I really wasn’t a fan of meat loaf until I tried this Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Meat Loaf! This recipe takes a classic comfort food and makes it even better with a smoky bacon wrap and a sweet, tangy glaze. The flavor is bold, the texture is tender, and every bite has that perfect balance of savory and sweet. It’s simple enough for a weeknight dinner, but special enough to serve guests. Pair it with your favorite sides, and you’ve got a hearty meal everyone will love.
Ingredients Needed
- Glaze
- chili sauce – you could also substitute ketchup, but I liked chili sauce
- brown sugar
- cider vinegar – you could also use white vinegar in a pinch
- Meat Loaf
- vegetable oil
- onion
- garlic
- eggs
- dried thyme
- salt
- black pepper
- Dijon mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- hot sauce
- plain yogurt – you could also use whole milk. This is an important ingredient, as it adds a ton of moisture.
- ground beef chuck
- ground pork
- ground veal – the original recipe called for veal, but I opted to use more pork instead
- Saltine crackers, or quick oatmeal, or fresh bread crumbs. I used saltines and it works great!
- fresh parsley
- bacon – thin sliced
- You’ll also want a large baking sheet, not a loaf pan!
How to Make Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Glaze: simmer glaze ingredients in a saucepan until slightly thickened; set aside.
- Prep meat mixture: sauté onion and garlic until softened, then mix with ground meat, eggs, seasonings, crackers, and parsley until combined.
- Shape loaf: form into a loaf on a foil-lined sheet pan, brush with glaze, and cover with overlapping strips of bacon. Note: Do not use a loaf pan! In other words, ignore my photos haha. I was trying to use a pretty pan for photos and then I realized I needed to actually switch it before baking. Do as I say, not as I do.
- Bake: cook until bacon is crisp and meat reaches 160°F, about 1 hour.
- Finish and serve: let rest briefly, reheat remaining glaze, brush over loaf if desired, and slice to serve with extra sauce.
Storage & Other Tips
- I always recommend reheating meatloaf in the oven if you can. Cover meatloaf with foil, then warm in a 325°F oven for 20 – 30 minutes. You can also reheat an individual piece in a skillet on the stovetop. I try to avoid the microwave, as it tends to dry it out. If you do choose a microwave, do it at a reduced power in short intervals.
- This is a great make-ahead meal. You can mix it, shape it, wrap it with bacon, and refrigerate overnight. When ready, just bake according to the recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze it, and how?
Yes! It freezes beautifully, either wrapped in tin foil, or even unbaked.
How do I prevent the loaf from drying out or cracking?
The bacon really helps with this! You can also avoid over-mixing the meat.
Can I bake this in a regular loaf pan?
Short answer, no. Just don’t. Three reasons off the top of my head: first, the bacon won’t crisp properly. Second, baking it on a baking sheet rather than a loaf pan allows the juices to run off the meatloaf, so you avoid that unappetizing fat-layer floating on top. Third, baking it in a loaf pan tends to boil it rather than bake it, so the texture and flavor are nowhere near as good. I hope that’s enough evidence for you…just don’t do it!
Any tips for moisture? I hated dry meatloaf as a kid.
Didn’t we all. The main problems that cause this are over-mixing and over-baking, so as long as you don’t do either of those things, you’ll be all good.
Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Meat Loaf
A juicy meat loaf gets wrapped in smoky bacon and brushed with a tangy-sweet glaze. This is a melt-in-your-mouth dinner that's both comforting and impressive. Inspiration from America's Test Kitchen.
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
Glaze (If you'd like extra sauce for serving, double this!)
- ½ cup chili sauce or substitute ketchup, but I liked chili sauce
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons cider vinegar or white vinegar in a pinch
Meat Loaf
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, medium chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 eggs, large
- ½ teaspoon thyme, dried
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ cup plain yogurt or whole milk
- 1 pound beef chuck, ground
- ½ pound pork, ground
- ½ pound veal, ground I used more pork instead of veal
- ⅔ cup Saltine crackers crushed (about 18), or quick oatmeal, or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
- ⅓ cup parsley, fresh minced
- 6 – 8 ounces bacon thin sliced (8 to 12 slices, depending on loaf shape)
Instructions
Glaze
- Mix all ingredients in small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened and set aside. Note: I like to double the sauce so I have extra for serving over the finished meatloaf, but that's optional. If you choose to double the sauce, remove half of it after simmering and place in a separate container to save for serving.
