Level Up Your Meatloaf With One Boxed Ingredient

When it comes to easy, classic comfort meals, meatloaf is tops. You don't need a lot of ingredients, just good quality ground beef, a few eggs, and some breadcrumbs to make a basic loaf. But that doesn't mean you can't make some upgrades to the ingredients list to make an even more delicious loaf. Breadcrumbs are important for binding the meatloaf together, but there's no rule that says you have to only use unseasoned crumbs. Stuffing, for example, is really just pieces of dried bread with some added flavor. In fact, if you swap out your boring breadcrumbs for a box of Stove Top Stuffing, you'll get a tasty, seasoned meatloaf that tastes like you slaved over a hot oven all day long.

Stove Top stuffing already has all the herbs, spices, and salt you need for a tasty meatloaf mixed in, and one box is the perfect size for most loaves. If you want to get dinner on the table in a hurry and you don't want to do all sorts of measuring and chopping, just grab some meat and a box of Stove Top and you'll get dinner prep out of the way in five minutes flat.

Stove Top stuffing might be something you think about only around Thanksgiving, but it actually deserves more of a place in any well-stocked pantry because it's super easy to make and very versatile. It was introduced by General Foods in 1972 and it's been a staple on American dinner tables ever since. Eater even calls Stove Top a "perfect food," because all you need to do is boil water and melt butter and you've got stuffing any night of the week.

There are more uses for store-bought stuffing mix than just creating stuffing, however. Meatloaf needs lots of dried breadcrumbs to soak up the juice and fat from the meat, and also to keep it all stuck together in a loaf shape. Plus, you need some strong herbs and spices for flavoring and Stove Top has a blend of onions, parsley, celery, turmeric, and other proprietary blends that work well with ground beef. The best part of using Stove Top for meatloaf is that you don't even have to make the stuffing or do any measuring; one standard 6-oz. box will bind and season one pound of meat perfectly. All you need to do is mix your meat, stuffing, eggs, and some ketchup or barbecue sauce together in a bowl until everything is combined, form a loaf, and bake it.

Stove Top's classic recipe is ideal for making meatloaf, but that doesn't mean you can't play around with different flavors. Stove Top comes in a lot of different varieties, including Savory Herb, Traditional Sage, and Cornbread. Plus, if you're making meatloaf with a blend of meat like pork and beef you can try using Stove Top's pork flavor. Or, if you're making a loaf with ground chicken or turkey you can mix in a box of the turkey-flavored stuffing. There are also lower sodium varieties if salt is a concern in your diet.

A box of Stove Top should have all the flavor you really need to make a good meatloaf, but you can also add some extra ingredients if you have the time, which will only make your loaf that much better. Anything you might put into both stuffing or meatloaf is fair game, including caramelized onions, fresh herbs, mushrooms, butter, and even some earthy lentils if you want to stretch out your mix.

Once you see how good a Stove Top meatloaf tastes, and how easy it is to make, you'll always remember to keep a box or two in your pantry for a quick, crowd-pleasing dinner.