Meatloaf, Lightened Up
I fondly remember my mother making meatloaf on winter nights when I was kid — so filling, warm and delicious. When I ran the numbers on a meatloaf recipe recently, I discovered it had almost 800 calories and 65 grams of fat per serving! Mom’s version may not have been that heavy-duty (fingers crossed), but traditional recipes are famous for fatty meats and heavy sauces.
Here are some ways to lighten up this American favorite.
Main Ingredients
Traditionally meatloaf is made with ground beef. Fatty cuts such as chuck are popular because fat helps keep the meatloaf moist. There are better ways to do this without all that saturated fat. Switching from high-fat ground beef to a leaner version (90-95% lean) will shave off 220 calories and almost 30 grams of fat per serving! Meatloaf mix (a combo of beef, pork and veal) is also a lower-fat option, but won’t offer the same reduction in fat.
Contrary to what many beef lovers may say, ground turkey makes a fantastic meatloaf. Try making the switch — even the most loyal meatloaf fan won’t be disappointed. Choose lean ground turkey breast meat for the biggest reduction in calories and fat.
Keep your meatloaf moist and add flavor with fresh ingredients such as vegetables, garlic and herbs (steer clear of those meatloaf spice mixes that are often loaded with sodium). Breadcrumbs and egg will help prevent the meatloaf from falling apart. Some recipes call for rolled oats to prevent drying out (and a little extra fiber never hurts).
Chopped vegetables will further preserve moisture and add flavor, vitamins and iron. Choose flavorful veggies such as chopped spinach, eggplant or portobello mushrooms. My husband likes to sauté onions in with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Once they cool, he adds them to his turkey meatloaf mixture for a sweet burst of flavor –- now I can’t have meatloaf without it!
Toppings
High-calorie toppings such as bacon or canned cream of mushroom soup add tons of fat and sodium; globs of sugary, salty ketchup is also popular. Try a few strips of turkey bacon or canned tomato sauce mixed with a small amount of ketchup and balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce.
Servings & Sides
Keep servings reasonable — a pound of meat will serve four people. Make a large turkey meatloaf and have leftovers in sandwiches or wraps. Try making individual loaves and serve with some healthy and satisfying sides such as steamed or roasted vegetables and a baked sweet potato or lightened-up Parmesan mashed potatoes.
And while meatloaf may be a mom classic, I read that chefs all over the country are putting meatloaf back on their menus because it’s comforting and affordable. Check out this piece in the San Francisco Chronicle. (Note: The recipes in this article look delicious but are not necessarily Healthy Eats-approved.)
- Healthy recipes to try:
- Mom’s Turkey Meatloaf
- Turkey Meatloaf
- Mini Meatloaves
- Blue Ribbon Meatloaf
- Roasted Broccoli with Lemon
- Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
TELL US: What’s your secret ingredient to healthy meatloaf?
Where are the nutrition stats??
One of the only things I don’t like about the Food Network site is the fact that hardly any of the recipes have nutrition facts! So now you have this nice Healthy Eats site, which links back to…oh. Recipes with no nutrition facts. Some of us eat low-carb, some eat veggie, some of us keep food journals with numbers. You can’t just say yeah, this meets our nutrition guidelines — I want to know if it meets MINE.
mini meatloafs has nutrition facts.
And I agree with you about most of the recipes, but if you really want to know, just enter the recipes into a website that will figure out the facts for you. There was a post about this kind of site in one of the first blogs.
You’re right! My meatloaf was not as heavy duty in calories, as I always used ground sirloin and added a little white wine for extra flavor. My Grandmother (your Great Grandmother) used ground sirloin too, but added lots of fresh chopped parsley, greated parmasan cheese, and an extra large egg to add depth to the mixture.
