Kid-Approved Hidden Veggie Meatloaf or Meatballs Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do my meatballs taste like meatloaf? ›

Meatballs and meatloaf share a lot of the same ingredients for their recipes. Each of them uses ground beef, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Even their optional ingredients have crossover with the likes of parsley, garlic, and sometimes parmesan cheese.

You could try creamed cauliflower, or glazed carrots, the baby ones, or make a favorite Thanksgiving dish, green bean casserole. If you're just looking for a different starch, then pureed sweet potatoes with a bit of cinnamon, butter and brown sugar. Or spaghetti with ripe tomatoes and sliced olives.

As the collagen in the meat dissolves over time, it transforms into gelatin, which not only adds a silky texture to the sauce but also contributes to the overall richness and depth of flavor. The longer the simmer, the more tender and succulent the meatballs become.

In addition, many cooks also like to add chopped or grated vegetables to their meatloaf, which provides a boost of nutrition, as well as flavor.

Should I cook my meatloaf covered or uncovered? The meatloaf can be cooked uncovered. However, if you are concerned about it burning, you can cover the meatloaf with foil for the first 45 minutes and uncover it for the final 15 minutes to allow the meatloaf to brown on top.

To help your meatloaf stay together add things such as eggs, bread, crushed croutons, oatmeal, crackers, and breadcrumbs, these are all key ingredients that help meat stick together. I hope that this helps to answer your question. What are the secrets to a firm, sliceable meatloaf that slices and won't fall apart?

Bread Crumb Substitutes

¼ cup panko. ¼ cup cracker or pretzel crumbs. ¼ cup crushed cornflakes or other unsweetened cereals. ⅔ cup regular rolled oats (Use this only as a substitute for bread crumbs in meat loaf and other meat mixtures, such as burgers.

Ina Garten makes sure her meatloaf remains the star of the meal, but she typically serves meatloaf with creamy mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans.

Though modern meatloaf is an American innovation, its ancestry spans the globe, and centuries. In his cookbook, De Re Coquinaria, Roman gastronome Apicius features chopped meat combined with spices, bread soaked in wine and pine nuts and formed into a patty.

What meat is in Costco meatloaf? ›

Costco's Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Instagram's costobuys posted a video of the “oven ready meal made with fresh ground beef and Yukon gold mashed potatoes!” from a recent Costco run.

In the UK, there are regional pork meatloaf dishes known as haslet, which can be eaten cold or hot.

Meatballs can overcook in a soup

If they're left in stock, sauce, or soup for too long, they will become soggy and unappetizing. You should only cook them until they are browned before adding them to your soup to finish cooking.

Just like a sausage, a hamburger, or a steak, the hotter you get them and the longer you cook them, the more moisture they lose. On the other hand, it was undeniable that the sauce got better and better as it cooked, both by reducing and by picking up flavor from the meatballs as they simmered.

Giving the meatballs enough time to cook is essential, but if they are left to soak up the sauce for too long they'll turn squishy. Your meatballs should be fork-tender, but not soggy.

More Reasons Your Meatballs are Hard

Sticky hands can result in an overworked farcemeat. Too much time spent forming the balls can also make them tough, and you're more likely to overwork them if you can't get them off your hands.