Turkey Meatloaf
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Juicy, flavorful, and topped with a tangy-sweet glaze, this turkey meatloaf recipe is easy enough for a weeknight and comforting enough for Sunday dinner.
The challenge with any turkey meatloaf recipe is keeping it moist and flavorful without relying on lots of added fat. My solution is to start with 93% lean ground turkey, sauté the onions and garlic before adding them to the meat, and mix some of the tangy-sweet glaze right into the loaf. The result is juicy, flavorful meatloaf with a beautifully glazed top.
Also important: I shape the mixture into two free-form loaves rather than baking it in a loaf pan, which has several benefits. It gives you more surface area for the glaze, allows the edges to brown nicely, and lets excess fat cook off rather than collect around the meatloaf. The smaller loaves cook more quickly, too. Serve with mashed sweet potates and a green vegetable for an easy, comforting dinner.
“My husband gave this a 10, and I loved it too! I loved that I could freeze one for another night’s dinner.”
What You’ll Need For this Turkey Meatloaf Recipe
- Ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar & Dijon mustard: Make the tangy-sweet glaze that goes both into the meatloaf and over the top. The portion mixed into the meat adds flavor and moisture, while the rest caramelizes as the meatloaf bakes.
- Onion & garlic: Sautéing the aromatics before adding them to the meatloaf softens their flavor and ensures there are no crunchy bits of onion in the finished loaf. Chop the onion quite finely so it blends into the meat mixture.
- Paprika, thyme & Worcestershire sauce: Add savory depth and seasoning to the mild turkey. Worcestershire is especially helpful here for giving the meatloaf a richer, meatier flavor.
- Eggs & Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs: Bind everything together while helping the meatloaf stay tender. The seasoned breadcrumbs also add another layer of flavor.
- 93% lean ground turkey: The right balance for meatloaf—lean enough to keep things light but with enough fat to stay juicy. I’d avoid 99% lean turkey breast, which is much more prone to drying out.
- Fresh parsley: Optional, but it adds a nice pop of color and freshness when serving.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Turkey Meatloaf
Make the glaze: Stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and Dijon. You’ll use some in the meatloaf itself and save the rest for the top.
Cook the aromatics: Sauté the onion until soft, then add the garlic and seasonings and cook briefly until fragrant. Let the mixture cool a bit before adding it to the turkey—you don’t want to mix hot vegetables into the raw meat.
Make the meatloaf mixture: Gently combine the turkey with the cooled onion mixture, breadcrumbs, eggs, Worcestershire, and some of the glaze. Mix just until everything comes together; overmixing can make the meatloaf dense.
Shape, glaze, and bake: Shape the mixture into two free-form loaves and spread the remaining glaze evenly over the top. Bake until cooked through and nicely browned around the edges.
Rest and serve: Let the meatloaves rest briefly before slicing so they stay juicy and hold together nicely. Scrape the fat away from the loaves, transfer to a platter, and slice. Leftovers make excellent meatloaf sandwiches and freeze well, too.
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Video Tutorial
Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients
For the Glaze
- ⅔ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
For the Meatloaf
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 large eggs
- 2 lb 93% ground turkey
- ¾ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- A few springs chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Set oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil; grease the foil with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray.
- Make the Glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard. Set aside.
- Make the Meatloaf: Heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Do not brown. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, eggs, and ¼ cup of the BBQ glaze. Whisk until well combined. Stir in the onion mixture. Add the ground turkey and breadcrumbs and mix with your hands until evenly combined.
- Transfer the meat mixture into two even piles onto the prepared baking sheet. Shape into two long loaves about 1½ in (4 cm) high x 6 in (15 cm) long x 4 in (10 cm) wide. Spread the remaining BBQ glaze over the loaves, letting it drip down the sides a bit. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the meatloaves are cooked through. Scrape any fat away from the sides of the loaves, then transfer the loaves to a platter. Slice and garnish with parsley if desired.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This was the best turkey meatloaf recipe.
okay, so i usually don’t leave reviews nor do i make turkey meatloaf but here goes. I made this recipe and left out the thyme specifically because the store didn’t have it. And can i tell you how good this was? I didn’t think the sugar was too sweet but just the right amount. I will definitely look at your other recipes.
This was delicious! The only thing I changed was that I used a brown sugar substitute. Definitely a keeper!
Made this with garlic powder instead of minced garlic, and raw cane sugar instead of brown sugar, and honey Dijon instead of regular Dijon, egg whites instead of whole eggs, used 99/1 ground turkey instead of 93/7 Ground turkey, (I used what I had), and it still came out deeee-licious!!! Will definitely make again! Thanks!
Just made this recipe. Added diced celery and celery seed. It was delicious. Made baked potatoes and peas. Thank you for a new recipe for ground turkey, This is a keeper.
Would it be okay to use marina to top the loaves like with your Italian meatloaf recipe? Or would the higher liquid content be problematic with the turkey?
Hi Dee, it would be fine to use marinara on top if you’d prefer that over the BBQ sauce.
The sauce was SO SWEET, I typically like sweet and tangy, but this was just way too much. For the sauce I recommend to combine all the other ingredients then add sugar to taste. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to at least half the amount of sugar.
Loaf turned out moist, had to bake an additional 25 minutes so cooking time was off quite a bit as well. Overall it was edible after scraping the sauce off but will definitely be using a different recipe next time.
This meatloaf turned out great! I substituted two loaf pans with a 9 x 9 glass baking dish because that’s all I had and I just had to bake it for 55 minutes instead of 45 minutes. I omitted the Worcestershire sauce because they don’t carry it at Trader Joe’s and I didn’t feel like going to two grocery stores. Lol. I strongly dislike the texture of mixing the meat and sauce with my hands so I used a spatula instead and everything still got mixed in well. The meatloaf turned out very moist and delicious! Thank you for this great recipe!! 5/5
Very flavorful recipe. I omitted the brown sugar from the glaze due to dietary restrictions and it was still very good. My family loved it. Thank you for sharing!
I learned we’re not a ketchup based meatloaf family. I tried halving the recipe as I only had half the turkey ground beef it asked for in the recipe but I don’t think I should have used all the sauce. I also had to cover the meat and bake an extra 20 minutes as it was not completely cooked, perhaps due to the large meatloaf shape.