Contrary to what gazillions of folks claim, ground turkey DOES not mimic ground beef. My attempt could not fool my husband for one second. I do use extra lean ground beef with no added fat, and add lots of veggies done in the food processor; plus I use whole wheat bread crumbs. The flavor is out of this world. After all, you don’t have to eat a pound of the stuff! *LOL*
I HAVE TO TELL YOU AT FIRST I DID NOT LIKE GROUND TURKEY FOR ANYTHING. BUT, ONE DAY I TRIED MAKING MEATLOAF WITH IT, AND IT WAS GREAT. I EVEN USE IT FOR BURGERS ALL KINDS OF OTHER STUFF. MATTER OF A FACT WE HAVE A FRIEND WHO HATES TURKEY AND WE MADE HIM TURKEY ENCHILADAS AND TO THIS DAY HE STILL THINKS IT WAS GROUND BEEF. HE IS A BEEF EATER AND EVEN HE COULD NOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
I have used ground turkey mixed with lean ground beef for years. I have a few other tricks too. I mix in beef bouillon granules instead of salt, I also add some salsa, “nuked” chopped onion and bell pepper, an egg, some water and a hand full of quick oatmeal instead of bread crumbs. I shape the loaf on a pan to let the fat run off, then coat the meatloaf with ketchup to help it brown and stay moist. Try it, its Great. PS if you like it a bit more spicy, add some TABASCO to the mix. Any herbs you like, add them too. Enjoy.
I’d like to prepare this meal but am worried b/c it’s only my husband and I eating…has anyone tried freezing the leftovers for 2 weeks?
I’m a recipe and cookbook collector and no longer save recipes that do not have the nutrition values listed. It’s too easy to find similar recipes with the values. Please consider listing the values to make your site more user friendly.
I love using ground turkey meat for my meatloaf. It is lighter & less filling than using regular beef, which I like.
Agree that it would be a great addition to the Food Network site if all the recipes included nutrition information.
When I make a meatloaf I baker it on a rack which helps to take a lot of the fat
off. The next day I slice the meatloaf in slices and put them in individual zipper bags and freeze them. I sometimes leave them for six weeks and they are fine. Just warm them in the microwave and add a topping if you want.
i have tried using ground turkey in several recipes. there are only 3 my family will eat. my turkey meatloaf, turkey teriyaki meatballs and my turkey taco burgers! otherwise they do not like the texture! recipes available upon request!
make sure its WHITE turkey
I add chopped stuffed olives to the mix, great taste! Hooray for ground turkey!
Including Italian bread crumbs add bulk and flavor, but I also add mustard to my meat loafs. It adds flavor and makes it very moist. And yes I make my version with 1/2 turkey meat. For those who don’t like the thought of “Meat loaf” try making the same mix into large meat balls. With a touch of spaghetti sauce on them a meat loaf loather won’t know they are eating the same mix.
I just checked out 3 of the meatloaf recipes, and another zucchini roll recipe from food network, and they all had nutritional info on the left side of the page -calorie,sodium,fiber,carb,protein,fats broken down in mono/saturated, etc. what other kind of nutritional info should i be looking for?
i understand the comments about ground turkey having a displeasing texture. i think it’s so important, especially for meatloafs and meatballs, to work that meat between your fingers for quite a while with the other ingredients. it really improves the texture and helps it to mimic beef!
Meatloaf: use extra lean grd beef low sodium beef broth for flavor a few bread crumbs, eggs, some Worcestershire sauce, mushroom soup light,onions,pkg of dry Knorr Fr Onion soup.cook 1hr @375
I saw nutrition facts to the left side of the screen on a recipe and it gave the fat content, etc. but no sodium content. I have to watch my sodium so it would be helpful to have that too. Thanks.
I usually Cook 3 times per month and prepare all my meals for the month. I do make turkey meatloaf and it is fantastic but I am a chef and maybe that makes a difference. Meatloaf can keep frozen up to 3 months in the freezer.
I also try not to eat red meat or the other white meat unless I go to a meat marketthat is an 1 1/2 hours away. All their meats are not filled with man made products and also not radiated. The food we use to have was raised to a higher standard than it is today.
