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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.
Tasty. Had to drain the potatoes to keep them from being too mushy.
I followed the recipe and didn’t put water but the IP said food burnt. So now I added water to the potatoes and waiting to see what happens.
Would there be a time adjustment for cutting recipe in half and using a 3 qt. IP?
No, cook time should be the same (your pot should just take less time to come to pressure.)
Extremely flavorful and moist meatloaf. My only adjustments were to add chopped red peppers and lightly sauté with the onions and garlic before mixing with the meat. I also used cracker crumbs instead of bread because that’s what I had.
I tried this recipe for my very first ever instant pot meal. It went relatively well and the meatloaf was delicious!
However, while I measured everything very carefully, followed the directions for the instapot exactly (I think 😁), my 2# meatloaf wasn’t done at the end of the cooking time. The internal temperature was only 145 degrees and I ended up putting it in the oven for a while to finish. The potatoes were cooked… Almost mushy…but I had to drain a fair bit of excess water before I mashed them. I cannot figure what went wrong. I used a store- bought blend of meat that apparently had pretty high fat content… Maybe that affected it? Any thoughts or was my experience normal?
Only cause I just now did it, did you do natural release for 10 min? I forgot and did quick release and my meat loaf was 145 🤦🏼♀️
This was an excellent recipe. I used all turkey and added dill instead of sage since I had some leftover from another recipe. The meatloaf was so moist. I did put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 375 with the sauce to get a glazed result. Definitely a keeper!!
Loved it. I added a lipton soup mix.
My 12 year old, finicky eater. Loved it, as well as my husband. I did add just a bit of the paste, and a bit of buttermilk, no sour cream.
Any suggestions for a healthier substitute for the brown sugar in the sauce recipe?
This is soooo good! I used quick oats in place of breadcrumbs because I didn’t have any crumbs on hand and didn’t want to make any. And the sauce is YUM I’ve never had sauce besides bbq or ketchup on meatloaf and this was amazing. Also the potatoes under was brilliant! Thx! a keeper for sure!
Can I double the recipe?
Sure, if you instant pot will fit it all.
The flavor was amazing! Never would have thought to put dijon mustard in meatloaf! Will make again and again!