Flavor-packed and fuss-free, our family loves this easy turkey meatloaf recipe.
Ground turkey is mixed with shredded veggies, seasonings, and breadcrumbs. It’s all topped off with a zesty homemade glaze.
Family-friendly and delicious, this twist on our classic meatloaf will be a regular in your rotation.
Our Favorite Turkey Meatloaf
- Flavor Favorite: Turkey meatloaf is kept moist with added shredded veggies and is flavor packed.
- Easy Ingredients: With simple ingredients and easy prep, turkey meatloaf is a stress-free dinner.
- Lean and Light: Ground turkey is a lean replacement for ground beef and in this recipe, it’s juicy and delicious.
- Customize It!: Swap veggies, add cheese, experiment with glazes – make it your own signature dish. Get creative!
Ingredients in Turkey Meatloaf
Turkey – Use fresh lean ground turkey as the base; don’t use extra lean as it doesn’t have enough fat. Replace turkey with ground chicken or add a little bit of turkey sausage or ground pork if you’d like.
Breadcrumbs – Italian breadcrumbs are already seasoned, but they can be replaced with plain bread crumbs, ¼ teaspoon additional Italian seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Seasonings – This meatloaf is simply seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, onion, and Italian seasonings, but feel free to add garlic powder, oregano, or red pepper flakes if desired.
Other additions – Shredded zucchini keeps this recipe moist while eggs help bind the ingredients together.
Sauce for Turkey Meatloaf – The sauce on this recipe uses Heinz chili sauce, which is not spicy; it is a zesty ketchup-like sauce.
How to Make Turkey Meatloaf
This easy recipe for turkey meatloaf comes out moist and flavorful every time!
- Cook the onions until softened and cool.
- Combine with the meatloaf ingredients according to the recipe below and form into a loaf on a baking pan.
- Bake, adding the sauce in the last 20 minutes. Let the meatloaf rest before slicing.
Make it Mini
To make turkey meatloaf muffins, prepare the turkey meatloaf mixture as directed. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full with meatloaf mixture and bake 20-25 minutes or until 165°F.
Tips for Turkey Meatloaf
- For the best turkey meatloaf, use an instant read thermometer and cook to an internal temperature of 165°F. Remove from the oven at about 162°F as the temperature will rise a few degrees as it rests.
- Avoid overmixing the meat mixture; otherwise, the loaf will be dense and tough.
- Bake on a sheet pan instead of a loaf pan to get a nice crust, a loaf pan will cause it to steam instead.
- Let the meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing; this will help keep it from falling apart.
Leftovers
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Leftovers make great meatloaf sandwiches or can be pan fried until crisp.
More Favorite Ground Turkey Recipes
Did your family love this Turkey Meatloaf? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Easy Turkey Meatloaf
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 pounds lean ground turkey
- 1 cup finely shredded zucchini or finely shredded mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Turkey Meatloaf Sauce
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce
- ⅓ cup chili sauce or barbecue sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- In a small skillet, cook the onion and butter over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.
- In a large bowl, add bread crumbs, eggs, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and stir well to combine. Let rest for 5 minutes.
- Add turkey, zucchini, parsley, Italian seasoning, and salt & pepper. Gently mix just until combined, do not overmix.
- Place the meat mixture on the prepared baking sheet and pat it into a loaf 4-inches wide x 8-inches long. Bake for 35 minutes.
- Combine all meatloaf sauce ingredients. Spread on top and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until the center of the meatloaf reaches 165°F.
- Rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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Great recipe! I subbed 1/2 Impossible meat, rice for bread crumbs, bell pepper and mushrooms for veggies, omitted butter. It’s going to make a really good meatloaf sandwich!
I don’t have zucchini or mushrooms, can I just leave it out?
Adding in either (or both) of these veggies makes sure that the meatloaf is moist. It would definitely be dryer without them in the meatloaf Christina.
Do you serve this alone as is or do you serve it with a side? If so, what kind of side pairs well with it?
I would serve sides such as some rice, and broccoli Liz!
I enjoy meatloaf…. this was A+. I had left over Bella’s -perfect. Will share.
Hi!! Do you know if it would turn out okay using ground turkey breast? I prefer this usually but I know it can be hard to keep it from drying out… thank you so much!
We haven’t tried it with ground turkey breast yet but it will work. If you are worried about it being too dry try shredding your veggies as it will help keep the meat moist. Let us know how it goes!
