The Best Pork and Beef Meatloaf Recipe
This juicy beef and pork meatloaf has the perfect mix of rich beefy flavor and tender, moist texture. It’s a true classic done right.
Using both ground beef and ground pork (or Italian sausage meat) gives this meatloaf the best of both worlds: hearty, beefy flavor with incredible juiciness. The pork keeps every bite moist, while the beef brings all that savory flavor. This one is baked on a baking sheet, not in a loaf pan, for more browned edges and so it’s not cooking in the fat. If you’re craving old school meatloaf, this is definitely the recipe for you!
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Why Make Meatloaf With Pork And Beef?
I first got the idea to make this recipe after seeing packages of ‘ground meat for meatloaf’ in the store. These seem to often be a mix of pork and beef, or occasionally pork, beef, and veal in equal parts.
While ground beef is usually my go-to for meatloaf, like in my beloved air fryer meatloaf recipe, the ground pork has more fat and great flavor. Using a leaner ground beef mixed with it not only balances the taste, but ensures that the loaf has stability.
Can I Cut The Recipe In Half?
This recipe makes a two pound meatloaf, using one pound each of the ground meats. If that’s too much for your family, you can absolutely cut the recipe in half (or make two 1-pound loaves side by side). All you need to do is adjust the baking time, as follows.
Use the timing from my One Pound Meatloaf recipe. That one bakes for 30 minutes, rather than the 40-45 minutes in the recipe below.
Testing for Seasoning
The recipe below calls for either plain ground pork or Italian sausage meat. Italian sausage meat is the same meat found in Italian sausages but it’s not in casings. Instead, it looks like ground beef.
Since not all ground Italian sausage is flavored the same, if you’re going to use it, you should reduce the amount of the other seasonings, or at least reduce the amount of salt. Then, mix up your meatloaf mixture and then make a little meat patty, the size of a quarter is fine. You can either cook that in a frying pan or in the microwave until no longer pink inside, then taste it. You can then tell if you’d like to add more salt and seasonings or not.
More Meatloaf Recipes
Not sure you want to do the beef and pork version? Here’s some more meatloaf recipes for you to choose from.
Podcast Episode: How To Make Meatloaf with Pork and Beef
Click the play button below to hear me explain how to make this tasty recipe, with lots of tips along the way.
Listen to more episodes of the Recipe of the Day podcast over here.
Print
Pork and Beef Meatloaf Recipe
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 12 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This cozy, classic weeknight dinner just got even better. My pork and beef meatloaf is juicy, flavorful, and super easy to pull together.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. salt*
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 lb. ground pork or Italian sausage meat
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup. BBQ sauce, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In large bowl combine egg, Worcestershire, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Mix well.
- Add beef and pork to bowl, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and mix just until combined, being careful to not over mix.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer meat mixture to parchment and shape into a 4×9 inch loaf that’s about 2 inches high. Spread 1/4 cup of the BBQ sauce all over the top, sides, and ends of the loaf.
- Bake until internal temperature is 145°F, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and spread with remaining 1/4 cup of sauce.
- Return to oven and increase heat to 450°F. Bake until internal temperature is 155°F, about 8-10 more minutes.
- Remove from oven and let rest on the pan for at least 10 minutes** and until temperature has reached 165°F before slicing and serving.
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Notes
*If using pork sausage meat, which is already seasoned, reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon here. See above in blog post for how to test the amount of seasoning in your meatloaf, since not all ground sausage meat has the same amount of seasoning.
**This resting time is very important. Not only should you use it to make sure the meat reaches 160°F internally, but the resting also helps the meatloaf to hold together so that you can cut it into slices without it falling apart.
Christine is the founder of TheCookful and also of her blog COOKtheSTORY. Her passion is explaining the WHY behind cooking – Why should you cook things a certain way; Will they turn out if you do it differently; What are the pros and cons of the method? Learn more about Christine, her cookbooks, and her podcast.