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This moist and healthy Turkey Meatloaf is an easy dinner that the whole family will love! Made with herbs, onions, ground turkey breast and Stovetop stuffing, the meatloaf recipe is packed full of flavor. Nutritious food never tasted so good!
If you don’t eat red meat, or if you’re just looking for a lighter supper that doesn’t taste like diet food, then you’re in the right place! This easy turkey meatloaf recipe will change your mind about healthy meals. Tender, juicy and bursting with flavor, your family will never know that each serving of the meatloaf is low carb, low fat, and high in protein — with just 230 calories! Grab your mashed potatoes and let’s get going…
How to make Turkey Meatloaf:
When I decided to make a ground turkey version of my boys’ favorite comfort food dinner, I naturally turned to Ina Garten’s recipe for a source of inspiration. It can be tricky to keep ground turkey breast moist while it bakes, so I figured that The Barefoot Contessa would know all of the secrets!
With a few adjustments to her original, I’ve come up with the perfect turkey meatloaf recipe. That onion, Worcestershire and chicken broth mixture keeps it super-moist!
Ingredients for Turkey Meatloaf:
- Onion
- Olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme
- Worcestershire sauce
- Chicken broth
- Tomato paste
- Ground turkey breast
- Stovetop stuffing mix
- Eggs
- Ketchup
First, cook the onion, salt, pepper and thyme with olive oil in a large skillet. Then stir in Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth and tomato paste.
I like to keep a tube of tomato paste in the refrigerator for recipes like this, since it’s easy to just squeeze out 1 teaspoon without opening an entire can.
Once the onion mixture is cool, combine it with the ground turkey, dry stuffing mix and eggs.
I used this turkey stuffing mix, but you can substitute with any flavor that you prefer.
Shape the turkey mixture into a rectangular loaf and place it on a baking sheet. Spread ketchup over top and it’s ready for the oven!
Bake the turkey meatloaf in a 350 degree F oven for about 1 hour, or until the meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Then slice and serve!
What sides go with turkey meatloaf?
Meatloaf pairs nicely with a variety of different sides. Here are a few options to get you started:
- Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes (or keep it lighter with mashed cauliflower)
- Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
- Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Slow Cooker Southern Green Beans
- Garlic Roasted Broccoli
- Southern Collard Greens
- Cornbread Stuffing
- A simple green salad dressed in Buttermilk Dressing
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- Since this recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon of tomato paste, look for a tube of the paste (rather than a can), so that you can easily save the extra tomato paste in your refrigerator for another use.
- I use turkey flavored Stovetop Stuffing, but you can substitute with any flavor that you prefer. Remember — you do NOT need to prepare the stuffing as directed on the package. You are only using the dry mix as a more flavorful swap for breadcrumbs.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper so that it’s easy to remove your meatloaf from the pan.
- Try this same recipe but swap out the turkey breast for extra lean ground beef. It will still be healthy, but it will have the traditional meatloaf flavor.
- Place a pan of water under the meatloaf in the oven to prevent the meatloaf from cracking on top.
- Prep Ahead! You can assemble the meatloaf in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator overnight. Before baking, allow the meatloaf to sit on the counter at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
- Can you freeze turkey meatloaf? Yes! You can freeze the meatloaf before or after cooking! Wrap cooked meatloaf tightly and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrapped properly, the cooked meatloaf will stay fresh in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 days.
- How to reheat turkey meatloaf: Thaw meatloaf in the refrigerator overnight. Place individual slices on a microwave-safe plate and warm in the microwave (covered) just until heated through. To reheat meatloaf in the oven, preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place meatloaf in a dish and cover with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or just until heated through.
- Have leftovers? A cold meatloaf sandwich is delicious!
- Turn this recipe into Turkey Meatloaf Muffins! Simply divide the turkey mixture evenly among muffin cups in a standard size muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until meatloaf muffins reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.
More meatloaf recipes that you might enjoy:
Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 2 ½ lbs. ground turkey breast
- Âľ cup dry Stovetop stuffing mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or spray with cooking spray.
