Baked Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes may not come straight to mind when you're thinking about a quick and easy weeknight family dinner. But we're turning that idea on it's head! This Meatloaf and Mashed Potato recipes is one of our 20 minute meal ideas, made from scratch, that you can serve family style!
Yes, it's absolutely possible. You can make Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes in about 20 minutes. I know you what you're thinking: no way, not me. But yes you, yes way. It's absolutely possible.
For this 20 Minute Meal series I wanted to put together a truly comfort food recipe. Winter weather can been so unsettled. Big, blustery storms, snow and rain just make you want to curl up with a blanket, a book and a bonfire. And possibly some baked meatloaf.
Meatloaf is classic comfort food. Add mashed potatoes and you can plan to eat your dinner in your pyjamas.
The Challenge: most meatloaf recipes require it to bake anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour. For our family, there are several nights during the week where we're just getting home at 5:00 p.m. and there's no way my little guy is going to be able to hold off over an hour for sustenance. With a few adjustments, we're able to enjoy what normally might be a traditional Sunday dinner on a busy weeknight.
How to Make a 20 Minute Baked Meatloaf
There are two reasons meatloaf takes so long: complexity and density. This recipe eliminates both of those elements.
Simplifying Your Meatloaf Seasoning
It's my general opinion that people tend to fuss too much with ground meat. If you start with a quality ingredient, it shouldn't need much fuss. I kept the seasoning very simple here, with four powders that pack a punch:
- garlic
- onion
- cumin
- smoked paprika
The cumin adds an element that's not always detectable, but noticeable when forgotten.
Crack an egg and be prepared to get your hands dirty.
The Secret Ingredient: There's a secret ingredient in my meat loaf that pulls double duty. By adding a small amount of puréed prunes (yes, like the baby food) the meatloaf is moist, slightly sweet and even gets some bonus fibre.
Creating A Less Dense Meatloaf
Density is the second challenge with meat loaf, because anything as deep as a loaf pan is just going to take time to cook. To address this issue, I simply made the meatloaf thinner and turned up the broiler. It will cook in a fraction of the time.
Quick and Easy Mashed Potatoes
Like peanut butter and jelly, meatloaf loves mashed potatoes.
I rarely use my microwave; it's by far the cleanest appliance in my kitchen. They kind of scare me, but every once in a while they can be a lifesaver. In this case, the space-age machine provides mashed potatoes in about eight minutes. Now, these are not your traditional mashed potatoes that have been peeled and run through a ricer. They are, however, full of flavour and with the right balance of salt and butter, just as comforting.
With the darker, colder evenings upon us, give this 20-minute Baked Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes meal a try. And if there are leftovers, they're already sandwich ready!
- 1 pound lean or extra lean ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 to 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ cup puréed prunes (baby food, see notes)
- 12 small nugget potatoes
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Small handful of chives, chopped or cut with scissors (about ¼ cup)
- 3 teaspoons salt, divided
- ½ cup pasata (puréed tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon sugar or agave
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar, divided
- 4 cups arugula, loosley packed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 field cucumber
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta
- Garnish (optional): cracked pepper, fresh parsley, lemon wedges
- Preheat broiler and move rack to top third of oven. Place a sheet pan in the oven.
- In a medium bowl add the egg, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, prunes and ground beef. Use hands to mix until just combined. Scoop mixture onto a piece of parchment and divide in half, then half again. Flatten the mince into four rectangles, 1 inch in thickness. Carefully remove sheet pan from oven, slide parchment with the meat loaf onto the pan and place In the oven. (Don't worry if oven is not fully preheated yet.) Set timer for ten minutes.
- Potatoes: While meat is cooking, give the potatoes a quick wash, scrubbing off any small patches of dirt. Place them in a shallow, microwave safe bowl (like a small lasagna pan or glass pie plate). Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 8 minutes. When done, add butter, 2 teaspoons of salt and chives. Mash with skins and then either scoop onto board or return to oven to keep warm until serving.
- Sauce for meatloaf: whisk tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, sugar and mustard. At the ten minute mark, spoon over meat loaf and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes, checking for doneness with a meat thermometer (the temperature should be 160℉).
- Salad: In a small bowl toss arugula with olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Using a mandoline, slice cucumber ¼ inch thick. Place arugula on board, top with cucumber and sprinkle with feta.
- To assemble: Plate arugula on board and top with cucumbers. Scoop mashed potatoes onto remainder of board. slide meat on top of potatoes finish with freshly cracked pepper, parsley and lemon wedges.
More 20-Minute Meal Ideas?
- General Tso's Crispy Tofu
- Salmon Kebabs, Coconut Rice & Garlic Green Beans
- Sticky Greek Chicken & Cauliflower Couscous
- Mini Ricotta Meatballs Over Lemon Rice and Peas
- Coconut & Bean Soup with Crostini Bar
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Lisa Dawn Bolton is a food stylist, recipe developer and creator of beautiful grazing boards. You can find her work at lisadawnbolton.com. She lives in the Lower Mainland of BC. Her first cookbook, On Boards, (affiliate link), released by Appetite by Penguin Random House in October 2018 is now available. You can reach her on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.
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wow, this is really quick and easy recipe, I will try at home thanks for sharing this good recipe to us…
This is interesting presentation of the meal.