This Italian-inspired meatloaf combines ground beef and pork with fresh herbs, Parmesan, and a tangy-sweet glaze. The addition of buttermilk-soaked panko breadcrumbs ensures each bite is moist and flavorful. Baked until golden and brushed with a zest glaze, it’s both hearty and satifying! It’s great for a busy weeknight because you can make it ahead, or even a bigger, fancier meal for serving guests. When I saw this featured on The Next Food Network Star years ago, I knew I had to make it…and I wasn’t disappointed! Even the picky eaters at my house love this one.
Sara recently posted an awesome Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf and while there are some similarities, this one definitely has kind of an Italian vibe going for it while the other one has, well, bacon.
Ingredients Needed
- ketchup
- barbecue sauce – I love Cattleman’s Kansas City BBQ Sauce
- brown sugar
- Creole (or other favorite) mustard. The original recipe from Mary Beth’s recipe calls for brown sugar, ketchup, and your favorite barbecue sauce, but I felt like it needed a little more tang to offset the spicy sweetness, so I added in a tablespoon of Creole mustard (although I think probably any mustard would work).
- buttermilk – a must in this recipe!
- panko bread crumbs
- extra-virgin olive oil
- onion
- garlic
- parsley
- fresh basil
- tomato paste
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- ground beef In the neighborhood of 85% lean–if it’s too fatty, it’ll be greasy, but if it’s too lean, it will be dry
- ground pork (lean, if you can find it, and even lean ground pork isn’t particularly lean unless you grind a lean cut yourself)
- fresh Parmesan cheese
How to Make Italian-Style Meatloaf
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Preheat to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Combine ketchup, barbecue sauce, mustard, and brown sugar in a small saucepan; keep warm.
- Sauté onions and garlic, then add tomato paste, herbs, salt, and pepper; set aside to cool.
- Combine panko with buttermilk and let soak briefly.
- Gently combine ground beef and pork with the cooled herb mixture, Parmesan, and panko mixture.
- Form into a loaf on the prepared pan, brush with glaze (reserve some), and bake 50 minutes, brushing every 10 minutes with the glaze.
- Let rest for 5 minutes, slice, and serve with reserved glaze, salad, and potatoes; leftovers are great for sandwiches.
Storage & Other Tips
- To make this as a freezer meal: Prepare meatloaf through shaping it. Place it on a lined baking sheet and freeze, then remove from oven and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze the reserved sauce separately. When ready to bake, remove from foil and plastic wrap and place on a lined baking sheet. Thaw reserved sauce. Bake at 425 for 90 minutes or until an internal thermometer reads 165. Baste with the reserved sauce every 10 minutes for the last 45 minutes of baking.
- To freeze leftovers: wrap tightly in plastic wrap, followed by another layer of aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for 5 – 6 months.
- To make ahead: you can make this about 12 – 24 hours (max) in advance. After assembling, cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Italian-Style Meatloaf
Ground beef and pork with fresh herbs, Parmesan cheese, and a tangy-sweet glaze, this Italian-style meatloaf is both flavorful and hearty. Perfect for guests or a weeknight meal!
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
Glaze
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup barbecue sauce I love Cattleman’s Kansas City BBQ Sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Creole or other favorite mustard
Meatloaf
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, small minced
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup parsley, fresh
- ⅓ cup basil, fresh chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 ½ pound ground beef in the 80-85% lean ballpark
- ½ pound ground pork lean, if you can find it, and even lean ground pork isn’t particularly lean unless you grind a lean cut yourself
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
- Combine the ketchup, barbecue sauce, mustard, and brown sugar in a small saucepan and heat over low, stirring occasionally.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent and fragrant. Add the tomato paste, chopped basil, chopped parsley, and salt and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat and set aside.
- Combine the panko and buttermilk and set aside for about 5 minutes.
- Gently combine the ground beef and ground pork. Add the cooled herb/tomato paste mixture, Parmesan cheese, and panko/buttermilk mixture and gently combine with your hands.
- Shape the mixture into a free-form loaf on the prepared baking sheet. Reserve ½ cup of the glaze and set it aside. Brush with a coating of the glaze from the pan, then place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until an internal thermometer reaches 165℉. While the meatloaf is cooking, generously brush it every 10 minutes with the glaze from the pan (not the reserved glaze).
- When the meatloaf is done, allow it to stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with the reserved sauce, a green salad, and potatoes. Leftovers are amazing, especially between slices of hearty white bread or on a hoagie roll.
