This Air Fryer Meatloaf recipe is quick to cook and ends up with such a tasty crust. Perfect for an easy weeknight meal!
Air Fryer Meatloaf manages to cook meatloaf quickly AND develop a crust. It’s perfect for cooking a small meatloaf for four and only takes about half an hour. If you’d like to try a recipe without ground beef, try our Chicken Meatloaf recipe or Turkey Meatloaf for delicious variations.
Video: Making Air Fryer Meatloaf
Tips For Air Fryer Meatloaf:
- Make it smaller! Most of our meatloaf recipes are made with two pounds of ground beef, but that’s way too much meatloaf for the air fryer; there simply isn’t room! Also, a large meatloaf gets too darkened on the outside in the time it takes to cook all the way through in the air fryer.
So make your meatloaf using 1 pound of ground beef like our One Pound Meatloaf recipe. However, note that if your air fryer is large enough, you can do two 1 pound meatloafs side by side. Just make sure that there is space between the two loaves and around each of them so that the air can circulate properly. - Line the basket with foil, if you want to. We’ve read online that air fryer meatloaf requires you to line the basket with foil. There are two reasons given for this. One, you don’t want all the juices to drop down into the bottom of the air fryer. Two, you don’t want the meatloaf to stick to the air fryer basket. So for ease of removing the meatloaf and ease of cleanup, they say to line with foil. However, we found that not lining it with foil allowed the fat to drip down away from the loaf, which was truly a good thing. Second, using a silicon spatula and lifter to get under the loaf released any minor sticking.
- Don’t try to cook it too fast. There’s something tempting about cooking things in an air fryer at high heat, but be warned, the meatloaf will burn! We found that bumping the heat up after the initial cooking still led to a burnt meatloaf, so keep it at 370 degrees Fahrenheit for the duration. Note that even having it at 370°F will lead to the glaze darkening a bit. But, all of our taste-testers found this to be quite delicious so don’t worry at all if your loaf is a bit crisp.
- Rest the loaf. After the meatloaf has finished cooked, let it rest on the counter in the uncovered air fryer basket for at least 5 minutes but ideally 10. This allows the juices in the loaf to redistribute and for the loaf to therefore firm up. After the resting time, transfer the meatloaf to a cutting board and you’ll find that the rest time has made it much easier to slice.
- Use a thermometer. The best way to know that a meatloaf is cooked through while not being overcooked is to use an instant read thermometer like this one to test for doneness. You want your meatloaf to reach 160°F right in the middle for it to be safe.
- Mix everything but the meat first. You’ve probably heard people say before that you shouldn’t overmix ground meat because it will get tough. But if you’re not mixing it thoroughly, how do you know that all of the ingredients are properly dispersed? This technique is the best for that! Mix together all of the wet ingredients and the seasonings first. Then add in any breadcrumbs and give that a quick toss. Finally, add your ground meat. Mix until the wetness seems fairly evenly dispersed, knowing that that means that everything in that mixture is evenly dispersed.
And while the meatloaf is resting? Throw your side in the air fryer for a complete meal. We recommend broccoli. 😉
Podcast Episode On Air Frying Meatloaf
Listen to our editor-in-chief, Christine Pittman, briefly talk about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Air Fryer Meatloaf Recipe
Air Fryer Meatloaf gives you a small meatloaf for four with amazing flavor and a great crust.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. ketchup, divided
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together 1 tablespoon of the ketchup along with the Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and egg.
- Mix in the onion and then the breadcrumbs. Once well combined, add in the ground beef.
- Use your hands to evenly combine the meat with the egg mixture, being careful not to overmix since overmixing will make it tough.
- Form meat into a 2 inches high 4×6 inch, loaf. Turn the air fryer to 370F and place the loaf into the air fryer.
- Cook for 15 minutes at 370F.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of ketchup and the mustard.
- Remove meatloaf from oven and spread with mustard mixture.
- Return meatloaf to air fryer and continue to bake at 370°F until an instant read thermometer inserted into the loaf reads 160F, about 8-10 more minutes.
- Once meatloaf has reached 160F, remove air fryer basket from air fryer and let the loaf rest in the basket for 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the meatloaf to a cutting board and slice it into 3/4″ to 1″ slices.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Photos are by Emily Dingmann, recipe and article by Christine Pittman.
