I am not a fan of meatloaf. What’s appetizing about slab of meat topped with ketchup?! Just does not appeal me. One of my younger sisters will tell anyone, without hesitation, that she hates meatloaf. The moment she heard it was on the menu, she complained and was disappointed with me for choosing such a blah meal. I, however, had no intention of preparing a blah meatloaf.

Inspired by the Barbacoa Melt at Toasted, I decided to try my hand at converting myself and convincing our resident contrarian that meatloaf can be appetizing. And by George (whoever he is!) I think I’ve done it!

Barbacoa Meatloaf

• 1.5 ground beef
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 c parsley, fresh
• ¼ c cilantro, fresh
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 3 tbsp chipotles in adobo, chopped
• ¼ c green chiles, canned, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ c cotija, crumbled
• 2 tsp oregano
• Salt
• Pepper

For vegetarian version

• 1 Lightlife Plant Based Burger patty
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp parsley, fresh
• 1 tsp cilantro, fresh
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp chipotles in adobo, chopped
• 1 tbsp green chiles, canned, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp oregano
• Salt
• Pepper
• 5 Ritz crackers, crushed 

Topping

• Chimichurri, recipe adapted from Cooking Classy
• Pickled Red Onions, recipe courtesy Lively Table

For the meatloaf:

1. Preheat oven to 400ᴼ.
2. In a large bowl, combine the meat or meat substitute with the eggs, parsley, cilantro, lime juice, chipotles, green chiles, garlic, cotija, oregano, salt and pepper.* Mix until well combined.
3. Place in a greased loaf pan and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the center is fully cooked.
4. Remove loaf from oven, allow to rest for about 10 minutes and flip the meatloaf out of the pan onto your serving dish.**
5. Top with chimichurri and allow to cool to a bearable temperature of consumption.
6. Adorn your loaf with pickled red onions and serve.

*5 Ritz crackers for the personal vegetarian loaf

** Spare yourself the flip and shape your raw meat in a loaf pan then flip that onto a greased 9×13 pan

     and proceed with instructions.

Give this recipe a try and let me know your thoughts on it, especially if it adds meatloaf to your favorite food list.

Here’s to making the most of a bland dish!