grandma’s cajun meatloaf

| |
cajun meatloaf

Comfort Foods

Grandma’s cajun meatloaf will be the only meatloaf recipe you need! It will be your go to comfort food. Grandma’s Cajun meatloaf is juicy, simple, easy and guaranteed to be the best meatloaf recipe out there!

Comfort foods. When you think of them you’ll probably mention mac n’ cheese, mashed potatoes, pot roast, chicken soup, apple pie, biscuits and gravy. But, would you say Cajun meatloaf. Maybe just meatloaf. Comfort foods are foods that remind us of a time of life when everything was safe and secure. You may think nostalgia or about something sentimentally. 

Comfort food associations are usually in our minds. We might think of those we love, maybe someone we revered and respected who we shared food with. It’s a kind of classical conditioning. Warm filling food associated fondly with the memories, the person who made it, maybe Mom, Grandma, an Aunt, maybe Dad or Grandpa. 

Making Meatloaf

Oh, lordy lordy! Trouble in paradise! And, it’s all about making meatloaf! What do you do when a happily married couple don’t agree on a dish? And, in this case it’s meatloaf. Well, what you do is convince your husband that this ‘ain’t your old childhood meatloaf’! This is grandma’s cajun meatloaf! Tender, juicy, spicy and full of flavor, it’s a meatloaf that you’ll keep going back for that second slice.

I’ve put off making meatloaf for years. And, I absolutely love love love meatloaf. But, I never made it because, well, I knew Ben had sort of an ‘aversion’ to it. He said that he’d grown up on meatloaf dinners once weekly as a kid. And, that he’d had a lifetime of meatloaf never wanting to eat it again. Of course, this made me want to totally shift his mind because I knew my meatloaf was not gonna be anything like he remembered as a kid. In reality, Mama Helen, Ben’s Mama, was a fabulous cook. And, I know her meatloaf was probably fabulous, but he had this kinky idea in his head that he didn’t like meatloaf. I started thinking, dang, he loves my meatballs. Eats them like crazy. Asks for them. I make a lot of meatballs. Just check out some of the recipes. So I thought, hummmm, meatloaf is nothing more that a big ol’ meatball that you slice!

Meatloaf Recipes

Meatloaf recipes are about as abundant as meatball recipes! And, basically meatloaf is just a big version of meatballs. Just a different shape and size. Meatloaf can have different flair, Mediterranean, Italian, Southern, Southwestern, French, Old-Fashioned. Meatloaf recipes can be made with various kinds of ground meats, elk, bison, beef, pork, lamb, turkey, chicken, chorizo, and more. Grandma’s Cajun meatloaf is yet another twist on comfort foods that take us back to the future! 

Now my meatloaf has a spicy topping with the ketchup. And, with the Cajun seasoning mixture, you’ve got a hot duo! Sooooooo, if you’re not able to take the spicy heat, then reduce the amount of gochujang, or whatever hot sauce you’re using, to about one teaspoon. Or, omit it altogether and let your eaters add hot sauce.

I have lots of meatballs recipes that could be fashioned into meatloaf recipes. I especially love this Middle Eastern type of meatball for a meatloaf. 

Cajun Meatloaf Recipe

I decided to gussy up my Grandma’s meatloaf recipe. And, make this Cajun meatloaf recipe off the charts fabulous!

While I’d never had Grandma Cook’s recipe written down, I do remember as a kid her making it in her kitchen a couple of times a month. Now, I would go to my Grandma’s house nearly every afternoon after school (she lived around the corner, lucky me!), and she was always in the kitchen. I mean where else would you be. Oh, yeah, her other place was in the dark dank basement washing clothes on the old wringer washer. Hey, with eleven kids, all grown by this time, but three still living and adulting at home, you do a lot of cooking and washing. (And, yes, she hung everything on the clothesline in the backyard. That’s another story!). Annnneeeehooo, I knew with a few tweaks, I could change Ben’s mind on meatloaf.

So this Cajun meatloaf recipe, you see, is a game changer. I’m telling you I wish I’d videoed his reaction to his first bites of his slice of meatloaf! It’s the meatloaf recipes of ALL meatloaf recipes!

He LOVED it! Said it was nothing like he remembered as a child. Now this goes to show you that you can teach an old dog new tricks. You just have to have the right recipe! xox ~ally

 

cajun meatloaf

cajun meatloaf

grandma’s cajun meatloaf

Yield: About 6 folks

Grandma's cajun meatloaf will be the only meatloaf recipe you need! It's juicy, simple, easy and guaranteed to be the best meatloaf recipe out there!

Ingredients

  • Preheat oven to 375
  • 1 lb. ground beef, grassfed
  • 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
  • 1 Tbl. garlic puree
  • 1 Tbl. Nutritional Yeast
  • 3 tsp. Cajun seasoning mixture
  • 1/3 cup vegetable cream cheese, can use chive cream cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 ¼ cups breadcrumbs
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 2 Tbl. gochujang, can substitute sriracha or hot sauce, reduce amount to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef, sausage, garlic, nutritional yeast, cajun seasoning, cream cheese, eggs, worcestershire and breadcrumbs. Work together with a wooden spoon for a few minutes. Then mix together with your hands (make sure they’re clean!).

Place the meatloaf mixture on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Mold into a ‘loaf’ shape. Create on the top a slight indentation with a ‘lip’ around it.

Combine the ketchup and gochujang sauce and spread on top.

Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove. Loosely cover with foil and let the meat rest about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the parsley on top and serve.

Notes

If there're any leftovers, refrigerate the meatloaf!

Makes amazing sandwiches the next day!

Your sharing is GOLDEN! Thank you!

Your sharing and comments help me stay in business! Share a photo if you make the recipe #allyskitchen Thank you! xo Ally


cajun meatloaf

Similar Posts

8 Comments

  1. Can we use dairy-based cream cheese?

    1. Yes, the cream cheese, Laura, is the vegetable variety. It’s a dairy based cream cheese. You could use chive cream cheese also. By using this vs. just regular cream cheese, you get a tad bit more unique flavor. But, you could certainly use plain cream cheese! Enjoy and please let me know how you like! xoxx ally

  2. Can we use dairy-based cream cheese?

    1. Yes, the cream cheese, Laura, is the vegetable variety. It’s a dairy based cream cheese. You could use chive cream cheese also. By using this vs. just regular cream cheese, you get a tad bit more unique flavor. But, you could certainly use plain cream cheese! Enjoy and please let me know how you like! xoxx ally

  3. Anonymous says:

    I am baking this meatloaf now. Looks delicious- can’t wait to try it. Thanks

    1. Gracious! Hope the kitchen smells divine! Can’t wait to hear back. Whatcha serving w/it? xoxx ally

  4. What kind of cajun seasoning mixture?

    1. Hi, Lisa! Here are some options at my Amazon Storefront. I oftentimes use the Tony Chachere. Thanks for stopping by! Don’t be a stranger! xoxx ~ally https://a.co/iiPlEYX

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.