Easy Glazed Meatloaf can be a busy parent’s best friend. It whips up perfectly, reheats like a dream, and can even be made ahead or popped in the freezer for later. And it goes with almost everything! It’s hard to find a side dish that doesn’t go well with meatloaf. Potatoes, pasta, rice, salad, even just some garlic bread — they are all great alongside this easy meatloaf recipe. You have your choice of vegetable side dishes too, Anything from broccoli to squash to asparagus (and everything in between) will make a good accompanying bite to this weeknight dinner classic.
When I’m making this dish I tend to double everything and make one for “now” and one for “later” that goes straight in the freezer. I just freeze it straight in a non-stick loaf pan, wrapped in first plastic wrap, then foil. I find it keeps just fine for up to a month. When I’m ready to serve, I just pull the loaf out of the freezer, unwrap the foil and leave it in the plastic wrap to thaw in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, then give it one hour completely unwrapped on the countertop right before baking. Just remember to always be sure to cook your meatloaf to an internal temperature of 160° if it’s been in the freezer or not. I can’t tell any difference between the frozen and fresh ones after they come out of the oven.

I like to use ground chuck for meatloaf. I think an 80/20 lean to fat mixture works best for a nice, juicy meatloaf. If you prefer leaner ground beef, like ground sirloin, that’s fine with this recipe. My only advice would be to watch your cooking times carefully and not overcook your meatloaf, as it could dry out a bit. The great thing about meatloaf is that, even if you do overcook it an dry it out a bit, you can just whip up a quick bit of extra glaze and offer it to your family or guests as a dipping sauce for the meat.
I’m a big fan of mashed potatoes with meatloaf, especially if I’m also serving steamed vegetables as a side dish. It reminds me a lot of the “meat and potatoes” meals my grandma used to make. However, almost any side dish goes great with this recipe. It pairs really well with a rice pilaf, in my opinion. Macaroni and cheese is another favorite with meatloaf. I’d love to hear what your family likes best!

Gotta have mashed potatoes with meatloaf……it’s a Law (or should be)
absolutely !!!!! mashed potatoes with meat loaf is a law never to be broken !!!! especially when you pile them ontop of the meat loaf and season them b4 putting in oven !!!!!
Meat loaf can also be made with up to half ground pork.