I’m laughing as I write this because turkey meatloaf really doesn’t sound like it’s the type of meal to get excited about. We tried playing with the recipe title to make it sound a bit more appealing but decided it is what it is…it’s turkey meatloaf and it’s damn good!
With that being said, you know what is super cool about this damn good turkey meatloaf? You can get two meals out of one! Yes, that’s right….make this tonight and tomorrow night you will have dinner covered too. Although you may need to double the recipe and make two loaves depending on how many mouths you’re feeding. Anyways, tonights meal is damn good turkey meatloaf straight off the loaf with whatever side you are in the mood for, like roasted veggies or a sweet potato whip. Tomorrow night you will be dining on meatloaf panini sandwiches. Yep, throw a big slice of meatloaf in between two pieces of bread and slide a piece of cheese in there so it gets all melty and gooey. Boom, just like that you have dinner #2. That’s called a two for one and that’s called WINNING!
So this is a simple recipe that takes very little time to prep. It consists of sautéed onions, garlic and thyme mixed with organic lean ground turkey, an egg, panko breadcrumbs and a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We always like to sneak a veggie in the meatloaf so we used grated carrots for this batch, but grated zucchinis are a great add in too…or better yet, use both!
This is a get your hands dirty type of meal prep. Get your hands in there and mix up the ingredients, but don’t mix too much or your meatloaf will get a little dry. Form into a rectangle shaped loaf on a parchment lined roasting pan and that’s it. If you’re a ketchup lover then spread some ketchup over the top before baking, otherwise bake it as is. Place a pan filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven to prevent the meatloaf from cracking. Make sure the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees before removing from the oven.
You can bake this meatloaf earlier in the day if you don’t have time to bake it before dinnertime. If you bake it earlier, slice it up before serving and reheat the slices in a skillet. I sometimes prefer it this way because a nice crust forms on the outside of each piece. Add this into your meal rotation this week and get two bangs for your buck!
- 1 Tbsp good quality olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, stemmed and chopped
- 1½ lbs lean ground turkey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 Tbsp organic ketchup
- ¼ C chicken stock
- ½ C panko breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- ⅓ C grated carrots
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
- Preaheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Heat a large sautee pan over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and sautee onions, garlic and thyme for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl add turkey, egg, ketchup, chicken stock, breadcrumbs, carrots, worcestershire sauce and S & P. Add cooled onion mixture and mix together with your hands - do not overmix!
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Drop turkey mixture on the parchment paper and shape into a rectange loaf. Bake for approximately 55 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.