The Best Crockpot Meatloaf is a great way to enjoy classic comfort food, with less stress, and dinner is ready when you get home!
The most amazing meatloaf recipe, made so easily in your slow cooker! No more waiting over an hour for meatloaf after you get home from work.
Amazingly tender meatloaf, made easily in the crockpot!
Do you have a go-to dinner recipe? My family LOVES my baked mac and cheese, but sometimes I need something that isn’t pasta. That’s when I turn to this classic meatloaf recipe!
This recipe is amazingly flavorful and easy, thanks to using dried stuffing mix in place of breadcrumbs. It may seem odd, but all the great seasonings are already in the stuffing mix, so it’s several steps in one! The glaze on top of the meatloaf is lip-smackingly good; made with ketchup, minced onion, brown sugar and vinegar for a little tang.
WHY COOK MEATLOAF IN THE CROCKPOT?
I love cooking meatloaf in the crockpot for two main reasons. First, a meatloaf cooked in the crockpot is much more harder to “mess up” and be dry or tough. The cooking process of cooking in the crockpot lends to a much more tender and moist dish. Secondly, it’s ready when you get home. Traditional meatloaf takes an hour or more to bake, so if you wait until you get home to bake it, you’ll be having a LATE dinner. This way, dinner is mostly finished!
Plus, I can generally fit more beef into my crockpot than I can in my meatloaf pan.
How to Make Meatloaf in a Crockpot
Making meatloaf in a crockpot is SO easy! Using aluminum foil makes for easy cleanup, but it also helps you remove the crockpot so you can broil it at the end.
- Line crockpot with foil (heavy duty works best)
- Combine meatloaf ingredients, mix well, place in crockpot and shape into a loaf-shape.
- Top with glaze, cover, and cook.
- Lift out foil and broil to brown the top.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO COOK MEATLOAF IN THE CROCKPOT?
It depends on how big of a loaf you’re making, but for this 2lb meatloaf, it’ll take about 6 hours on LOW, or 3 hours on HIGH. If you have an instant read meat thermometer, check for doneness by cooking until meatloaf is at 160 F degrees.
CAN THIS MEATLOAF RECIPE BE MADE IN THE OVEN INSTEAD?
Absolutely! I’ve included oven directions following the recipe at the bottom of this post.
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING THE PERFECT CROCKPOT MEATLOAF:
- Use beef with a good ratio of beef to fat. I like to use 80/20 or 85/15, but no leaner. Beef that is too lean can lead to a drier meatloaf.
- Avoid over-mixing your meat. You only want to mix until the ingredients have just combined. Mixing too much will make the meatloaf tough.
- Use your hands to mix. Some people like to use a wooden spoon, but I find your hands are the best tools for the job. Wear latex/nitrile gloves if you don’t want meatloaf hands.
- Use milk if you can. I love the richness that milk lends to meatloaf. If you can’t use dairy, you could try substituting with a non-dairy milk, or use water/chicken broth/beef broth.
- Add a little bit of onion and the sauce to the meatloaf mixture itself. They both not only add flavor, but add moisture as well.
- Don’t skip the topping! The sauce is sweet and tangy, and really takes the meatloaf from good to great.
GREAT DISHES TO SERVE WITH MEATLOAF:
SHOP THE RECIPE:
- Slow Cooker – my favorite slow cooker.
- Heavy Duty Foil – I love using heavy duty foil so it doesn’t rip when you’re removing your meatloaf.
- Disposable gloves – save yourself some major hand scrubbing!
Recipe previously contributed for Spend With Pennies
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
MEATLOAF
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion, finely minced (divided)
- 2 boxes (6 oz each) dried stuffing mix (I like the savory herbs variety)
- 1 1/3 - 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp glaze (see below)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
BROWN SUGAR KETCHUP GLAZE
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp finely minced onion
- 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Tear off a large strip of aluminum foil (heavy duty works well), and press it into the bottom and up two of the sides of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray, then set aside.
- Combine all ketchup glaze ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Add ground beef, all but 2 Tbsp of the minced onion, stuffing mix, milk, eggs, 2 Tbsp glaze, salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix until just combined.
- Shape into an oval-like shape and place into the foil lined crockpot. Top with ½ cup of the glaze, cover, and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
- When finished cooking, carefully lift out the meatloaf, using the foil overhang, and place on a baking sheet. Top with 2/3 cup of the glaze and broil until glaze is sticky and bubbly.
- Serve sliced, with remaining glaze sauce served on the side for drizzling.
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Chef Tips
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Sally says
I’m in my 60’s and have made lots of meatloaf and eaten many different ones over the years. This was my first time making a meatloaf in a crock pot. It was really easy and I will use this method from now on, which is saying a lot! It smelled wonderful, it looked amazing, and even with taking it out of the crockpot and putting it under the broiler to finish off the top was so much easier with so little clean up compared to the process of baking a meatloaf in a pan in the oven. Upon cutting, it held together beautifully. That said, I was disappointed in the taste of the meatloaf itself. It was a let down from the smell and look I mentioned earlier. It was bland, rather tasteless. ( except for the topping which was a home run!) I followed the recipe to the letter, except for the stuffing. I could not find the Herb stuffing mentioned in the recipe so I had a choice of only, Chicken, pork, turkey or cornbread. I checked 3 grocery stores so I don’t believe that Herb stuffing is very easy to get in some areas. I don’t live in a small town either. anyway, I chose chicken since that is the one I am most familiar with. So, as far as I can tell that’s the only variable. Once looking at the ingredients, you are really reliant on the stuffing flavor because there are so little other ingredients. I will definitely make this again as the method and visual results are spot on. But next time I will add other flavors (garlic, herbs, etc.) to see if I can get a more flavorful meatloaf. I also used milk as suggested, it was definitely a moist loaf, but I’m not sure the milk added much by way of flavor so I will probably tweak that as well. Otherwise I did like this! and will definitely be making again and again, just with some flavors that add some more punch. Thanks Chunky Chef for the recipe, meatloaf will be something I look forward to making now!
