This family favorite turkey meatloaf is a lighter spin on a classic comfort food made with lean protein. This ground turkey meatloaf is flavorful, juicy and impresses any skeptics!
Best Turkey Meatloaf Recipe
Whenever I’m looking to lighten up ground beef meatloaf, I’ll make this turkey meatloaf recipe. It’s now become a staple in our house and is a favorite healthy dinner idea, sometimes I even make it crockpot turkey meatloaf in the slow cooker.
Substituting ground turkey for beef makes this turkey meatloaf leaner without sacrificing taste just like in this turkey sloppy joe recipe! It’s juicy and flavorful and you can lighten it up a bit more by using half the amount of the meatloaf sauce.
Key Ingredients
- Ground turkey: I love to use a lean ground turkey, which doesn’t produce a lot of grease. Do not use shredded turkey, it won’t work.
- Breadcrumbs: This will help bind the meat together. You can make your own homemade breadcrumbs if you’d like or use almond meal or rolled oats to keep it gluten free.
- Egg: This will also help to bind the mix together.
- Seasonings: Don’t skimp on the seasonings, these will bring all the flavors together.
- Sauce: For the sauce, I like to do a mix of ketchup and BBQ sauce. It adds the perfect flavor. If you like it sweeter add some brown sugar.
How To Make Turkey Meatloaf
- Mix. Combine the meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl and mix just until combined. Be careful not to over mix or the meat won’t be as tender.
- Combine. Mix together sauce ingredients.
- Form and coat. Place mixture on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or a 9×5″ loaf pan. Shape into a loaf on top of a baking sheet. Pour sauce on top of meat.
- Bake. Bake in the oven at 375°F for about 45 minutes, or until center reaches 160°F on a meat thermometer. Let rest on pan for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
Meatloaf Tips and Variations
- Do not over stir the meat, as overworked meat will not be as tender.
- If your family is not used to ground turkey, I would start with half ground turkey and half ground beef. This is how I converted my kids.
- If you’d like a little bit of a kick, add hot sauce, sriracha sauce or red pepper flakes to the meat or sauce.
- You may substitute fresh onion and garlic (1/2 cup onion, 4 garlic cloves minced), however make sure to sauté them with a little olive oil before adding to the meat.
- Turn this into mini meatloaf muffins by pressing the meat mixture into cupcake tins. You could also make smaller loaves and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Double the recipe by doubling all the ingredients and then forming it into two loaves.
- The best way to tell when turkey meatloaf is done is to insert an instant read thermometer into the center. It should read 160°F and no longer be pink.
Favorite Sides To Serve Alongside
This really is the best turkey meatloaf recipe! We love to serve it with scalloped potatoes or try turning it into a one pan meal by making sheet pan meatloaf!
Freezer Instructions
Ground turkey meatloaf makes a great freezer meal. Mix the meat and form the mixture into a loaf shape (or in a loaf pan) and cover tightly with plastic wrap. You could even make smaller loaves and freeze half for later.
Store in freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge overnight when ready to enjoy, then coat with sauce and bake according to directions.
Looking for more meatloaf recipes? Try this BBQ meatloaf recipe, mozzarella stuffed meatloaf or sheet pan meatloaf!
More Ground Turkey Recipes
Browse all
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
Turkey Meatloaf
Video
Ingredients
Meatloaf:
- 2 pounds 90% lean ground turkey , or 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound ground turkey
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup whole milk , or beef broth, plus more as needed
- 2 large eggs , whisked
- 2-3 Tablespoons fresh parsley , or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 ¼ teaspoons Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Sauce:
- ½ cup ketchup or BBQ sauce , I like to mix half and half
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet or 9×5-inch loaf pan with foil. Lightly spray with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the turkey, breadcrumbs, milk, eggs, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder until combined. Don't overmix or the meat won't be as tender.
