Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, the perfect family dinner

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Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

Family dinner ideas can end up being the same old same, week in and week out.   At least once a week I love to make a dinner that is a little more involved or at least takes a bit to cook so it makes it feel involved. A family favorite at this house is bacon wrapped meatloaf so moist it’ll make you want to sing. My husband often requests it which is impressive because he used to loathe meatloaf. In this recipe the bacon is optional, but I’m not sure why someone would opt out of this magical meat. Anyway, let’s get to it.

What you’ll need:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion (I grate mine with the large holes of a cheese grater but you can definitely dice them up too)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs, divided. You’ll want to start with 2/3 but keep that 1/3 handy
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds ground beef
6 strips of bacon, I used thick cut

Now, as a disclaimer, I don’t actually always measure my ingredients. I wing it a lot but I made this step by step and it’s pretty spot on.

How to Make the Meatloaf:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 305 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a rimmed baking sheet, line the sheet with foil.

Step 2: Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic together until soft and fragrant. This should be about 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent garlic from burning. Transfer the two to a large bowl.

Step 3: In a small saucepan bring the ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 7 minutes or until the mixture reduces slightly to a thick texture. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the ketchup mixture for glazing the meatloaf and add the rest to the onion mixture. Add the broth and parsley to the mixture and stir well until blended.

Step 4: Add eggs, 2/3 cup breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt, and pepper to the newly mixed onion/broth mixture. Stir to combine. Add the beef, using your hand’s mix until well blended. Add breadcrumbs as needed to dry the mixture. You don’t want it to wet or it will just fall apart and not in a good way.

Step 5: Transfer meat mixture to the prepared baking sheet. Shape the meat into a loaf about 12″ long x 5″ wide. Spread the reserved ketchup over the top and crisscross the bacon over the meatloaf, tucking the ends underneath.

bacon wrapped meatloaf.  bacon wrapped meatloaf.  bacon wrapped meatloaf.

Step 6: Bake in the oven for 70-80 minutes until a thermometer reads 165 degrees and bacon has a nice crisp to it. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting a serving.

I love to serve this bacon wrapped meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a green veggie but sometimes we just go with riced or mashed cauliflower instead. I hope you and your family love this dinner idea as much as we do! Tell me how it went in the comments below!  If you are looking for a fun pasta idea that is a big hit with the kids, check out our rainbow pasta dinner idea.  You can also check out my favorite mac and cheese recipe that could be a great side dish.