This healthy meatloaf recipe is a simplified version of a family favorite.
Except for adding a bit more minced garlic I followed the recipe as directed. The loaf was moist and flavorful and the guys really raved about it. I'm not the biggest fan of meatloaf, but I liked the veggie addition. I do think I'd bake next time at 350° instead of 400°. Maybe it is just my oven, but seemed to cook at bit too fast and a wee bit overdone at 35 minutes, temp was 162° at the ketchup adding stage, so I couldn't bake that as long as I would've liked with the ketchup on it.
Read MoreMade a triple batch as I had that much meat. Maybe multiplying so much of things like eggs and some of the veggies detracted but neither myself nor my son cared for this. The carrot and zucchini were overpowering both in taste and texture.
Read More Except for adding a bit more minced garlic I followed the recipe as directed. The loaf was moist and flavorful and the guys really raved about it. I'm not the biggest fan of meatloaf, but I liked the veggie addition. I do think I'd bake next time at 350° instead of 400°. Maybe it is just my oven, but seemed to cook at bit too fast and a wee bit overdone at 35 minutes, temp was 162° at the ketchup adding stage, so I couldn't bake that as long as I would've liked with the ketchup on it.
FANTASTIC! Super moist and flavorful. I had about 1-1/4 pounds of mest, so I just used that, but kept everything else the same. The girls do not care for zucchini, but hidden in this, they gobbled it up..The guys LOVED it too and kept saying how delicious it was and that I had to make it again...this is a definite keeper~YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing. :)
Made the following changes and found it to be moist, flavourful and amazing: Used 4 cloves of garlic. Substituted zucchini with shredded sweet potato. Seasoned with a generous amount of Montreal steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Glazed with a mixture of ketchup, Worcestershire, and brown sugar. I will definitely be making this recipe again.
I've made this several times and always added broccoli slaw as the veggie. I just sautee it with onions to soften it up a bit.
Followed all the instructing except I didn't have zucchini. I just added a little more carrots. I mixed all the ingredients and then covered it with plastic wrap touching the meat because I wanted to bake it about 5 hours later for dinner. It turned out great!
I am not a big meatloaf fan. I added Wegman's sundried tomotoes and fresh Italian parsley and absolutely loved this recipe! Came out moist and delicious the entire family gave it 2-thumbs up including my 5-year old!
Very good and moist! I added a tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce and an extra clove of garlic, otherwise, followed the recipe. Can't wait to try it with a 50-50 mix of beef and ground turkey. Thanks for a healthy option for some good, old comfort food!
Made a triple batch as I had that much meat. Maybe multiplying so much of things like eggs and some of the veggies detracted but neither myself nor my son cared for this. The carrot and zucchini were overpowering both in taste and texture.
My kids LOVED this recipe. even my five year old who would be a strong contender for world's pickiest eater said he wants this for dinner every day! I made it and sliced it, freezing two slices in each sandwich bag separated by wax paper. I take it out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge. Day of I warm the slices in my toaster oven and serve with some cucumber slices for a major time save meal that is nutritious.
Loved it! I had 1 1/4 lbs meat and scaled the other ingredients up. I had never used extra lean beef before(my store has 96% ), but the veggies make this so moist and full of flavor. My husband raved about this and he doesn't like most meatloaf recipes. Will definitely make this again. Great as a leftover for sandwiches. Husband doesn't like sandwiches that much but he loved this meatloaf as a sandwich. We froze leftover slices for sandwiches.
I am not a cook, but I can read. I thought the directions were clear and my family was pleased with the result. They are easily pleased and usually like anything someone else prepares.
My husband insisted I save this recipe because he loved it so much. I followed everything exactly though I did add a shake of garlic powder because we like a lot of garlic. It came out amazing, super moist and you can't really taste any of the veggies, and for my anti veggie tongue that was super important. What you can taste is the bell pepper but it's one the only veggies I do like but if you have super picky kids I'd chop them super fine
So good! I added fresh chopped parsley and dry thyme and oregano. I also added brown sugar to the ketchup topping. I substituted dried potato flakes for the flour to make it gluten free. Everyone loved it! A saver!!
Loved the variety of veggies in this. However I did double the recipe by adding a pound of Italian sausage and left the veggie amount the same. It was still plenty. Made two loaves. Could cook a little longer.
I added about 1/4 c of celery and used equal parts of beef and turkey. I will probably make it again. The real test will be how the leftover loaf tastes in sandwiches!
instead of bread I used crackers and didn't cook the onion and peppers ahead of time, due to the flavor is lost before it can get into the meatload.
