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.
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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.
Lori Clark says
Have you ever baked in the oven? If so how long? Does the stuffing cook? Didn’t take the meat out of the freezer early enough!
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, I bake this in the oven all the time and the stuffing cooks just fine. I have the oven instructions right below the recipe.
Cindy says
I’ve found that as I grow older, two things happened – I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen cooking…and, the things I used to make all the time don’t come out as good as they used to. Does anyone else have this problem? I’ve been looking for a meatloaf that is quick, easy and good. And this one fills the bill! I tried pork-flavored stuffing mix, cause that’s what I had. But, yes, the herb-flavor will be what I buy next. Thanks!!!
Zonibrat says
This was amazing. I will definitely be making this part of my normal recipe rotation.
Ruth says
Grandson, especially, loves this meat loaf.
Ammon Williams says
Holy crap this meatloaf hits different! I have made many a meatloaf but the texture and flavors are unlike Any other meatloaf I have tried. The breadcrumb ratio is what makes this a bussin Meatloaf!
Kenbo says
Made it for the crew at the firehouse..and they LOVED IT! (I did too.) My cooking skills are emergent and this recipe helped me gain confidence!
Sooooooo delicious!!
Nancy L Ferrier says
I make this recipe over and over. My boyfriend loves it!
Meg Samuels says
Great recipe to make around the Holidays! I used 1/2 ground beef half mild pork sausage. And instead of your glaze, I served it with cranberry sauce❤️
Karen Voigt says
My family love this recipe. I use Italian sausage rather than beef. It still turns out great.
Deb says
Absolutely delicious! I was planning to use crockpot but ended up making it in the oven. My family loves it!
Sue says
An easy, great tasting recipe. Thank you!
Jon says
The recipe sounded good & possible,,, until it came to the part at the end. How you’re suppose to “broil” the sauce to make it thick & sticky. HEY this was suppose to be a recipe for a slow cooker/crock pot. Not everyone has the luxury of a broiler in their kitchen.
The Chunky Chef says
A lot of slow cooker recipes involve a minor step at the end to get a sticky/crispy texture (which can’t be achieved in a slow cooker). However a great part about cooking is learning to adapt recipes to what you have available to you in your kitchen. I can’t possibly know what every single one of my readers have in their kitchen, and a broiler (which is part of an oven) isn’t an extravagant appliance. Obviously not everyone has an oven, but I would say the vast majority of my readers do, and I have to develop and publish recipes that the vast majority of my readers can replicate at home. You can make it without broiling, it just won’t be a sticky glaze on top. You could also use a butane blowtorch, if you have one of those, or skip it all together.
Ciaocaramia says
Loved this. I always worry about meatloaf being dry and under seasoned. Nope, not this one! It was perfect. I also appreciated that there was exactly enough sauce to drizzle! Great balance between savory and sweet on the sauce too. I will use this recipe from now on for meatloaf.
Danielle says
Does this recipe freeze well? I’m planning on making a bunch of slow cooker freezer meals.
The Chunky Chef says
Yes it freezes beautifully 🙂
Lisa G says
By far the tastiest meatloaf I’ve ever made!! There were not many leftovers the next day 😋
Patricia says
Best Meatloaf I have ever tasted. This recipe is so easy. Very delish! Everyone needs to try it.
Isabel Cooper says
What a great recipe. Easy, delicious, fast (2.5 hrs on high) and satisfying! Gave it 4 of 5 cause it was high in calories. Will make it again! Thanks. Oh! Great for leftovers too.
Brian N says
Isabel, this is the dumbest comment I have seen here. “What a great recipe. Easy, delicious – Gave it 4 of 5 cause it was high in calories.”
If you are worried about calories, move on to the next recipe… eat some lettuce. No one cares about what you think about calories.
The Chunky Chef says
While I never insult anyone’s comment, that struck me as odd too, since it’s not marketed as a healthy meatloaf. But to each their own 🙂
Julie A Sawicki says
Never thought about making a meatloaf in crockpot. The only I do it now. Delicious
Ted says
Never made meatloaf in my life but decided to give it a shot and surprise the wife after a long day teaching. Followed the recipe and it turned out awesome. Thanks, Amanda you’re awesome.
Cathy McCleskey says
How bad will it turn out if cooked longer? I am gone from 7 to 6.most crockpot recipes are for 6 hours. I wish there was something I could do
Amanda says
Do you have a crockpot that switches to warm once the cook time is up? That could help solve the problem. I wouldn’t leave it cooking for 11 hours though, you’ll have a really dried out meatloaf. If you don’t have a crockpot that switches to warm, I would suggest using the oven directions 🙂