Some days call for comfort food and this Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf delivers. Constructed with meat ratios explicitly chosen to maximize its flavor, a spice blend built, it makes a great entree for any dinner party or weeknight meal.
The other thing I love about this Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf recipe is that it can be prepped in advance and cooked in the crockpot during the day so that it’s ready for your dinner party (or dinner) when you are. In case you don’t have or want to use a crockpot, I’ve also included oven instructions in the Recipe Notes below.
I will also say to not be intimidated by the number of ingredients. A list of spices always looks more extreme than it actually is.
What You Need to Make Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf
Equipment
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups – I like the plunger style ones for things like the ketchup and bbq sauce.
- Cutting Board
- Chef’s Knife
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- Slow Cooker – I suggest using a 6-quart model for this meatloaf. It’s a pretty good amount of meat, so that gives you room to work. Also, the 6-quart ones are usually oval-shaped, which lets you keep a traditional meatloaf shape. That said, it doesn’t really matter if the loaf is round. I’ve made many a meatloaf in my cute little 2-quart round one when I was cooking for just me
- Slow Cooker Liner – Optional. I like to use them because it makes clean up easier, but that’s just me.
- Trivet Fitting into Slow Cooker – I use the one from my Instant Pot, since it also fits in my crockpots.
Ingredients
- Spices
- Ground Mustard
- Paprika
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Chipotle Powder
- Cumin
- Onion
- Bacon – You can use either thick or thin sliced bacon for this recipe.
- Ground Beef
- Ground Pork
- Garlic – I used the pre-minced garlic and buy it in bulk from Sam’s Club.
- Eggs
- Keto Bread Crumbs – See below for how to make your own. If you don’t have keto bread crumbs, you can use crushed pork rinds instead. This will just make the meatloaf a little bit denser.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – I use the pre-shredded kind. However, because of the anti-caking agent used in many pre-shredded cheeses, this adds about 1 gram of carbs per quarter cup.
- No Sugar Ketchup
- Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
Getting Started with Making Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf
Ingredient Prep
Okay, for this Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf, we’re going to start by mixing the spices–1.5 teaspoons Ground Mustard, 1.5 teaspoons Paprika, 1.5 teaspoons Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, 0.5 teaspoons Chipotle Powder, and 1.5 teaspoon Cumin. Then set them aside.
Next we have some chopping to do. Dice ⅓ cup Onion and set it aside. While this doesn’t need to be a super fine dice, I do lean towards smaller is better in this recipe to keep the meatloaf texture even. However, that’s just my personal preference.
Chop ½ pound of bacon and set it aside too.
Before we start mixing, I suggest measuring out everything else you will need and setting it next to the large mixing bowl you will be using to combine everything. Once your hands get meat-covered, having to stop and wash them for every addition gets annoying.
So this means measuring out 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, ¾ cup keto bread crumbs, 1.5 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese, 1 ounce No Sugar Ketchup, and ½ cup Sugar Free BBQ Sauce.
If You Need to Make Keto Bread Crumbs
Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil, Cut approximately 10 slices of store bought keto bread into cubes. Lay out the bread cubes on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the cubes at 250°F for 20 minutes, toss them, and then bake them for another 20 minutes.
Once they’re dried out, place them in a plastic zip top bag and smash them with the flat side of a meat tenderizer. You could also use a rolling pin or other device for smashing. For the finest grain version, you could use a food processor. I just find it to be overkill for this use case and I really like to avoid extra things to clean.
Composing the Meatloaf
In the interest of minimizing the amount of mixing needed for the actual meatloaf, I suggest a slightly different approach to putting everything together.
Start by mixing all of the wet ingredients–the no sugar ketchup, sugar free BBQ sauce, and 2 eggs first and then mix that into the meat. Then add the spice mix into the wet mixture and stir to combine. Set that out next to the rest of your ingredients.
Working in approximately 4 rounds of mixing, add about a quarter of each ingredient to a large mixing bowl. I start with a quarter each of the beef, pork, and chopped bacon. Then about a quarter of the onion, cheese, and bread crumbs. Use a large rubber scraper (or other stirring utensil) to lightly mix everything. Add in roughly a quarter of the wet mixture and stir to combine. Repeat this process until you have incorporated all the ingredients.
