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This flavorful, juicy Instant Pot Meatloaf is one of my family's favorite easy instant pot dinners! The meatloaf is made with ground beef (or a combination of ground beef and ground turkey), breadcrumbs, spices, and eggs, and I usually add potatoes to the bottom of the instant pot to make mashed potatoes at the same time, for an all-in-one meal!
This easy meatloaf recipe made in the Instant pot turns out just as flavorful and delicious as any other cooking method (and if you don't have an instant pot, I've included alternate cooking methods). Learn all of my instant pot tips and tricks! Serve meatloaf with a Classic Wedge Salad or my favorite Baked Mac and Cheese. I'm confident your family is going to love it!
Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
My family absolutely loves meatloaf, but before the instant pot emerged I usually made mini meatloafs in a muffin tin. Now this instant pot meatloaf and mashed potatoes dinner is my go-to.
One of the things I love is that you can prepare the meatloaf in advance and refrigerate it until you're ready to cook dinner. Be sure to cover it well with plastic wrap, or store it in an air-tight container. The meatloaf sauce can also be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
How do you make meatloaf in the instant pot?
- Add all of the meatloaf ingredients to a bowl and mix everything to combine. Be careful not to over-mix the meat, which can result in a tougher loaf.
- Place the meat on one or two pieces of aluminum foil and shape it into a round loaf that will fit inside your instant pot.
- Fold the sides of the aluminum foil up to make a nest for the meatloaf, making sure the sides of the tinfoil are tall enough that grease wont be able to leak out.
- Add one cup of water to the bottom of the instant pot, followed by a wire trivet and then place the meatloaf on top.
- Secure the lid and close the pressure release valve.
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. When the timer beeps allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes.
- While the meatloaf is cooking, mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. You may choose to warm the sauce in the microwave for serving.
- When the meatloaf is finished cooking, carefully pull up on the sides of the aluminum foil to remove it from the pot.
- Spoon the sauce over the meatloaf and allow it to rest for a few minutes before cutting it into slices.
How to make mashed potatoes in the instant pot with the meatloaf:
Cut the potatoes into quarters and add them to the bottom of the instant pot along with water and salt. Place a wire trivet on top of the potatoes. Set the meatloaf on top of the potatoes. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. When the timer beeps allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes.
Remove the meatloaf and wire trivet. Add milk, butter, sour cream, bouillon paste and salt and pepper to the potatoes and mash them to your desired consistency. Be careful not to over-mash the potatoes because the more you mix them, the more likely they are to get gluey and starchy.
Add more seasonings or milk as needed, to taste. Serve them immediately with the meatloaf.
Meatloaf sauce:
This meatloaf sauce only requires four simple ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, dijon mustard, and nutmeg.
Combine the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and stir until smooth. Meatloaf sauce can be made up to one week ahead of time, stored in the fridge.
What kind of meat is best for meatloaf?
You can use any type of ground meat to make meatloaf, including ground beef, ground turkey, and ground pork. High fat meat, like ground chuck, makes a more tender meatloaf. I like a blend of half ground beef and half ground turkey or pork, but you can use 100% ground beef or other ground meat if you'd like.
How long should I cook meatloaf in the instant pot?
Cook the meatloaf on high pressure for 25 minutes and allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before opening the lid.
If you want to double check the temperature, an instant read thermometer should register about 160 degrees at the center of the meatloaf. If for some reason the meatloaf has not cooked to your liking you can finish cooking it in the oven at 375 degrees.
Can I make this meatloaf recipe in the oven?
If you don't have an instant pot you can easily adapt this recipe to bake the meatloaf in the oven. Mold the meatloaf into a 9×4 inch loaf and place it in the same tinfoil nest. Place it on a baking sheet, spread with half of the sauce and bake at 375 degrees F for about 45-50 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160 degrees F in the center of the meatloaf.
Tent the meatloaf with foil and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Spoon the remaining sauce on top.
Can I make meatloaf in the slow cooker?
Yes, you can use this same recipe to make the meatloaf in your slow cooker or crock pot. Line the bottom of your slow cooker with tinfoil and place the meatloaf on top. Add the sauce on top, reserving some of it for after it's cooked, if you'd like.
Cook on LOW for 6 hours, or HIGH for 3 hours or until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160 degrees F in the center of the meatloaf.
If you want to try cooking potatoes in the slow cooker at the same time as the meatloaf (I haven't tried this myself, but think it will work), put the meatloaf in foil to separate it from the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into chunks and add to the slow cooker with 1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth, and salt. Cook for 6 hours on LOW or 3 hours on HIGH. Make the mashed potatoes according to recipe.
