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There are few things more welcome than a generous slice of homemade Turkey Meatloaf. It’s easy to make, the leftovers are off-the-charts delicious, and no one at the table will miss the beef. Serve with mashed potatoes and extra ketchup at the table.
I love this recipe because it’s perfect for meal prep for a busy week ahead. It’s easy and it makes A LOT. When it comes to meatloaf, go big or go home.
In terms of taste, Turkey Meatloaf is anything but dull. Every single slice is moist, tender, and irresistible. Fresh out of the oven, I serve it hot with lots of mashed potatoes, baked mac and cheese, and a green salad for the best dinner ever.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Ground turkey: Look for 93% lean ground turkey (99% lean will be too dry for meatloaf).
- Bread crumbs: It’s easy to make your own bread crumbs, and for the tastiest results, I highly recommend it. Or, substitute store-bought.
- Ketchup: Using a sauce like ketchup keeps the meatloaf moist. But, you could use a different sauce such as your favorite BBQ sauce, or bake the meatloaf plain and make a gravy or marinara sauce for serving.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until the onions are translucent but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and cooled onion mixture. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased baking sheet. Spread the ketchup evenly on top.
- Bake until the internal temperature is 165 degrees and the meatloaf is cooked through, about 1 ½ hours. Serve hot, room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 very large loaf of Turkey Meatloaf. You can get at least 10 slices out of it, more or less depending on how you cut it.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: To freeze a baked Turkey Meatloaf, cool to room temperature, wrap well in foil, place in a sealed plastic freezer bag, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, remove the wrapping and place in the oven without thawing. Bake for about 1 ½ hours at 325 degrees. When cooking or reheating frozen meatloaf, always cook to 165 degrees when checked with an internal thermometer.
- Bacon-wrapped: Skip the ketchup and cover the meatloaf with slices of your favorite bacon, which cooks along with the loaf.
- Oats inside: Some cooks (my mom) swear by using old-fashioned rolled oats in their meatloaf. If you’re one of them, just omit the breadcrumbs and add an equal amount of rolled oats.
- Dried mushrooms: Got some dried mushrooms in the pantry? Rehydrate them and add them to the raw meat mix.
- Spicy: Add diced green chilies or pickled jalapeños to the meat. Then a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce into the ketchup topping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Place a pan of hot water in the oven under the loaf as it bakes to keep the top from cracking.
Cute, quick, and single-serve meatloaf muffins are a hit for parties and potlucks. Plus they bake up in half the time. Drop scoops of the turkey mixture into a standard muffin tin using a large ice cream scoop. Brush on ketchup topping. Bake in the preheated oven at 325 degrees until golden brown and 165 degrees when a food thermometer is inserted in the center, about 45 minutes.
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Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large onions chopped, (about 3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 5 pounds ground turkey (see note 1)
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (see note 2)
- 4 large eggs beaten
- 3/4 cup ketchup (see note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until the onions are translucent but not browned, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and cooled onion mixture. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased baking sheet. Spread the ketchup evenly on top.
- Bake until the internal temperature is 165 degrees and the meat loaf is cooked through, about 1 ½ hours. Serve hot, room temperature, or cold in a sandwich. (A pan of hot water in the oven, under the meat loaf, will keep the top from cracking.)
Notes
- Ground turkey: Look for 93% lean ground turkey (99% lean will be too dry for meatloaf).
- Bread crumbs: It’s easy to make your own bread crumbs and for the tastiest results, I highly recommend it. Or, substitute store-bought.
- Ketchup: Using a sauce like ketchup keeps the meatloaf moist. But, you could use a different sauce such as your favorite BBQ sauce, or bake the meatloaf plain and make a gravy or marinara sauce for serving.
- Yield: This recipe makes 1 very large loaf of Turkey Meatloaf. You can get at least 10 slices out of it, more or less depending on how you cut it.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
So I used two pounds not five, reduced the eggs by one and slowly added the onion mixture with the breadcrumbs till I found the right consistency. I used the rest of the onion mixture as a marinade with a little soy sauce for a chicken thigh dinner the next night. Everyone loved this dinner and the turkey meatloaf made really good sandwiches. I found that for three adults two pounds worked perfectly so I will make this again and again.
Thanks, Clare