Our Favorite Classic Meatloaf Recipe [+Video]

A good classic meatloaf recipe should never be over-mixed, should always include a glaze, and the secret? Well, that’s in a combination of ground meat you don’t want to miss!

It seems like meatloaf is a divisive dish. You either love it or you hate it. I think it all depends on if you’ve had an amazingly awesome meatloaf like this one, or if you’ve only had mediocre meatloaf. We are making everyone into meatloaf lovers with this recipe!

Does it even matter who is coming to dinner if Mom’s meatloaf is on the menu? The flavor reminds me of home and it tastes just like mom made it! This is our favorite homemade meatloaf recipe plus every frequently asked question to help it turn out perfect every single time!

What Ingredients Do You Need for Classic Meatloaf?

Let’s start by talking about the ingredients you will need. I mentioned the combination of meat that makes the most outrageously delicious meatloaf, so here it is:

• Meat combination:
  • Beef Chuck (ground)
  • Pork (ground)
  • Veal (ground)

It is seriously the best! But if you want to keep it simple, you can use all lean ground beef chuck and it will be still be delicious.

These are the other ingredients you will need:

• Vegetable Oil
• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrot
• Thyme
• Eggs
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper
• Dijon Mustard
• Ketchup
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Milk
• Ritz Crackers (or breadcrumbs)
• Fresh Parsley

Then we absolutely cannot forget about the glaze! It is my favorite part!! It is the perfect way to top this meatloaf:

• Ketchup
• Chili Sauce
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Garlic
• Salt

The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make the Best Meatloaf:

Now that we know all the ingredients, let’s walk through each step of how to make this traditional meatloaf recipe. We are going to include a photo of each step as well. Here we go!

1. Prep: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place a skillet on your stove top and heat the oil over medium high heat.
2. Sauté: Add the onion, carrots, and garlic to the skillet and cook until it soft. It should take about 5 minutes then set them aside to cool.
3. Glaze: While the veggies are cooking, I like to whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze so that it’s ready when I need it.
4. Whisk: Add the eggs, thyme, salt, pepper, and milk to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Add: Then add in the mustard, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce and whisk everything together.

The Flakiest Savory Beef Pot Pie

Savory indulgent beef pot pie that is loaded with vegetables and topped with flaky, golden puff pastry! It’s pure comfort food!

I mean, it was bound to happen. Our readers are in love with our chicken pot pie, and in fact it’s one of the most popular recipes on our site. But with all of you requesting a few more beef recipes I couldn’t resist a savory beef pot pie recipe. Is it possible to have too many pot pies?

I think not!

What started out one way ended up an entirely different way and I’m ridiculously pleased with the results. And no one is happier than Cade, he says it’s one of his new favorite dinners. 🙂

Ingredients for Beef Pot Pie

You’ll start by pulling your puff pastry sheet out of the freezer and letting it thaw slightly. The rest of the ingredients you will need are here:

• Puff Pastry – found in the freezer section of the grocery store by the pie crusts
• Beef Roast – chuck roast is my preferred cut, but a top sirloin or round roast would also work, you could even use ground beef for a budget friendly option
• Salt – flavor
• Pepper – flavor
• Yellow Onion – adds so much to the depth of flavor, see section below for using onions if you are not a fan of onions
• Garlic – flavor
• Carrots – go with real carrots that you peel and slice, no baby carrots
• Celery – flavor and texture
• Peas – I love these bright pops of flavor and color. They get added right before adding the filling to the baking dish so they don’t get too mushy.
• Flour – thickens the filling
• Rosemary – fresh is best, but you can use dried if you need to, 1 sprig fresh = 1 teaspoon dried
• Bay Leaf – adds so much flavor, remove it before adding the filling to the baking dish
• Thyme – fresh is preferred, but if you need to use dried, 1 teaspoon fresh = 1/3 teaspoon dried
• Beef Broth – the base of the gravy that the meat and veggies will simmer in and become the delicious filling
• Balsamic Vinegar – add sweetness and tanginess to the gravy
• Worcestershire Sauce – our preferred brand is Lea & Perrins and it is essential! It adds great umami flavor!
• Dijon Mustard – adds to the depth of flavor in the gravy
• Whole Milk – used for the egg wash
• Egg – used for the egg wash that will make crust beautifully golden

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below.

What If You Hate Onions?

I heard you all loud and clear on instagram, you either love or absolutely hate onions and there’s not really any who are in between. So can you substitute onions in a recipe? Well, in my personal opinion, no.

Cheesy Ground Beef and Potato Casserole [+Video]

Casseroles are such a great dinner option! This cheesy ground beef and potato casserole is creamy, comforting and perfect for a busy day.

We had received so many messages about our readers making our mega viral busy day casserole with potatoes instead of rice that I just had to try it for myself. This casserole is full of creamy potatoes, seasoned ground beef and melted cheese for days.

We are giving you two versions of this recipe…a quick version with cream of mushroom soup and a totally made from scratch version where you make the creamy sauce yourself. You can choose whatever you have time for!

Now if you force me to choose between the rice version and the potato version of this casserole, I will have to give the slightest edge to the original rice version. It’s probably nostalgia for me, but I just like it a little better. This potato version is pure comfort food and it reminded me of camping and eating a tinfoil dinner. It tastes so similar!

What Ingredients Go in Cheesy Hamburger Potato Casserole?

