This air fryer meatloaf is a great healthy recipe for getting a classic meal on the table for dinner. It uses very few ingredients and can easily be made gluten free. The air fryer caramelizes the sauce to perfection and makes for a juicy, flavorful meal. Use this meatloaf for an easy meal prep for the week ahead or divide the recipe into two loaves to save some to freeze for later.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Meal Prep: This recipe is perfect to slice up for meal prep or even to make into smaller loaves to freeze one or both for later.
- Easy: With very few staple ingredients this recipe is a snap to toss together whenever you feel the urge.
- Customizable: This recipe can easily be made gluten free or even made with other ground meats to be friendly with dietary choices or preferences.
- Classic: This recipe is a classic and making meatloaf in the air fryer is a great chance to utilize your air fryer even better.
- Fast: A 2 pound meatloaf typically takes about an hour in the oven and this recipe will cut that time in half. You can’t go wrong there!
Air Fryer Meatloaf Ingredients
For the meatloaf portion of this recipe you will start with two pounds of ground beef, two large eggs, milk, and a quarter cup of parmesan cheese. You will also need 2/3 cup of breadcrumbs, and 1/3 cup of finely diced white onion. Lastly, you require parsley, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce Ingredients
To make the sauce for your air fryer meatloaf you only need a cup of ketchup, a half cup of light brown sugar, and an optional half cup of chili sauce.
How to Make Meatloaf in the Air Fryer
If your air fryer is one that requires preheating, start by preheating that to 350 degrees F. Otherwise, start the air fryer meatloaf by mixing all of the meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl with your hands. Only mix it together until it is combined and don’t overmix so the meatloaf doesn’t dry out.
Form the meatloaf into a loaf shape and place it into the air fryer basket or rack. Cook for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. While the meatloaf begins to cook in the air fryer, mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Alternative option: If you would like small slices or to freeze some of the air fryer meatloaf for later form the mixture into two small loaves and cook them at once. This recipe is a great one to freeze part of for later for an easy future meal.
Once the cook time is up, use a spoon or basting brush to coat the top and sides of the meatloaf with half of the sauce mixture. Cook the meatloaf for an additional 5-8 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf is 165 degrees and the sauce has begun to carmelize.
Remove the meatloaf from the air fryer and spoon or brush the remaining sauce over the meatloaf. Last step is to garnish and serve!
Making Gluten Free Meatloaf
In order to make this meatloaf in the air fryer that is gluten free you first omit the regular breadcrumbs from the recipe. Swap for your gluten free choice and mix them into the meatloaf like normal. Use the same amounts as you would for the regular bread crumbs. It super simple! My favorite substitutes to make the recipe gluten free are:
Serving and Storing Instructions
Garnish this air fryer meatloaf with some chopped parsley or crushed red pepper flakes if you want a little more “kick” to your meatloaf.
You can serve meatloaf with a side of roasted veggies or corn on the cob and a potato side such as mashed potatoes or really, any side of your choosing!
To store meatloaf, place it in an airtight container or individual meal prep containers and refrigerate. It will keep well for about 5 days refrigerated. If you opted to form the meatloaf into two smaller loaves to freeze one for later wrap it in tin foil and place into the freezer for later. It can be frozen for up to 4 months.
Other Beef Recipes You’ll Love!
- Hot and Spicy Beef
- Ground Beef and Vegetable Soup
- Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
- Instant Pot Beef Meatballs and Marinara
- Southwest Ground Beef Casserole
Air Fryer Meatloaf
This air fryer meatloaf is a great, healthy recipe for getting a classic meal on the table for dinner. It uses very few ingredients and can be made gluten free easily. The air fryer caramelizes the sauce to perfection and makes for a juicy, flavorful meal. Use this meatloaf for an easy meal prep for the week ahead or divide the recipe into two loaves to save some to freeze for later.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: beef
- Method: air fryer
- Cuisine: american
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2-pounds ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 2/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup finely diced white onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more to garnish
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
For the topping:
- 1 cup ketchup
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- Optional: ½ cup chili sauce
Instructions
- If required with your air fryer, preheat it to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl and using your hands, combine all of the meatloaf ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix as it causes the meat to dry out
- Form the meatloaf mixture into a loaf shape and place it into your air fryer basket or rack
- Cook for 25 minutes. While the meatloaf is cooking, mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl
- When the time is up, spoon or brush half of the sauce over the top and sides of the meatloaf and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes, or until the meatloaf is 165 degrees in the center, and the topping appears shiny and caramelized
- Remove from the air fryer and spoon and brush the remaining topping over the meatloaf. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired and serve with vegetable sides such as mashed potatoes and green beans
Notes
If desired and if your air fryer is large enough, you can divide the meatloaf mixture in half and cook them as two loafs at once. This gives smaller slices, or allows one for freezing whole. If your air fryer is not big enough for this you can simply freeze the loaf uncooked and cook it on its own later. Cut the cook time in half for this option.
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Lillian says
Wow! This turned out soooooooo well I can’t believe it. Very good recipe and is a keeper for sure!