a bit too much sugar and ketchup already has a lot so I use much less and add tomato sauce. I used ground chicken this time but have made with both turkey and chicken and both equally good. Added chopped mushrooms too. Next time I will add some spinach as someone else recommended. Super good. Thanks!
What are the nutrition facts for this recipe?
I just made this and it was wonderful! I used Ezekiel Bread for the bread crumbs and dried parsley as didn’t have fresh on hand. I think I’ll add spinach, too, as I’ve seen in other comments the next time.
Calories for the whole loaf (using whole milk) is 1,889.
if split into 6 servings it’s about 315 calories per serving.
To much parsley, not good