Foolproof Chicken Meatloaf

This simple chicken meatloaf is healthy, moist, and, most importantly, delicious! It's topped with a sweet and tangy ketchup glaze.

Meatloaf for Dinner:

My husband is a southerner who grew up on meatloaf, so once he gave me the thumbs up on this chicken meatloaf, I knew it was a winner!

He demolished half of it, and my 5 year old son demolished the other half. While it's not a classic meatloaf with ground beef, it's still moist and delicious!

This recipe uses a one pound package of ground chicken and serves four, but you can easily double it! It requires less than 10 minutes of hands-on time and it's super easy. Score!

Key Ingredients:

• Ground chicken - I highly recommend ground chicken. Ground chicken breast is too lean for meatloaf. Ground chicken contains a little bit more fat for a moist texture.
• Onion and garlic - Choose a mellow onion like sweet or yellow. I prefer freshly minced garlic, but you can use the jarred kind as well. Swap ½ teaspoon of jarred minced garlic for each clove.
• Quick oats - Don't forget to get quick-cooking oats! Old fashioned oats aren't as fine and don't absorb enough moisture.
• Egg - Gives the meatloaf structure. Make sure to use one large sized egg. A jumbo egg will be too much!
• Milk - I used whole milk for a rich, moist flavor!
• Worcestershire sauce - I buy mine at Costco for a great deal, and I never run out!
• Ketchup - For the tangy glaze!
• Brown sugar - To sweeten the ketchup. Plain ketchup is too tangy.

How to Make Chicken Meatloaf:

Chicken meatloaf is a breeze to make!

I pull out all my ingredients and do the prep work first. For this recipe, I diced the onion and minced the garlic. Once that's done, everything comes together super fast.

• Line the pan: I line the pan with aluminum foil to make cleanup a breeze. If you cover the pan completely, you can just wrap it up and toss it in the trash at the end.
• Mix ingredients: In a large bowl, mix all the meatloaf ingredients together. The mixture will be pretty wet. That's how it should be.

• Form a meatloaf: Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Use your hands to form it into a loaf. It should be around 3 inches wide and 7 inches long.
• Bake: Bake it for 25 minutes. It won't be done cooking yet.

• Add the glaze: Spoon all the glaze on top of the meatloaf and evenly spread it around.
• Bake again: Place the meatloaf back into the oven. Continue to cook it until it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant read thermometer.

Expert Tips:

• Ground chicken is softer than ground beef. It contains less fat, but additional moisture. The meat mixture will be a little wet. That's a good thing! It will bake up and taste moist.
• Ground chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees to be safe to eat. I use a quick-read meat thermometer I bought on Amazon.
• I used quick-cooking oats in place of bread crumbs. In my opinion, they create a moist texture without getting slimy. You can find them right near the bags of old fashioned oats.

Storage Tips:

• Store leftover meatloaf in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheat sliced meatloaf on a heat-proof plate in the microwave until heated through. Don't overcook it! If you let it cook too long, it will get rubbery.

Is chicken meatloaf gluten-free?

So long as you use gluten-free quick-cooking oats, this recipe is gluten-free! Oats are processed in the same facilities as wheat-based ingredients, therefore cross contamination is likely. If a brand is labeled gluten-free, it is tested to make sure it has less than 20 parts per million of gluten in it.

Easy Dinner Recipes:

• Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner
• Sweet and Tangy Mustard Chicken Thighs
• Grilled Chicken Marinade
• Healthy Ground Turkey Quinoa Bowls
• Oven Baked Turkey Meatballs