Salsa meatloaf is a family weeknight meal. Full of flavor from your favorite jar of salsa, cheese and ground beef. This cheesy salsa meatloaf mixes up in minutes and bakes in your oven until done.
Make a healthier meatloaf by swapping by using lean ground beef, ground chicken or even making it a turkey meatloaf! With only 10 minutes of prep time, salsa meatloaf is a kid-friendly meal that is also budget friendly and easy to make.
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❤️ Why You'll Love It
- A family favorite meal.
- Versatile meatloaf recipe.
- A great way to use up leftover salsa.
- Easy make ahead dinner.
Salsa meatloaf is a forgiving dish, meaning you can add your favorite cheese, salsa, seasonings right into the meat mixture. Top with cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes or even more salsa for the best meatloaf dinner.
📝 Ingredients
Note: This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🥄 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and place two bread slices at the bottom of a loaf pan.
- Take the remaining bread slices and simply tear with your hands into smaller pieces add salsa and mix everything with a spoon. Let the bread soak the salsa.
- Add onion, garlic, egg, cheese, salt and pepper and mix well to form a paste.
- Mix in ground beef and place mixture into your loaf pan. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour or until fully cooked.
💡 Amira's Tips
- Use any salsa you like either store bought or homemade.
- Mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese or any shredded cheese can be used.
- You can use ground turkey or a mixture of ground turkey and ground beef.
- Your salsa will already have onion so you can skip the extra onion, but it is just my thing for more flavor.
- For a gluten free meatloaf use crushed tortillas, about ½ a cup.
- Top your meatloaf with some more shredded cheese and return to oven for a few minutes or until cheese melts.
- You can also top your meatloaf with your favorite meatloaf glaze.
- Leftover salsa meatloaf tastes amazing on top of a bed of greens the next day.
🧺 Storage
Store leftover salsa meatloaf in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
⌛ Make Ahead
You can make the meatloaf mixture and freeze in a plastic bag or shape into a loaf and freeze it in a loaf pan. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then proceed with the recipe as is.
🍽️ Serve With
Serve salsa meatloaf with your favorite sides such as cheesy mashed potatoes, Gouda mac and cheese, a side of rice or this Meditrranean roasted veggies.
👩🍳 Variations
- Add mild, medium or even hot salsa depending on your family's likes.
- Top with a handful of green onions or freshly chopped tomatoes.
- Add slices of avocado or grated cheddar cheese before serving.
💬 FAQs
Traditionally, meatloaf is cooked in a loaf pan, however you can use another oven safe dish like a cast iron skillet or baking dish. Please know that oven times will vary based on the pan used and the thickness of your meatloaf.
Meatloaf can be covered for more even cooking but you may want to uncover it the last 10 to 15 minutes to brown the top.
Meatloaf thickness, pan size and ovens can greatly vary and that's why it is important to check for your meatloaf doneness with a meat thermometer. A ground beef meatloaf is done with an internal temperature of 160° F. A meatloaf with turkey should cook until 165°F.
My favorite meatloaf tip is to use two slices of ordinary bread. Lay the slices in the pan and put the meatloaf mixture right on top. While it cooks, the bread will help absorb the grease.
📣 Related Recipes
- This moist meatloaf with bread crumbs is tender, old fashioned with a delicious glaze. Sticky sweet and super delicious! You can eat the whole thing in one sitting – I won't tell.
- This meatloaf with oatmeal is a great option for a super juicy, delicious and easy family dinner. With its delicious glaze, this meatloaf will make kids run to the dinner table!
- This Moist Turkey Meatloaf is a healthier twist to the classic meatloaf recipe. No more dry turkey meatloaf with this delicious secret ingredient.
- Cracker Barrel meatloaf recipe is even better than the one at the restaurant. Flavorful tender ground meat with restaurant quality yet homestyle flavor in every bite.
I hope you'll like this recipe and please if you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #amiraspantry — I love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!
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Salsa Meatloaf
Equipment
- 1 9x5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 4 sandwich bread slices
- ¾ cup salsa
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 cup shredded Monterey cheese
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- salt to taste
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and place two bread slices at the bottom of a 9x5 loaf pan.
- Take the remaining bread slices and remove the outer crust, simply tear with your hands into smaller pieces and place in a bowl.
- Add salsa and mix everything with a spoon. Let the bread soak the salsa for a few minutes.
- Add onion, garlic, egg, cheese, salt and pepper and mix well to form a paste.
- Mix in ground beef and place mixture into your loaf pan.
- Bake in the oven for 50 minutes 1 hour or until fully cooked.
- Let it cool for 15-20 minutes before removing and slicing so it will not fall apart.
Notes
- Use any salsa you like either store bought or homemade salsa.
- Mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese or any shredded cheese can be used.
- You can use ground turkey or a mixture of ground turkey and ground beef.
- Your salsa will already have onion so you can skip the extra onion, but it is just my thing for more flavor.
- For a gluten free meatloaf use crushed tortillas, about ½ a cup.
- Top your meatloaf with some more shredded cheese and return to oven for a few minutes or until cheese melts.
- You can also top your meatloaf with your favorite meatloaf glaze.
- Storage:
- Store leftover salsa meatloaf in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.
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