How to Make Meat Loaf Moist and Tender Every Time

Learn the Test Kitchen’s time-honored tricks for making a moist and delicious meat loaf from scratch.

If a big slice of meat loaf smothered in a sweet-tart tomato sauce is your idea of comfort food, you're in the right place. The cozy meal gained popularity back in the 1930s. Thankfully, our Test Kitchen has been sharing how to make meatloaf moist and tender for 90+ years since the launch of Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book. Here you'll find the simple yet necessary steps to learn how to cook meat loaf from scratch, plus tips for different meat combinations and glaze options beyond ketchup. With a gentle hand, you'll prepare the best meat loaf you've ever tasted (or at least super close to Grandma's or your favorite diner).

Related: 14 Meat Loaf Recipes to Spice Up Your Comfort Food Dinner Plans

How to Make Meat Loaf

To get started, you'll need a great meat loaf recipe. We'll be using our Test Kitchen's Best Meat Loaf to demonstrate these steps, but you can also use the tips for how to make meat loaf moist and tender while making your favorite family recipe.

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and follow this step-by-step process to learn how to make meat loaf.

Step 1: Prepare Meat Loaf Ingredients

Our meat loaf recipe combines mushrooms, onion, carrot, and garlic. While we still love a classic meat loaf, adding these vegetables increases nutrients and flavor, and it's how to make meat loaf moist and tender. It will also extend the meat loaf mixture. 

• Cut or shred your veggies in uniform pieces so they cook evenly, and the mixture holds together when shaped.

• Sauté the veggies in a skillet first over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender to ensure they lose their crunch when baked.

Related: How to Shred Any Vegetable In Your Kitchen

Step 2: Gently Mix the Ingredients

• Combine eggs, milk, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

• Add the veggie mixture and bread crumbs, stirring until evenly moistened.

• Add the ground beef. With clean hands, use your fingers to thoroughly but gently mix the ground meat into the egg-bread crumb mixture until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Overmixing can make the meat loaf dense and tough.

Test Kitchen Tip

It's important to mix the wet and dry ingredients well before adding the meat. This ultimately reduces the amount of mixing you need to do. Use a large bowl to hold the entire meat loaf mixture.

Step 3: Shape Meat Loaf

To prevent the meat mixture from sticking to your hands, moisten your hands with cold water before shaping.

Gently pat and shape the meat mixture into an oblong loaf (about 9x5-inch) slightly smaller than your baking dish.

Many traditional recipes call for making meat loaf in a loaf pan, but not ours. You can easily create your perfect meat loaf in a baking dish. Our Test Kitchen finds that making meat loaf from scratch in a rectangular dish improves browning and allows some of the fat to drain into the dish.

Related: Thai Turkey-Pork Meat Loaf with Chili Sauce

Step 4: Make a Meat Loaf Glaze

You can't enjoy meat loaf without that saucy glaze (at least we can't). Our classic glaze includes a mixture of ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard, but you can easily substitute your favorite. Try one of the variations at the bottom of our recipe, including cranberry, apricot-mustard, and peach-chile. Don't add the glaze just yet—we'll get to that in the next step.

Step 5: Bake Meat Loaf

Bake the meat loaf for approximately 1 hour or until done (use these tips to tell if it is done), spooning the glaze over the meat loaf in the last 25 minutes of baking. Transfer cooked meat loaf to a platter, slice, and enjoy

The Best Meat for Meat Loaf

Our Test Kitchen finds a pound each of ground beef chuck (85% lean, 15% fat) and ground sirloin (90% lean, 10% fat) to be the best combo for how to make meatloaf moist and tender. The higher fat content of ground chuck adds flavor and moisture, while lean sirloin provides structure. If you want to experiment with something other than all beef, try one of these meat combinations:

• Ground beef + bulk sweet Italian sausage

• Ground turkey breast + ground pork

• Ground beef chuck + ground veal

Test Kitchen Tip

If the mixture is on the lean side, cover the meat loaf with foil for the first 35 minutes to keep it from drying out.

So you've just made a perfect meat loaf from scratch. Now make sure you've got plenty of mashed potatoes and your favorite side dishes to complete the ultimate comfort food meal. Got leftovers? Grill slices for a delicious next-day meat loaf sandwich.

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