When it comes to easy, flavorful and delicious, this Slow Cooker Meatloaf is it. With a delicious tangy sweet glaze, set it and forget it for the perfect weeknight meal.
Meatloaf is one of my families favorite meals. I loved it growing up, and my kids and husband scarf it down any time it’s made.
We turned our classic meatloaf into a slow cooker version so no heating the oven, just mix it, place it and walk away.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Easily available ingredients make it super simple to whip up, usually these are pantry staples, so no scavenging to find that one ingredient.
- Add all your meatloaf ingredients into one bowl and mix makes the dishes super easy and hassle free.
- The brown sugar/ketchup glaze adds a sweet and tangy aspect that gives it the absolute perfect flavor.
Slow Cooker and Crockpot recipes are ones that we do all year round. It’s easy for our family as we stay quite busy, and they usually take minimal effort.
Just check out this Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef or these Cheesy Crockpot Potatoes, those are just two of our all time faves.
Some other Slow Cooker recipes we love include: Ultimate Crockpot Chili, Slow Cooker Chicken and Gravy and these Crockpot Sloppy Joes!
No matter what the season, the crockpot is our friend, especially when it comes Crockpot Meatloaf!
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER MEATLOAF, STEP BY STEP:
- In large bowl add your ground beef, onion, eggs, breadcrumbs, garlic, milk, italian seasoning, parsley, salt, pepper and ketchup (Photo 1).
- Using your hand or a spoon mix it all together gently just until it is combined, you don’t want to over mix (Photo 2).
- Line your crockpot with tinfoil and place meat inside and shape it into a a loaf to fit the pan, cover and cook on low for 6 hours (Photo 3).
- Once your meatloaf is done cooking in smaller bowl add ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce, whisk together until combined (Photos 4 & 5).
- Remove your meatloaf from crockpot using the tinfoil and place on baking sheet, spread your glaze all over the meatloaf and broil for a few minutes until bubbly and baked in (Photo 6).
I’m not sure why I feel like Meatloaf, especially this Slow Cooker Meatloaf recipe is literally the ultimate comfort food ever.
If you are like me, then comfort food is what you tend to go to when you have a bad day, when you’re sick or just because, if I had to choose one recipe to run to it would be this one for sure.
It is just so super simple to make!
CAN YOU MAKE THIS MEATLOAF IN THE OVEN?
Absolutely, like I said we adapted our regular classic meatloaf recipe for the crockpot so we have made this in the oven many of times.
Follow all the directions the same, but place in a loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160.
CAN YOU COOK CROCKPOT MEATLOAF ON HIGH?
Again, absolutely! To cook this recipe on high, do the same steps as previously stated but cook for about 3 hours instead of 6.
This should give it ample amount of time to reach the needed internal temperature.
This recipe is just as simple as they come. Nothing compares to a deliciously good meatloaf recipe. It is just pure comfort that you can’t pass up!
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MAKING SLOW COOKER MEATLOAF:
- Use at least 80/20 or 85/15 fat ground beef, anything with a higher fat ratio will produce more grease and have your meatloaf shrink.
- You can mix up your meats and use turkey, a combo of ground beef and pork or italian sausage.
- Gently combine the mixture together, you don’t want to over mix your meat or it will become chewy and tough.
- Drain any grease off of your meatloaf before removing the tinfoil from the pan, there will be grease regardless, but draining it will be easier for you to place on the baking sheet.
- Lather it up with the sauce, don’t be shy, you may even have some leftover which we use to dunk our bites into.
If you want that perfect Slow Cooker Meatloaf recipe, this is it! With directions for both oven and crockpot you cant go wrong with this classic comfort dish.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this SLOW COOKER MEATLOAF or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Slow Cooker Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp parsley
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup ketchup
GLAZE:
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp worchestershire sauce
Instructions
- In large bowl add your ground beef, onion, eggs, breadcrumbs, garlic, milk, italian seasoning, parsley, salt, pepper and ketchup.
- Mix together gently with your hands or a wooden spoon until it just comes together.
- Line a crockpot with tinfoil and place your meat mixture into pot and shape into a loaf.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
- Drain off any grease, then remove meatloaf with tinfol and place on baking sheet.
