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.
- 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.
- Combine all ketchup glaze ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- 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.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
Video
Amanda Luthi says
How do you think cooking would go if you just did 1lb of meat? Cook on Low for how long, roughly?
Amanda says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain exactly how long it would take. I would try 4 hours on LOW and check to see if the meatloaf is at an internal temperature of 165°F. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Joann P says
Can I use 73/27 ground beef and still get a good meatloaf result?
Amanda says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain how well that would work… however I think it would be just fine. Probably a bit more grease will accumulate at the bottom of the slow cooker. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
C halton says
Good meatloaf next time I think I’ll try it in the oven it cracked my crockpot so it leaked in the bottom😕
Ellen DeLashmutt says
This is the best meatloaf my husband has made. Your recipe for the sauce is fabulous,. But my husband uses jalapeño ketchup for the sauce. What i like about your recipes is being able to change the person quantity. We use the oven when we cooked it. Our daughter has our crockpot.
Jamie says
So we are used to making meatloaf in the oven but with 1 lb beef 1 lb pork and also diced green peppers, strange to hear of it otherwise. Have you done this before or I’ll it turn out weird? I figure it would be the same
Amanda says
I haven’t done it myself, but it sounds yummy!
Allison says
Can I use Italian bread crumbs instead of stuffing?
Amanda says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Denise says
I use half Italian bread crumbs and half regular bread crumbs. It is absolutely delicious! I’ve tried it in the crockpot and the oven and it’s wonderful both ways! It is always moist either way. The sauce is fabulous and I always make extra for dipping! Thank you so much!
Catherine says
Just whipped this up & turned the crockpot on. My husband is the only one who likes meatloaf, so I only did a 1lb of meat & adjusted the other Ingredients & added bacon to the top & then glazed. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Catherine says
**update my husband thought it was yummy!!
Deb says
We love this meatloaf recipe. It’s the best we’ve had. We don’t like onions so we substitute with a little onion powder. This is easy VERY tasty and makes for great leftovers. We’ve made it in the oven and crockpot and they are both great!!
Lonnie says
I made this today exactly as directed using the oven method. I will never make meatloaf any other way ever again. That glaze is outstanding. I forgot to put it under the broiler (my bad), but I will try next time.
I shared it with a friend for lunch and made her take half of it home. It didn’t take much to talk her into it. It’s huge! Now she and I will have meatloaf sandwiches at our beck and call.
Thank you so much for this!
Amy Conner says
This looks delicious and I’m going to make it tonight for dinner. I was just wondering if when you put the aluminum foil in if you make it to where the meatloaf sits off the bottom of the crock pot or if you just cover the bottom of the Crock-Pot and the sides?
Amanda says
You can do either 🙂
Patty says
Just the best meatloaf I’ve ever had. This is going to be my go-to for a long time to come!
Lauren Sabo says
Delicious recipe!!
I definitely agree with making more sauce to have extra for dipping.
Regina DeMasi says
Made this recipe last night–it was deeelish! Next time I will make more glaze for dipping. I was amazed that it held together even better than a meatloaf baked in the oven. The savory stuffing mix adds flavor and helps stretch that 1lb. of ground beef. Very good recipe, Amanda. Thanks for sharing.
Velma Greene says
Great meatloaf! I’ve been trying meatloaf recipes looking for one I like best! Yours is a keeper! Thanks, Velma
Danielle says
This recipe was fantastic! Even my picky kids loved it! I did have to make a couple of changes (only 1 box of stuffing, 1 c milk and dried minced onion in place of fresh) but otherwise followed this recipe to a T. It’s so so flavorful and this is definitely my new favorite meatloaf.
Stevie says
Hi there was curious to whether I need the foil inside slow cooker or could you use slow cooker bags.
Amanda says
The foil keeps the meat off the bottom of the slow cooker, which keeps it from sitting in the fat as it cooks.
Michelle says
Hi quick question: If baking in the oven, am I covering it. I’m worried about it drying out, but I trust you if you say no.
The Chunky Chef says
I never cover mine 🙂
Amanda says
Hi! Thank you so much for your help yesterday! I was the one asking about whether the meat had to be browned and about using the broiler. I fixed this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My husband couldn’t say enough good things about it. I loved the glaze because I realized that its very similar to a BBQ sauce we loved that was a mustard vinegar base. And, for once, what I fixed came out looking like what’s pictured on this site. The foil in the crockpot is genius as well! Thanks!
Amanda says
I’m going to fix this tomorrow on 1/20/2021! Help please! Does the beef need to be browned before mixing it with the other ingredients and what temp does the broiler need to be set to in order to finish the glazing? Could this step just be done in the crockpot on the high setting?
The Chunky Chef says
Nope, no need to brown the beef before mixing in the other meatloaf ingredients, it’ll cook in the crockpot 🙂 I don’t have a temperature on mine, just high and low, but I would guess my high is about 500-550°F. I don’t think the glaze would get that beautiful caramelized sticky texture on the high setting in the crockpot, unfortunately. You can skip the broiling part and just slather a light layer of of the glaze on before serving 🙂
Amanda says
Thank you so much!!!
Bonnie says
I am a cook of many years. I don’t like this. I followed the recipe exactly with no substitutions. My meatloaf made from scratch is way better.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Bonnie, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe. We all have different tastes 🙂