We all have those nostalgic dishes from our childhood that we grew up eating, thought were weird or gross but grew to love. This Old School Meatloaf is one of them for me.
My mom’s family always made meatloaf with perfectly-cooked hard-boiled eggs running through the center. As a kid, I was both fascinated and disgusted by this simultaneously decorative, bizarre and somehow beautiful meatloaf.
I remember wondering: “How did they get the eggs in the center?”, “How did it stay together?”, and ”Should I eat it?”. LOL!
Fast forward a couple decades and I find myself with a family who not only wants meatloaf but the old-school version. Since my mom’s family recipe was bound together with breadcrumbs, eggs and ketchup, I had to do a bit of a reinvention.
My version is a Paleo Meatloaf Recipe that combines both lean ground beef and ground pork with herbs, spices, egg and some almond meal to bind it together. If you don’t eat pork, you could use dark meat chicken or turkey. Whatever you do, don’t skip the hard-boiled eggs. They are the best part!
NOTES:
- Worcestershire Sauce is a tricky thing if you care about real food, because the classic we all know and (used to) love has some crappy ingredients in it. Then, there are some organic, vegan versions that I know of but they contain wheat and soy in some form. If those things are OK for you, I suggest just picking up one of the cleaner, organic versions.
- You have to make the hard-boiled eggs in advance. This can be done days prior. Here is my foolproof technique for perfect hard-boiled eggs every single time!
- I recommend ONLY using 3 hard-boiled eggs so that your eggs don’t stick out the edges of your meatloaf. My son demanded that we put in four so I went with it but it does make it a bit more difficult to cut.
- The loaf pan size I used is 9 x 5 x 3 inches / 8 cups Imperial OR 23 x 13 x 8 cm / 1.9 liters Metric
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Paleo Meatloaf Recipe. Old School Meatloaf Recipe with Hard Boiled Egg.
- 4 small cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 large or 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2/3 cup almond meal
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 3 to 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Ghee or olive oil
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Begin by finely chopping garlic, onion and parsley. I cheated and used the food processor to save time. If you want to do the same, place garlic in first, process until finely chopped and then add onion.
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Pulse until onion is finely chopped but not watery.
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Remove onion and garlic to a large mixing bowl. Place parsley in food processor and process until finely chopped and you can measure 1/2 cup. Add to mixing bowl.
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Add tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, almond meal and beaten eggs into mixing bowl.
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Mix until well combined and add in ground beef and pork
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Use your hands to gently combine until spice mixture is just incorporated. You do not want to overwork the ground meat or it will be tough.
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Take 1/2 of the ground meat mixture and place into a loaf pan (see NOTES for size). Press down until well packed and make a slight well in the center for the hard-boiled eggs.
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Place hard-boiled eggs in well.[img src="http://www.everydaymaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_9466.jpg" width="550"]
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Cover with remaining ground meat mixture. Be sure to pat down well and make sure there are no air pockets.
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Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, combine ingredients for topping (tomato paste and ghee or oil).
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Use your hands to evenly spread the topping over the meatloaf.
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Place loaf pan on a baking sheet (so the meatloaf juices don't leak over and cause smoke in the oven) and put on the center rack in oven. Bake undisturbed for 90 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. The meatloaf should have shrunk just a bit and pulled away from the sides. There may also be juices that overflowed onto the baking sheet and are still in the loaf pan.
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Once meatloaf has cooled, use 2 sturdy spatulas to gently remove it to a cutting board. Slice, serve and Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
kim says
I cant seem to find the oven temperature? Giving a try now, looks great!
EverydayMaven says
Hi Kim, Did you find the temp? It is listed at the top of the instructions – 350F. Hope you loved it!
marg says
I looked several times and I think the 350 temperature is not listed on the posted recipe. I just thought you might want to correct it since some of us are too lazy to scroll through all the notes.
EverydayMaven says
Hi Marg,
The first sentence after COOK: is “Preheat oven to 350F” but I totally get how you could miss it. Hope you love the recipe and thanks for reading 🙂
Shauna says
This was AMAZING!! My husband is obsessed with meatloaf and I’m obsessed with Paleo.. The best ever he said! Thank you!
EverydayMaven says
Nice! Thanks for letting me know and so happy to hear you both loved it 🙂
angela says
Why do you use both types of meat? We don’t eat a lot in one sitting. Can I half this recipe and only use ground beef?
EverydayMaven says
For moisture and taste. This freezes really well once cooked so you could stock your freezer with cooked portions! I think you could make it with all ground beef but just don’t use the extra lean or it may be dry. As for halving, if you have a pan that small then go for it!
Sara says
This sounds so yummy!
I don’t eat pork thought, can I just add extra beef?
EverydayMaven says
Yes Sara – or dark meat turkey or chicken!
Amy says
I ALWAYS wanted a piece right in the middle so I could have that perfect slice with a big slice of yolk!!! I have not had that for literally decades….
EverydayMaven says
You need to make it!
john@kitchenriffs says
Great looking meat loaf! Oddly enough, I’ve made meat loaf maybe twice in my life (and I may be overstating the case!). I like meatloaf and will order it out, but just never make it for some reason. Yours looks terrific – love the eggs!
EverydayMaven says
It sounds like you have some homemade meatloaf in your future John!
Faith says
I absolutely adore my mom’s meatloaf and have been thinking about giving it a healthy update. I’m so happy you’re enjoying the props I sent – they look great!
Joanne says
I actually always hated my mom’s meatloaf..but then again she never stuffed an egg into it! What a crazy (awesome) idea!
EverydayMaven says
I think meatloaf is one of those love or hate (or come around and eventually love lol) things Joanne!