Italian Meatloaf

5 from 3 votes

Move over classic meatloaf; this incredibly tender Italian Meatloaf recipe will soon become your family's favorite weeknight meal!

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: beef, dinner, meatloaf

Servings: slices

Preheat the oven to 350.
In a mixing bowl, combine ground beef, 1/3 cup pasta sauce, egg, and Italian bread crumbs. Mix well to evenly combine. Sometimes it's easiest to use your hands to do this.
Cover a baking sheet with a sheet of wax paper.
Place the ground beef mixture onto the wax paper and shape it into a 9"x12" rectangle, ensuring the short side will fit into your loaf pan.
Flatten meat mixture to about 1" thickness.
Spread 1-1/2 cups shredded cheese on top of the ground beef, keeping about 1/2" from the edges. Sprinkle with one tablespoon fresh parsley.
Starting with the short end and using the wax paper, gently roll the rectangle into a loaf shape, removing the wax paper and placing it into a loaf pan.
Bake meatloaf for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with remaining sauce and cheese.
Return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta sauce is hot. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add any leftover parsley before slicing and serving.

Expert Meatloaf Recipe Tips

This is my husband’s favorite meatloaf recipe. It’s a little more Italian style with the pasta sauce, but it’s always flavorful and moist and super easy to whip together. If you want to double this recipe, make two loaves. One time my sister used 4lbs in one meatloaf, and it took forever to cook all the way through!
I also always use a turkey baster to remove the fats from the meatloaf pan (reserve juices in case you want some extra at the end) before adding the remaining sauce and cheese. You’ll also get some fats from the cheese, so do not worry so much about it being lean.
Do not overmix the meat.
Serve with Parmesan Cheese, reserved pan drippings, and extra sauce.
Meatloaf can be cooked at any doneness but is most commonly medium, so you may have some pink (but not raw) meat.

Serving: 1slice