Is Meatloaf Healthy? Nutrition Breakdown + Healthier Recipe

While limiting certain foods and counting calories are good weight loss strategies, sometimes turning the spotlight on our favorite recipes is a good place to start. It’s possible that your usual home cooking isn’t supporting your journey to optimal health.

With that in mind, we’re casting our eyes on a much-loved dish – meatloaf. Keep reading as we discuss classic meatloaf’s ingredients and nutrition facts to conclude whether it makes a positive or negative addition to your diet.

What Is Meatloaf?

It is a meat dish typically made with red meats like ground beef beef or pork, bread crumbs, eggs, onions, and seasonings, then shaped using a loaf pan and baked. It is often served with other comforting side dishes, such as mashed potatoes and gravy.

A traditional homemade meatloaf has a ketchup-based topping. It is typically served hot, but many people enjoy cold meatloaf leftovers alone or in sandwiches the following day. You can find meatloaf served in diners and restaurants and buy premade meatloaf from the store.

As meatloaf recipes vary, the ingredients and nutrients differ. Therefore, some meatloaf varieties are healthier than others.

What Ingredients Does Meatloaf Contain?

Classic meatloaf consists of some key ingredients, but you can easily change your usual meatloaf mixture for a more healthy meatloaf recipe. The main components are the meat mixture, bread crumbs, and your choice of vegetables.

Meatloaf ingredients in the average recipe include:

• Meat mixture: Meats may include ground beef, ground sirloin, ground pork, ground veal, and Italian sausage. Alternative meatloaf recipes may use ground chicken or ground turkey.
• Bread crumbs
• Eggs
• Vegetables such as yellow onion, carrots, celery, red pepper, and bell peppers
• Ketchup
• Brown sugar
• Additional ingredients and seasonings: Salt, freshly ground black pepper, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, garlic, and herbs

Meatloaf Benefits

Besides being a delicious and comforting meal, meatloaf also has a couple of benefits:

#1 Rich in iron

Since the main ingredient of meatloaf is meat, this dish is relatively high in iron.

Iron from meat is considered an essential dietary element. Iron is an important mineral necessary for your body’s growth and development. It is responsible for making hemoglobin – the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen through the body.

Without enough hemoglobin, you can develop health conditions like anemia (low hemoglobin), which leaves you feeling excessively tired. You may need to increase hemoglobin with more iron-rich foods and supplementation.

#2 High in protein

Meatloaf is an excellent source of protein, with 14.2g per 100g serving. Getting enough protein in your diet provides energy and supports your body with cellular repair, muscle building, and muscle recovery.

Protein aids weight loss by promoting satiety, supporting healthy metabolism, and helping you lose fat without losing muscle. Although protein is part of a balanced diet, you should still be mindful of how much meatloaf you eat. Eating protein in excess can lead to weight gain.

Meatloaf Downsides

Even though meatloaf contains a lot of protein and is a satiating and comforting meal, you should consume it in moderation because of these risks:

#1 Increases risk of heart disease

While it has benefits, eating too much red meat can harm your health. High consumption of red meat, particularly processed meat, is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

#2 Can raise cholesterol levels

Meatloaf contains fats. While fat is an essential macronutrient that our bodies need to function properly, too much-saturated fat in the diet can raise LDL cholesterol levels and increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

Meatloaf Nutrition Facts

When assessing how healthy a particular food or dish is, you must review the nutritional content, whether by carefully looking at the nutritional labels at the store or when logging foods into your nutrition tracking app.

Let’s look at the nutrition facts of classic, storebought meatloaf per 100g serving.

Nutritional table (per 100g)

Calories/Nutrient (per 100g)	Amount
Calories (kcal)	212
Sodium (mg)	345
Net Carbs (g)	3.54
Fiber (g)	0
Sugar (g)	0
Fats (Total g)	15.9
Protein (g)	14.2
Cholesterol (mg)	49

High in calories

Most meatloaf recipes are high in calories. A 100g serving of meatloaf has 212 calories. Most of the calorie count comes from the meat in the meatloaf mixture. Red meat tends to have more fat, and ground beef and pork have a lot of calories.

