BEST Meatloaf EVER! Learn to how to make meatloaf with ground beef, pork sausage, onion, celery, garlic, egg, parsley, and breadcrumbs. Homemade meatloaf is a staple. You'll want to keep this classic meatloaf recipe on hand.

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

This classic meatloaf recipe is one of the first recipes we put on Simply Recipes over ten years ago. Meatloaf is one of my father’s favorite things to cook and anytime we kids know he’s making his homemade meatloaf, we make our way to my parent’s house for dinner.

Video! How to Make Classic Meatloaf

How to Make Meatloaf Taste Amazing

My dad’s trick to meatloaf? He mixes Italian pork sausage (half sweet, half spicy) in with ground beef. The original recipe came from an old issue of Gourmet (April 1994) and my father has been changing it over the years to his taste (including using Italian sausage instead of plain ground pork). It’s no ordinary meatloaf.

Homemade Meatloaf is Worth the Time

It takes a little extra prep time to make the “sofritto” base of minced carrots, onions, celery, and garlic, but it is so so worth it! Like a giant Italian meatball, in loaf form. Meatball meatloaf.

It may look like the sofritto is a time consuming extra step for meatloaf, but you can easily put the vegetables in a food processor or mini chopper to speed up the prep time. The smaller mince size that you can get with the food processor will also help the meatloaf hold together better.

How Long to Cook Meatloaf

Since meatloaf is quite dense packed into a loaf pan, it takes a little while to bake. It also needs to be baked at a relatively low temperature so the outside doesn’t finish baking and start drying out before the center is done.

Bake this meatloaf for about an hour at 350°F, and then check it with a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meatloaf — the center should be at least 155°F when done.

Can’t Get Enough Meatloaf?