Finally, do one final mix (I suggest using your hands) to make sure all components are evenly distributed.
Cooking the Meatloaf in the Crockpot
To cook this creation in the crockpot, start by laying out a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. If you’re using a crockpot liner, go ahead and put that into the crockpot. Then place a rack in the bottom of the slow cooker. (I usually just use the one from my Instant Pot because it fits in my crockpot too.)
On the aluminum foil form the meat mixture into a loaf. Position the Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf in the crockpot and tilt it up so that you can poke holes in the bottom of the aluminum foil. (You can technically poke the holes before putting it in the crockpot, but . . . I try not to tempt fate.
Cook the meatloaf on Low for 6 hours or High for 4 hours. In the last 20 – 30 minutes of cooking, brush the top with some additional sugar free BBQ sauce.
Serve warm.
Related Recipes
Need some ideas of what to serve with this Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf? You might want to try one of these recipes:
Interested in a fun alternative take on this recipe, check out Personal-Size Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf. It uses largely the same base but with a few twists.
Looking for a full menu?
Hop over to one of these Dinner Party Pages for some examples:
- Fall Kickoff Dinner Party
- Chipotle and Cheddar Dinner Party
Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1.5 teaspoons Ground Mustard
- 1.5 teaspoons Paprika
- 1.5 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 0.5 teaspoons Chipotle Powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Cumin
- ⅓ cup Onion diced
- ½ pound Bacon chopped
- 2 pounds Ground Beef
- 1 pound Ground Pork
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Minced. Or 2 cloves minced.
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ounce No Sugar Added Ketchup
- ½ cup Sugar Free BBQ Sauce plus more for serving
- ¾ cup Keto Bread Crumbs I cubed and dried keto bread and then crushed it with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.
- 1.5 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese 4.75 ounces // 136 grams
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine your spices–1.5 teaspoons Ground Mustard,1.5 teaspoons Paprika, 1.5 teaspoon Cumin, 1.5 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, and 0.5 teaspoons Chipotle Powder. Set them aside.1.5 teaspoons Ground Mustard, 1.5 teaspoons Paprika, 1.5 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, 0.5 teaspoons Chipotle Powder, 1.5 teaspoon Cumin
- Dice ⅓ cup Onion and set it aside.⅓ cup Onion
- Chop ½ pound Bacon into approximately ½-inch pieces.½ pound Bacon
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 pounds Ground Beef, 1 pound Ground Pork, ½ pound Bacon (chopped), ⅓ cup Onion (diced), 1 teaspoon Garlic (1 teaspoon = 2 cloves, minced), 2 Eggs, 1 ounce No Sugar Added Ketchup, ½ cup Sugar Free BBQ Sauce, ¾ cup Keto Bread Crumbs, and 1.5 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese. Mix to combine. (I’d suggest using your hands.)⅓ cup Onion, ½ pound Bacon, 2 pounds Ground Beef, 1 pound Ground Pork, 1 teaspoon Garlic, 2 Eggs, ¾ cup Keto Bread Crumbs, 1.5 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese, 1 ounce No Sugar Added Ketchup, ½ cup Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
- Lay out a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Place the meat mixture on the aluminum foil and form it into a loaf.
- If using a crockpot liner, place that in first. Then insert your trivet. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the aluminum foil to allow excess fat to drain. Place the foil held meatloaf into the crockpot on top of the trivet.
- Cook on Low for 6 hours or High for 4 hours. In the last ½ hour of cooking, brush the top with some additional sugar free BBQ sauce.½ cup Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
Equipment
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- Trivet Fitting into Slow Cooker
Notes
- Oven Cooking Alternative Instructions
- Follow the instructions as listed above until step 6. Then rather than placing it in the crockpot, put a rack in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish, poke holes in the bottom of the foil and set it on top of the rack.
- If you don’t have a rack to put in the dish, that is fine. You just may need to drain some of the grease and / or cooking juices off before serving.
- Bake the meatloaf in the oven at 350°F for 45 – 55 minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meatloaf reaches 160°F.
- Follow the instructions as listed above until step 6. Then rather than placing it in the crockpot, put a rack in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish, poke holes in the bottom of the foil and set it on top of the rack.
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