Meatloaf is classically made with breadcrumbs (or milk-soaked bread if you're a bit extra), eggs, and often grated hard cheese of some kind. And when food allergies pop up, it can start to feel like you'll never enjoy the classics again. And while we still wait and hope for suitable replacements for some things (lookin' at you, hot dog bun), my version of meatloaf leaves nothing to be desired. Introducing, gluten free meatloaf that won't leave you craving the actual thing.
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The secret to this gluten free meatloaf is the way we bind it together, using a mix of meats to get the perfect ratio of fat, along with some potato starch for additional structure without any odd flavor. The way you mix the meat is also important - by hand, not squeezing too hard but gently folding enough to combine everything evenly. Once baked it's tender, moist (everyone's favorite word) and nobody would ever even know it's been adjusted for any type of diet. It's just all flavor.
Gluten Free Meatloaf
Meatloaf - Grain, Gluten, Dairy & Egg Free
8
15
minutes1
hour15
minutesThe classic, but with less allergens and more flavor (yes, MORE flavor).
Ingredients
salt
black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
- Vegetable Mix
1 sweet onion
1⁄2 green zucchini
1 medium carrot
4-5 button or cremini mushrooms
5 cloves garlic peeled, stem removed
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
2 tsp fresh rosemary needles finely chopped
2 tsp fennel seed crushed finely in a mortar and pestle
- Loaf Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef 90/10 fat ratio
2 lbs ground pork Italian sausage
2 tbsp almond flour
2 tbsp potato starch
1 1⁄2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Vegetable mix from above
- Glaze
1⁄4 cup ketchup
1 1⁄2 tbsp Tiger sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
Directions
- Sauté the Vegetable Mix
- In a food processor, blitz the onion, zucchini, carrot and mushrooms. Do each separately, blitzing the onions to a wet paste, and everything else to a fine consistency. Combine in a bowl with the chopped herbs.
- Heat a pot or pan on medium/medium-high on the stove. Add a couple tbsp of olive oil, as well as the vegetable mix with a couple pinches of salt and a little black pepper. Stir frequently as it sautés, adding the fennel after a couple minutes. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, just to remove excess moisture. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Form the Loaf
- Preheat your oven to 375.
- In a bowl, combine the meats gently by hand until mostly evenly distributed, but not completely. Add the sautéed vegetable mix, potato starch, almond flour, Worcestershire, a couple pinches of salt and a few grinds black pepper then continue mixing by hand to combine. Careful not to overwork the meat as the texture will become gummy, but you don't want there to be any large chunks of any single ingredient.
- Lightly coat a roasting pan with olive oil and hand-form your loaf on it. If you have a meat thermometer with a wire lead and digital read out, stick that into the center of the loaf and set your timer to 135 degrees. Place the loaf in the oven (it will take 40-50 minutes to reach this temperature).
- Glaze the Loaf
- In a bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients. Once the meat reaches an internal temperature of 135, remove it from the oven (closing the door to retain heat) and evenly spread about half of the glaze on it with a food/pastry brush. Place back in the oven until the internal temperature is 162 degrees (total bake time of 60-75 minutes depending on the oven - convection setting will reduce these times but may also cause cracking).
- Rest & Serve
- Once the loaf has finished cooking, remove from the oven and spread the remaining glaze over top. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Top with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
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I made this tonight! My husband was skeptical when he saw no dairy or gluten but he raved about it! I used 1 lb pork and 3 lbs beef and it was perfect. Also, didn’t have tiger sauce so subbed picka pepper sauce and added a dash of cayenne to it. This recipe is a keeper❣️ Thank you
So glad you liked it!
Thank you for sharing this recipe- the meatloaf was delicious! For the glaze, I used Sriracha sauce instead of Tiger sauce. Not sure how the two compare, but the glaze was tasty…so good that I’m tempted to try it on chicken wings, yum! Definitely a keeper:)
So glad you liked it! Sriracha is a great sub. Different flavors, for sure, but both delicious.
Made this yesterday and it is delicious! Great flavor and the glaze is perfect
So happy to hear!
This looks delicious! I love meatloaf. Sadly my husband is allergic to mushrooms - do you think I can just omit? Or what would you recommend instead? Thanks!
You can definitely just omit it.
I’ve been reluctant to allocate cabinet space to a food processor but this mini one looks super useful - what model are you using here?
It's from Ninja. I'm the same - I hate lugging out my giant food processor. This one does everything I need it to do and it's super compact. Use it almost daily and it was super cheap - like $20 or less I think.
I’ve made a GF meatloaf for decades, incorporating chopped spinach to help keep it moist and nutritious. The recipe is called American Pâté; that’s how tender it is. I will experiment with your add-ins, Chris, especially the fennel seeds, which I have just harvested from my 12-foot tall fennel in the garden. Cheers!
Looks amazing! My daughter has given up beef. Did you ever try this recipe with ground turkey in the mix? I know it won’t be as good but curious. Thanks.
I haven't. The water content in turkey might be tough to get the consistency right.
That looks so YUMMY! Though I have no restrictions, I still might try it!