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Taco Meatloaf is an easy family dinner packed with taco seasoned ground beef, salsa, crunchy tortilla chips, and melted cheese. This cheesy Mexican-inspired meatloaf is simple, flavorful, and perfect for busy weeknights!
Mexican Taco Meatloaf
Taco meatloaf is the ultimate mash-up of two family-favorite comfort foods. This easy taco meatloaf is made with seasoned ground beef crushed tortilla chips, salsa, shredded cheese, and plenty of taco flavor. It’s tender, juicy, cheesy, and topped with even more salsa and cheese for a dinner everyone will love.
If you love classic meatloaf but want to switch things up – maybe for taco Tuesday – this easy taco meatloaf recipe is the perfect dinner. It comes together with simple ingredients and makes a hearty meal that is perfect even for busy weeknights.
Why Your Family Will Love This Delicious Meatloaf Recipe
- 🌮 Easy To Make : Everything is mixed together in one bowl.
- 🌮 Family-Friendly : It has all the familiar flavors of tacos in a comforting meatloaf.
- 🌮 Budget-Friendly : Simple ingredients make this an affordable dinner.
- 🌮 Cheesy and Flavorful : Taco seasoning, salsa, and cheese add tons of flavor.
- 🌮 Customize The Heat Level : By swapping out mild or hot ingredients (salsa, cheese, and taco seasoning) this taco meatloaf can be as mild or as spicy as you want!
Simple Ingredients Needed
Mexican Meatloaf Mixture Ingredients
- Ground Beef : I prefer a leaner ground beef when making meatloaf, to avoid too much grease in the pan, but you can use what you prefer. Higher fat meatloaf will have more flavor but also more fat/grease while cooking. I use 93/7 lean ground beef.
- Taco Seasoning Packet : Two packet of store-bought taco seasoning. Use your preferred packet such as mild, reduced-sodium, spicy, chicken taco, regular, etc.
- Crushed Tortilla Chips : Measure the tortilla chips after they have been crushed; so measure out the amount of needed of finely crushed tortilla chips.
- Large Eggs
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Salsa : I use mild salsa but you can use your preferred heat level; I also much prefer the flavor of the refrigerated, fresher salsas that you can find in the refrigerated area of the produce section at the store. Jarred shelf-stable salsa also works well.
Topping & Garnish Ingredients (For The Top Of The Meatloaf)
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Salsa
- Sour Cream & Chopped Fresh Cilantro : This if for adding onto the meatloaf before serving, after you have baked it.
How To Make Easy Taco Meatloaf Recipe
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray, then line it with parchment paper (optional) to make removal easier.
Crumble the ground beef into a large bowl.
Sprinkle the taco seasoning packets over top, along with the crushed tortilla chips, large eggs, shredded cheese, and salsa. Mix everything together with clean gloved hands, or a spatula or wooden mixing spoon, until all the ingredients are evenly combined and the mixture just holds together. Avoid overmixing, or aggressively mixing, to keep the meatloaf tender.
Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the prepared loaf pan and gently shape it into a loaf. Place the loaf pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake for 1 hour.
After an hour, remove the meatloaf from the oven. Spoon the salsa evenly over the top of the meatloaf, spreading it gently with the back of a spoon. Then sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the salsa layer.
Return the meatloaf to the oven and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes, util the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the cheese on top is melted and bubbly.
Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes so the juices redistribute and the slices hold together cleanly.
Slice the meatloaf into thick portions, and garnish each one with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro (or whatever other toppings you want), and serve warm. Enjoy!
How To Store Leftover Meatloaf
Store leftover taco meatloaf in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days. Reheat slices in the microwave or in a covered baking dish at 325°F until warmed through.
To freeze, wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap and then wrap again in aluminum foil. Place the wrapped slices into a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat.
To make ahead, mix the meatloaf and shape it in the loaf pan up to 24 hours in advance. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator while the oven preheats, then bake as directed. You may need to add additional minutes to compensate for the colder meat temperature.
Side Dishes For Taco Meatloaf
- Mexican Corn
- Black Beans
- Refried Beans : Try this yummy recipe for how to make canned refried beans taste better
- Rice : Try my Easy Mexican Rice or this amazing Cilantro Lime Rice
- Simple Salad : A green salad with your favorite veggies
- Meatloaf Toppings : Serve the meatloaf with an assortment top toppings such as shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes or pico de gallo, avocado slices, guacamole, sour cream, chopped cilantro, jalapeño slices, hot sauce, taco sauce, extra tortilla chips for crunch, and any other taco toppings your family loves. Anything works here!
Pro Tips From The Test Kitchen
- Letting the meatloaf rest before slicing is essential. The juices redistribute throughout the meat, so the loaf stays moist and slices cleanly rather than crumbly and falling apart.