Notes
Freezer Instructions:
Prepare meatloaf through shaping it. Place it on a lined baking sheet and freeze, then remove from oven and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze the reserved sauce separately.
When ready to bake, remove from foil and plastic wrap and place on a lined baking sheet. Thaw reserved sauce. Bake at 425°F for 90 minutes or until an internal thermometer reads 165°F. Baste with the reserved sauce every 10 minutes for the last 45 minutes of baking.
Nutrition
Calories: 392kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 76mg, Sodium: 1018mg, Potassium: 696mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 34g, Vitamin A: 766IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 89mg, Iron: 3mg
Calories: 392kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
Will it work with ground turkey? Can’t wait to try this!
My dad makes something fairly similar to this but its stuffed with mozzarella cheese….when you cut through it you get ooey gooey yumminess in every bite….faaaannnntastic! LOVE this site!
Thanks for posting this recipe! I’ve been meaning to look up whether or not it was available somewhere. The judges just raved about it! I can’t wait to try it in the fall when I can leave my oven on for longer than 5 minutes without overheating!
LOVE FN Star! Who were you rooting for? Sandwich king all the way for me and my husband. Loved his personality and I sure love sandwiches!
Sandwich King for me, too! Did you see the “behind the scenes” episode? Usually those are so lame, but I thought this one was fascinating. I loved seeing a subtler side of his sense of humor, especially when Penny was concerned. And his impression of Alisha. I did think Orchid went home WAY too soon, and I liked Vic and Susie, but I would never have made Susie’s food; it definitely wasn’t practical for a home cook (pork deep fried in lard? Cactus salad? Where do I even buy cactus?) Plus her personal stories were grating on me.
I love the Amazing Race as well! Do you ever watch Chopped? Thanks for this recipe. I have some ground beef in the freezer and now I know what to make with it. Thanks again!
Have you ever tried ground turkey? I’m wondering if it would work or be too crumbly?
So since I’ve started making your recipes every day and making my husband oh so happy, I’ve constantly been needing buttermilk. While it isn’t way expensive, it is compared to regular milk. So my dad experimented and found out how to make my own buttermilk. Pour a little buttermilk in a jar, top off with milk and let set out for 24 hours. Use it up, add more milk and leave out again. Just don’t wash your jar out and loose your buttermilk starter. Its so awesome and easy. I always have a quart and use it almost every day! Thanks for the fabulous recipes!
Stacey, can you clarify this a little bit? How much buttermilk to start with, how much milk do you top it off with, and after you leave it out for 24 hours do you then refrigerate it? Do you ever refrigerate it or is it always on the counter? When you use it up, can you use all of it or do you need to leave more than just what is coating the jar to start up the next batch?
Kate, my daughter adores meatloaf. I’ll make sure she tries this! I’ll be trying it too, as soon as it isn’t too hot to turn on the oven 🙂
Whatever did we do before Google? http://www.culturesforhealth.com/buttermilk-starter-318.html
You can also add 1 Tbl vinegar to 1 C. of milk and let it stand for 5 minutes. It makes a nice buttermilk substitute.
You can also make buttermilk by adding 1 Tblsp of lemon juice to each cup of milk. If you need less than that, remember there are 3 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon, and then bust out your math skills you never thought you would use.
There’s also buttermilk powder: http://www.amazon.com/Saco-Cultured-Buttermilk-16-Ounce-Canister/dp/B001E5E2BS I use this all of the time. Best use it within a few months though or the powder gets a bit ‘globby’.
This sounds amazing!!!! Also, not that it REALLY matters, but Guy didn’t win season 1. A gay couple (Dan Smith & Steve McDonagh) won (source: http://goo.gl/WvvIJ). This to me was not fair because it was a team and not an individual like all the others. How is it fair that one “contestant” gets a perpetual sous chef? Any way, I digress… My wife and I are big followers of this site (we bought 2 books when they launched, one for us and one as a future gift). I have a strong feeling that this will be be made in our home soon 😉
I have never been a huge meatloaf fan, but my husband and son love it (as in LOVE it), so I’m always looking for a recipe I might like as well. I think this might be it! Looks fabulous; we’ll definitely be trying it soon!
How did I never know you watched next FN Star? So many little things we could have wasted time discussing after each episode! I have totally wanted to try Mary Beth’s meatloaf ever since that episode- I’m so glad you posted this, it looks delish (which, let’s face it, is kind of amazing for meatloaf!)