Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf Recipe

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This Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf Recipe puts you in the mood for the holiday by tasting great! Make it before or for Thanksgiving. It’s THAT good!

Turkey Meatloaf Recipe

You could make this Turkey Meatloaf Recipe ON Thanksgiving if you didn’t want to deal with a whole big bird or didn’t have a lot of company coming over. Or you could make it leading up to Thanksgiving to give your tastebuds a preview. Either way, it’s a really lovely warm meal to feed your family.

Main Ingredients Needed

A moist turkey meatloaf recipe with all the same flavors as Thanksgiving put together in 1/4th of the time.

• Butter – this is used to saute the vegetables.
• Onion and Celery – for flavor and texture.
• Ground Turkey – I used 99% fat-free ground turkey for this recipe.
• Egg – this helps hold the meat together. Just think of meatloaf as a larger meatball.
• Plain Breadcrumbs – you can use regular breadcrumbs. Italian breadcrumbs would also be really delicious with this recipe too.
• Poultry Seasoning – this is to give it that classic Thanksgiving flavor.
• Cinnamon – this gives the loaf a hint of warm spice.
• Dried Thyme Leaves – earthy and aromatic.
• Parsley Flakes – this is for a garnish.
• Honey – a slightly sweet flavor that balances well with all the savory.
• Chopped Pecans – adds nuttiness (obviously) and nice texture.
• Turkey Gravy – you can use store-bought or make your own homemade turkey gravy.

Love Meatloaf? Try these other recipes: Simple Sunday Meatloaf Recipe and Turkey Meatloaf Recipe.

How to Make Turkey Meatloaf

This is a super easy turkey meatloaf recipe, simply saute the veggies, then mix with everything else and bake. The result is a moist and flavorful dinner! For full details on the recipe check out the recipe card below.

1. Preheat oven. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion and celery until tender.
3. While veggies are cooking, combine remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Add in soft veggies and stir to incorporate everything together. Form into a meatloaf shape on the prepared baking sheet and bake until thoroughly cooked (thermometer reads an internal temperature of 165 degrees or higher).
4. Cool before slicing and serving. Serve with turkey gravy.

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

To make this recipe faster and cuter divide the turkey mixture into four smaller loaf pans and bake for 20-30 minutes. OR you can even use your cupcake tin to make a ton of small, cute, delicious meatloaves.

Leftovers

This turkey meatloaf recipe can last up to 4 days in the fridge and is great as leftovers.

Freezing Instructions

The amazing thing about meatloaf is its versatility! It can indeed be frozen and can be made for meal prep! And to make it even better, make two. One for dinner and one to freeze for later. That way you will always have turkey meatloaf on hand.

To freeze make the turkey meatloaf recipe as directed. Cool and slice, then store in airtight containers in the freezer for up to three months!

To reheat, thaw the meatloaf slowly. This is best done in the fridge the night before. Then in 30-second increments microwave that baby until it is warm and delicious.

More Turkey Recipes to Try!

Be sure to check out all of my turkey recipes here, but below are a couple of my favorites.

• Perfect Roast Turkey
• Healthy Turkey Salisbury Steak Recipe
• Turkey Taco Meat Recipe
• The Best Turkey Burger Recipe

If you loved this turkey meatloaf recipe you’ll love these other turkey recipes.

The printable recipe below 🙂 Have a lovely day, friends!

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5 from 7 votes

Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf Recipe

This Easy Turkey Meatloaf Recipe puts you in the mood for the holiday by tasting great! Make it before or for Thanksgiving. It's THAT good!

servings 4 servings

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 1 small onion finely diced
• ▢ 1 rib celery finely diced
• ▢ 1.5 lbs. ground turkey 93/7
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• ▢ pinch of cinnamon
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• ▢ 2 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• ▢ store bought turkey gravy*

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion and celery until tender, 5 minutes.
• While veggies are cooking, combine remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Add in soft veggies and stir to incorporate everything together. Form into a meatloaf shape on prepared baking sheet and bake 30-40 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.
• Cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with turkey gravy.

Notes

*I used the dry turkey gravy mix that you just add water to. Feel free to make your own from scratch. I obviously did not.

Leftovers. This turkey meatloaf recipe can last up to 4 days in the fridge and is great as leftovers.

Freezing. Make the turkey meatloaf recipe as directed. Cool and slice, then store in airtight containers in the freezer for up to three months!

Reheating. Thaw the meatloaf slowly. This is best done in the fridge the night before. Then in 30-second increments microwave that baby until it is warm and delicious.

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins. To make this recipe faster and cuter divide the turkey mixture into four smaller loaf pans and bake for 20-30 minutes. OR you can even use your cupcake tin to make a ton of small, cute, delicious meatloaves.

Nutrition

Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 228mg | Potassium: 639mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Vitamin C: 2.1mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2.7mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: How to Make Turkey Meatloaf, Turkey Meatloaf, Turkey Meatloaf Recipe