CONSIDER SERVING MEATLOAF WITH:
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Instant Pot Meatloaf
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf:
- 2 pounds ground beef, (or ground turkey, ground pork or a combination)
- 2 large eggs
- 4 Tablespoons ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 4 cloves garlic, , minced (or 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 cup sweet onion, , diced (or 3 teaspoons dried minced onion
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Meatloaf sauce:
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 6 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Mashed Potatoes:
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, , quartered
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup milk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon bouillon paste, (I love 'Better than Bouillon)
Instructions
- Add all of the meatloaf ingredients to a large bowl and gently mix everything to combine (without over-working the meat).
- Form the meat mixture into a round loaf that will fit into your instant pot.
- Place the loaf on a large piece of aluminum foil and fold the edges up to make a secure nest for the meatloaf to rest in. (You want the edges high enough that grease from the loaf wont spill out onto the potatoes while cooking.)
- Add the quartered potatoes, water, and salt to the bottom of the instant pot.
- Lay the IP wire rack on top of the potatoes. Place the aluminum foil "nest" with the meatloaf on top of the rack.
- Secure the lid on the pot and close the pressure release valve. Select manual/High pressure and cook at high pressure for 25 minutes*. When the timer beeps, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes.
- While the meatloaf cooks, make the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Remove the IP lid, and carefully remove the meatloaf. Discard the aluminum foil and drippings. Spoon the meatloaf sauce over the top and cut into slices.
- Drain any remaining water from the pot. Add the milk, sour cream, butter, bouillon paste, and salt and pepper to the bottom of the instant pot with the mashed potatoes. Mash to combine (but don't over-mash the potatoes). Taste and adjust seasonings, as needed.
Notes
Make Ahead Instructions:
You can make meatloaf one day in advance and store it the fridge (uncooked) and covered well.To freeze meatloaf:
Place uncooked meatloaf in a loaf pan or freezer safe container and cover well. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the meatloaf in the fridge overnight, and then bake as directed.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I made this recipe for dinner a few days ago and it was great, everyone loved it l will definitely put this in my recipe book!!
Came out perfect for me thank you
This was so good but I didn’t put the meat loaf in the Broiler in my oven doesn’t work it was good anyway I was wondering if I could use my air fryer on my 8-quart instant pot to Brown the top new to using the instant pot
Yea you can! I used a mini meatloaf pan on top of the rack and lightly covered with foil. Using the air fryer lid using the BAKE function for 25 minutes at 350° and then removed the foil and used BROIL function for 10mins. Let it rest for 5 mins before slicing.
NOTE: I soaked the stovetop in 1/4c milk, only used 1lb of ground beef, added a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, a splash of worcestershire sauce. I added about 1-1/2TBLS BBQ sauce to the ketchup glaze.
I did not make the potatoes, we paired with a salad and broccoli for the side. Turned out great.
So good – made it in my cheesecake pan. New to IP so didn’t feel comfortable adding the potatoes to the bottom. Used baby potatoes on the stovetop – all turned out fantastic!
PS no heating up the kitchen – Love it!
Did you change anything else besides taking out the whole potato section of the recipe? I want to make this but we don’t want the potatoes. I’m also new to Instapot cooking and I’m nervous to change recipes without guidance.
You can just skip the potatoes if you don’t want them. You can even tuck other veggies under there if you like. Do not fear your Instapot as they are almost foolproof and you will be amazed at all the wonderful things you can make in it, quickly and with little effort. Not just proteins but even delcious options like cheesecake! This recipe only has the meatloaf stacked over potatoes, but you can stack a full meal in there and one of my favorite ways to use ours! So much so that I bought a cheap 3 stack of pots for our instapot so I can say have 3 different veggies separated or really whatever you want. I LOVE ours and after almost 3 years my family and I have had a blast with it! Good luck!
I live in an RV and making meatloaf in a convectuon oven didn’t work out. My husband asked for meatloaf o Father’s Day. Been over a year since I had attempted meatloaf. Came across this recipe. He loved it! Plus real mashed potatoes!! He was a happy camper!
I would drain the water from the potatoes before mixing in the other ingredients.
Thank you. I was thinking a cup of water left with the potatoes, milk and sour cream would be runny. I was just about to suggest the same thing…drain the water first, indeed.
That is part of the recipe.
Excellent! My husband and I are very cautious about eating some other meatloaf but we loved it!
Very nice recipe. Just made it and we all enjoyed. Added a bit of Smoked Paprika to the sauce as well
I have tried putting raw onion in my meatloaf, but I tried it with sauteed onions and garlic and it made it so much better as did adding beef bouillion instead of salt.
Just got my 8 Qt. IP Found a 8″ Springform pan that fits. Planning a 3 lb. Meatloaf. I have always made meatloaf’s in the slow cooker which required frying onions, green pepper, carrots, and mushrooms. Should I fry them for the IP, or will the pressure take care of softening them up.