Revamp your dinner and lunch routine with this creative broccoli cheddar stuffed meatloaf. You’ll eat your veggies and meat all in one innovative dish.
Meatloaf: A Meal That Lasts All Week
My mom has been making stuffed meatloaf every week lately because it is easy to eat throughout the week. It reheats really well and tastes just as delicious.
I made a huge heart meatloaf with her recipe for me and my hubby to share. The 2 of us got 3 meals out of it, 2 dinners and 1 lunch over a salad.
How To Make Gluten-Free Meatloaf
My mother can’t eat gluten, so I made this meatloaf gluten-free. It’s actually super simple – just use gluten-free breadcrumbs. They add crunch and substance to the meatloaf without any gluten, yum!
Stuffed Meatloaf Ingredients
Before you start cooking, this is what you will need to have to make this scrumptious dinner.
- Ground beef
- Frozen broccoli
- Cheddar cheese
- Eggs
- Gluten-free bread crumbs
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Parsley
- Olive oil
- Ketchup
How to Stuff a Meatloaf?
If you can make meatloaf, you can make a heart-shaped stuffed meatloaf. The directions are very similar. The complete, detailed instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Preheat the Oven
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the meatloaf
Next, mix the meat, eggs, breadcrumbs and spices together to make your meatloaf mixture.
3. Shape it Into a Heart
The fun part! Shape your meatloaf into a heart in your baking dish. It will hold its shape better if you make the edges further apart. Only use half the meat on this step. The other half will be used to cover up the heart and keep the stuffing inside.
4. Stuff with Broccoli
Place just enough broccoli to fill up the heart. Don’t overstuff it.
5. Lay Cheddar Cheese On Top
It doesn’t matter what kind of cheddar cheese you use. You can use shredded or thinly sliced cheddar, it all melts the same.
6. Top with the rest of the meat
Next, use the rest of the meat to seal in the stuffing.
7. Bake and Let it Cool
Then you just bake it and let it cool when it is done! That’s it! Such a simple recipe and turns out amazing.
Can you freeze meatloaf?
Yes, you can make meatloaf ahead of time and put it in the freezer until you need it. To do this, just make the meatloaf like normal, up until the “baking” step.
Instead of baking it, seal it with aluminum foil and label it with the recipe name and date.
It will last in the freezer for about 3 months.
When you are ready to bake it, just take it out the night before and put it in the refrigerator. Then, bake it at 375 degrees for about an hour. Yum!
Broccoli Cheddar Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 3 Pounds Ground Beef
- 1 Frozen Broccoli Steamer Bag
- 8 oz Cheddar Cheese
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Gluten Free Bread Crumbs
- 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Parsley
- Spray Pam or Olive Oil
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1/2 Cup Ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
- Whisk the eggs lightly
- Mix 3 pounds of the chopped meat with the whisked eggs, garlic powder, parsley, water, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese.
- Divide meat in 1/3 and 2/3, using the 1/3 for the bottom of the meatloaf.
- Spray Pyrex pan with Pam or spray olive oil.
- Make a heart that is about 1/2 inch thick with 1/3 of the meat mixture.
- Heat the broccoli steamer bag up halfway in the microwave.
- Place all the broccoli on top of the first layer of the heart. Leave a 1/4 inch lip around the area where the broccoli is.
- Cover the broccoli with cheddar cheese. Put more on than the picture shows. My mom recommends covering every inch of the broccoli.
- Cover the entire cheese broccoli and meat mixture with the rest of the meat mixture (2/3 of the original). This is when you can make the heart look perfect.
- Put the meatloaf in the oven for 60 minutes checking on it for the last 10 minutes based on oven temperature variations.
- For fun, I put 1/2 cup of ketchup on top of meatloaf smoothing it out with a butter knife.
More Dinner Ideas
Here are some more creative and different dinner ideas you should try next.
Oh my gosh this looks delicious! I wish my husband and kids liked broccoli or I would be all over making this!!
Yum! Can i come over for dinner? This looks great
xo,
Cha Cha
ChaChaTheFashionGenius.com
Sure! All fashionistas are welcome here!
this looks so good! w the current pregnancy i have been craving meat, cheese and broccoli so much! LOL this will fulfill that craving!
I feel you! The cravings are so random. I had a thing for Burger King Chicken Sandwiches.
OMG this is too cute. I love the dog in the pics.
Hi, I know this weird but what model is the stove?
Hi, I’m going to make this for our family fun night on Valentine’s Day. Can you tell me the size of the bag of your frozen broccoli? Thanks!