The main ingredient in meatloaf is hamburger. Traditionally, ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and mustard are added to the hamburger meat. Replacing those ingredients with ones that are typically found in pizza, traditional meatloaf becomes pizza meatloaf.
Ingredients needed
The ingredients need to mix together pizza meatloaf are easy to collect, combine, and bake. The ingredients required are:
- 1 pound of ground hamburger meat
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs (add more or less to achieve desired consistency)
- 1 cup of mozzarella cheese
- 1 small chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped pepperoni
- 1 TSP Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
Instructions for Mixing and Baking
Start with totally defrosted ground hamburger meat and mix in all other ingredients by hand. Thoroughly mix and make sure that there are no “pockets” of unmixed ingredients. When meatloaf is completely mixed, place in loaf pans or muffin tins and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the center is completely cooked (usually twenty minutes for muffins and forty-five minutes to one hour for loaf size).
What to Serve with It
Pizza meatloaf tastes delicious with a side of rice or potatoes. Italian breadsticks or garlic bread is also an excellent starch side. For vegetables, a fresh salad with Italian dressing complements the Italian part of the pizza portion of the meatloaf. Instead of a fresh salad, french-cut green beans would be a nice alternative.
How to Store Leftovers
Making a double or triple batch does not take much more time to prepare than a single batch. Because a multiple batches does not take much time to mix together, some of the leftovers can be stored to eat later for other meals.
Additional portions of pizza meatloaf are best stored in the freezer. To prevent the pizza meatloaf from developing freezer burn, place in at least one freezer bag. The freezer bag can be doubled to add additional protection from freezer burn.
If portions are individually frozen, it will be easy to pull out of the freezer the number of portions needed for the meal. Defrost in the fridge or on the counter. After defrosting, heat up in the microwave or in the oven. If reheating in the oven, watch carefully to make sure the already cooked meatloaf does not burn.
Whether served with lunch or dinner, pizza meatloaf combines the best of favorite American dishes. Trying different varieties of traditional recipes creates discovery, newness, and fun.