Plus we will be growing more of our own food as we are getting more food from foreign countries. I have traveled all over the world and many countries raise food with human fertilizer.
My turkey meatloaf rarely comes out the same because I put leftovers in it. Any kind of vegetable can be chopped up and put in. I usually add some kind of fruit – blueberries, cranberries, apples. It’s a great way to use leftover cranberry sauce and tomato paste. I also add a few spoonfulls of plain yogurt with the egg and bread crumbs. Fresh herbs are also great, and grill seasoning! A little drizzle of olive oil over the top gives it a great crust so it doesn’t need a sauce.
Di, I am interested in your turkey teryaki meatball recipe….Please share!!!!
i would love to try your reciepies,the taco burger sounds great trying to lower my cholosteral and having a very hard time…thanks alot jerry…
Hi Di,
I would love to try your turkey recipes. I just bought some fresh ground turkey and some turkey burgers at Trader Joe's and am hunting for recipes.
Thanks very much,
Doris Stephens
would love your recipe
Meatloaf, including turkey loaf freezes well. I prefer freezing in Reynolds Handivac bags (no freezer burn) but they stopped selling the bags in stores. I have also shaped meatloaves into individual loaves, wrapped them individually and gathered in a bag, to pull out and reheat for two. I freeze meatloaf for 3-6 months and it keeps well. Super food to make ahead and freeze!
I use salsa in place of ketchup.
I use a product bt Jennie-O, Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey for my meatloaf. Next time I'll try putting in some beef boulion to see how that works.
I grate 2 carrots and put in the middle of my meatloaf. It's moist and looks pretty and you get your veggies in too.
I usually add 1 Pound of Itallian sausage to my meatloaf. My husband loves it!
Something I use to make it moist and to stretch the hamburger when you have a lot of people to feed is soft tofu. I also add garlic powder, onion powder, a lilttle kosher salt, 2 eggs, fresh bread crumbs (made by hand so they are not so small), and Worcestershire Sauce. I have added ground pork or turkey mixed in with the hamburger when I didn't have enough. I also form the loaf in a pan then remove it from all the grease before serving. To top it off I do lines of bbq sauce and fresh chopped onions on top. My family LOVES this recipe and actually I never have leftovers.
What Veggies do you put in it ?
Thanks
Shirley
give some to a needed neighbor or make spagitti , make taco's, or a salad .
Shirley
Thanks for that information that sounds great
They do have nutrition stats. I went to Mom's Healthy Meatloaf and there they were.
Hi.. I make it with osteridge or buffalo meat and that is good. Also lower fat and no turkey taste or smell. I remember meatloaf italian style from my Dads cooking and that was GOOD ! But fatning too. This is better.
Barbie
I freeze everything! I even put some mashed potatoes in a container with a slice of meatloaf. If sealed tight it will stay a few months. I send it to work with my boyfrend. It's a complete meal. Just make sure there is plenty of sauce so it isn't dry when you re-heat it. I may add a little sauce and/or water before heating it up in the microwave.
My husband and mother love meatloaf…I use extra lean ground beef…onions…egg..oats..a dash of worcestershire sauce….2tsp of spicy djon mustard mixed with 2tsp of low sodium (baby ray's)bbq sauce for the topping…
nice color and a bit of tangy flavor…..bake at 350 for 11/2 hrs.
Not sure what’s happened to our English these days but we are not making plurals out of ’s rather than just s. Above you say chef’s all over the country in the article and it should be just chefs. This has become more and more common. Chef’s = chef is or the chef’s possessive. No spell check will catch this. We need to read what we write. I make errors too, but plural is plural with just an “s” no apostrophe.
To add great flavor and texture to my turkey meatloaf I add one small can of mushooms that has been processed till its almost a paste. The moisture this gives the meatloaf is unbelievable.