This post originally appeared in February 2019 and was revised and republished in June 2023. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
I made this for my husband because I’m a good wife (I’m an ok wife). I hate meatloaf. This was flipping delicious! I made some ingredients substitutions because, as previously stated, I’m an ok wife and don’t have a stocked kitchen. So good! I’m making this again. 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed and were able to make substitutions that worked for you, Angela. Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment!
This was my first time making meatloaf in years, and I needed to adapt it as I’m in the UK. I used 600g of mince instead of 1lb, so I adjusted the ingredients and cooking times accordingly. Made a few tweaks to suit our taste – used a bit less mustard and more ketchup in the glaze, plus added an extra splash of ketchup on top at the end.
The cooking time needed to be extended a bit in my air fryer – I ended up adding about 10 extra minutes at a slightly lower temperature to make sure it was cooked through. Despite the adjustments, it turned out really well! Even my picky son, who was skeptical at first, really enjoyed it.
One tip for UK cooks – I had to hunt around for the right breadcrumbs (ended up using Tesco’s golden breadcrumbs) and used Italian herbs instead of Italian seasoning, but these substitutions worked fine.
Would definitely make again, though next time I might try it in the oven. Great recipe for a classic comfort food!
Thank you so much for sharing your detailed adjustments with us, Leah! I’m sure that will be helpful for other readers as well.
I liked this recipe very much. I especially liked the mustard and ketchup glaze on top. Formally I had used ketchup and brown sugar, but I always found it was too sweet. This was just right Add mashed potatoes and a salad and you’ve got a great meal.
I’m so glad it was perfect for you, Linda! Thanks for letting me know.
Hi
There only 2 of us can you freeze the other half once it’s cooked?
Marie, yes you can. Cool the half you’re going to freeze completely. Then you can freeze it as a chunk or you can slice it and freeze the individual slices. Thaw it in the fridge before heating.
I followed the recipe exactly but the .of fell apart. What was I doing wrong
I’m not sure, Steve. Did it fall apart when you were slicing it? Not letting it rest after cooking could be the reason for that. If it fell apart while cooking, it might not have been mixed together enough.
This looks really yummy! I got a Air Fryer for Christmas. So I’m going to your meat loaf recipe tonite
Oh, you’re going to love the air fryer, Krista! Enjoy!
I need a 3 lb meatloaf. Do I make it in the basket with pan underneath it?
Please ty
Patty, I don’t think you can use this recipe for a 3 lb. meatloaf. It will get too dark and, well, burnt, on the outside before it cooks through to the middle. I think you’ll have to either use the oven, or, if your air fryer is big enough, you could do 3 smaller meatloaves, just make sure they have at least an inch space between them, then follow the recipe. And no, for this recipe you don’t use a pan. The meatloaf is right on the basket.
The first time I made this both my fussy mother and even my husband commented on how good this meatloaf was! Now this is my go to meatloaf recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that everyone loves it, Christine!
Very easy to make and delicious.
Thank you so much, Bethan!
Y U M!
Thanks, Tim! Glad you loved it.
This is delicious and so easy! My ketchup topping burned a little, so next time I’ll wait 5 min longer to put it on. I loved making it in the air fryer so the house didn’t heat up.
Thanks for sharing your results, Monica! So glad you loved it.
So easy and good and fast
Glad to hear it, Marlene!
Yummy and so easy
Thanks, Marlene! Glad you loved it.
simple quick tasty i like mustard especially dijon often used teaspoon in dishes lifts pasta dishes to next level for the meatloaf i used all the ingredients and panko breadcrumbs the result was excellent as a pension it serves 4 –me 2 meals and sandwiches such a cheap option my mince is 90/10 as thats the best value in costco (comes in 4kg packet so im always on the lookout for good mince recipes ) i prefer meatloaf over rissoles this recipe is great
I’m glad you enjoyed, Patrick. Thanks for letting me know!
Today is the second time I have made this recipe and absolutely love it. It is simple, and tasty. I don’t like mustard so use honey, ketchup and teriyaki sauce…..delicious. My absolute go to meatloaf recipe. Thankyou.
I’m so glad you love it, Sue! Thanks for sharing your glaze substitution with us too. 🙂
Love this recipe. Easy, peasy and comes together quickly. My husband doesn’t like Worstershire sauce or mustard, and he loved it! 😊 Thanks for my new favorite meatloaf recipe!
You’re welcome, Marie! I’m glad you both loved it.