Crockpot Meatloaf and Potatoes
Crockpot Meatloaf and Potatoes is a classic comfort food made with ground beef, ranch seasoning, and gluten free breadcrumbs slow cooked over gold potatoes until incredibly moist and juicy, perfect for a weeknight family dinner!
This Slow Cooker Meatloaf recipe is the ultimate comfort meal, made with tender gold potatoes slow cooked under a flavorful meatloaf topped with a tangy-sweet ketchup glaze. It’s incredibly easy to throw together and practically makes itself! It’s perfect for busy weeknights or Sunday dinner, and will quickly become one of your favorite family meals!
If you liked this recipe, you’ll also love my Crockpot Chicken Parmesan, and my Slow Cooker Steak and Potatoes!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy One-Pot Meal – We’re making the meatloaf and potatoes together in the slow cooker, meaning there’s less preparation and fewer dishes to clean afterwards!
Perfectly Tender Potatoes – Cooking the potatoes under the meatloaf allows them to soak up that beef broth, ensuring they’re soft and flavorful.
Ultra-Moist Meatloaf Every Time! The combination of ingredients in the meatloaf cooked in the crockpot keeps the meatloaf juicy and prevents it from drying out, staying incredibly tender and juicy!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Potatoes. I like to use Yukon gold potatoes, because they hold up really well in the slow cooker. You can also use red or fingerling potatoes, or even sweet potatoes.
Ground Beef. The more lean that your ground beef is, the less grease that will be on the bottom of the crockpot. I try to go as lean as possible here. That’s usually the opposite of what you want in a meatloaf, but the slow cooker helps to keep it from drying out.
Eggs. These act as a binder, holding everything together.
Onion. I like to add a medium Vidalia onion to the meatloaf. If you don’t like pieces of onion, you can caramelize them on the stovetop before adding to the meatloaf.
Milk. A little bit of milk helps keep the meatloaf really moist! You can also use half and half or heavy cream.
Gluten Free Breadcrumbs. I use regular plain gluten free bread crumbs. This helps hold the meatloaf together by absorbing some of the moisture.
If you’re not gluten free, just use regular breadcrumbs. Seasoned Italian breadcrumbs would also work.
Ranch Seasoning. This adds a ton of flavor to the meat. If you don’t have any on hand, check out my homemade ranch seasoning recipe.
Worcestershire Sauce. This adds a really nice flavor to the meatloaf! If you’re gluten free, check that your sauce is, because it can vary by brand for this ingredient.
Spices. Nothing too complicated, just some garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper for flavor.
Ketchup. This adds sweetness and color to the sauce on top of the meatloaf. This also caramelizes really nicely if you choose to broil the meatloaf in the oven before serving.
Brown Sugar. This gives the topping some sweetness, more like a barbecue sauce. The brown sugar also caramelizes really nicely.
Dijon. Don’t add too much mustard, just a little to give it flavor. Too much and the sauce topping won’t have that nice red color from the ketchup.
Vinegar. This adds a little bit of the tangy flavor to the topping, more like a barbecue sauce.
Kitchen Tools
For this meatloaf recipe, you’ll need a 6-7 quart slow cooker, and a large mixing bowl to prep the meatloaf.
How to Make Crockpot Meatloaf
Cut the potatoes into quarters and place them evenly into the slow cooker. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the topping ingredients and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add all of the meatloaf ingredients. Use your hands to work all of the ingredients together until well-combined. In the bowl, form the meatloaf into an oval shape, using your hands to gently press it together.
Gently transfer the meatloaf from the bowl to the crockpot, resting it on top of the potatoes. Use a spoon to evenly spread the glaze on top of the meatloaf.
Cook in high for 4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours, until the meatloaf is cooked through and the potatoes are fork-tender. If desired, transfer the meatloaf to a sheet pan and broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes to caramelize the glaze before serving.
Recipe Variations
- For a leaner option, use ground turkey or ground chicken for this meatloaf recipe.
- For even more flavor, make this using half ground beef and half ground pork or sausage.
- Try adding a cup of cheddar, mozzarella, or parmesan cheese to the meatloaf mixture for a different flavor.
- Try adding fresh parsley to add more flavor to your loaf.
- Try adding some veggies with the potatoes like bell pepper, minced onion, or baby carrots.
- Instead of ranch, you can also use Italian seasoning. If you need it, here’s my homemade Italian seasoning recipe.
Recipe Tip! I often make extra glaze! When the meatloaf is done, I use two spatulas to transfer it to a baking sheet, add the extra glaze, and broil it for 2-3 minutes until the topping is nicely caramelized.
Frequently Asked Questions
The secret to a really moist meatloaf starts with the ingredients. You can use ingredients like milk and eggs to add moisture to the loaf. You also want to make sure not to over-mix when forming the loaf to avoid packing it too densely. Last, keep an eye on the cooking time. The longer the meatloaf cooks past when it reaches the right internal temperature, the faster it starts drying out.
Recipe Tip! I bring the mixing bowl up to the slow cooker, so I’m sliding the meatloaf from the bowl, instead of picking the whole thing up and risking it breaking apart.
More Crock Pot Recipes
Storage
Refrigerate crock pot meatloaf for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Freeze leftover meatloaf for 2-3 months in an airtight freezer container.
Cooking Tips
- When I’m making this, I use my hands to gently press the meatloaf together into the oval shape, so it doesn’t break apart when I’m moving it to the slow cooker.
- Avoid over-mixing the meatloaf ingredients, because overworking can make it too dense.
- Cut the potatoes into evenly-sized pieces to ensure they cook uniformly and in time.
- The potatoes will cook in the beef broth from the meat, there’s no need to add additional liquid in the bottom. I like to give them a good stir, then use a slotted spoon to drain them before serving.
- If you have trouble lifting the meatloaf out of the slow cooker, try putting some aluminum foil under the meatloaf (so the foil goes up the sides of the pot, too) before placing it into the slow cooker to cook. Then you can use oven mitts to lift the foil out, and the meatloaf with it.
- If you’d prefer, drain the potatoes and mash them with a little bit of butter and milk for mashed potatoes.
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Crockpot Meatloaf and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds gold potatoes quartered
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free plain bread crumbs
- 1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons Ranch seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, gluten free
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the Glaze
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, gluten free
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Equipment
- 1 6-7 quart slow cooker
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes into quarters and place them evenly into the slow cooker. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the topping ingredients and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all of the meatloaf ingredients. Use your hands to work all of the ingredients together until well-combined. In the bowl, form the meatloaf into an oval shape, using your hands to gently press it together.
- Gently transfer the meatloaf from the bowl to the crockpot, resting it on top of the potatoes. Use a spoon to evenly spread the glaze on top of the meatloaf.
- Cook in high for 4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours, until the meatloaf is cooked through and the potatoes are fork-tender. If desired, transfer the meatloaf to a sheet pan and broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes to caramelize the glaze before serving.
Notes
- When I’m making this, I use my hands to gently press the meatloaf together into the oval shape, so it doesn’t break apart when I’m moving it to the slow cooker.
- Avoid over-mixing the meatloaf ingredients, because overworking can make it too dense.
- Cut the potatoes into evenly-sized pieces to ensure they cook uniformly and in time.
- The potatoes will cook in the beef broth from the meat, there’s no need to add additional liquid in the bottom. I like to give them a good stir, then use a slotted spoon to drain them before serving.
Nutrition
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