- In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme until translucent (about 10 minutes). Add Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Mix well, and cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, gently combine ground turkey, dry stuffing mix, eggs and onion mixture. Shape into a rectangular loaf on prepared baking sheet. Spread ketchup over top.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees. Tip: to prevent the top from cracking, place a pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf.
- Slice and serve!
Notes
- Since this recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon of tomato paste, look for a tube of the paste (rather than a can), so that you can easily save the extra tomato paste in your refrigerator for another use.
- I use turkey flavored Stovetop Stuffing, but you can substitute with any flavor that you prefer. Remember — you do NOT need to prepare the stuffing as directed on the package. You are only using the dry mix as a more flavorful swap for breadcrumbs.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper so that it’s easy to remove your meatloaf from the pan.
- Try this same recipe but swap out the turkey breast for extra lean ground beef. It will still be healthy, but it will have the traditional meatloaf flavor.
- Place a pan of water under the meatloaf in the oven to prevent the meatloaf from cracking on top.
- Prep Ahead! You can assemble the meatloaf in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator overnight. Before baking, allow the meatloaf to sit on the counter at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
- Can you freeze turkey meatloaf? Yes! You can freeze the meatloaf before or after cooking! Wrap cooked meatloaf tightly and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrapped properly, the cooked meatloaf will stay fresh in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 days.
- How to reheat turkey meatloaf: Thaw meatloaf in the refrigerator overnight. Place individual slices on a microwave-safe plate and warm in the microwave (covered) just until heated through. To reheat meatloaf in the oven, preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place meatloaf in a dish and cover with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or just until heated through.
- Have leftovers? A cold meatloaf sandwich is delicious!
- Turn this recipe into Turkey Meatloaf Muffins! Simply divide the turkey mixture evenly among muffin cups in a standard size muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until meatloaf muffins reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.
- Recipe adapted from The Barefoot Contessa
What percent ground turkey do you use?
Hi, Terri! The recipe specifies ground turkey breast, which is usually 99% lean. I like that it’s not greasy, but it stays moist thanks to the onions and other ingredients that are added. You can really substitute with any ground turkey that you prefer, though. 🙂
Excellent recipe! I made several mistakes because I was impatient. I had just read the ingredients and started without reading the directions. I threw everything in a bowl, then read that I should have sautĂ©ed the onion through tomato paste. It was too late as the eggs were already added in the bowl. Then I saw that I needed 2.5 lbs of ground turkey breast when I only had 1 lb. Luckily, I hadn’t added the chicken broth yet so I completely omitted it. I didn’t have stove top so I diced up some rye bread and toasted it as a substitution. I also ran out of ketchup so I took some tomato paste and mixed it with some distilled white vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, & some fresh chopped parsley, salt & pepper. I thought it was going to be a disaster but I cooked it up anyway because wasting food sucks. It was delicious!! My boyfriend loved it too and he took leftovers to work the next day. Thank you!
Hah! That’s amazing, Sarah! It sounds like you created your own new recipe, and I’m just so happy that it worked out and you both enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to come back here and leave a note!
I didn’t sautĂ© the veggies before hand (laziness), used 1 1/2 onions and the entire box of stuffing – not because I thought the recipe needed modifications, I was just using up what I had. This is the best meatloaf I’ve ever had. I put it into 2 loaf pans and it made 2 meals. It’s absolutely delicious and will now be part of the regular rotation.
Awesome!! Thank you, Claire! 🙂
How long would you cook the meatloaf if you split the recipe into 2 smaller loaves?
It should be about the same! Of course, every oven is different. So, be sure to keep an eye on it. Hope this helps!
Do you include the seasoning packet from the stuffing that has the herbs? Aren’t there two packets in the box? One with the bread crumbs and another with the herbs? It’s been awhile since I’ve used it. Thank you.
Hi, Rhonda! There’s not a separate seasoning packet in the Stove Top mix (at least not the varieties that I’ve used). Just add the seasoned breadcrumbs and you should be good to go!