Lynn says
The family loved it! Will be making this again soon. Thank you!
Tiffany S Martin says
If I only did one lb of beef would j cht the ingredients in half?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, you would have to halve all the ingredients
Tarah says
Question, would it be ok to use White Balsamic Vinegar instead of White Vinegar?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested it, but I think that would be okay 🙂
Barbie Teed says
I was so excited to try this and finally made it tonight. I used 93/7 ground beef which was not my best decision. Everyone (4 adults and 1 big kid) said it was delicious regardless. I think next time I’ll use 85/15 and maybe try only one package of stuffing. But super delicious. Also, I absolutely appreciated the crockpot method because I live in the desert and using the oven is simply too hot unless it’s winter. Thanks for this!
Shirley says
This is the best meatloaf I have ever eaten. I’m 72 yrs old and I’ve tried alot of meatloaf. This one has wonderful Flavor and texture. I’ve never thought of stuffing mix instead of Crackers. It’s a wonderful recipe. I baked it in the oven until the internal temp was 140, then broiled the glaze, next time I’m going to try the crockpot.
Harry says
Today I wanted to cook meatloaf but I wanted to try something different. So instead of boring meatloaf in the oven which I know my family is getting tired of I thought I would try cooking it in a slow cooker. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to find a good recipe for a slow cooker I found this recipe followed it the letter. And the meatloaf came out tasting incredibly awesome.
Laurie says
Hands down the best meatloaf I have ever had! It is moist (thanks to the stuffing) and flavorful. I was never really a meatloaf fan until I tried this recipe – and it has been my go to meatloaf recipe ever since!
Janice Spradley says
Can you us crockpot liners instead of foil? Thank you.
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe using crockpot liners, so I can’t say for certain how well they would work.
Karen says
Use both, use the liner and the foil sling, easy cleanup.
David says
I’ve made this for my family 4 times and the only thing I’ve changed is the amount of sauce I make.
You see my wife, mother, and kids are real life born in Texas barbecue fanatics.
After making it the first time they fell in love with this recipe, but they asked for more of that delicious sauce, so I make 1.5 times the sauce and they are bonkers for this recipe!
I also used Italian style breadcrumbs the first time because that’s what I had on hand and I continue to use them.
I was drawn to this recipe because I’m a big lover of the crockpot, but honestly I’ve never made it in the crockpot. I always just pop it in the oven and it comes out great and everyone loves it.
I make it with crockpot mashed potatoes and a green vegetable. My family loves air fryer asparagus and I do to because they are so easy to make.
After making this the first time my bbq loving family immediately asked for this to be put into my regular rotation.
Thanks for such a great and easy recipe Amanda!
Angie says
I have made this recipe numerous times. The family loves it. Super easy and quick to prepare. Served with mashed potatoes. Yum!!!
Anne says
Could I use crackers or breadcrumbs instead of stuffing?
The Chunky Chef says
While I’m sure you could, that’s not how this recipe was developed, so I haven’t tested it to be able to tell you how much of the breadcrumbs or crackers, and what seasonings would need to be added.
Deborah Jean Smith says
Going to try this recipe tooo hot for the oven today.
Wendy Thurston says
Amazing even better in crockpot than oven
Bob Stayduhar says
I made this meatloaf today. It might be the best meatloaf I ever tasted. It’s definitely the best I myself ever made!
Kelly Marie says
I have this in the crockpot right now. I don’t want to use the oven, it’s too hot. Is the broiler use at the end necessary? It defeats my purpose of using the crockpot if I have to turn it on.
The Chunky Chef says
It’s not necessary, but you won’t be able to achieve the sticky glaze on top without using the broiler (or you could use a kitchen torch).
Lupe says
Can’t wait to try the crockpot meatloaf!
Jamie P. says
I made this for Father’s Day dinner. I’ve never been able to make a proper meatloaf, something would ALWAYS go wrong (too dry, too burnt, not cooked through, it would shrink & crumble apart, one even caught fire one time).
But THIS….this easy meatloaf recipe was SO simple, even I didn’t mess it up. It was a huge hit and everyone loved it. I omitted the onions (due to an allergy) and used Pepridge Farm herb stuffing instead of Stove Top (Pep Farm has onion powder, not dried onions – it’s something about the onion & onion skin that triggers the allergy).
The meatloaf still came out very flavorful with the onions omitted. Cooked it in slowcooker on high for 3 hours. It came out moist, cooked through, and freakin delicious! 😋
Deborah Jean Smith says
Ty for this info
Ashley says
First of all- some of these comments are ridiculous! I tried this meatloaf recipe (my oven is down so I googled crockpot meatloaf), and my boyfriend and I absolutely loved it. He even asked me to make it again within the same week, and he’s a chef! I love the glaze recipe, I personally cook it on the stovetop (again, no oven right now) until it gets thick and brush it over the top and it’s perfect!
Stephen says
It came out delicious and the foil idea helped a lot. One difference that I made was that I cut onion rings and laid them over the top while in the crockpot then removed them to do the glazing. I replaced the rings before putting it back to broil.