You can reduce the number of calories in your homemade meatloaf by choosing leaner meat sources, like lean ground beef. You can also substitute red meat with lean ground turkey and chicken with reduced fat.

Certain ingredients like ketchup are often high in sugars. A popular meatloaf recipe often contains brown sugar, too. Sugar is high in empty calories. That means it racks up the calorie content without providing any nutritional benefit.

Eliminating sugar and ketchup from your meatloaf recipe can reduce the calorie count. For a healthier option, you can use tomato paste instead to add flavor and help retain moisture in the whole loaf.

Low in carbohydrates

Meatloaf is low in carbohydrates, with only 3.54g of carbohydrates per 100g serving.

Carbs are an important source of energy for the body, but some types of carbohydrates can be bad for your health. If you’re looking to reduce your carbohydrate intake, meatloaf is a great option.

However, you may want to consider adding other low-carb side dishes to your meal to make sure you’re getting enough energy. Some great low-carb sides include steamed vegetables, salads, and roasted nuts.

High in fats

Meatloaf has a fair amount of fat, with 15.9g of total fat and 5.31g of saturated fats in a 100g portion. Dietary fats do have health benefits, but you must be mindful about eating good and bad fats.

Again, you can create a healthy meatloaf recipe and reduce the fat content by selecting lean ground beef and poultry for your meat mixture. Poultry is considered more heart-healthy than ground beef and pork.

Lots of recipes use milk to retain moisture. Another way to cut down is by swapping whole milk for skim or nonfat milk. If you want to lose weight, you should choose the best milk for weight loss to go in your recipe.

High in cholesterol

Meatloaf is high in cholesterol, with 49mg of cholesterol in a 100g portion.

Too much cholesterol can be bad for your heart health, so it’s important to monitor your cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association recommends that adults should not consume more than 300mg of cholesterol per day. If you have a history of heart disease, your doctor may advise you to limit your cholesterol intake even further.

If you’re looking for ways to make your meatloaf healthier, consider using fewer fatty cuts of meat, such as lean ground beef and poultry. You can also reduce the fat content by using low-fat milk instead of whole milk in your meatloaf.

Healthy Meatloaf Recipe

So, meatloaf isn’t the most healthful dish, but you can improve its nutritional value with a few simple changes when you make it at home. All you need to do is slash the sodium, fat, and calories. Don’t worry; healthy meatloaf can be just as tasty.

See our healthy meatloaf recipe below. 

Ingredients (1 serving):

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red or green bell pepper, diced
• 0.5 cup of diced onion (yellow onion for sweetness)
• 0.5 tsp of minced garlic
• 1lb of extra-lean ground beef
• 1 cup of bread crumbs (you can use gluten-free oats instead of breadcrumbs for a gluten-free option or almond flour as a substitute)
• 3/4 cup of shredded carrot
• 3/4 cup of shredded zucchini
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup of tomato paste or homemade sugar-free ketchup

Try to use less salt (including Worcestershire sauce which is high in sodium) and instead add your favorite herbs, such as basil, sage, thyme, parsley, and chives for delicious flavors.

You can also add spices if you prefer a kick. For extra ingredients that give your meatloaf recipe a super-healthy boost, try adding chia seeds or sunflower seeds.

Directions:

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400ºF and add cooking spray to your loaf pan. Alternatively, you can line the pan with parchment paper.

Step 2

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper to the skillet and cook until the pepper softens and the onion becomes translucent (approximately 5–10 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for another 1–2 minutes before removing the skillet from the heat.

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, carrot, and zucchini. Add the mixture from the skillet to the bowl and add some freshly ground black pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and press the meat mix neatly into the loaf pan.

Step 4

Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake in the center for 35–40 minutes until the meat is no longer pink. A thermometer should read at least 160ºF.

FAQs

Conclusion

Meatloaf can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, but you should limit your consumption of meatloaf that is high in sodium, sugar, and saturated fats. The best solution for transforming this heavy, hearty food into a nutritious meal is by making it at home.

You can get plenty of protein and iron from eating meatloaf. Remember – even with a healthy meatloaf recipe, this food contains a fair amount of calories. You can safely enjoy a slice of meatloaf for dinner on occasion, just don’t eat the entire loaf.