Cheesy BBQ Turkey Meatloaf
“A moist turkey meatloaf that’s perfectly seasoned, loaded with Colby jack cheese and brushed with BBQ sauce! Serve with potatoes and roasted veggies for an amazing dinner!”
What is the one homemade meal you turn to when you’re not in the mood for cooking? For me, here lately it’s been meatloaf. I’ve never really been a huge meatloaf fan, I mean, I like it but it’s not something I make often. However, this cheesy turkey meatloaf has been in heavy rotation.
I know what some of you are thinking, “ughhh turkey meatloaf…dry, bland, boring… booooo!” . I can assure you that this turkey meatloaf is none of that!
It’s full of savory spices, sweet and smokey BBQ sauce and cheese…baby it’s got flavor! And adding whole milk and olive oil to the mix creates one juicy, moist meatloaf with a tender texture.
Like seriously what do you have to lose here!? Try it!
This cheesy turkey meatloaf pairs up well with so many side dishes and creates such a wholesome filling meal! Here are some of my favorite side dish combinations for this turkey meatloaf.
- Potato salad, green beans, dinner roll
- Fried potato rounds, sweet peas, molasses roll
- Corn on cob, rice, baked zucchini
- Mac n cheese, broccoli, honey butter yeast roll
Did I mention how quick this comes together? Sure you have to saute the onions and garlic but after that, it’s all one bowl. It’s even great the next day. I usually have to double the recipe so that my husband can make his beloved meatloaf sandwich.
If you’re feeling creative try changing up the cheeses a bit. Smoked cheese is so good in this OMG!
Enjoy!
Get the Recipe: Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1/2 -3/4 cup seasoned croutons, crushed (or seasoned bread crumbs)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, use your fav.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 2 teaspoons parsley, plus more for grnish
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 - 1 cup Colby Jack cheese, cut into tiny cubes
- Favorite BBQ sauce, to spread on top (I used Stubb's Sweet Heat BBQ sauce)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Lightly grease an 8.5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- Add olive oil to a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add onions and saute until tender.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a large bowl add the cooked onion & garlic, ground turkey, crushed croutons, and egg.
- Mix together ketchup and BBQ sauce and add to the bowl.
- Add in salt, pepper, smoked paprika, thyme, oregano, sage, and parsley.
- Add in milk and mix JUST until combined. Do not overwork the meat.
- Fold in cheese.
- *optional*Fry up a tinyl test patty if you want to check the seasonings.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth out.
- Brush the top with BBQ sauce and sprinkle with a bit of parlsey.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes (may need more time depending on the type of pan you use. See note*)
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
I like to have broccoli and cheese for a side dish. I also like cheesey potatoes but since I’m low carb right now, I can’t have them.. booooo lol I will use plain pork rinds for the bread crumbs tho.
Can I use Bread crumbs or Panko instead of the croutons ? Thank you
Monique, Do you think I can skip sautéing the onions and garlic and just add raw to the turkey? Thanks. Leslie
I just tried this tonite and it did not come out like your video. I followed the instructions ver baitum so I’m not sure what went wrong. After 35 min of baking, the turkey was still not fully cooked and it had juices running all through the bottom of the pan. After putting the loaf back in the oven for an additional 10 min, still no success. I’ve tried several recipes on this site and all have worked out fine. Maybe a beef meat loaf would work bettter for me.
Awww I’m so sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. I’m not sure what went wrong. I don’t have much juice with this recipe. Maybe a leaner turkey would work best.
Wow! This Turkey meatloaf looks scrumptious. I will definitely this recipe. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Would this work the same with ground beef?
Ground beef has more fat so you’d need to make some adjustments. I have a meatloaf recipe using ground beef on my site that may be helpful.