Pizza Meatloaf: All Your Favorite Pizza Flavors in One Easy Meatloaf

If you love pizza and meatloaf, this recipe is about to become your new favorite dinner. This pizza meatloaf combines classic ground beef meatloaf with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni for a fun twist the whole family will ask for again and again. It's easy to make with simple ingredients, and it turns a weeknight staple into something exciting. Follow the step by step recipe below for a hearty, cheesy dinner that tastes just like your favorite pizza.

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This easy pizza meatloaf recipe is a fun choice when regular meatloaf is starting to feel a little predictable. It has familiar ingredients, plenty of cheese, and enough pizza flavor to get kids and adults interested in what might otherwise be an ordinary weeknight meal.

Why this is the best Pizza Meatloaf recipe

Pizza meatloaf is easy to make. Everything gets mixed together in one bowl, shaped into a loaf, topped with pizza sauce, and baked. There are no complicated techniques or fussy steps, which makes it manageable even on a busy evening.

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It's packed with pizza flavor. Pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, Italian breadcrumbs, and pizza seasoning give the meatloaf all the familiar flavors of pizza without turning dinner into another pizza night.

Pizza meatloaf stays flavorful and juicy. Using a combination of ground beef and ground turkey or pork gives the meatloaf plenty of flavor, while the eggs, breadcrumbs, vegetables, pizza sauce, and cheese help keep the inside moist and tender.

This easy meatloaf is loaded with good stuff. Mushrooms, onions, garlic, black olives, pepperoni, and mozzarella are mixed right into the meatloaf, so you get something interesting in nearly every bite instead of just meat covered with sauce.

Pizza meatloaf is easy to customize. Just like pizza, this meatloaf can be adjusted to fit whatever toppings your family likes. You can leave out toppings nobody eats, add new favorites like bell peppers, or swap the cheese and meat without completely changing the recipe.

This is a great recipe for family dinners. Pizza meatloaf has enough familiar pizza flavor to appeal to kids, while still feeling like a substantial homemade dinner for the adults at the table.

What you'll need to make the best Pizza Meatloaf recipe

Equipment

• Garlic press - I love my garlic press. It's the best way to distribute that tangy fresh garlic flavor throughout your meat mixture. If you don't have a garlic press, you can smash the cloves with the wide edge of your chef knife, then remove the papery skin and cut the garlic as fine as you can possibly get it with the sharp side of the knife.
• Loaf pan - You need a loaf pan to make a meatloaf. If you don't have a loaf pan, you could probably make a meat mound on a baking sheet. Make sure it has a lip around the edge because juices will come out of the meat while it cooks.
• Baking sheet - This is to save your oven from spillover from the loaf pan.
• Instant read thermometer - I always put my thermometer probe in meat when it's in the oven. This allows me to see the temperature of the meat without opening the oven door, and I know my meats are never overcooked because I remove them from the oven at the correct time. I highly recommend every home cook has a wireless meat thermometer.

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See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.

Ingredients

• Eggs - Eggs help the meat to hold the loaf shape.
• Ground beef - Traditional meatloaf is made from ground beef, so we start there.
• Ground turkey or ground pork - If you want a lighter meatloaf, go with ground turkey. If that's not an issue for you, I recommend ground pork which has a great flavor.
• Italian bread crumbs - These work with the egg to help the loaf hold its shape.
• Onion - I think most meatloaf recipes have onion, but I add a little more for the whole pizza topping theme.
• Garlic - Garlic makes this meatloaf taste like pizza. Feel free to add extra.
• Mushrooms - Mushrooms, onions, and black olives are my favorite pizza toppings, so that's what I add to my pizza meatloaf. If you prefer something else, by all means, substitute!
• Black olives - These should be drained and sliced. You can buy them pre-sliced or slice them yourself.
• Mini pepperoni - You'll put the pepperoni inside the meatloaf and also bake some on top. You can use full-size pepperoni if you want to, but I would recommend you chop it into quarters.
• Pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning - This gives your pizza its characteristic pizza flavor.
• Red pepper flakes - Just a pinch to make the other spices brighter.
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Pizza sauce divided, plus more for serving - This is pizza sauce, not marinara sauce. They are different. The pizza sauce has a lot more spices and seasonings than marinara sauce. You'll miss it if you don't use actual pizza sauce.
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese - It's a pizza, right? I use mozzarella but you can use any kind of shredded cheese. I don't shred my own cheese; I buy it pre-shredded in the grocery store. I have often heard people say that it doesn't melt right, but I have had exactly one bag in thirty years of cooking that didn't melt properly. Don't let anyone guilt you into grating your own cheese if you don't want to.