Meat Loaf
- Heat oven to 350℉. Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment for easy clean-up Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.
- Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple tablespoons at a time until mix no longer sticks.)
- Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9-by-5-inch loaf shape. Place on your prepared baking pan. Brush with half the glaze in your sauce pan, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf.
- Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. When meatloaf comes out of the oven, brush with remaining glaze. Cool 10-15 minutes. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze (if you doubled it).
Nutrition
Calories: 208kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 64mg, Sodium: 995mg, Potassium: 280mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 412IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 48mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 208kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
We have pork allergies, so is there another meat i could substitute without losing the flavor?
Yep- just see the note in the recipe about using all beef. It’s noted after the ingredients 🙂
This is the only way that my mom, and now I make Meatloaf! Bacon and the glaze were the only reason I would eat it growing up. The recipe is basically the same as my mom has made it for the past 40 years! So tasty with the bacon and the meatloaf sandwiches are divine with a little dijon mustard!
Any guesses as to serving size? I’m trying to decide if I need to double this or not for 5 adults and a 6 little ones.
Joy, it’s a full 2 pounds of meat- and it makes a 9×5 inch loaf. So if you’re “little” ones really are little and won’t be eating tons, then I’d say one batch would probably be okay. If you’ve got some big eaters in there then you may want more.
This looks like a great recipe…I will have to try it.
Growing up, Meatloaf was a regular meal in our house. And so, of course, meatloaf sandwiches were a regular too. Strangely I LOVED helping my mom make meatloaf b/c I got the (now disgusting) job of squishing the eggs and meat together…I just loved it as a kid!
Fast forward to me living with my husband and starting to cook on my own…the idea of a LOAF OF MEAT just disgusted me! I never wanted to make it, but then I saw a recipe from Paula Deen and her sons for mini, individual meat loafs made in muffin tins with a similar sauce to yours. For some reason, the idea of a muffin of meat sounded more appetizing. I’ve made it a few times, and really like it. It is very similar to your recipe and I agree that the sauce on top (instead of the ketchup my mom used to squirt on it) really makes it!
Here’s the paula deen recipe…
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Recipes/recipe?id=8516509
My hubby hates meatloaf too. I’m pretty sure it a, “on principle” thing, like the words meat+loaf not working. That and his mom is not a great cook. I may have to try this one and see if I can win him over. Because the rest of us all like it! And with the bacon he’d have to at least try it, to not would be sin in his mind. 😉
Your meatloaf looks delicious! I must admit, my meatloaf recipe is the only one I’ve ever liked, but your’s looks like it comes close. I’ll have to give this one a try. I KNOW my husband will like the bacon for sure. 🙂
Loved your story about meatloaf because I had a similar experience. I have never liked meatloaf or the thought of a big hunk of meat in a loaf. Scott however loves meatloaf. When we had our delis we had a meatloaf sandwich with bbq sauce and all the fixings. Learned to love meatloaf. I think for me it is all about the fixings and getting past a big piece of meat. I still don’t enjoy double meat patty hamburger. Not even at in-n-out.
I HATE meat loaf. HATE HATE HATE it. Mostly because I can’t stand ketchup. But, this recipe looks realllllllly good, and I didn’t see any ketchup on the ingredient list. So, I think we are going to give this a try. Plus you’re right, how can something wrapped in bacon NOT be good?? lol
Best meat loaf ever…have been making it since the recipe was first published, years ago, in Cook’s Illustrated magazine. We love the bacon, but in a pinch, it can be made without and it is still very yummy!
I had to laugh at this post, then read it out loud to my husband. I share the same thoughts and feelings about meatloaf as you described here! Especially the meat+loaf being in the same sentence part! I love your humor, it always puts a smile on my face and makes me happy that someone else can relate to me and the thoughts that go through my head sometimes. 🙂
I will for sure be trying this recipe even though I hate meatloaf. This one looks pretty darn good! I don’t like lemon desserts either, but made ya’lls lemon cupcakes and they were divine, so why not meatloaf too? 🙂
I love your recipes, thanks for sharing with all of us!
Tried this last night (I bought the ingredients almost a week ago!!) Good heck this was GOOOOOOOOD stuff!!!! Really!! I can’t wait to have it again. Had my parents over for dinner and they loved it too. Even my 2 year old ate some! YUMMMY! Thanks for making me a convert to meatloaf (as long as it is THIS recipe), although I still don’t like the word “meatloaf”. I think we will refer to this as “Glazed bacon-wrapped Beef”. 🙂