Some people have described this recipe as having the flavor of pot roast but the budget price of a meatloaf. Leave it to creative Amish cooks to come up with a mouth-watering comfort food standard like this dish. I'm scratching my head, though, over how this differs from a regular meatloaf. But I have tasted this before and this is one of the best meatloaf recipes I've tried.

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🙋 What is "Pot Roast Meatloaf?"
🐄 Beef With The Amish
🐄 Tips For a Great, Flavorful Pot Roast Meatloaf
📋 Step-By-Step Pot Roast Meatloaf
👩‍🍳 More Amish Meatloaf Recipes
🖨️ Full Recipe

🙋 What is "Pot Roast Meatloaf?"

This is a recipe that comes to us from the Daviess County, Indiana Amish community. Pot roast meatloaf is a dish that combines elements of both pot roast and meatloaf. Many Amish cooks will use a blend of meats. If they have ground venison, sausage, or even turkey on hand, they'll blend it with beef. That will create an even more unique flavor profile.

🐄 Beef With The Amish

Many Amish have access to home-sourced beef. If an Amish person doesn't raise and butcher their own beef, they'll have friends or family that do. Usually a group of people will get together once a year to butcher beef and the steaks, beef, roasts, and everything else will be procured and stored for the year ahead. Ground beef is a part of the spoils of butchering day, but often they'll blend in sausage or venison to stretch their fresh ground beef supply. Some Amish rent freezers from non-Amish people to store their fresh beef.

🐄 Tips For a Great, Flavorful Pot Roast Meatloaf

Use a mix of meats. As noted, many Amish will use a combination of ground beef and ground venison or sausage. That will give your meatloaf a more distinctive flavor and texture. You can also use ground turkey, pork, or chicken to make a leaner meatloaf. I'd say a 50/50 blend or 60/40 is best (60 beef/40 other). Use the most lean ground beef you can for this recipe.
Don't overmix the meat. Overmixing can make your meatloaf tough. Gently combine the meat with the other ingredients. Most Amish cooks who I have watched make meatloaf use their hands to gently do it.
Add moisture. Adding a bit of moisture to the meat mixture will help to keep your meatloaf juicy. The evaporated milk adds the moisture to this recipe, but you can experiment with others like tomato sauce.
Season well. Don't be afraid to season your meatloaf generously. Many Amish recipes aren't heavily seasoned, so if you like more seasonings, go for it! Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder are all good starting points. You can also add other herbs and spices to your liking.
Don't overcrowd the pan. If you're making your meatloaf in a loaf pan, make sure to leave enough space around the edges so that the air can circulate. This will help to prevent your meatloaf from steaming instead of baking.

📋 Step-By-Step Pot Roast Meatloaf

Potatoes, carrots, and onions are your old standbys for classic meatloaf recipes like this, but you can be more inventive with the vegetables if you want. Vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, corn, and tomatoes would be great with this.

Some Amish cooks blend cheese into their meatloaf, like parmesan or a finely grated Cheddar. Bread crumbs are also great to mix into a pot roast meatloaf for added texture. Some Amish cooks even add a few tablespoons of oats. But just use a large bowl to mix up the meat before you shape it into a loaf. You can add seasonings like parsley or black pepper.

Cook the meatloaf until it is tender. This pot roast meatloaf slices well and is delicious. Reader Karen tested this recipe and here is what she had to say about it:

And the verdict is: delicious! This is a very easy, one-pan meal that filled the house with the most tantalizing aroma! I used a 13x9x2 pan, but a rimmed baking sheet would work as well. If you like onion in your meat loaf, you can always add ½ cup chopped onion to the meat mixture before baking. This recipe is an instant favorite; I recommend it highly.

This meal pairs well with corn on the cob or broccoli. You can always skip the chunked potatoes and just serve with a side of mashed potatoes.

🖨️ Full Recipe