Meatloaf is a pretty standard staple of American cuisine. First appearing in American cookbooks in the late 1800s as a way to cheaply feed a family, early meatloaf recipes look very similar to the meatloaf recipes of today. Take your ground meat of choice (usually beef) and mix it with some sort of binder, like breadcrumbs and an egg or two, add some seasonings, and bake it, and you've got a meatloaf.
Serve it with a veg or two and you have a filling, hearty meal that's the very definition of comfort food. However, while there's nothing wrong with a classic and we all love 'em from time to time, sometimes the basics can get boring. If you find that your typical meatloaf recipe is inspiring more yawns than yums lately, it's time to shake things up.
Try one of these underrated ingredients that will change how you make meatloaf, providing new flavors and new textures, and possibly coming in handy when you're in a pinch and need to use up those random odds and ends in the pantry. Balsamic vinegar Many meatloaf recipes call for you to add some sort of tomato-based topping to the loaf (unless you're getting fancy and adding a lattice of bacon). This topping adds both flavor and moisture to your loaf, and also makes it look a little more tantalizing (a bare rectangle of baked meat isn't the most appetizing thing in the world).
The go-to options are firstly just plain ketchup, and then barbecue sauce, depending on where you grew up. However, while it's easy to just grab the bottle of.
