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
- 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, 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.
Claudia Davidson says
This meatloaf recipe is delicious. This is my third time making it. My husband does not like meatloaf, but he likes THIS! 😀 I make it in a 1 lb. size, but I make the full glaze recipe you used for the 2 lb. loaf. Glaze is good to add to leftover meatloaf sandwiches… I love those leftovers for sandwiches! Thanks for this recipe. I’ve shared it with 3 of my friends. I have this recipe in the crockpot now!
Jennifer Cieboter says
Hi Claudia! Only using 1 pound, did you cook it for the same length of time as the 2 pound recipe directs?
Diana Downie-Bristow says
Best meatloaf EVER!! I’ve made this 3 times now. I follow recipe as stated! Family loves it.
Emily says
What’s the cook time if you half the recipe?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested halving this recipe, so I can’t say for certain what changes would need to be made to the cooking time. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Diane Broussard says
I did not see that I was to spray the foil on bottom w/oil, thou I sprayed the sides. It was very hard to take meat off of the foil after cooking meat loaf in crockpot as it stuck to bottom foil only. DO NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE! That gave me the biggest problem, thou the taste was good. I will not do that again!
Donna Tracy says
First time making meatloaf in the crockpot pot it turned out so delicious and best of all no burnt bottom
Margaret Wilson says
I LOVE this recipe. It’s in my pot right now!! Made it the second time. Shared it several times! Of course we know that using the perfect ground beef along with your ingredients makes is SO much better! Thank you!!!
Donna Burdette says
Love it…good flavor and not dry at all
Mary Skaggs says
Can you turn it on high instead? For like 3-4 hours?
The Chunky Chef says
I prefer this meatloaf cooked on low, but you can cook it on high. Start with 3 hours and see if the meat has come to an internal temperature of 165°F 🙂
Debdu322 says
I tried this recipe in the crockpot using my favorite meatloaf recipe because my oven was not working at the time, only adjusting my recipe with the amount of milk and bread crumbs in this recipe, and using a pound of ground beef and half a pound of meatloaf mix. While the flavor was still good, the meatloaf was dense, although still moist. IF I use it again, I will only use 1/2 cup of milk and 1 cup of the herb dressing
Stephen G says
Another home run from the chunky chef! My favorites folder is fast becoming just pages from your site lol
Lori H says
Great for home and while on the go camping!
Will become a staple at home and on the go!
Lynn B says
I have made this several times. My husband and I love it. I just noticed in the recipe to hold out 2 T of onions and then you never say what to do with it. I just put it on top when I baked it. Oh well, not a deal breaker! I didn’t have stuffing mix but I did have dried bread crumbs. I mixed savory herbs with the bread crumbs.
Genevieve says
I believe the 2 tbls on onions that you hold out are the 2 tbls that you put in the glaze in the glaze
Katt says
Sounds like what I need, but, can make a 1 lb of beef loaf, just 1/2 the cook time?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested halving this recipe, so I can’t say for certain what changes would need to be made to the cooking time. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Matt says
Been making for several years now, especially for Thanksgiving (I hate cooking turkey, love eating it). Also great on the grill. Make into patties, grill and brush on glaze. Whole patty gets crispy.
Jen says
Hands down, the best meatloaf I’ve ever had, the easiest I’ve ever made, and the leftovers make the best meatloaf sandwiches too! Very moist and flavorful and the glaze is absolutely delicious. Honestly, I was surprised how good it was considering the simplicity of the ingredients and cooking it in a crockpot. No joke, instead of hitting the ice cream stash for the middle of the night munchies, I was actually nibbling at this meatloaf!!!
Mandy says
Best meatloaf we’ve had! This will be my go to recipe! Thank you!
Kristina says
Amazing recipe! So moist & flavorful. Will definitely have this on repeat at our place.
Renee says
This tasted like a loaf of bread with a little meat added in… WAY too much stuffing – very disappointed after all that work and time to turn out like this.
Wilma says
I also prefer less bread so I only use one box and it still stays together perfectly. It had become my go-to
Rachel says
It was good but I felt like the amount of stuffing took over the dish. Next time I’ll use only one box. We prefer a more meaty tasting meatloaf.
Jenny says
Hi, what’s the consistency like when it’s cooked? Does it stay firm?
The Chunky Chef says
As shown in the photos, it stays firm enough to slice 🙂
Andrew Clark says
I see in this recipe that you used Onion and that’s it. What about Celery, Green Peppers and Diced Tomatoes?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, as this recipe wasn’t developed with those other ingredients. You can certainly experiment with adding them, or find a different meatloaf recipe that has everything you want 🙂