How to make easy Pizza Meatloaf recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat them.
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   Then add all the other ingredients except for ⅓ cup of pizza sauce, ½ cup of shredded cheese, and ¼ cup mini pepperoni (reserved for putting on top of the meatloaf).
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3. Using your hands, combine all the ingredients together until the egg, spices, vegetables and breadcrumbs are well blended with the meat. If the mixture feels dry, add ¼ cup of water and mix that in.
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4. Transfer the meat mixture to a loaf pan or form it into a loaf on a baking sheet. Pour the reserved pizza sauce over the top of the meatloaf, then sprinkle the reserved cheese over the sauce and the reserved mini pepperoni over the sauce.
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5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for one hour, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF. Turkey needs to reach 165ºF to be safe to eat, but the temperature will continue to rise as it rests out of the oven.
6. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
7. Serve each slice flat with a drizzle of additional warmed pizza sauce and a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese and mini pepperoni over the top of each slice. (So that it almost looks like chicken parmigiana but pizza style.)

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Substitutions & variations

Pizza meatloaf can be made with different combinations of ground meat. The recipe uses ground beef along with ground turkey or ground pork. Pork will give you a richer meatloaf, while turkey makes it a little lighter. You can also use all ground beef if that's what you have.

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If your family does not like mushrooms or black olives, simply leave them out. You could replace them with finely diced green bell pepper, red bell pepper, or another favorite pizza topping. If you add vegetables that contain a lot of moisture, sautéing them first will help keep the meatloaf from becoming watery.

You can use your favorite jarred or homemade pizza sauce. Marinara can work in a pinch, although pizza sauce usually has a thicker consistency and stronger seasoning that works particularly well in this recipe.

Mozzarella gives pizza meatloaf its classic pizza flavor, but you can replace part of it with provolone, Parmesan, an Italian cheese blend, or even cheddar if that is what your family prefers.

For a meatier pizza version, add cooked crumbled Italian sausage or Canadian bacon along with the pepperoni. You could also swap regular pepperoni for turkey pepperoni.

If you like spicy pizza, increase the crushed red pepper flakes or add sliced jalapeños. For a milder version, leave the red pepper flakes out completely.

You can also turn this recipe into individual pizza meatloaf muffins. Divide the mixture among the wells of a greased muffin pan and reduce the cooking time considerably. Add pizza sauce, mozzarella, and a piece of pepperoni near the end of baking so the tops get hot and cheesy.

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Storing leftover Pizza Meatloaf recipe

Pizza meatloaf leftovers should be allowed to cool completely before you transfer them to an airtight container. Store the meatloaf in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.

I recommend slicing the leftover meatloaf before reheating it. Individual slices heat more evenly and quickly, which helps prevent the meatloaf from drying out. Add a spoonful of pizza sauce over each slice before reheating, and sprinkle on a little extra mozzarella if you want it nice and cheesy again.

You can reheat individual slices in the microwave until hot, or place them in a covered baking dish and warm them in a 350°F oven until the center reaches 165°F.

Pizza meatloaf also freezes well. Allow it to cool completely, then wrap individual slices tightly and put them in a freezer bag or an airtight freezer container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Storing individual slices makes it easy to pull out exactly what you need instead of thawing the entire loaf.

Thaw frozen pizza meatloaf overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. Add a little extra pizza sauce while reheating to help keep the meatloaf moist, then top it with fresh mozzarella and pepperoni if you want the leftovers to feel almost as good as the first night's dinner.

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Check out more delicious Pizza recipes

• Grilled Pizza Dough
• Sourdough Pizza Dough
• Peanut Butter Brownie Pizza
• BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza
• Easy Baked Pizza GnocchiUpside Down Pizza Casserole - The Best Popover Pizza Recipe

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