What you need to know about this Jalapeno Cheddar Meatloaf: it’s very, very, very good. You’ll be proud to serve it to friends. It doesn’t have to be spicy; you can control that. It’s great when first baked, but even better cooled, refrigerated, then reheated.
Jalapeno Cheddar Meatloaf
Course: Dinner10
servings1
hour15
minutes5
minutesTo make quick work of all the chopping, use a food processor and start with shredding the cheese. Cook the veg down, mix everything together, chill, and bake.
Ingredients
2 Tbs olive oil
3 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed and reserved, flesh chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
6 large stalks celery (including leaves), chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs chopped cilantro plus more for garnish
3 lbs ground chuck
1 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
2 Tbs Worcestershire
2 eggs
1 box (6 oz.) lower-sodium, chicken-flavored Stovetop stuffing mix
1 cup shredded mild cheddar
1 cup ketchup (optional)
2 Tbs brown sugar (optional)
2 tsp dry mustard (optional)
1 tsp urfa biber (or another spicy chile powder, optional)
Directions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat (setting 6 out of 9). Add jalapenos, onion, bell pepper, celery, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Add jalapeno ribs and seeds, chopped, to taste (see note). Cook until the veg is very soft and dry, 20 minutes, stirring occasionally at first and constantly in the final 6 minutes. Off heat, thoroughly stir in garlic and cilantro and allow to cool slightly, stirring frequently, 5-10 minutes. (Note that the mixture should be salty, since it will be used to season the beef.)
- Place beef into a large mixing bowl; set aside. Sprinkle gelatin over Worcestershire in a small bowl or teacup. Let it rest for five minutes while the powder absorbs liquid. Place it in the microwave for 5-second bursts just until it becomes liquid. Stir, then whisk it into the eggs with a fork. Pour this mixture over the beef. Add veg and mix with your hands. Add Stovetop and cheddar; mix again. Form the mixture into two equal-weight loaves and transfer each into its own bread pan. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
- (Mix the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and urfa biber pour it over the loaves.) Bake at 350°F until internal temperature reaches 160-165°F, 1¼ hours. Let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
- Substitutions: parsley for the cilantro, and green (or another color) bell pepper for the red.
- You can use no seeds (not spicy), a teaspoon full of seeds (subtly spicy), a full rib of seeds (pleasantly spicy), or all the seeds from one of the jalapenos (spice-forward).
Recipe Experience
This is a terrific meatloaf. It’s a fantastic combination of meat and filler, in terms of both taste and proportions. Wonderful flavor. Gorgeous color. Perfect texture: not too dense, not too delicate, not too dry, not too wet. It’s also quite attractive.
Reheats beautifully, but my recommendation is not to merely warm it, but to get it flat-out hot.
I think the meatloaf is fantastic with the ketchup glaze, but equally fantastic without it.
Social Learning: Tips and Recommendations
When you see the amount of chopped veg, you’re going to think it’s way, way too much. If so, you’ll be impressed and surprised when you see how much it cooks down.
Express yourself through meatloaf: are you someone who goes with the flow? Forming the beef mixture into a loaf before transferring it to a bread pan will result in a classic, domed look for the loaf. Are you more of an everything-in-its-place kind of guy? As an alternative, you can press the beef into the pan for a clean, sharp-lined, straight-laced look.
Of course garnishes are optional by their very nature, or at least it’s easy to generalize that way. In this case, the cilantro garnish is especially flavorful and welcome as a garnish.
So, the gelatin…
This meatloaf has a lot of add-ins, and those add-ins have a lot of liquid. Some of that liquid will seep out of the loaf. If you use glass bread pans, you’ll notice that the loaves appears to be boiling in that liquid as much as they’re baking. Technically, I think they’re braising. When you pull the loaves out of the oven, you’ll see that there’s a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pan. Let the loaves rest, and they’ll absorb a lot of it. You can serve it at this point, and it’ll be fantastic. However, if you refrigerate the loaves overnight, they will absorb just about all of the liquid, which is why I think the loaves are even better leftover.
The gelatin adds body to this liquid and enhances the beefiness of the ground chuck. You get loaves that are compact, hold together well, and yet are beautifully moist.