I thought it was alright. Pretty bland for my taste. My dad liked it though. Good healthy alternative
Easy to make came out delicious. Added 1 package of onion soup mix as another cook suggested. Seasoned it perfectly!
I didn't have bell peppers- would have been better with it- but still delicious! I glazed with ketchup & Karo syrup mixed together (my mom's glaze). I think this is the best way to top meatloaf. Yum!
Added a little worcestershire and fresh Italian parsley, and as suggested by other reviewers, used 1/2 ketchup and 1/2 bbq sauce as the topping. It was good, may make it again, but didn't feel it was 5 stars. Thanks for a good healthy recipe.
I did not change this recipe except to add a bit of BBQ sauce to the ketchup as did a previous reviewer. Glad I did , as it added to the flavor. This meatloaf was moist and very good. It is a favorite.
Pretty much how I always make mine, with some variation based on veggies on hand. Shredded cauliflower works well too mixed in. If your eaters are put off by the large appearance of the veggies, you can process them smaller, and/or make meatballs instead and smother in a ketchup or bbq sauce. If they are bite-sized, they won't see the veggies in there at all. Also, I cut in a little chicken breast for about 20-% of the meat.
I thought this was very bland. I don't think I put enough salt in, but how is one supposed to season raw meat "to taste?" A more specific measurement would probably have been helpful. It was moist and a good texture, anyway. I might try again, but would have to add at least more salt and probably some other seasoning as well.
The meatloaf was out of this world. We made this for a class project using healthy recipes. The vegetables in the meatloaf was unexpectedly good. Very easy to prepare and the directions were easy to follow. Loved it!!!
Trust, I followed the recipe as is!. It turned out well!! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe online. It helped out! Something easy, simple & enjoyable!!!. Much appreciation Jasmin Peter
Momma's Healthy Meatloaf Haiku: "This Mama thanks you, we all liked Momma's Meatloaf. Love the shredded vegg!" Made this as directed and we enjoyed that it was a firm and flavorful meatloaf that didn't crumble. I like shredded veggies snuck in for what makes this "healthy", but sometimes I'm OK w/ tasty meat, and eat the healthy stuff on the side. :)
I had 1.3 lb of meat so I used that and dropped the ketchup at the end because my husband isn't a fan. It took closer to 50 minutes for it to cook fully with the extra volume but came out perfectly moist and had tons of flavor. I will definitely be making this again and probably sticking with the slight changes.
This was very, very good. My kids loved it, too! I followed recipe exactly, except that I used Italian breadcrumbs because that's what I had on hand. I also added Heinz Sweet and Smoky BBQ sauce to the ketchup (1/2 ketchup, 1/2 BBQ sauce). I will be making it again and the leftovers were even better! Thank you!
Very nice recipe. Meatloaf had lots of flavor and was very moist. Definitely will make this again.
I will definitely make this again. Love all the veggies incorporated into the mix. Leftovers were very good, too.
Made as the recipe stated. Needed to cook 20- 30 minutes longer than suggested. Would have been better on parchment paper in a loaf shape rather than in a loaf pan. I love vegetables but thought this was a little too vegetable forward for being a "meat " loaf.
We made this with a few modifications. My 3-year old and 5-year old are funny about "bits" or "chunks". I used ground turkey, 2 stalks of celery instead of a pepper, and left out the carrots. Once the celery, onions and garlic were cooked we pureed them. I was wonderful, and my children LOVED it!
Loved it, made it just like the recipe. My child liked it which is what i was hoping for.
really delish!!! super moist. added a bit of Worcester sauce and fresh garlic. used Turkey instead. loved the recipe!!! the family really enjoyed this dish..
My family enjoyed the meatloaf very much. I will certainly make this recipe again.
I never changed a thing! Amazing! Loved it and can't wait to have it again for lunch tomorrow.
Had to use squash instead of zucchini, but thought it was delicious. Can't wait to make it again.
I had to bake it about 20 minutes longer than stated and I had to omit the garlic due to an allergy. This is good though.
This did not turn out well for me. The taste was okay, a little bland. I added more garlic to it for flavor. With all of the vegetables in this loaf it did not hold its "loaf" shape at all. I took it out of my loaf pan and let it rest for a while but as soon as I cut it the whole thing just broke apart.
What a delicious meatloaf jammed full of veggies that I normally cannot get hubby to eat! The only thing I would do is add more of a ketchup/barbecue topping on this, 1/4 cup ketchup was just not enough of a topping. Will turn that rating into a 5 from me with that change. Looking forward to leftovers.
I used turkey instead of beef and added brown sugar to the ketchup, this recipe is so good, I don’t even like regular meatloaf anymore!
