A DELICIOUS EASY ITALIAN MEATLOAF

An incredibly delicious Italian Meatloaf cooked with a simple tomato sauce that can be prepared in minutes. Topped with grated Romano cheese to add saltiness and flavor with every bite. I’m confident this is the absolute best Italian meatloaf you will ever eat. 

This is a super delicious Italian meatloaf and it's anything but dry. You have a juicy tasty loaf of meat that's out of this world.

The sauce for this Italian meatloaf is simply stirred together in a bowl then cooked with the meatloaf. The flavor from the meat and spices seep into the sauce while it bakes. Is your mouth watering yet?

Wait, there’s more.

Ricotta is added to give it moisture and a topping of Romano cheese gives a delicious, salty flavor that is unique to this cheese.

WHAT MAKES THIS ITALIAN MEATLOAF SO DELICIOUS?

First, start off with good hamburger and for this Italian meatloaf, chuck is preferred. The meat has to have some fat content; 15% is good. Leave the lean hamburger for something else.

If you’re on a diet, this meal isn’t for you. Everything in moderation, my friends! Treat yourself to the best beef you can buy. I personally buy angus 85% lean, as it gives the dish a rich, juicy, and delicious flavor. I'm worth it and so are you.

The combination of both ricotta cheese and a little milk adds moisture without turning the meatloaf into a pile of greasy meat. 

As for spices, I go with the usual salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and some chopped fresh parsley. 

Let’s talk about parsley for a minute. It’s usually a buck for a bunch at your local market. Buy it, rinse it, shake off the excess, and chop up however much you want to accommodate to your taste preferences.

What to do with the remaining parsley?

Well, you can wrap a damp paper towel around the stems, place it in a paper bag, and put it in the fridge until you need it for another recipe.

Or, you can place it in a glass of water and put it on the counter and it will stay fresh for a couple of days until you need it. Don’t need it yet? Simply cut off the stems, chop up the parsley, place in a zip top freezer bag, and freeze it.

When you need it, it’s there. If you don’t feel like chopping it before freezing it, freeze it whole.

I use dehydrated onion flakes which makes prep that much easier. You can find it in the supermarket and it’s a huge time saver. I’m all about using real ingredients, and dehydrated onion flakes are exactly what its name implies.

Get some and use it when you just don’t feel like chopping onions. If you don’t have it when making this recipe, simply use granulated onion. Granulated onion is grainier than onion powder.

If you want to use a real onion, grate it so that it melts directly into the meat.

NO COOK SAUCE? TALK TO ME!

This is the same sauce I use for my stuffed peppers with sausage and mozzarella. Just mix the ingredients and pour into a casserole dish. The sauce cooks as it bakes. It becomes thick and savory from the flavor released by the meat.

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Finally, form the meatloaf and set it on top of the sauce, spoon some sauce over the loaf, and sprinkle with some grated Romano cheese.

Bake for an hour and ¡voila! You have an incredibly delicious, moist Italian style meatloaf.

Look at that! It might not look pretty but I'm all about the flavor and less about a pretty picture. The cheese is melted and forms a crust on top. The sauce is dark, thick, and flavorful.

Leftovers make great sandwiches too!

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