- Form the mixture into a loaf shape on the baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix together the ketchup and/or BBQ sauce and brown sugar. Pour over the top of the meatloaf. Add pepper on top, if desired.
- Bake meatloaf 45 to 55 minutes, or until the center reaches 160°F. Allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing into 8 to 10 slices.
Notes
- You may substitute fresh onion and garlic (1/2 cup onion, 4 garlic cloves minced), however, make sure to sauté them with a little olive oil before adding to the meat.
- If you prefer a little heat, add in a pinch of red pepper flakes to the meat or a few dashes of chili sauce or sriracha to the meatloaf sauce.
- If you want to make this gluten free, use gluten free bread crumbs or old fashioned oats.
- If you prefer your meatloaf extra saucy, you can always mix up another batch and brush more on the last 10 minutes of cooking or use it for dipping.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Dinner, Freezer-Friendly, Freezer-Friendly, Reader Favorites
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Very moist. good flavor easy to make, Looks good too. I did put onions and garlic that I had sautéed.
Next time I will use more ketchup and BBQ sauce for the toping.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nitsa! Thanks for your comment :)
This meatloaf is so moist and yummy ! I had a 1 lb package of ground turkey – cut all the other ingredients in half and it was so delicious ! I did mix 1/2 ketchup and 1/2 bar b que sauce along with the brown sugar for the topping. I’ve made it twice so far and will only make my turkey meatloaf this way forever!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear this, Rosemary :)
Vet good – moist and tasty. Kept in oven for close to an hour, however
I’m so glad you liked it, Debbie! :)
Yummy! Will definitely make this again. I thought the glaze would be too sweet but it wasn’t- did the half catchup half BBQ sauce version. Also an extra 1/4 cup of panco as it seemed too soft and it had to cook about 10 minutes longer than what the recipe said.
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your substitutions, Connie :)
Never having ground beef meatloaf again. This recipe is perfect.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for your comment, Michelle!
Very tasty! I used my mandolin to slice some potatoes about 1/4 inch thick, layered them in the bottom of my loaf pan and then put the turkey loaf on top. I love this as an easy perfect side dish, and don’t have to mess up another pan. I’ll definitely will do this recipe again.
What a great idea! I definitely need to try that soon :)
This was delicious. My husband generally doesn’t like meatloaf but he really enjoyed this. I added a little bit of green onion to the mixture. Will definitely make this again. Thanks!
I’m so glad to hear it was husband approved! :)
I would like to see more recipes with ground turkey low carbs gluten free
If I only have 1lb ground Turkey, how do I adapt the length of time to cook it?
If you cut the recipe, I would cut in half and check around 25-30 minutes.
Great recipe! I made the meatloaf last night to rave reviews. Thanks so much!
I changed up this recipe by halving it. I also did NOT use any milk, used seasoned bread crumb (a lot more of them then this recipe called for) and changed up seasonings just a bit.
I also put the half and half glaze (minus brown sugar as it is sweet enough) INSIDE as well (two TBS) and wow!
Finally, a turkey meatloaf to love! Thank you for sharing this!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! :) Thanks for your comment and review.
I used chicken broth. I always do with turkey meatloaf. Turned out very moist! This is now my go to turkey meatloaf recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! :)
This was a new turkey meatloaf recipe we used compared the same old one I always used….this one was SOOO much better! The kids loved it! I was lazy and didn’t do fresh onions and garlic (I followed recipe exactly) but I just know fresh onions would have really elevated this loaf! From now on, this will be the meatloaf recipe we will use.
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit! Thank you for your comment Nicole. :)
What about using chicken broth?
Yes, that should be fine!
Just made this with half ground turkey and a half ground beef and it was moist and absolutely delicious. Definitely will make again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
This was delicious, easy to make, and pleased both kids and husband!
I’m so glad it was a hit! :)
I feel like meatloaf gets a bad reputation for some reason, but it’s SO SO good.
My family and I love meatloaf! It’s one of our go to’s. Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!