Meatloaf is classically made with breadcrumbs (or milk-soaked bread if you’re a bit extra), eggs, and often grated hard cheese of some kind. And when food allergies pop up, it can start to feel like you’ll never enjoy the classics again. And while we still wait and hope for suitable replacements for some things (lookin’ at you, hot dog bun), my version of meatloaf leaves nothing to be desired. Introducing, gluten free meatloaf that won’t leave you craving the actual thing.

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The secret to this gluten free meatloaf is the way we bind it together, using a mix of meats to get the perfect ratio of fat, along with some potato starch for additional structure without any odd flavor. The way you mix the meat is also important – by hand, not squeezing too hard but gently folding enough to combine everything evenly. Once baked it’s tender, moist (everyone’s favorite word) and nobody would ever even know it’s been adjusted for any type of diet. It’s just all flavor.

Gluten Free Meatloaf

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Meatloaf – Grain, Gluten, Dairy & Egg Free

The classic, but with less allergens and more flavor (yes, MORE flavor).

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• salt
• black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

Vegetable Mix

• 1 sweet onion
• 1/2 green zucchini
• 1 medium carrot
• 4-5 button or cremini mushrooms
• 5 cloves garlic peeled, stem removed
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary needles finely chopped
• 2 tsp fennel seed crushed finely in a mortar and pestle

Loaf Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef 90/10 fat ratio
• 2 lbs ground pork Italian sausage
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 2 tbsp potato starch
• 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Vegetable mix from above

Glaze

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 tbsp Tiger sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

Sauté the Vegetable Mix

• In a food processor, blitz the onion, zucchini, carrot and mushrooms. Do each separately, blitzing the onions to a wet paste, and everything else to a fine consistency. Combine in a bowl with the chopped herbs.
• Heat a pot or pan on medium/medium-high on the stove. Add a couple tbsp of olive oil, as well as the vegetable mix with a couple pinches of salt and a little black pepper. Stir frequently as it sautés, adding the fennel after a couple minutes. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, just to remove excess moisture. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Form the Loaf

• Preheat your oven to 375.
• In a bowl, combine the meats gently by hand until mostly evenly distributed, but not completely. Add the sautéed vegetable mix, potato starch, almond flour, Worcestershire, a couple pinches of salt and a few grinds black pepper then continue mixing by hand to combine. Careful not to overwork the meat as the texture will become gummy, but you don't want there to be any large chunks of any single ingredient.
• Lightly coat a roasting pan with olive oil and hand-form your loaf on it. If you have a meat thermometer with a wire lead and digital read out, stick that into the center of the loaf and set your timer to 135 degrees. Place the loaf in the oven (it will take 40-50 minutes to reach this temperature).

Glaze the Loaf

• In a bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients. Once the meat reaches an internal temperature of 135, remove it from the oven (closing the door to retain heat) and evenly spread about half of the glaze on it with a food/pastry brush. Place back in the oven until the internal temperature is 162 degrees (total bake time of 60-75 minutes depending on the oven – convection setting will reduce these times but may also cause cracking).

Rest & Serve

• Once the loaf has finished cooking, remove from the oven and spread the remaining glaze over top. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Top with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.