Cheeseburger Meatloaf with Pickles

Cheeseburger meatloaf is the ultimate comfort food that will fill you up and satisfy your cheeseburger craving. This meatloaf is packed with flavor thanks to the ketchup, mustard, cheddar and bread & butter pickles. Serve cheeseburger meatloaf with a fresh garden salad and my creamy mashed potatoes.

Meatloaf is one of my all-time favorite dinners to make for my family. It's filling, satisfying and makes for great leftovers.

I love the versatility of meatloaf too! You can make it with ground turkey, beef, chicken or pork. It can be flavored with an unlimited number of seasonings, sauces and vegetables. The possibilities are endless with a good meatloaf recipe! Another one of my favorite meatloaf recipes is my Turkey Taco Meatloaf!

I've been serving cheeseburger meatloaf to my family for years. Personally, I don't love frying up cheeseburgers on the stove or out on the grill. I struggle with getting the internal temperature just right, and it's time consuming!

If you've been following my food blog for any length of time, then you know that I do not like time-consuming recipes! I'm all about the time-SAVING shortcuts. I find that meatloaf is a shortcut!

Yes, meatloaf takes a while to cook in the oven. However, the actual steps needed to mix and shape your meatloaf are so minimal. In only a few minutes, you can have dinner in the oven and be moved on to other tasks.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Equipment needed
• Step-by-step instructions
• Serving suggestions
• 📖 Recipe
• Expert Tips
• Variations
• Storage instructions
• 💬 Comments

Ingredients

• Ground turkey - I always try to purchase lean ground turkey that is about 85-93% lean. Not fat-free or 98-99% fat free lean ground turkey. Fat adds flavor and moisture to ground turkey. When you remove too much of the fat you risk having dry and bland meat. My grocery store only had 94% lean for this recipe which still worked out well.
• Shredded cheddar cheese - Many food bloggers will tell you that you MUST shred your cheese yourself. Yes, this can make for more flavorful and fresh cheddar. However, for the sake of saving time and extra dirty dishes, I usually purchase pre-shredded cheese. I am willing to sacrifice a teeny tiny amount of flavor in order to save myself some time. You do what you prefer!
• Bread & butter pickles - To me, a cheeseburger isn't a cheeseburger unless it has bread and butter pickles! I love the cold crunch paired with the subtle sweetness. I do usually look for a natural/organic brand when purchasing pickles though. I find that the natural and organic brands do not use artificial sweeteners, preservatives or yellow food dye.
• Ketchup
• Mustard - Yellow mustard is what is needed for this recipe, not Dijon or honey mustard.
• Panko bread crumbs - The panko bread crumbs add texture and bulk to the meatloaf.
• Eggs
• Onion - This recipe calls for grated onion. Grated white onion is made by grating onion using the large holes on the wide side of a 4-sided box grater.
• Worcestershire sauce
• Seasonings - The seasonings needed for this recipe are salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Equipment needed

• Box grater - This is used to grate the white onion.
• Measuring cups & spoons
• Large mixing bowl
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Parchment paper

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1

Add the ground turkey, panko bread crumbs, eggs, onion, Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup ketchup, garlic powder, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl.

Step 2

Mix the meatloaf ingredients together until well combined.

Step 3

Transfer the meatloaf mixture to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Form the meatloaf into a rectangular loaf shape. The loaf should be about 6" x 9" and be 1.5 inches thick.

Step 4

Make the ketchup and mustard sauce mixture.

Step 5

Bake the meatloaf for 50-55 minutes at 350°F. Bake until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and top it with the mustard and ketchup mixture. Spread the sauce out evenly on top of the meatloaf.

Step 6

Top the meatloaf with the diced bread and butter pickles.

Step 7

Top the pickles with shredded cheddar cheese.

Step 8

Place the meatloaf back into the oven and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into 8, equally sized slices.

Serving suggestions

Meatloaf is most commonly served with potatoes. Any kind of potatoes really. Mashed potatoes are what comes to mind first. If you aren't in the mood for mashed potatoes, then my Air Fryer Potatoes would also be a delicious choice. A baked potato or baked potato wedges would also be a great option! You could really change it up and serve meatloaf with Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries.

In addition to potatoes, meatloaf goes well with green beans, brussels sprouts, garden salad, steamed broccoli and corn on the cob.

Print

📖 Recipe

Expert Tips

• You can make meatloaf on a rimmed baking sheet, like shown above, or you can use a loaf pan. I have used both methods many times. If you are using a loaf pan, then I recommend lining the loaf pan with parchment paper that is draped over the edges. Cut your parchment paper down to fit your loaf pan. This will allow you to easily lift the cooked meatloaf out of the pan. Personally, I prefer using a baking sheet and shaping the meatloaf into the size and thickness that I want.
• When mixing your meatloaf ingredients together, do not over mix! Mix until just combined. Overmixing can result in a dense and tough texture.
• Let your meatloaf cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. If you slice into it immediately after removing it from the oven, it can fall right apart. Similarly to how baked goods like cookies or brownies need to cool before serving.
• Don't overcook your meatloaf. A meat thermometer is the best way to determine if your meatloaf has cooked through. Overcooked meatloaf will get hard and crusty on the outside, but you don't want it undercooked either! Invest in a high quality meat thermometer. It will pay you back in perfectly cooked food!

Variations

• Ground meat - I have never tested this recipe with anything but ground turkey. However, if you do not want to use turkey, then ground beef or ground chicken are common substitutions for ground turkey. Ground beef will have a much higher fat content though so you may find that a lot of fat cooks off while the meatloaf is baking in the oven. The fat will pool around the meatloaf on the baking sheet.
• Cheese - You could easily swap the cheddar out for provolone, muenster, Colby jack, pepper jack or a shredded cheese blend. You could really increase the flavor by adding in some crumbly blue cheese or crumbly gorgonzola cheese!
• Toppings - One of the most common toppings for a cheeseburger is BACON. Add in some cooked, crumbled bacon beneath the layer of shredded cheese to make a bacon cheeseburger meatloaf!

Storage instructions

Store leftovers in a sealed air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Leftovers are excellent for lunch!

Meatloaf can also be frozen. If you plan on freezing this meatloaf then I would freeze it BEFORE you add the sauce, pickles and cheese. Fully cook the meatloaf, let it cool, wrap it well with plastic wrap and store it in a freezer bag in the freezer. Meatloaf can be frozen for up to 5-6 months.

I recommend doubling the recipe so that you have leftovers for the fridge or the freezer!