Temperature
You have to be careful about taking the meatloaf’s temperature. It varies wildly from the outside to the center, and it can be difficult to know if your probe is reading the center temperature. My advice is to:
- Push the probe into the loaf, doing your best to attempt to nestle its tip in to the center, and let the reading stabilize. Then…
- Slowly push the probe deeper and very slowly pull it out.
- Do this a couple times, in a couple different places.
The meatloaf isn’t done until the lowest reading you get while in the “slowly” phase is 160°F. If something like 145°F flashes onto your probe, even for a second, even though at other points the probe is giving you readings like 170°F, the meatloaf isn’t quite done yet.
Jalapeno Cheddar Meatloaf
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A truly beautiful loaf, Jeff! I love the cooked vegetables and flavors. You probably won’t believe this, but I do not own a thermometer. (Okay, I own a candy thermometer… but that doesn’t help here.) I’m sure I can figure out how to make sure the meatloaf is completely done. I will definitely want to try this once the weather cools down… I am also very curious about the gelatin. How would that help? Very curious… Thanks!
I think the gelatin would provide more body and richness. Just a hunch. I’ll let you know if it works.
Thanks – I will be very curious to know@
🙂
Looks very juicy, flavourful and absolutely moreish! What’s that stuffing mix?
Oh, it’s something common in the U.S. It’s seasoned, dried cubes of bread … a pre-made mix that you might use to stuff a turkey or chicken.
Looks and sounds delicious.
I’m not much of a cook. That’s why I ask this: what’s the reason for refrigerating the meatloaf before baking it?
I wanted to give the Stovetop stuffing mix a chance to soak up some moisture.
Drool-worthy, looks delicious.
Thank you, Gary!
I’ve never used a recipe for meat loaf. As a result, I’ve made some good ones (my husband says) that I am incapable of replicating. Or is it duplicating? So I should probably follow recipes. Thanks!
Interesting problem!
Another fine meatloaf recipe. I love the addition of the peppers and I’m intrigued with the urfa biber. Now, I’ve used gelatin in savory dishes, but never in meatloaf. I’ll be curious to hear of your results.
Thanks Ron!
de quoi ce régaler avec ce superbe pain de viande que je ne connais pas!!
a bientôt
Thank you Josette!
The meatloaf looks and sounds amazing Jeff!!
Thanks Lori!
A favorite comfort food – I must have 6? recipes and I am always looking for more. Stovetop stuffing – how interesting 🙂
Thanks Judith. The Stovetop worked well, plus it has seasoning.
When I was a kid, my mom worked outside the house and her menus were always the same and planned in advance. Meatloaf was a regular on her weeknight menus!. I’m sure we would have enjoyed this recipe!
Thanks Judee!
We love meatloaf here, Jeff. It’s great comfort food and a family favorite for us. Your recipe looks like something new and delicious for us to try soon!!
Thanks Marcelle!
Una vera ghiottoneria, adoro queste preparazioni!!!
I’m not sure I’d go so far as calling it a delicacy, but thank you!
You’re talking my kinda comfort food language here, Jeff! Cheddar and jalapeno combined with meatloaf. I’m all in! I’ve never used urfa biber, so I’m intrigued by that. I also need to know if you turned this into a meatloaf sandwich? I know how you feel about meatloaf sammiches!
Nope! Didn’t turn it into a sandwich. It reheated so perfectly, I just ate it like that. Considered making a hot sandwich out of it, though.
Meatloaf always takes me back to nostalgic memories of growing up. I know we had it at least once a week for years. That you put cheddar and jalapenos in your recipe takes it to a whole new level for me. Looking forward to making this. Thanks so much for sharing.
You’re welcome, Kristy!
This meatloaf looks ultra delicious and juicy, and the addition of cheese makes everything better!
Thanks!
Definitely making this. Love the way you describe it — from the flavor and texture, to how it looks and the proportions. The ingredient list alone makes me hungry! 🙂 ~Valentina
Thank you!
My Mum used to make meatloaf, but I haven’t for a long time. This looks delicious Jeff, and suited to Summer or Winter as it can be eaten hot or cold. I really like your recipe.