Cool weather comfort food at it’s finest, packed with nutrient dense grassfed beef & liver and the most amazing flavor!

Nutrient Dense Meatloaf

January snow storms, and my household favorite Sunday dinner!

An entire WEEK! Well, it felt that way at least! The girls had FOUR full snow days last week! Wild! Well over a foot of snow, and lots of super fun snow play led us to crave one of our favorite winter Sunday comfort dinners. Meatloaf!

Meatloaf?! The most popular dinner?!

Yep. It never fails about 30 minutes into that meatloaf into the oven, and I’ve got a hungry pack of drooling kids surrounding my kitchen! I feel like meatloaf gets a bad rap, but if you know how to amp up the flavor, it will become one of your favorite Sunday dinners too.

Not just any meatloaf!

Grassfed beef on it’s own is absolutely a powerhouse superfood. Packed with vitamins, minerals, CLA, healthy fat, and other compounds that you just can’t get in any other food, beef is a great idea to have as a weekly staple on your menu plan somehow every week. In addition to the beef, I like to get nutrient dense liver or other organ meat into the beef. If your crew isn’t used to eating organ meat, it blends into the ground beef so well. I like to get organ meat into the girls once a week. So whether I’m mixing it into tacos, spaghetti, meatballs, or something like this meatloaf, getting “nature’s multi-vitamin (organ meat!), into my growing kids is a must!

The Method :: The Meatloaf Mixture

The key to the burst of savory, comforting flavor all lies in the veggie saute. Seasoned with herbs, sweetened caramelized veggies, garlic, and tomato paste, this mixture is what takes the meatloaf to the next level. Simply saute the veggies and add it to the meat mixture, along with the binders/moisture (egg, bread, milk). You’ll gently mix the meat and then shape it into a loaf on the sheet pan.

The Method :: Baking the Meatloaf and Slicing

Once the meatloaf mixture is shaped, all that is left is to brush it with ketchup or BBQ sauce if you wish, and bake it. When the meatloaf is done baking, let it rest for 5-10 minutes so it will stay together while slicing. Slice nice thick slices – we slice this recipe into 5 slices for our family of 5. It can easily be doubled for leftovers.

The Method :: Serving the Meatloaf

While the meatloaf bakes, I typically get potatoes going for mashed potatoes. I keep it simple and serve buttered green beans on the side, but any side salad or other veggie works too. Meatloaf makes a great, easy to chew toddler dinner, and when you add the grassfed beef liver in addition to the beef, it really packs a nutrient dense punch for those growing kiddos. Using a side of mashed potatoes and easy to manage pan cooked veggies with lots of butter, and even the little ones can sit right at the table with the rest of the family and eat the same dinner!

Nutrient Dense Meatloaf

Renee – www.raisinggenerationnourished.com
Cool weather comfort food at it’s finest, packed with nutrient dense grassfed beef & liver and the most amazing flavor!
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 5 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 TB butter or other friendly fat to cook in
  • 1/2 onion finely diced
  • 1 medium carrot finely diced
  • 1 stalk celery finely diced
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 3/4 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes this leaves the heat very mild for kids – if you like a lot of heat double!
  • 5 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 pastured egg
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped bread or bread crumbs See Notes
  • 1/4 cup whole milk, coconut milk, whole sour cream, or coconut yogurt
  • 1 tbsp coconut aminos Optional if you don't have it. It gives a lovely depth of flavor
  • 1 lb grassfed ground beef
  • About 1/8 – 1/4 lb grassfed beef liver grated – See Notes
  • Optional ketchup for the top and/or for dipping

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a sheet pan with unbleached parchment paper.
  • Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot, and celery with the salt, pepper, thyme, and red pepper flakes, until the veggies are soft, about 5-7 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and tomato paste, stir around, and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and caramelizing.
  • In a medium mixing bowl stir together the egg, bread, and milk, until combined.
  • Add the beef, liver, and cooked veggies to the bowl and gently mix to combine.
  • Shape the meat mixture into a "loaf" shape on the sheet pan. Alternatively, you can use a small loaf pan. I like the caramelization of the sides that happens on the sheet pan!
  • Brush ketchup or BBQ sauce over the top of the meatloaf before baking. This is optional!
  • Bake the meatloaf at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let the meat loaf rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing to eat.

Notes

  • This recipe doubles fantastic. As written this recipe feeds my family of 5 for 1 meal, so when I want to ensure leftovers, I double it.
  • I keep the “ends” of loaves of bread in a bag in the fridge for this kind of recipe (they work for meatball breadcrumbs too!). If you don’t have bread available, or cannot have it, you can use 1/4 cup of gluten free flour or regular all purpose flour. 
  • Keep your grassfed liver in the freezer for easy grating! Just pull it out, grate it into the bowl, and return to the freezer. You could also use a couple tablespoons or so of a multi-organ powder or powdered liver!
Keyword chicken breast dinner recipes, family friend dinner ideas, grassfed beef recipes, healthy dinner recipes, healthy meatloaf, healthy meatloaf recipe, meatloaf recipes, nutrient dense dinner ideas, recipes with liver, vegetable filled meatloaf
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69 Comments

  1. We love meatloaf! Though I rarely make it these days since there is no way to add anything the whole family can have 🙁 So if I make meatloaf it is basically just a hunk of beef 😛 No eggs, no ketchup, no veggies, nothing. Not very exciting. Your recipe looks delicious!

