I’ve been craving meatloaf for weeks, but I wanted something a little ✨different✨. So, I decided to throw just a little spin on the classic and make this cheese studded Cheddar Cheeseburger Meatloaf. This meatloaf-cheeseburger hybrid is just as comforting as the kind mom used to make, but with a little more personality (hello, melty nuggets of cheddar!). And hey, if you prefer a regular old meatloaf, try my Classic Homemade Meatloaf.
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Pictured with Fluffy Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes and green beans.
What Kind of Beef Should I Use for Cheeseburger Meatloaf?
I suggest using an 85/15 ground beef because the higher fat content ensures a more tender and moist meatloaf. You can use lower fat ground beef, but your meatloaf will likely be a little more firm and less juicy. Also, try to use ground beef that has been double ground, or that has a finer texture rather than a chunkier single grind. This will help your meatloaf hold together better.
Can I Use a Different Type of Cheese?
As I was eating this meatloaf my mind started wandering to all the different types of cheese that would work well here. Blue cheese, swiss, feta, gouda… OMG, the possibilities! Yeah, so I would definitely encourage experimentation with the cheese in this recipe. I will say though, that during the testing phase I tried both mild cheddar and sharp cheddar, and the sharp cheddar was far better than the mild.
What to Serve with Meatloaf
Meatloaf is such a classic American dish that it only makes sense to make it part of a classic American “meat and potatoes” dinner. Fluffy Mashed Potatoes would be the most obvious, but you could also pair the meatloaf with something like Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Loaded Smashed Potatoes, or even a simple Baked Potato. And then even if this is a “meat and potatoes” dinner, I like to add a little green to round things out. Add some Steamed Green Beans, Oven Roasted Broccoli, or Roasted Brussels Sprouts to your plate.
Cheeseburger Meatloaf
Servings 4 2 slices eachIngredients
Meatloaf
- 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs ($0.06)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1 large egg ($0.27)
- 1/2 cup minced onion ($0.16)
- 4 oz. sharp cheddar ($0.85)
- 1 lb. ground beef (85/15) ($5.29)
Glaze
- 1/2 cup ketchup ($0.41)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.04)
- 1 tsp yellow mustard ($0.03)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.02)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a small bowl stir together the breadcrumbs, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl, lightly whisk the egg.
- Finely mince the onion. Roughly chop the cheddar cheese so that it is in pieces about the same size as a small bean.
- Add the ground beef, seasoned breadcrumbs, whisked egg, minced onion, and chopped cheddar to a bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until incorporated.
- Place the meat mixture in a casserole dish or on a rimmed baking sheet and shape into a rectangle, approximately 7″ long, 4″ wide, and 1.5″ thick.
- To make the glaze, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Spread the glaze over the unbaked meatloaf.
- Bake the meatloaf in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF. Remove the meatloaf from the oven, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then slice into eight pieces and serve.
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Equipment
- Meat Thermometer
- White Cutting Boards
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Cheeseburger Meatloaf – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 350ºF. Stir together 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk one large egg.
Finely mince about 1/2 cup onion (this was 1/2 of a small onion for me), and roughly chop 4 oz. sharp cheddar, so the pieces are about the size of a small bean. This will create little nuggets of cheddar throughout the meatloaf. I found that if I used shredded cheddar the pieces were so small that they melted in and disappeared into the meat.
Place 1 pound ground beef (85/15) in a bowl and add the seasoned breadcrumbs, whisked egg, minced onion, and chopped cheddar. Mix these ingredients together with your hands until they are evenly combined.
Place the meat mixture in a casserole dish or on a rimmed baking sheet, then shape it into a rectangle about 7″ long, 4″ wide, and 1.5″ deep. I suggest using a casserole dish that has at least a couple inches of room around the meatloaf so they fat and excess juices have room to drain away. The meatloaf still stays moist, but can firm up enough to hold together in slices this way.
In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp yellow mustard, and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce. Spread the sauce over the cheeseburger meatloaf.
