Meatloaf, especially in America, is a great old family tradition – using inexpensive ingredients and basically, anything goes! A meatloaf is kind of like making a meatball – you can make it the way you like with whatever ingredients you have on hand in your refrigerator or pantry.

This is what I did here with my Meatloaf with Spinach and Mushrooms Recipe – I had mushrooms and a big bag of spinach which I bought a couple of days ago and so I put them to use when ground beef went on sale at my grocery store. All you have to do is add some spices and seasonings and voila! You have, what I like to call it, is a meatball pie.

This recipe is large! So you can trim it down a little by cutting the ingredients in half if necessary. I purchased a package of ground beef which was on sale and it weighed 3 lbs. So, my thinking as a home cook was, that we would have leftovers for tomorrow for a great meatloaf sandwich. Check out my Cook’s notes at the end of the recipe for serving suggestions. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
24 oz. fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped
10 oz. fresh spinach
3 tbsp. + 1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. + 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tbsp. aged balsamic vinegar
3 lbs. ground beef
2 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. onion powder
3 large eggs, beaten well
2 cups tomato sauce mixed with 1 tbsp. dried basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, garlic and onion powders, 3 tbsp. salt, 2 tbsp. pepper and the eggs. Mix well and refrigerate while you cook the spinach, mushrooms and onions.

2. Heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil over a medium heat for 3 minutes in a very large skillet. Add the onions, mushrooms, 1 tsp. kosher salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the moisture released from the onions and mushrooms has almost evaporated. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 2 minutes. Set the mixture aside to cool.

3. Combine the onion mixture with the ground beef and seasonings. Mix together very well. Next, take a shallow pan (not a cookie sheet) and line it with parchment or wax paper. Tip the meatloaf mixture onto the pan and shape it into a loaf, packing it tight. Cook for approximately 50 - 60 minutes or until the meatloaf starts to get some brown coloring.

4. Remove from the oven and pour the tomato sauce and basil over the meatloaf. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and bake for another 20 minutes. Let the meatloaf rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Cook's Notes & Tips

Meatloaf can be served with creamy mashed potatoes and fresh sautéed veggies, with your favorite rice or even on a toasted ciabatta roll with extra tomato sauce and fresh basil leaves. Meatloaf is great hot or cold.