I’ve made this meatloaf 3 times, all with ground turkey breast and it comes out amazing! As long as you add the zucchini
Delicious meatloaf . It’s my go to meatloaf recipe.
what is chili sauce
There is some info in the post about the chili sauce:
A Zesty Sauce: I love the zesty addition of Chili Sauce, but feel free to use ketchup in its place if you don’t have it! If you are not familiar with Chili Sauce, it is NOT spicy but is just a deliciously zesty sauce similar to ketchup but less sweet.
Chili sauce! No fridge should ever be without it!
I’d like to give this a 10 star rating!! This was hands down the best turkey meatloaf I’ve ever eaten. Maybe it was the saute’d onions or the tomato sauce but it’s was delicious! This is a now a family favorite! Can’t wait to explore some of your other recipes. Thanks for sharing.
That makes me so happy to hear Melinda! Glad your family enjoyed it :)
My family including my four- and seven-year old kids devoured this! I used zucchini and they didn’t even notice it.
I didn’t have chili sauce for the topping so I substituted it with cocktail sauce, which gave it a nice tang. I am gluten sensitive so I made my own gf bread crumbs with leftover gf bread and some Italian seasonings. We were going to use the leftovers for sandwiches, but we ate all of it tonight. I can’t wait to make this again! Thanks for this great recipe.
So happy to hear that is was gobbled up Betty!
This is the first time I made meatloaf “free-style” as I always used a loaf pan but thank you for explaining why.
It was delicious, even my 3 y.o. granddaughter liked it and she can be picky.
One question: can this be frozen? If so, would you recommend unbaked or baked?
Hi Min, you could freeze it before or after baking. If freezing after baking we like to freeze in individual slices for a quick and easy lunch or supper!
I made this recipe last night for dinner. It was delicious! I used green and red pepper. It’s was a big hit with the family. Also, just had left overs for lunch!
Oh yeah, this is it. The chili sauce/paste in the topping seals the deal.
Love this recipe! I just made this turkey meatloaf tonight. It was so delicious and moist and so flavorful. I made it because my guests only ate turkey meatloaf so I gave your recipe a try. I also made one keto by using the pork rinds for the breadcrumbs and for the sauce I used tomato sauce with monk fruit brown sugar. You could not tell the difference. Thank you for the delicious recipe and I will make this Keto again.
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you for sharing your keto tips!
Confused about the oven temp – Recipe calls for 400 degrees but you said in text, that you like to cook it at 375 degrees ‘most often’ — ? I’m making a 2# meatloaf like your initial recipe lists.
This particular turkey meatloaf recipe is baked at 400F. If you bake at 375F, it may take a little longer to reach the correct internal temperature. Enjoy Linda!
This was seriously delicious. I’ll be honest, I was shocked because I typically do not like turkey variations. I also HATE zucchini, but the end product came out amazing! It had flavor, it was moist, and the timing was spot on. Next time I think I’ll double the sauce and reserve/reduce half to put on toward the end. Also may do both zucchini and mushrooms, simply because I love mushrooms so much.
Thank you for the awesome recipe and healthier addition to our week.
So happy to hear you loved this recipe Brennen! Thanks!
Zucchini is a good neutral veg that has a LOT of moisture That’s why its particularly good for recipes that call for a low fat meat such as ground turkey
This recipe sounds great however I live in Iceland and we only have chicken. Would this work the same with ground chicken or do you recommend adding/subtracting anything?
It should cook just the same.
How do you determine serving size? I want to make this for my meal preps
This recipe serves 8, so I cut the loaf into 8 slices.
Bacon was mentioned in the comments but not in the recipe. How much bacon did you add?
If you’d like to add bacon, mix in 3 chopped slices (uncooked). You can also add 3 slices on the top of meatloaf.
Made half the recipe tonight. Used mushrooms, skipped the zucchini (which I hate and never have on hand…maybe would try bell peppers next time). I pureed the onion, then added the mushrooms to the food processor (they ended up more of a fine chop than a puree), because my husband has a thing with the texture of onion bits. I used doctored-up ketchup for the sauce, because I was somehow out of chili sauce (how?? I always have a bottle). Turned out great. We ate a bit more than half, and are excited for leftovers tomorrow. It was more moist than my typical turkey meatloaf, and the sauce was tasty. A smashing success!
I am so glad you were able to use what you had on hand to make a dinner you enjoyed Mia!
Is the bacon cooked before you add it to the mixture? I know the ones you add to the top are most likely raw, but wasnt to sure about the bacon mixed in, thank you in advance!
The bacon inside was raw as well. The little bit of fat helps keep the turkey moist. :)
Does this recipe call for ground ..raw turkey?
Yes, ground raw turkey.