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
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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!
Can you use non fat/skim milk instead of whole milk?
That should work!
Best Turkey Meatloaf ever! You need to try this recipe! This is my second time making it in two weeks, I had to double the ingredients the second time my family devoured the first one!
This makes me so happy to hear, Doreen! Thank you for your comment and review :)
We’ve made this several times and love it so much we also make it as burgers!!
Mmm making it as burgers sounds like a delicious idea!
What if I only have medium eggs?
That will work :)
My family loved it!
So glad to hear! Thanks for the review!
Excellent recipe! I would use onions and garlic (Saute them) versus onion and garlic powder next time; I also added extra parsley.
So glad you enjoyed it, Polly!
It was da Bomb.com. it tastes absolutely delicious. 🏆🍾💯🙂
Glad to hear you loved it, Lena! :)
My grandsons (8&5) love meatloaf. We’ve never used beef – this recipe is excellent and they had a great time helping make it.
So glad your grandsons love it! :)
Best turkey loaf ever! My husband loves it! We prefer turkey meat over beef and this is so quick and easy for me to make. I substituted the Worcestershire sauce for soy sauce and it was perfect! Making it again, probably once or twice a month honestly.
I’m so happy to hear you both loved it!! Thank you for your nice comment and review, Brenda :)
I never comment on recipes but this one is worth it. It has become a staple meatloaf recipe in our house, we use half ground turkey and half beef. Really fantastic!
This makes me so happy to hear, Aubrey! Thank you for your nice comment and review :)
Indeed, Best meatloaf EVER!!!
Agreed, best turkey meatloaf I’ve tried. I have also learned my lesson and was sure to not over-mix. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Ashley! Thank you for your comment and review :)
this is the best recipe i have found for a moist and tasty turkey meatloaf. i added a quarter cup more of bread crumbs as i as i was unable to mold it into a loaf at first. just a very basic yet delicious recipe.
I’m so happy to hear you loved the recipe, Geri!
Hands down the best turkey meatloaf recipe out there!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Lyn :)
We made this with the beef broth and regular bread crumbs. This turkey meatloaf is better than beef!! Will make this every time:)
I’m so happy to hear you loved the recipe, Nathalie! Thanks for your comment and review :)
I made this for my family tonight. My daughters are 6 and 9 years old, and they absolutely loved it. I think we could have all eatten that entire meatloaf tonight. However, I told them that we can enjoy it tomorrow as leftovers, and they are really looking forward to it. This was so easy and fast to make. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I am so happy to hear it was a hit with your family, Amy!
This was by far the best turkey loaf I have ever had. I didn’t have Panko crumbs so used regular breadcrumbs. I will definitely make this again!
I’m so happy to hear it was such a big hit!
Using a loaf pan, 375 for 45 minutes and the meatloaf temperature is only 100 degrees… wondering what went wrong… no issue with the oven temp.
It will take longer to cook when using a loaf pan since the juices aren’t able to escape (closer to 1 hour). The time suggested in the recipe card is for forming on a baking sheet.