Easy Turkey Vegetable Meatloaf

After the indulgences of the holidays, it was time to re-set and get back to some clean(er) recipes that are normal staples in our kitchen. One of my favorite weeknight meals, especially when I have leftover ingredients from a previous meal that I want to revamp, is a veggie-packed turkey meatloaf.

Meatloaves, especially turkey ones, tend to be pretty dry and boring so I add plenty of veggies to keep it moist. Admittedly, I’ve always been a bit heavy-handed with the vegetables and due to their water content combined with my preference to omit the breadcrumbs and eggs that bind the ingredients in traditional meatloafs, I’ve had a lot of loafs just fall apart.

A few things I’ve learned along the way to keep the meatloaf a loaf and not a crumbly mess when it comes to your vegetable additions:

Cooking some of your veggies prior to mixing them with the meat helps to reduce the crumble as the vegetables will not produce as much water as they would raw when you pop the loaf in the oven. Of course, this adds an extra step so my preference is to use this recipe when I have some leftover cooked veggies, especially peppers, mushrooms, carrots, onions, or summer squash on hand.
While I do like to add some larger chunks of vegetables chopped by hand to add a little texture and a pop of color, too many big pieces will prevent the loaf from binding together so I recommend finely mincing or pulsing your vegetables in the food processor for an even consistency.
Drain your loaf at least 1-2 times during baking but save this flavorful liquid and use it to steam-saute the vegetables you’ll be serving with your meatloaf.

My secret ingredient this time around was about 1/4 a jar of some leftover sundried tomato bruschetta I had used for a cheese and charcuterie board over the holiday, as well as some sauteed onions I had leftover as a steak topper from the night before. I added the bruschetta and cooked onions to the processor and pulsed the mixture with raw mushrooms. As an afterthought, I roughly chopped half a bell pepper and mixed it in with the bruschetta-veggie blend, Italian herbs, and ground turkey before transferring to the loaf pan and finally, the oven to bake.

I prefer to check on the loaf and drain the liquid that’s accumulated about halfway through cooking as well as at the end. Because turkey is so lean, I save the liquid to steam-sauté whatever vegetables I’m serving on the side. I don’t typically do this with beef or pork meatloaves because of the much higher fat content and a personal distaste for greasy vegetables, but that is certainly an option if you’re following a higher fat diet and using good quality meat.

To steam-saute veggies: Add your washed and trimmed veggies to a shallow pan with your cooking juices (or a few tablespoons of water). Cover and cook on medium heat. Cooking time varies depending on the vegetables you’re cooking but once they’re steamed, you can turn off the heat and toss with a little olive oil or butter, salt, pepper, and desired spices.

And there you have it!

A simple and nutritious weeknight meal made even easier if you have some leftover vegetables on hand.

Yield: 4

Author: Sara Box Kendall