- In small bowk whisk together ketchup, brown sugar and worchestershire sauce until combined, slather over whole meatloaf (you may have some leftover, use this for dipping).
- Place in oven and broil for a few minutes until bubbly and baked on slightly.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired.
Video
Notes
- Use at least 80/20 or 85/15 fat ground beef, anything with a higher fat ratio will produce more grease and have your meatloaf shrink.
- You can mix up your meats and use turkey, a combo of ground beef and pork or italian sausage.
- Gently combine the mixture together, you don't want to over mix your meat or it will become chewy and tough.
- Drain any grease off of your meatloaf before removing the tinfoil from the pan, there will be grease regardless, but draining it will be easier for you to place on the baking sheet.
- Lather it up with the sauce, don't be shy, you may even have some leftover which we use to dunk our bites into.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Annette
Yum, yum,yummy.Made as you stated with 1 change. I put the sauce on top. Cooked on low . Didn’t use oven😁. Fabulous.
Nikki
This is my favorite meatloaf recipe because it’s insanely easy to make. Every time I thaw out hamburger but don’t feel like frying it up, I whip up this bad boy to eat on for a couple of days. Lol My husband likes it too! It’s the perfect “lazy” meal if I pair it with instant mashed potatoes. (Shh lol) Thanks so much!
Maryk
Made twice. We love it! Thank you
Krista
Thank you, for this recipe.I was wondering if there was a substitute I could use instead of Worcestershire sauce?
Tornadough Alli
You can just leave it out.
Kathleen
Easy to make and delicious! Family approved!
Jane Saunders
This was sooo delicious!! I made the mistake of only making half the recipe of the sauce. My bad!! It was the pièce de ré·sis·tance!! I have two more meals with the meatloaf so you can bet I’m going to make the full recipe of the sauce for the next two meals. Thank you!!
Karen J Palmer
Do you have to use anything to line the slow cooker?
Tornadough Alli
You don’t have to, but it helps lift the meatloaf out of the slow cooker.
Amanda
Delicious! I’ve made this meatloaf on both high and low settings, and it’s been great both ways. I don’t usually broil it at the end though. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Tornadough Alli
So glad that you like this! It’s one of my favorite! And you are so welcome!
Irritated
🙁 I don’t have an oven at all. The surprise broiling at the end was disappointing. Please don’t call it a slow cooker recipe if it can’t be done entirely in the slow cooker.
Tornadough Alli
You don’t have to broil it, you can leave the glaze on as is.
Diana
So amazing! I will not use another recipe from here on out. Cooked on high for 3 hours, and it turned out incredible! Love, love, love it!
Nancy H
My meatloaf tasted great, but did not hold together very well after slow cooking for 6 hours like your video. It was very moist. I used 85/15 hamburger. What needs to be done to make it a bit firmer?
Dale Rice
you could add some quick quaker oats. i’ve used it in meatloaf recipes before. it helps hold it together
Debbie
This was delicious! The sauce on top was sooo good.
Annie
Turned out amazing 😍 and was super easy to make.
Emily
Is the nutrition listed by serving or total?
Tornadough Alli
Unsalted
Carine
Hello I was wondering is there a difference in using crockpot liners instead of foil… or does the foil do some magic lol?
Tornadough Alli
I don’t think there really would be a difference you could use crockpot liners.
Alexia Crosby
Just want to say thank you for posting this.. made this today and it was WONDERFUL 😍
Ashley
Best meatloaf I have ever ate!!
Helenmarie Hulbert
Made this tonight, EXCELLENT meatloaf! Eveyone loved it. Thank you!
stephanie
i tried your crock pot meatloaf the other day and it was awesome! i was so thrilled with it. thanks.
Judy
Hi sweetie can you please tell me in the recipe of the lemon Ricotta cake is this the ricotta you find you use in Italian dishes and when you speak of heavy cream do you mean half n half or whipping cream. This recipe sounds Amazing I really can’t wait to hear back from you thanks for all your great recipes. Thanks! Judy
Tornadough Alli
Yes the ricotta you find in italian dishes, you can find it next to the cottage cheese usually at Walmart. Also it would be heavy whipping cream 🙂 half and half would work too, but I like the richness of the heavy cream.