- Crush the tortillas chips very finely so they act like bread crumbs. Large chip pieces will not bind the meat mixture as effectively. Also, measure the tortilla chips after they have been crushed finely not before.
- Avoid packing the meat mixture tightly into the loaf pan. A loosely shaped loaf allows fat to render away from the meat rather than soak back into it. You still want to gently press/pack and shape it into the loaf pan, but there is no need to firmly pack it down into a thick dense even layer.
- Serve the meatloaf slices with a dollop of sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, drizzle of taco sauce, pico de gallo, guacamole, avocado slices, sliced green onion, black olives, hot sauce, sliced jalapeños, for extra crunch sprinkle crushed tortilla chips over a slice, or other taco toppings you prefer.
- This Mexican meatloaf with taco flavors can be as spicy or mild as you prefer – use mild, medium, or hot salsa and/or use a packet of mild taco seasoning or hot n’ spicy taco seasoning.
- Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the center of the meatloaf is at the safe temperature of 165°F before removing it from the oven.
- An 80/20 or 85/15 blend of ground beef works best for meatloaf for juicy results; however, if you prefer a leaner meatloaf then use 90/10 or 93/7, or a mix of a fattier ground beef + leaner ground beef. Using ground turkey is another option for a lighter loaf (although, I would not use two pounds ground turkey but rather 1 pound ground turkey + 1 pound ground beef for the best results).
- Other cheese options include Colby Jack, Monterey Jack cheese, Pepper Jack cheese, or a Mexican cheese blend.
More Meatloaf Recipes
- Italian Meatloaf
- BBQ Meatloaf
- Sheet Pan Meatloaf Recipe (Glazed Meatloaf)
- Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf
- Ground Chicken Meatloaf Recipe
- Cracker Barrel Meatloaf (Copycat Recipe)
- Lipton Onion Soup Meatloaf Recipe
- Sheet Pan Mini Meatloaf Recipe
Taco Meatloaf
Equipment
Ingredients
Taco Meatloaf
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 packets (1 oz each) taco seasoning
- 1¼ cups finely crushed tortilla chips (measure the crushed chips not whole chips)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup salsa
Meatloaf Topping & Garnish
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup salsa
- sour cream, chopped cilantro, pico de gallo jalapeños, etc. optional garnishes for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray, then line it with parchment paper (optional) to make removal easier.
- Crumble the ground beef into a large bowl.
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning packets over top, along with the crushed tortilla chips, large eggs, shredded cheese, and salsa. Mix everything together with clean gloved hands, or a spatula or wooden mixing spoon, until all the ingredients are evenly combined and the mixture just holds together.*Avoid overmixing, or aggressively mixing, to keep the meatloaf tender.
- Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the prepared loaf pan and gently shape it into a loaf. Place the loaf pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 1 hour.
- After an hour, remove the meatloaf from the oven. Spoon the salsa evenly over the top of the meatloaf, spreading it gently with the back of a spoon. Then sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the salsa layer.
- Return the meatloaf to the oven and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes, util the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the cheese on top is melted and bubbly.
- Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes so the juices redistribute and the slices hold together cleanly.
- Slice the meatloaf into thick portions, and garnish each one with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro (or whatever other toppings you want), and serve warm. Enjoy!
Notes
- Letting the meatloaf rest before slicing is essential. The juices redistribute throughout the meat, so the loaf stays moist and slices cleanly rather than crumbly and falling apart.
- Crush the tortillas chips very finely so they act like bread crumbs. Large chip pieces will not bind the meat mixture as effectively. Also, measure the tortilla chips after they have been crushed finely not before.
- Avoid packing the meat mixture tightly into the loaf pan. A loosely shaped loaf allows fat to render away from the meat rather than soak back into it. You still want to gently press/pack and shape it into the loaf pan, but there is no need to firmly pack it down into a thick dense even layer.
- Serve the meatloaf slices with a dollop of sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, drizzle of taco sauce, pico de gallo, guacamole, avocado slices, sliced green onion, black olives, hot sauce, sliced jalapeños, for extra crunch sprinkle crushed tortilla chips over a slice, or other taco toppings you prefer.
- This Mexican meatloaf with taco flavors can be as spicy or mild as you prefer – use mild, medium, or hot salsa and/or use a packet of mild taco seasoning or hot n’ spicy taco seasoning.
- Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the center of the meatloaf is at the safe temperature of 165°F before removing it from the oven.
- An 80/20 or 85/15 blend of ground beef works best for meatloaf for juicy results; however, if you prefer a leaner meatloaf then use 90/10 or 93/7, or a mix of a fattier ground beef + leaner ground beef. Using ground turkey is another option for a lighter loaf (although, I would not use two pounds ground turkey but rather 1 pound ground turkey + 1 pound ground beef for the best results).
- Other cheese options include Colby Jack, Monterey Jack cheese, Pepper Jack cheese, or a Mexican cheese blend.
Nutrition
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