Love, love, love this recipe! Enjoyed the incorporation of all the different veggies. We served it alongside a side salad and roasted asparagus...yum!
Needs more spice. I used orange bell pepper, celery and sweet potato instead of green pepper, carrots and zucchini, added fresh baby spinach, threw all the veggies in the processor to avoid kids picking out chunks, used 4 cloves garlic and added garlic powder and a little Worcestershire and it still needed more flavor. I used 3 mini loaf pans to cook faster but it still took 35-40 minutes. Good recipe and easy to sneak in lots of veggies.
This is the best meatloaf recipe..and easy too! I used meatloaf mix from the butcher which i think is beef and pork and I omitted the zucchini. I doubled the recipe and froze the other one. Its delicious!
I made this exactly as written. It was delicious, and I liked that it was also healthy. The carrot & the green bell pepper added a tasty & interesting flavor which we loved. This is my new go-to Meatloaf recipe. Thanx NOLAMom :-)
Delicious! I think the zucchini made it very moist. We did ketchup on the side per my husband's preference. I think a little more spice of some sort would have helped, but that might not have been the case had I prepared it as directed with ketchup on top :). Also grating with the cuisnart I think makes for veggies that are a little too chunky- I think hand grating would have given a better texture to squash and carrots. Anyways, yummy recipe!
My husband and I loved it. I added more onion to the onion/bell pepper mixture, a yellow squash and more carrots. Also a packet of onion soup mix, worcestershire sauce and lessoned the amount of bread crumbs, using a progresso blend. I laid it flat on parchment and sprinkled a layer of mozzarella. Rolled it up and baked it as directed. For the topper, 1 part ketchup, 1 part BBQ sauce and desired amount of brown sugar.
Fantastic recipe! I added a couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce, a large pinch of marjoram and paprika, and used panko bread crumbs instead of whole wheat. And kept the ketchup off because it has too much sugar. There were no leftovers!
Forget the ketchup and most vegetablrs. Drain a can of stewed tomatoes with garlic pepper and onion or Italian style canned tomatoes. Drain the canned tomatoes so that most liquid is out. Add to ground beef. Shape Into Loaf. Mix some brown sugar and ketchup together in a small bowl and spread over top of loaf. Cook as directed.
I only had one carrot worth of shredded carrot and I added barbecue sauce to the mix. The whole family enjoyed it.
Absolutely delicious! Will always use this recipe - it was so moist and so healthy. Added sundried tomatoes as well. Thank you, thank you! Jackie ( Canada)
Delicious!! I couldn't find whole wheat bread crumbs, so I used plain, but everything else the recipe listed, I used. I believe it is the tastiest meatloaf I have ever made .... and as leftovers it made great sandwiches! (I made a double recipe.)
I've used this recipe several times and follow the directions exactly. I especially like the carrots. Perfect every time.
Great recipe! I did change some things. Less bell pepper, a little less carrot (because carrot flavor can take over. I had that happen making chili once so I'm cautious now.) And 1/4 less bread crumbs. I used worcestershire sauce, thyme, oregano, a lil chicken broth, and tomato sauce instead of ketchup. And I used 90% lean beef. I think that's about all I changed. It came out very well. The carrot was identifiable but not too strong. Couldn't even taste the zucchini.
WOW! This is the moistest, most delicious meatloaf recipe I have ever tasted. Kudos to " Momma".
I love this recipe mainly because it's the best way to get my baby to eat meat and vegetables. I also like the texture; it's moist and stays together really well. Three out of four of us in our family like the taste; my 10-year-old thinks it tastes too much like vegetables.
Excellent, moist, delicious. I happened to have had some frozen chopped up hatch chilis and added a few of them. I also added a handful of mixed cheddar cheese. Lastly, I used medium Pace Picante Sauce on top instead of ketchup. My husband and I ate most of it ourselves it was so good!!
I made this a while back. It had been many years since I had made a meatloaf, but this really impressed me and my family! Our taste buds sang their own song to the deliciousness of the ingredients that went into this meatloaf! It was just perfect, I changed nothing! This is such a great recipe! Thank you.
Husband and 11 year old daughter loves this recipe. Added about 1 T of Worchestire sauce as recommended by some other reviews. Very moist and yummy!
I have never made meatloaf before and this was an easy and very delicious recipe. I will be making this again. My husband love it also.
I didn’t make any changes and my family loved it. I will add this to my favorite recipes.
I made this meatloaf, my family enjoyed it. It was moist and flavorful, I will definitely make it again. I used 4 lbs of meat. I stuck with this recipe bug added these. I added celery, 1 more egg, 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, oregano, thyme, black pepper, parsley & rosemary. I added some olive oil to the meat so it doesn’t get dry. It came out good.
