Chicken and Pork Meatloaf Recipe – Moist & Flavorful

This chicken and pork meatloaf is a delicious alternative to traditional beef meatloaf. Combining ground chicken and ground pork gives this easy meatloaf recipe plenty of flavor while keeping it tender and juicy. Fresh breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, rosemary and a little hot sauce add even more flavor, while a sweet ketchup, brown sugar and mustard glaze finishes the loaf.

If you've never made meatloaf with ground chicken before, this is a great place to start. It's an easy family dinner, makes wonderful leftovers, and may just become your new favorite meatloaf recipe.

Many of you may think that meatloaf should always be made with beef, but this ground chicken and pork recipe has won lots of converts!

Since I stopped eating beef years ago, I've never lost my need for burgers or foods made with ground beef.

But with all the options out there, I've come up with new favorites and this chicken meatloaf recipe is one of them.

Why You'll Love This Chicken and Pork Meatloaf

• No beef required. Ground chicken and pork make a flavorful alternative to traditional beef meatloaf.
• This meatloaf is tender and juicy. Fresh breadcrumbs and eggs help keep it moist.
• You'll love the flavor! Onion, garlic, rosemary, a touch of hot sauce and onion soup mix give the meatloaf plenty of seasoning.
• The sweet and tangy glaze of ketchup, brown sugar and mustard creates a classic meatloaf topping.
• Great leftovers! This meatloaf makes fantastic meatloaf sandwiches the next day.

Why Use Chicken and Pork for Meatloaf

For some reason I've never been a fan of ground turkey, so I use a lot of ground chicken. I like the texture better as it is not so wet. Try it and see!

Chicken alone though can be quite lean, while pork adds richness and flavor.

Ingredients For Chicken and Pork Meatloaf

Why I use fresh breadcrumbs

Fresh white bread for the breadcrumbs - Bread crumbs or often oats, are used as a filler to make the meatloaf stretch! and to serve more people actually! I've even used cooked rice.

Use fresh bread crumbs so your meat loaf doesn't dry out...Another common error! Though I'm sure many of you have a recipe that works just fine with dry bread crumbs!

However, I'm guessing you soaked those bread crumbs in milk, which helps to keep things moist!

Carrots, Onion, Garlic and Parsley add lots of flavor. Veggies and seasonings can be catered to your tastes. Should you use cooked veggies or raw? Frankly, cooking them is one more step, so I am not known to saute the veg! But using butter definitely would give more flavor, so this is your choice.

Ketchup is a key component in this and Heinz is my go-to. It adds moisture and flavor when added to the pork and chicken.

Eggs help bind the meatloaf plus also add moisture.

Why add onion soup mix?

Salt and pepper, along with Tabasco and onion soup mix, adds umami and enhances the flavor the meat.

I also add onion soup mix because my mom always used onion soup mix in her meatloaf. That was probably the only constant in her "recipe". Onion soup mix may be old-fashioned, but it serves its purpose in a very good way!

Rosemary? It's that something extra, that makes it yours. Just a little bit makes this chicken and pork mealoaf extra special.

Brown sugar, mustard and ketchup make a fantastic glaze. Remember to divide the ketchup so you have enough for the glaze. And personally I like extra ketchup on my plate for dunking!

French fried onions for garnish are optional, but who doesn't like French fried onions? And besides...they offer some contrast to this savory meatloaf.

How Do You Keep Chicken Meatloaf Moist

Ground chicken is relatively lean, so the ingredients and technique matter. In this recipe, several things help keep the meatloaf tender:

Use fresh breadcrumbs. They help retain moisture without making the meatloaf dense.

Don't overwork the meat. Mix the ingredients just until everything is combined. Compressing the meat too much can produce a tough meatloaf. Do not pack the meat too hard. Meat should be handled gently, otherwise it can end up tough and who wants a tough ground chicken meatloaf?

Eggs are used to give moisture and also to bind the ingredients together.

Using ground meat with a high fat ratio also helps, as does a sauce or bacon strips laid on the top, but honestly, even with other versions of meatloaf I have to admit, I've never had this problem.

Figure 1 egg to a pound of meat unless you are using really lean meat.

Don't use overly lean meat. The pork contributes fat and flavor to the chicken.

Use a glaze. The top of the loaf holds in moisture, but a glaze is also great for flavor.

Additionally, the more you reheat the meatloaf, the more it dries out!

How You Know When Chicken Meatloaf is Done

Bake the meat loaf until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part rather than relying only on cooking time.

Because this is ground poultry, it is important to test using a meat thermometer!

More on Meatloaf

Why Add Pork to a Chicken Meatloaf

Ground chicken is lean and mild, while pork brings additional richness and savory flavor. Using the two together gives you a meatloaf that's lighter in flavor than an all-beef version, but still satisfying and tender.

As a child my mother often made meatloaf, always with ground beef, and usually we never quite knew what to expect. She usually took a variety of leftovers and combined them with onion soup mix and what you got is...well, what you got!

She did that with brisket also, but when it comes to such classic dishes, I like to revert to recipes, so I always know what I'll get!

What if Your Meatloaf Produces to Much Juice?

If this meatloaf without beef happens to produce too much juice; well I just pour it off. I prefer my pork and ground chicken meatloaf to be tender, but not wet.

If you do like crust around your meatloaf you might try baking it in muffin cups. Individual portions this way, and if the meat juice doesn't collect you will have nice browned edges.

But remember, I pour off the juice. You might want it for your dog's dinner or I suppose you could spoon it over mashed potatoes for a light gravy.

The rest is up to you.

What To Serve With Meatloaf

Personally, we love mashed potatoes and green beans. Standard comfort fare.

My oven roasted green beans are not only great, they are easy to make.

Scalloped potatoes always seem so special, but mashed potatoes always seem necessary.

If you are going all out with comfort try these no-knead rolls or even these garlic pizza rolls made with pizza dough.

And nothing like apple pie for dessert! Unless you love chocolate.

How I Make My Meatloaf Sandwich

Hopefully, you will have leftovers, because I crave a good meat loaf sandwich.

And when I make my meatloaf sandwiches with leftovers, well, it is as simple as taking soft white bread, (I like Orowheat country white) untoasted, and slathering the bread with ketchup and lots of black pepper and a few slices of thin, crisp onion, and then I add slices of meatloaf and yes...this is what I eat when you aren't watching! (What a long sentence!)

(This is an Updated Post from 2018)

In previous programming I mentioned that Zoe was home and shortly after Alex arrived, though they didn't overlap. Zoe took the good weather with her and Alex, fresh from touring Baja on a motorcycle, came home to quite cold weather.

Needing comfort food we kind of went through our list and started with Cincinnati chili and roast chicken and then finished off with these great red chile chicken enchiladas. The sauce is killer!

I served these with my stuffed poblano peppers which he always requests.

During the time he was here we also made this pork and ground chicken meatloaf, that is comfort food at its finest.

Yes, we had mashed potatoes to accompany them, and I even mixed in some leftover beer cheese from the fridge. Winner!

My mom wasn't big on mashed potatoes but I would never think of meatloaf without them. She never made gravy either, and now my family won't eat mashed potatoes without gravy.

Meatloaf always reminds me of home, so while Alex is off to the East Coast and another wedding (his second of the trip) we are happily eating leftovers.

Of course the weather has changed and now we are back to warm and sunny days, but that doesn't stop me from making a ground chicken meatloaf sandwich. Pure comfort to me.

Let me know what you think...of my meatloaf. Here at TIHIC it's one of my most popular recipes!

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