Easy Stovetop Stuffing Meatloaf with Garlic Butter Sauce

Ok, I may have found the new love of my life: stovetop stuffing meatloaf, or meatloaf with stuffing. I am a huge (HUGE) fan of meatloaf, but not the kind I ate growing up (sorry mom, and also grandma). My all-time favorite is Ina Garten's 1770 House recipe , and let me tell you, it's an absolute dream. If you think you don't like meatloaf, try this recipe, and come back and tell me how you feel. Seriously. However, this recipe is a bit of a commitment, especially for a weeknight. Enter making meatloaf with stovetop stuffing. Delicious, easy, and most importantly, QUICK. BRB, making on repeat.

You can also personalize this meatloaf to make it to your liking. I'm personally a big fan of combining three different types of meat: ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal (I took a lot of inspo from that 1170 House recipe). The flavor between the three of them is just *chef's kiss*, but if you want to just stick with ground beef, pork, turkey or chicken, by all means, go ahead.

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Meatloaf with stuffing gives you tons of flavor while also providing a binding for the meat itself. It's packed with flavor while still being quick and easy to prepare - perfect for a weeknight meal.

Jump to:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Ingredients
• What Type of Stovetop Stuffing Should I Use?
• How to Make Meatloaf with Stuffing
• Tips & Tricks
• Serving Suggestions
• Making Ahead
• Reheating, Storage and Freezing
• 📖 Recipe

Frequently Asked Questions

Ingredients

Yay so easy! Again, you can feel free to play with the flavor profile here, and we're also going to be adding a quick and easy garlic sauce to this recipe (which you can leave out if you want).

For the Meatloaf

• ½ lb each ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal. Pro tip: save the additional half pounds in the freezer, and then next time you need this recipe, you've got your mix good to go.
• One box of stovetop stuffing: any kind or flavor you want! Usually a box or a pack is 5 oz, so try to find that if you can.
• Milk: this softens the dry stuffing mix up a bit so it doesn't absorb ALL the delicious juices and fat from the meat. It helps to keep the meatloaf from being dry.
• Eggs: for extra binding
• Parmesan cheese: because why not honestly, it's delicious.
• Salt and pepper (easy on the salt though, the stuffing contains a ton).

Note: milk isn't pictured above.

For the Garlic Sauce

This is also super easy. Let's go.

• Butter: obviously.
• Garlic: again, obviously. And we're going to use a ton. About 8-12 cloves.
• Chicken broth: this will make up the body of the sauce.
• Thyme: some aromatics to go at the end to make the flavor more complex.
• Salt and pepper, to taste.

What Type of Stovetop Stuffing Should I Use?

It's really up to you and what you think will taste the best. My recommendation would be to use a chicken stovetop mix, because the flavors will be slightly less pungent than they would with a turkey. Honestly though, it's all likely going to taste pretty dang good.

How to Make Meatloaf with Stuffing

No chopping required! YAY!

P.S. I tested this recipe two different ways. First, I just threw the stuffing in as is with the rest of the ingredients. It turned out pretty well, but I found it was a bit dry. So I tried it the next time soaking the stuffing in milk first - this worked better in terms of keeping the meatloaf moist. So it's up to you - you can totally skip this step if you want, but I find it makes for a better end product.

For the Meatloaf

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
2. Combine the stuffing and milk in a medium bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. Combine all three ground meats, stovetop stuffing/milk mix, eggs, salt and pepper, and parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
4. Mix with your hands until combined, but don't overmix!
5. Roll the meat mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roughly shape it into a large log with your hands. It should be roughly 4 inches high by 8 inches long, but this is just a guesstimate.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 60 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 F.
7. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then serve with garlic butter sauce.

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For the Garlic Butter Sauce

1. Melt your butter in a small skillet. Add the garlic and cook until it just starts to soften - about 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock and thyme.
3. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce has reduced slightly.
4. Remove the thyme sprigs. Pour over the meatloaf slices and serve.

Note: I personally hate meatloaf with any kind of tomato sauce or ketchup, but I'm fully aware I'm in the minority with that one. If you love it, by all means, load it up on top, or make your favorite ketchup/tomato based sauce to go with it.

Tips & Tricks

• Don't overmix! This is the quickest way to tough, dry meatloaf. I like to use my hands to make sure I don't accidentally overmix.
• Make it free-form: I'm really not a fan of making meat loaf in a loaf pan. When you shape yourself and just cook it on a baking tray, three out of four sides get this amazing golden brown crust on them. It's delicious, and you don't get that in a pan (or at least not to the same extent).
• Same with the sauce on top: I'm not a huge fan of cooking meatloaf with the sauce (that's why we've got a butter sauce we add after with this recipe). Again, if you throw a sauce on, it doesn't get that golden coating.
• Be careful with the salt: the stove top stuffing has tons of salt in it. I just added a teaspoon to this recipe, but I think you could cut that in half if you wanted.

Serving Suggestions

I mean, you have to have creamy mashed potatoes if you're eating meatloaf right? Isn't that some kind of law?

Making Ahead

You can definitely make this meatloaf 1-2 days ahead of time. Just combine all the ingredients, shape, and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to serve. It's best to let it come to room temperature before you put it in the oven.

Reheating, Storage and Freezing

Storage

Leftover meatloaf can keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

Reheating

Place it on a baking tray. Preheat your oven to 300 F. Reheat the meatloaf for 45-60 minutes, until it's warm all the way through.

You can also heat up single slices in the microwave, but it's more likely to dry out this way. Still delicious though.

Freezing

You can freeze meatloaf before or after it's cooked. Wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it in the freezer for 3-4 months.

If you froze it raw: defrost in the fridge overnight. Place it on a baking tray. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Cook for one hour to 1:15 minutes (it could take longer depending on how cold it is when you put it in the oven. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature is 160 F.

If you froze it cooked: Let it completely defrost. Place it on a baking tray. Preheat your oven to 300 F. Reheat the meatloaf for 45-60 minutes, until it's warm all the way through.

📖 Recipe

Jump to:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Ingredients
• What Type of Stovetop Stuffing Should I Use?
• How to Make Meatloaf with Stuffing
• Tips & Tricks
• Serving Suggestions
• Making Ahead
• Reheating, Storage and Freezing
• 📖 Recipe