Bake the Cheddar Cheeseburger Meatloaf for 50-55 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF. I highly suggest getting one of these digital thermometers to take the guessing game out of cooking meat. They’re very inexpensive and worth every penny. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Let the Cheddar Cheeseburger Meatloaf rest for 5-10 minutes after you take it out of the oven, then slice into eight pieces, and serve!
Absolutely phenomenal!!
Thanks!
This was one of the best meatloaf recipes I have ever tried. I never stuffed my meatloaf with anything before and this was delicious. Thank you for posting this. Will definitely make it again.
Pretty good…
I admit I made a mistake by not reading the recipe throughly before starting cooking. When I saw “minced onion” and I read that as the one found in spice section with actual “minced onion” label on it. Then later in the instruction, it says to finely mince the onion… then I ended up tossing the entire thing out and started over again with a fresh onion.
I’d reserve minced onion for the actual minced onion found in the spice section. I’m going to replace that with “chopped onion” for the sake of clarity in my recipe box.
I made this tonight and the fam loved it!!!! Thanks Bugdetbytes!!!! This is now a family recipe!!!
Made this tonight with only minor changes: used 93% lean ground beef, added some finely chopped celery leaves and 1/2 t onion powder to the rest of the ingredients. Turned out very tasty and of course….cheesy! I especially like that this recipe has only 1/4 cup fine bread crumbs to bind it together. If I see 1 cup or more of bread/oatmeal, etc. I tend to look for another recipe. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow! Thanks, Beth!
Do you think I could sub in BBQ sauce? I have that one hand in my ketchup-free household
Yes, I think that would be really delicious!
I have been using this blog for about 7 months, and this is the first time i have made a comment. First off I want to thank you for helping me eat a more healthy, better diet on a very limited budget. I’ve made the cheeseburger meatloaf and it was fantastic. However, I would like to try and make it in muffin tins like you stated you did. Should I line the muffin tins with parchment paper or spray with a nonstick cooking spray to help removing them from the tins?
Once again, thanks for all the helpful tips and great recipes!
I would spray with non-stick spray. :) I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the recipes!
This was a big hit for my husband and me. We’re trying to turn over a new leaf fiscally and physically. I used ground turkey (85/15) and shredded mild cheddar because that’s what I had available. The cheese wasn’t evident in the finished loaf, but added something special in taste. In the glaze, I used soy sauce and a little onion powder instead of Worcestershire and it came out delicious. Just downloaded the app! Great site, Beth!
Made this last night and tripled the recipe for lunch leftovers and to freeze a whole cooked loaf for a later supper. This was so so good. I’ll experiment with different cheeses next time, but this was terrific as is. I used venison that was mixed with some ground beef for fat content and it was delish. I was worried about it being too dry but it turned out great. Thank you!
I’m actually making mine with Venison/ground beef too! Hoping mine comes out good as well (it’s in the oven as I type)!
I replaced the meat with tempeh. It is no longer budget friendly but it works really well as a vegetarian loaf.
made it last night,yummy! nice change with the sharp cheddar~~~~thanks
This was so good. I made this with ground turkey, and used oatmeal (ground up in the blender) in place of the breadcrumbs, since I only had Italian bread crumbs. Turned out perfect and not dry at all.
This was a huge hit at home. Had it with mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, veggies, etc. Super versatile. I placed it under the broiler for a few minutes when it was done and it came out great. Next time I’ll probably chop the onion in a mini food processor so they’re as small as possible. Will definitely make again!
I doubled the beef, breadcrumbs and spices but left everything else the same. I made into mini meatloaves (I got 6 of them and froze 3 for later). I baked for about 35-40 minutes. I did not freeze the meatloaves with the sauce so when I bake those, I will make a new batch of sauce. I would recommend halving the sauce recipe if you are only baking 3 at a time. Great recipe and it was a nice change to have the cheese in there! I used sharp cheddar.
I thought this was good when I made it last night but then I had it leftover today. Holy moly it’s spectacular! For me the lower fat ground beef is the way to go.