Turkey Meatloaf

Ah, meatloaf…the American classic supper!

Despite her desperate five o’clock scramble, my mom – an artist and mother of four — always managed to pull off a mean meatloaf.

I remember her frantically pulling apart a slice or two of bread to make crumbs, and then throwing them into a bowl with an egg, some ketchup, grated onion, and ground beef. And then there was the grated carrot, which qualified as a vegetable (along with the ketchup).

She shaped it into a mound, threw it in the pan, drizzled the top with more ketchup and tossed it into the oven. Phew! Let’s just say her motto was “I’d rather be painting.”

On a recent rainy weeknight, my plan for grilling turkey burgers turned into a meatloaf meal with turkey instead of beef. I used my mother’s eyeball method, and tweaked her “recipe” by adding some sweet chili sauce and lemon. (We were low on ketchup that night.)

I liked the result, which I hereby share with you.

Meatloaf is one of the easiest meals to get on the table. Sometimes it’s good to change it up, though, so why not try it with ground turkey?

Dark turkey meat has more flavor and a bit more fat that light meat, and I prefer it in this meatloaf if you can find it. It’s a little easier to find mixed dark and light meat or just light meat in most grocery stores, and they’re perfectly fine to use as well. Ground chicken would also work here.

I swapped out my mother’s onions for some Thai sweet chili sauce, which gives the meatloaf some sweetness and spice. You could substitute ketchup for the chili sauce if that’s what you have in your fridge or if you have picky eaters to contend with.

I also added grated zucchini to sneak in another vegetable, plus it adds moisture so the loaf doesn’t become dry.

I usually bake this as a freeform, football-shaped loaf in a casserole dish, rather than in a loaf pan. This way you get more glaze over the top and the loaf also forms a nice crust. Don’t worry about the ends drying out — they won’t! This said, if you would prefer to bake your meatloaf in a loaf pan, then this should work just fine. Cooking time will be roughly the same.

Mashed potatoes are a classic side dish for meatloaf, of course. You could also bake some russet potatoes alongside the meatloaf in the oven.

Take a deep breath. Don’t be a 5 o’clock like my mom — just enjoy this tweaked version of her meatloaf. And also relish the real reason to make it: meatloaf sandwiches for lunch the next day!