  2. I’ve seen you share this recipe several times on social media and it always looks so good! I will have to add it to my meal plan (that one that loosely exists in my head, haha) for the next few weeks. I’m excited to try it!

  3. What can I substitute for the rice flour? All the substitute sites recommend cake/pastry flour, but they are assuming it is a cake/cookie. Not sure what the equivalent for this recipe would be… thanks.

    1. Hi Shawn! A lot of people use bread crumbs for meatloaf – if you double the amount you can use that – I just never have bread crumbs around the house. You could use a sprouted Einkorn flour or sprouted brown rice flour as well. Does that help?

  4. I adore meatloaf. I usually use almonds to bind the meatloaf together. Your recipe looks delicious. I would just need to do a workaround for the sour cream. Dairy issues here.

  5. I’m making this tomorrow and literally can’t wait but my sister wants to make it and is paleo and is struggling for a replacement for the rice flour, do you have any suggestions? Could she just leave it out? She doesnt eat sourdough either so breadcrumbs aren’t an option. Thank you! X

    1. Hi Fabienne! You do need something to soak up the moisture or it will all fall apart. You could use tapioca or cassava flour for a grain free option. You may also mention that many paleo followers do include white rice in their diet so this might still work for her 🙂

  6. I want to make this tomorrow. Should I cook the liver first, then grind? I bought some packaged liver at the store (all they sell, no fresh. Have to visit a real butcher next time), and when I thawed it it was the consistency of jelly. There’s no way this will grind like meat

    1. Hi KD! I grate the frozen liver and just mix it in with the ground beef. I fyou already have it thawed, that will be harder – I’m not sure that I would cook it before mixing it in. Maybe you can pop it back into the freezer overnight until you are ready to use it tomorrow? It grates really easy when frozen!

      1. Thanks so much, I’ll definitely grate it next time 🙂 I ended up leaving it out cause my boyfriend was fussing about eating liver. You’d never know he grew up on a farm 😛

        1. 5 stars
          Seriously amazing meatloaf, btw. I doubt I will ever use another recipe other than this one now that I’ve had it

  7. Renee, I made this tonight. It’s delicious! But also.. I just want to cry! I struggle to get my toddler to eat meat (texture thing) and also veggies. He’s taking forkful after forkful of this meatloaf! I paired it with parsnip mashed potatoes and this makes the best meal he’s had in awhile! Thank you!!!!

  8. 5 stars
    I love this meatloaf- extra veggies for the win!! I made a double batch last night and am wondering if I can freeze the second loaf for later?

  9. Do you cook it before freezing or no? How do you reheat? Trying to get a last few meals prepped before baby #2 arrives and we LOVE this meatloaf recipe!

    1. Great Kayla! Congratulations! I think I would freeze slices of it. So cook it off, cool it and slice. Then freeze the slices. You can thaw it out in the oven for dinner on a sheet tray 🙂

  10. i love trying to hide liver in meatloaf, too, however, i haven’t been able to do it successfully yet. i think i try to add too much, so i’m anxious to try your recipe. also, how do you grind your liver? that’s been a problem for me in the past. =(

  11. This looks tasty! I am always looking for ways to incorporate the wonderful broth I make in to recipes. Do you think substituting broth for the water would be over kill? Or should I stick with water?

  12. Made this last night… Hello to our new favorite meatloaf!! This was amazing. My 2 and 4 yr Olds are not normally meatloaf fans, but they gobbled this up! Thanks Renee. 🙂

  13. hi! i think i’m missing something (sleep deprivation from two kids who don’t sleep…you know what it’s like), but what is the ‘then add the water to the top’ step in the instructions? how much water? do i just pour it over the meatloaf? thanks in advance!

  14. I made this last night and it was the best meatloaf I’ve ever had! I used sheep’s yogurt and cassava flour as substitutes. I recommend increasing the amount of flour to about half a cup if you try cassava! Definitely will be adding this to my weekly rotation! Thank you!

  15. I have a double batch of this in the oven right now. My husband and two year old love this meatloaf! Although we haven’t been able to try it with liver yet. I don’t have rice flour on hand so I’d normally use potato starch but this time I’m trying coarsely ground oats. We’ve done mustard mayo on top but it really doesn’t need anything! Thanks Renee!

  16. What substitute do you recommend for the sour cream to make the recipe dairy free? Would cashew or oat milk yogurt work?

  17. Hi! I made this and am wondering if I can tweak some things to improve my outcome. Not sure I did it all right. The liver— I defrosted first and then “grated” by blending in the food processor. Is this bad? The flavor is tasty but the texture is a little mushy… kind of like it has pockets of mush. Versus typical meatloaf that is closer to a hamburger in texture. Is it the way I did the liver? Or perhaps the rice flour gathered in pockets?

  18. Hello Renee,

    Can I freeze this? and if so, for how long? I’m thinking this will be a great postpartum meal in my freezer 🙂

    Thank you!