I doubled the recipe but used 1lb burger and 1lb turkey and add some liquid smoke. Everyone loved it
Fantastic! I added a bit of celery and onion soup mix instead of salt. The whole family loved it!
Really enjoyed it! Liked the addition of the vegetables. Will definitely make it again.
I forgot the zucchini so I added more onions and peppers to kind of make up for it and it was really good! Though the meat was a little dry when it was done. Technical error on my part.
I followed the recipe exactly but doubled the recipe and used ground turkey. It was amazing! Pretty much the best meatloaf we’ve had! Definitely a keeper. Next time, I will try to alter by removing the breadcrumbs only because we are gluten-free sensitive. Otherwise, this is a huge hit and will be incorporated into our frequent dinner schedule. Thanks for providing such a healthy family favorite!!
Zucchini, Worcester sauce, ketchup , and brown sugar . Actually doubled the recipe so we could feed everyone, added twice baked loaded potatoes.
It was really good and everyone enjoyed it! Most even went back for seconds.
This was great! It wasn't a super huge loaf even though I used an extra half pound of ground beef (adjusted the ingredients accordingly). It's just my husband and I but we wanted leftovers for sandwiches. It slices very nice, doesn't fall apart, so it will work well ! It's a good recipe for tweaking to your personal tastes. My tweaks were: I used my own homemade dry bread crumbs, added teaspoon or so of poultry seasoning, baked it 350 for 1 hour 20 min. (to 160 degrees). I made a topping out of ketchup, barbecue sauce and a little nutmeg and put it on the last half hour.
Absolutely loved it! Very healthy option! Next time I would probably add a little salt seasoning of some sort. Maybe a touch of cajun space to kick up the flavor a little more
I'm not a novice cook, but this was transformational. I've been making meatloaf wrong for a few decades. I had a pound of ground chuck and sauteed all the veggies together (adding garlic in the last five mins.) I froze half the veggies and put the rest in the meat; added my homemade whole grain toasted bread; stirred and stirred and baked. It was perfect. My husband who claims not to like cooked carrots, bell pepper at all (I used an orange bell pepper), and zucchini only with cheese on it, loved it. I will make this again using ground sirloin with all the veggies or a combo of ground chuck and ground turkey with all the veggies. Well done, NOLAMom!
It came out very delicious. My wife and I enjoyed it. Thank you for the recipe.
I essentially followed the recipe but with an addition of Worcestershire sauce (or powder) and some Montreal Steak seasoning. It was great! The other thing is that our extended family never uses catsup on meatloaf. It is always spaghetti sauce and we pour that on top right before going into the oven. Then we add additional 10 minutes before removing from the oven. My suggestion is to allow it to test 10 minutes covered before serving to keep it even more moist. We also have hot spaghetti sauce available at the table for those who want to top their slice with more of that Italian goodness.
I like to double this and use half ground turkey, half buffalo. Instead of ketchup on top I often use barbecue sauce or a mix of the two for a bit more flavor. It tends to fall apart easily but tastes great.
Tasty and healthy! It’s a win win... for the adults and the kids. I used ground turkey 93/7. Also double ketchup... half in the loaf and half on top as specified. I also used Panko bread crumbs which were on hand. It’s a keeper!
I decided to sort of double the recipe as I had 1 3/4 lbs of a meatloaf mix I wanted to use. I didn't have double of everything and I made a few subs but it was still delicious! I subbed finely chopped broccoli for the green pepper (1 cup), I added a half a cup of some cremini mushrooms I had and used yellow squash instead of zucchini. I didn't have ketchup but we used bbq sauce on half of it to try and it gave it a nice kick. Very moist!
Great recipe. Followed to a T except I didn’t include the veggies minus the onions. Also found that I had to bake about20 minutes longer than listed. This could be because of my oven. Nonetheless, a wonderful meatloaf recipe. Remember to add a can of diced tomatoes, crushed red peppers to taste, and a dash of A-1 sauce.
Delicious! I would add about 1/2-1tsp of salt. I cooked at 350 convection for 45 min. And used steel cut oatmeal instead of bread crumbs. Turned out great!
Delicious, healthy and easy. Love that it used ingredients commonly on hand. Made no changes and will make again.
I made this a while back. It had been many years since I had made a meatloaf, but this really impressed me and my family! Our taste buds sang their own song to the deliciousness of the ingredients that went into this meatloaf! It was just perfect, I changed nothing! This is such a great recipe! Thank you.
Nice and moist. I left out the bread crumbs and doubled the meat, as the veggies were taking over, and made two loaves instead of 1
