This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
My husband Jack’s Meatloaf with Gravy is pure, delicious comfort food!
Jack and I both grew up in large families where meatloaf was on the menu quite often. With lots of mouths to feed, meatloaf was an easy and economical way for both of our parents to feed a crowded dinner table of kids. (And, not to mention, leftover meatloaf sandwiches are THE BEST!)
Today’s version of this classic comfort food – Jack’s Meatloaf with Gravy – is reminiscent of how Jack remembers meatloaf being served when he grew up.
Jack’s Meatloaf with Gravy is a moist, hearty and classically-seasoned version made with ground beef that has been simply flavored with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. He also adds a little bit of dry thyme to the mixture – a seasoning that really enhances the flavor of the beef.
The thick, rich gravy served with Jack’s meatloaf has a ton of flavor – in fact, this is a recipe you’ll want to refer back to anytime you need a great beef-flavored gravy to serve with your meal but don’t have many pan drippings.
(If you really want to take this gravy up a notch – make our homemade brown stock as the base for your gravy. But if you want a quicker meal, a good low-sodium canned beef stock will also work. You can even make the gravy ahead of time, and reheat before serving.)
To serve Jack’s Meatloaf with Gravy – simply slice generous portions and spoon the gravy over the top! We love this meal served with our Green Beans with Tarragon and our Roasted Mashed Sweet Potatoes would be another great side dish to round out this wonderful meal. Enjoy!
This recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in November 2012. (We were long overdue to take new photos of the recipe!)
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Jack’s Meatloaf
Ingredients
For the meatloaf
- 4 slices white bread, crusts cut off
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
- 2 eggs (FYI: 1 egg per pound of meat is almost always the rule for meatloaf)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry thyme
For the gravy
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 14 3/4 ounce can low sodium beef stock (or make your own beef stock if possible)
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- Few dashes of hot sauce (we like Cholula)
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- To prepare the meatloaf, begin by soaking the white bread in the milk.
- While bread is soaking, add all other ingredients to a large bowl.
- With your hands, work the soaked bread until mushed. Add bread and any milk left in the bowl to the beef mixture.
- Gently fold and mix all ingredients until blended. Do not over mix or meatloaf will come out tough.
- On a parchment lined sheet pan, shape mixture into a loaf. Use a spatula to square off all sides. With wet hands, smooth all surfaces of the loaf. This will stop it from cracking when it cooks.
- Place in the refrigerator for one hour to set up.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place meatloaf in preheated oven on center rack and bake for 45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees with a probe thermometer. Special note on this. Once you pierce the meatloaf with the probe and remove it, a flood of juices will flow out like a faucet. If you probe it and it is done, leave the probe in as it sets. If it needs to go back in the oven, plug the hole. I needed five more minutes and used a metal skewer to plug it. Sounds silly but worked great.
- Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
- To prepare the gravy, melt butter in a medium-sized sauce pan. When butter is completely melted, add flour and stir. Cook the flour and butter mixture stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes or until the raw flour smell is gone. (The smell will resemble cooked chestnuts when ready.)
- Add the entire can of stock and stir with a wire whisk until blended.
- Add milk, thyme, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and Kitchen Bouquet. Stir to blend.
- Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to your taste.
- Serve the gravy over slices of meatloaf.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Well, I’ll be throwing away my other four recipes for meatloaf, because this one is the bomb! The combination of the meatloaf and gravy is just perfect. Also, this is one of the very best-written recipes I’ve ever seen. It’s conversational and instructional, and very easy to follow. Another outstanding job by both of you!
Thank you Rick! 🙂
I made this last night. Jack, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Best meatloaf EVER!! I hate to say that and then tell you I changed it up, but I did — but not too much! I simply sauteed the onions and garlic before adding them to the meat mixture. It’s just my personal preference. Otherwise, your recipe is spot on! Having sandwiches (the best part of any meatloaf) tonight for dinner. Thank you again!!
You are quite welcome Betty. I sometimes do that myself.
Thanks again,
Jack
Martha……I love meatloaf, my husband not so much. After trying many recipes through the years, I finally found one he thinks is “ok”. This is the one that will win him over, I”m sure.
I love using thyme with beef but never used it in meatloaf and the gravy sounds delicious.
Happy Fall
Linda
Hi Linda! Fingers crossed that this recipe is a hit with your husband! 🙂 Happy Fall to you too! Martha
Can you use sandwich white sourdough?
Sure Cathy – that should work just fine!
Can this just be baked in loaf pans instead of “formed” on a sheet pan? I wouldn’t mind doing it as described if necessary but just wondering if it was tried the other way. Thanks!
Hi Lainie – Absolutely – you can bake the meatloaf in the loaf pans. The timing will likely be different so you’ll have to keep an eye on when the meatloaf is cooked through. Enjoy!
The meat loaf was good. We found the gravy kind of bland though. I’d add garlic next time. Thanks for the recipe though!
Thanks for feedback Rowan! We’re sorry you were disappointed!
Hooray for this recipe! I too was looking for a meatloaf recipe heavy on the onions, moist, and with a beef gravy rather than tomato. This recipe fits the bill. I score it a perfect 10!
Thanks Mary! So glad you enjoyed the recipe Mary!
This is the best meatloaf recipe I’ve ever tried!!! I searched for a good recipe without the classic tomatoe/ketchup style for a crew of hungry hiker friends and family (two are allergic to tomatoes).
It was a huge hit, moist, delicious and wishing there were more loaves to slice up for thirds!!
I doubled the recipe and it was perfectly consistent .
Thank you,
WV Momma
Thank you so much! We’re very glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This is the best meatloaf I’ve ever had. It’s the perfect savory meatloaf, my quest for some time now. My hat is off to Jack for such a good recipe. I’ll be making this one for a long, long time.
Thanks Teresa! I’ll be sure to let Jack know!
Jack wins this one!
Thanks Chris! I’ll let him know! 🙂