If you think about comfort food dishes in America, the dishes that have gotten us through some really tough times throughout the years, I would say that meatloaf is definitely one of the meals at the top of that list. In fact, the quintessential ketchup-glazed meatloaf is so associated with American cuisine that people would put it right up there with hot dogs and hamburgers. 


Of course, since it is such a basic meal--just meat that is combined with really anything else you need to use up, like veggies or a stale loaf of bread--it goes way back in the history of the world. There are competing histories and origin stories, but the most common theory is that meatloaf’s closest antecedent emerged in medieval Europe around the fifth century. It was more of a Mediterranean dish with finely diced meat scraps, combined with fruits, nuts and seasonings. From then on it became a perfect meal for a scrap heap of using expiring vegetables and a way to stretch protein further. 

It had a base of mixed minced meat, oftentimes whatever meat was available, whether that was pork, beef, or even things like liver or other organs. Meatloaf throughout history was a great way to use up as much of an animal as they could. The first recorded American recipe of meatloaf as we know it today came from 1870, which instructed the cook to finely chop “whatever cold meat you have”. This meat would likely have been beef, since in New England they would have had to kill their cows before winter since it is cold and feeding the animals would be challenging. They would try to take advantage of every last scrap of meat they could, and making meatloaf was a great way to use cheap, less-desirable cuts of meat. They added pepper, salt, onion, slices of milk-soaked bread and egg to the chopped beef and voila!--you’ve got a recipe that’s very similar to the ones we use today. The main difference is that it was served for breakfast, not dinner.


Americans have always taken to the idea of meatloaf with fervor and in the past we have gone pretty crazy with all sorts of variations. When meatloaf recipes were probably at an all-time high, the 1950’s, there is a cookbook from 1958 called 365 Ways to Cook Hamburger, which included 70 recipes for meatloaf! Some of these variations, as you can imagine, were pretty wild, like including smashed bananas, or one even called for ketchup-filled peach halves.

Nowadays, you’ll likely be able to find it on the menu and most diners across America, or a chef at a more upscale restaurant might have it as a special with their own take on it, but it has lost a bit of luster as a typical meal served at any restaurant. The most likely place you will eat it is with your favorite recipe at home. 

Since it is such a popular dish and has been for hundreds of years, you likely already have a meatloaf recipe you love, which might be a beloved family recipe. If you are wanting to try a new recipe, boy, have I got a fantastic recipe for you to try. In fact, I am going to be so bold as to say it is the BEST meatloaf recipe ever! It is a 5 star recipe (with almost 500 reviews and over 1,800 comments expressing their devoted love and adoration for this recipe) from Natasha’s Kitchen. I think what really sets this recipe apart is the perfect glaze on top. It’s all about the glaze, baby! 

Is meatloaf a dish that has a special place in your heart? Do you love to make it or order it at your favorite local diner or restaurant? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.



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    Mary Richardson
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
    Email the author! mary@dvo.com