This post is sponsored by Safeway and features their exclusive O Organics(R) and Open Nature(R) products. I shop for these products at my local Safeway store.
Meatloaf is something that is near and dear to my heart. I grew up on it and still love serving it to my family today. That said, my recipe is a bit different then my mom’s version a few decades ago!
I like to use really good quality beef for my version. For this particular recipe I used O Organics® Grass Fed beef which I buy at my local Safeway store but it’s also available at any of the Albertsons family grocery stores, including Albertsons, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Express, United and Carrs/Safeway.
One thing that I enjoy about meatloaf in the winter but hate in the summer is that you have to keep your oven on for a while to make it. Who wants to keep the oven cranked up when it’s 100 degrees outside?!
So, for this version I’ve adapted my favorite meatloaf recipe for the grill! YUM. The end result is a freeform meatloaf with a beautiful glaze that has a wonderful grilled crust on it.
Serve it with potatoes, or a side salad, or just use it for sandwiches!
Easy Grilled Meatloaf
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Beef
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 cup diced white onion
- ⅓ cup diced carrot
- ½ cup diced red pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- canola oil, for grill
Meatloaf Glaze:
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium heat and prepare one section of your grill for low indirect heat. In a large bowl, mix together all meatloaf ingredients. Use your hands to mix them well. Press the meatloaf mixture into a 9×5 loaf pan.
- Clean and oil your grill (use a paper towel dipped in canola or vegetable oil to rub on the grill grates). Invert the 9×5 loaf pan on the grill over medium heat. Let the meatloaf cook for 6-7 minutes until it’s sizzling and has grill marks.
- Carefully remove loaf pan. Meatloaf should be freeform standing at this point. Rotate meatloaf and grill for 5 minutes on each side to get grill marks on all sides. It should be sturdy enough to handle, but be gentle with it so it stays together.
- After grilling on all sides, move meatloaf to indirect heat grilling area. Cover grill and grill meatloaf for another 30-40 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 160º F. Turn the meatloaf every 10-15 minutes to avoid burning on one side. During the last 5 minutes of grilling, brush it with glaze.
- Let meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with extra glaze on the side.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Easy Grilled Meatloaf
Obviously the meat is the star of the show in a meatloaf, but don’t forget about the veggies and spices. This meatloaf is sturdy enough that you can really pack in the veggies, which I love.
About two pounds of ground beef will do the trick for this recipe. I love that you can easily find USDA certified organic beef under the O Organics line at Safeway. It makes it easy to find high-quality meat at a great value. SIGN ME UP.
Once you mix together all the ingredients, pack them into your 9×5 loaf pan. This makes it slightly easier to transfer the meatloaf to the grill, but it isn’t essential. If you don’t have a loaf pan like this, you can absolutely make this recipe freeform by shaping the meatloaf on some foil and transferring it that way!
Assuming you have a loaf pan though, just invert it on your grill over medium heat and let it get started cooking for about 6-7 minutes.
Then you can remove the loaf pan and carefully flip the meatloaf with a large spatula so it gets nice grill marks on all sides. This will sear in the juices and flavors. It should be sturdy enough to handle, but be gentle with and try not to mess with it too much so it doesn’t fall apart!
After the meatloaf has some nice grill marks on all sides, move it to a very low heat, indirect section of the grill and cover your grill. It’ll need to cook like this for 30-40 minutes until the very center of the meatloaf hits 160º F. (use a meat thermometer).
Be sure to flip the meatloaf every 10-15 minutes so one side doesn’t get burned.
Also, you can start adding some glaze to the meatloaf when it’s about 10 minutes away from being done.
Possibly most importantly, let this beauty rest for 10 minutes after it comes off the grill. Slicing into it right away will not be easy. Let it firm up and cool a bit before slicing it.
Serve this lovely grilled meatloaf with a side salad, potatoes of any sort, or even make sandwiches out of it.
It’s the perfect way to get your meatloaf fix even when it’s hot outside!
Matt
That’s a lot of grease that is dropping down the BBQ tray. Any clean up ideas to make it easier? Even when I make meatloaf in the oven, I create a raised aluminum foil bed with holes in it so the grease can drip off the meat and onto the cookie tray I cook it on, to keep it from being soggy. There’s a lot of grease left over in the pan when I’m done, and that would all be going into the burners on the grill.
And note: Searing doesn’t lock in juices, but it does create flavor. :)
Nick
Hey Matt! Good point on the grease… You could definitely create a foil bed of sorts. When I cooked mine, I just made sure that the burners under the meatloaf were actually off so the indirect heat was coming from the other side of the grill. Then the grease dripped down into the grease pan which I lined with foil. Made it pretty easy to clean up. Also, I didn’t use 80/20 ground beef so it wasn’t as fatty as hamburgers or something. Thanks for the comment as always! :)
Sabrina
What a cool idea! I would’ve never thought of grilling meatloaf, but this looks absolutely scrumptious.
Nick
Thanks Sabrina! It sure was. :)
Thomas
1. WHAT’S WITH THE HONEY??? ALL COMMERCIAL BBQ SAUCES ARE OVER-SUGARED ALREADY…EVEN IF YOU MAKE YOUR OWN (I DO), NO MORE SWEETENER IS REQUIRED. OTHERWISE, LOOKS GOOD.
2. PROBLEM WITH TOO MUCH FAT? SKIP THE BEEF – & BE CAREFUL WITH THE GROUND TURKEY – DIRTIEST GROUND MEAT THERE IS – GROUND CHICKEN BREAST SELLS FOR SAME PRICE, ;PURE BREAST MEAT & CLEANER!
Nick
No need to yell Thomas. Ha! Thanks for the comment. ;)
KJill
This was one of those things that we decided would either be amazing or a disaster. Came out somewhere in between. Good, the recipe itself is a bit different than what I usually do for seasoning with the chili powder and lots of green pepper and the grilled and charred edges were fantastic flavor wise. Bad, issues with our execution really, my ground chuck (90/10) from the local butcher was very very lean, absolutely no dripping here at all and DH forgot to oil the grill. It fell apart a bit and was impossible to turn in one section. So it didn’t look very pretty when done, got served in chunks rather than slices and we left more than we would have liked on the grill. Next Time – And There Will Be A Next Time – we decided we will try to do this with several mini loaf pans and make sure the grill is well oiled. Also, we opted for just using the bbq sauce plain (though I would spice it up as well next time) since we were using a well known brand that starts with the word Sweet…
Thank you for a truly interesting recipe, this one will get made again. – KJill
Nick
Heya! Thanks for the comment and feedback. It can be a bit of a finnicky thing for sure. I actually think the idea of doing mini meatloafs is AWESOME. That would lower the cooking time some and also make it easier to handle on the grill. Keep me posted on how it goes or if you need any help with it!
Katie Marvin
This was the biggest hit. We did a mix of 85/15 ground beef and ground turkey thigh meat, and added 1 T of milk because I can’t not. We had no issues with fat/grease dripping and the mixture held together very well. My husband was beside himself with joy with how amazing this was.
Nick
So glad you liked it Katie! Thanks for reporting back!
Judith A Usasz
We grill with charcoal so was concerned how it would work. Amazing!!!! Also added a smoky flavor with pecan wood chips. I don’t really care for meatloaf generally yet my husband loves it. Now I can say I actually found a meatloaf I like!