Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned meatloaf? This bacon wrapped meatloaf is a simple mix of ground turkey and beef with a few seasonings thrown in for a delicious result.
Never mind New Years resolutions (I never make them anyway). This time of year needs comfort food.
Then again, who said the two need to be mutually exclusive? Sometimes, we can eat our favorite old standbys, like this Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, but “healthify” them, at least a little bit.
Don’t get me wrong, this is by no means low calorie, low fat or low sodium. But it is a bit of an improvement over your typical meatloaf recipe.
By using extra lean instead of lean ground beef and switching part of the meat to ground turkey, we can cut back on fat and calories while still keeping the flavor. And the added cheese and bacon don’t hurt the flavor factor either (though they definitely add to the sodium and fat factor).
The first time I tasted this recipe was at my parents’ neighbors’ cottage in Nova Scotia. When I tasted it I knew I wanted the recipe to replace my existing standby meatloaf recipe.
Luckily, she had her original cookbook from the 60’s or 70’s and provided me with a photocopy of the recipe. In the time since I have acquired the recipe, I have made the meatloaf several times, almost always using part ground turkey with excellent results.
This meatloaf is very quick and easy to prepare, but if needed you can always prepare it in advance of cooking and keep it covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
Keep in mind that it does require a fair bit of time to cook – 1 hour. Plan accordingly.
It’s normal for the meatloaf to shrink quite a bit while it’s cooking, and also for it to release a lot of juice/fat. You’ll want to remove the meatloaf from the fat and allow it to drain for a few minutes before cutting.
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Nutrition Notes:
To lower total and saturated fat in the meatloaf, use extra lean ground beef instead of lean or regular and/or use light cheddar instead of regular and make sure to drain completely on a wire rack before serving. To lower the sodium in this meatloaf, reduce salt by half and/or use reduced sodium bacon.
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound lean or extra lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup rolled oats (use Gluten Free oats to make this recipe Gluten Free)
- 1 large onion, minced
- 2 Tablespoons minced parsley
- 3 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350Β°F. Stir together ketchup, egg, salt, Worcestershire and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Mix together beef, turkey, cheese, oats, onion and parsley (it’s best to do this with your hands). Add ketchup mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Press into a 9×5″ loaf pan. Lay the halved bacon slices over the top horizontally, tucking the edges down the sides if needed. Bake for one hour.
- Remove from loaf pan and set on a platter or cutting board to rest and drain for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
Nutrition
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