For the quick version, you’ll only need 7 simple ingredients. For the homemade version, you’ll need a few more ingredients to make the cream of mushroom soup from scratch, but all the ingredients are easy to find. Here is what you will need for both versions:

Quick Version

• Cream of Mushroom Soup, Russet Potatoes, Milk, Carrots, Ground Beef, Onion, and Cheese (Cheddar or Colby Jack)

From Scratch Version

• Sauce: Butter, Onion, Garlic, Mushrooms, Flour, Cream, Chicken Broth, Pepper, Salt, and Milk
• Casserole: Ground Beef, Salt, Garlic Powder, Onion, Carrots, Cheese (Cheddar or Colby Jack), and Russet Potatoes

PRO TIP: You can also make this recipe with frozen hash browns to make it even easier!

The measurements of all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post. Keep scrolling to see all the details!

What Potato is Best to Use?

We prefer Russet potatoes in this recipe. They are starchy and soak up a lot of the flavors of the ground beef, carrots and creamy sauce. You could honestly use any p

My Best Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe [+Video]

This Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe is made completely from scratch! It has a buttery, flaky crust and the most luscious chicken and vegetable filling!

Between our famous Chili recipe and this chicken pot pie recipe I’M CONVINCED that as much as we are always looking for the newest thing we actually crave the comfort of the past.

Chicken Pot Pie (From Scratch!)

I remember my mom bringing home a frozen pot pie from the store on the nights that she was just too crazy busy to make it from scratch. Back then that was the norm, you know? Convenience items weren’t thought twice about because they were there to help moms get dinner on the table.

Since that time, I’d forgotten about pot pie until years and years ago we had a homemade one from a friend and it was comfort food perfection! We’ve had our chicken pot pie soup on the blog for a long time, but we’ve needed a classic chicken pot pie. Sadly it’s taken me until now to develop the perfect pie crust and chicken pot pie filling, but here it is!

I mean, the crust had to be buttery and flaky but still hold up to the filling and my gosh, that filling needed to be perfect! None of this watery mumbo jumbo. And no, it should not taste like chicken gravy either. It should be a perfect sauce with well seasoned big pieces of chicken in it. Rotisserie chicken is a must to achieve that. Not only is it easier, but the flavor and texture are meant to be!

Gather all your loved ones near and dive in to this homemade pot pie! The crust is flaky and perfectly encases the rich and creamy chicken and vegetable filling. It is comfort in every single bite!

What’s Needed for Homemade Chicken Pot Pie?

This easy chicken pot pie recipe has two main parts: the homemade pot pie crust and the veggie-packed filling. Here’s what you’ll need to make this chicken pot pie from scratch:

For the Crust

• All-purpose flour
• Butter
• Granulated sugar
• Salt
• Water

For the Filling

• Rotisserie chicken
• Carrots, peas, and corn
• Yellow onion
• Celery
• Garlic
• Nutmeg
• Fresh thyme
• Chicken broth
• Milk
• Egg
• Water

The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe at the end of this post. This is meant to just be an overview of the ingredients you’ll need.

How to Make Chicken Pot Pie

Step 1: Make the Chicken Pot Pie Crust

A pot pie requires a special

Browned Butter Pork and Butternut Squash Lasagna

This isn’t your traditional lasagna, but oh good heavens, the flavors of pork, butternut squash, browned butter, sage, and cheese is pure comfort! Browned butter pork and butternut squash lasagna is about to be your new favorite lasagna recipe!

You won’t find tomatoes, ricotta cheese or tomato sauce in this lasagna, but it is bringing all the feelings of warm winter comfort food to our family! The flavors are the most amazing combination! I mean it’s got pork, one of my all time favorite meats, browned butter-pure heaven, carbs-who doesn’t love carbs, and melty, gooey, delicious cheese. BOO-YAH!

I love comfort food more than anything else. Sure smoked pulled pork is stinking delicious, and Hawaiian Pulled Pork is absolutely mouth watering, but make me choose between one of those recipes and a comfort food like Browned Butter Butternut and Pork Lasagna and hands down the lasagna wins.

Creating Butternut Squash Lasagna

As soon as I got the email from the National Pork Board to create a few recipes for them I knew I’d say yes to working with them, but then they wanted comfort recipes?! Heck yeah I’m on board with that. And this lasagna was born. And we loved it. And now you will too.

I was looking through the recipe section on the Pork Be Inspired site and man, everything looks so juicy and delicious! I’ve found many a wonderful recipe there, but I was actually trying to make sure that there wasn’t a recipe like this one, which there isn’t. Butternut squash actually smells comforting. It’s so warm, nutty, and creamy. I just knew that a combination of my favorite fall/winter flavor with pork was totally the way to go. Oh, and there’s a secret in the puree, Ginger Snap cookies. Trust me, it’s exactly what the puree needs.

Ingredients for Butternut Squash Lasagna

I’m going to divide this recipe into 3 different parts – the butternut squash, the browned butter sauce (béchamel sauce) and the lasagna layers.

For the Squash

• Butternut Squash: peeled and chopped, ready for roasting
• Olive Oil: helps roast and caramelize the squash
• Salt & Black Pepper: adds flavor
• Sage: you’ll want fresh sage and we will use it to add flavor to the butternut squash puree
• Ginger Snap Cookies: an unexcepted ingredient but the flavor it adds it crucial

For the Browned Butter Sauce

• Butter: browned for added flavor and creates the base for the béchamel
• Garlic: adds flavor and can be increased or decreased to your liking
• Flour: combined with the butter is creates the creamy base for the béchamel
• Low Fat Milk: helps thin out the sauce
• Half and Half: adds creaminess and richness
• Nutmeg: adds flavor and warmth
• Salt and Black Pepper: adds flavor

For the Lasag