Pizza Meatloaf

It’s no secret that I love turkey meatloaf recipes – you’ll find them all over the organize yourself skinny blog. 

Our favorites are bacon cheeseburger meatloaf, Italian meatloaf, sausage meatloaf, and turkey zucchini meatloaf. All made with lean ground turkey!

Now we can add pizza meatloaf to the list!

Reasons you’ll love this recipe

• Low carb. If you miss eating pizza, then you’ll welcome this pizza meatloaf recipe!
• Delicious and moist. If someone hates turkey meatloaf, they never tried one of my recipes. I’ve mastered the art of a healthy turkey meatloaf recipe, and this pizza meatloaf is no different.
• Versatile. Whatever ingredients you love on pizza can be mixed into this meatloaf recipe.
• Make-ahead. I’ve often called meatloaf my favorite meal prep recipe. You can make it ahead in a few different ways, and it reheats perfectly.

Ingredients

• Onions and mushrooms. Our favorite vegetables to put on pizza, so it seems only natural to mix them into this pizza meatloaf recipe.
• Bread and milk. Making a bread and milk panade is one of my go-to expert tips for moist turkey meatloaf.
• Eggs. Two large eggs act as a binder to the other ingredients providing structure to the meatloaf.
• Ground turkey. Another secret to flavorful turkey meatloaf is high-quality organic ground turkey with a 93/9 lean to fat ratio. See my quick guide on preparing a delicious healthy meatloaf recipe for more tips.
• Pizza sauce. This homemade keto pizza sauce is sugar-free, tasty, and easy to make in large batches to have ready for all kinds of recipes, including this pizza meatloaf. If you’re going to purchase store-bought pizza sauce, choose a high quality like Rao’s. If you don’t have pizza sauce, marinara sauce will work.
• Turkey pepperoni. To keep the recipe low-fat, I used turkey pepperoni over pork. As I said, choose higher quality and read labels.
• Shredded mozzarella cheese. If you can shred the mozzarella cheese fresh, you will get the best flavor and texture. 
• Grated Romano cheese. For another layer of cheesy flavor.
• Seasonings. Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion, powder, salt, and pepper, give this meatloaf the perfect Italian pizza seasoning.
• Worcestershire sauce. For a meaty, rich flavor, Worcestershire sauce is essential – it’s another “secret sauce” for that perfect meatloaf recipe.

Cooking Tips

• You can use lean or extra lean ground beef instead of ground turkey. Or, for another low-fat option, swap in ground chicken.
• You can use regular pepperoni instead of turkey; this swap will increase the fat and be greasier but tasty.
• Mix in your favorite pizza toppings. Banana peppers, black olives, green olives, bell peppers are excellent choices. I recommend sauteing the raw vegetables before adding them to the meat mixture. Raw veggies won’t have enough time to cook in the meatloaf. You can even throw some Italian sausage into this meatloaf.
• Make it gluten-free by using gluten-free bread and breadcrumbs. Also, if you have a gluten allergy, you want to check the labels of the other ingredients (especially pepperoni) to make sure that everything is certified gluten-free.
• Shred the mozzarella cheese fresh for it to be ooey-gooey. Shredding it fresh ensures that it’s free from additives and is gluten-free. 
• Don’t forget to drain the vegetables. Often when sauteing mushrooms and onions, there’s extra liquid. If this is the case, use a mesh strainer to remove the access liquid. Too much liquid will result in a mushy meatloaf that struggles to form into a loaf.
• If you notice the meatloaf is too wet or won’t form into a loaf, add a bit more bread crumbs until it just firms up. 

Supplies

• Large mixing bowls
• Large rimmed baking sheet or loaf pan.

How to Make Pizza Meatloaf

Start with preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

While the oven is heating, work on the onion and mushrooms. If you’re using other vegetables, this is the time you’ll cook those too.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and sauté until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are soft. Season with salt and pepper. Drain extra liquid from the vegetables if needed and then place into a small bowl and set aside to cool.

While the vegetables cool, mix the meatloaf.

Combine the bread and milk in a large bowl until it forms a paste. Then add the eggs to the paste and mix until combined. I like to mix the eggs into the meatloaf mixture because it cuts down on the number of times I need to mix the meatloaf, and overmixing can result in a tough meatloaf.

To the mixing bowl, add in the ground turkey, 1/2 cup pizza sauce, pepperoni (make sure to save 6- 8 slices for the top of the meatloaf), 1 cup mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and romano cheese. Lightly mix all the ingredients. 

• Add vegetables and mix again until evenly distributed in the meatloaf mixture.
• Pour the meatloaf mixture onto a large rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. You can also use a meatloaf pan. 
• Then spread 1/2 cup of the pizza sauce over the top.
• Place into the oven and cook for 1 hour. The internal temperature should be 165 degrees when it’s done cooking.
• Remove meatloaf from the oven and set the oven to broil.
• Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese on the meatloaf, and then place 6-8 slices of pepperoni over the cheese. 
• Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pepperoni gets crisp. Keep your eye on the meatloaf because it can burn quickly.
• Remove from the oven and sit for about 3-5 minutes to seal in all juices.
• Cut into eight slices and serve hot.

Serving suggestions.

This pizza meatloaf pairs well with most side dishes. Here are some of our favorites:

• Oven-roasted potatoes
• Ranch roasted potatoes
• Loaded cauliflower mash
• Brown rice
• Roasted broccoli or green beans

Here are more healthy meatloaf sides.

Storage tips

Meatloaf is one of my favorite recipes to make ahead of time; it stores in the fridge and freezer great and reheats perfectly. I have my tips if you want to add this recipe to your meal prep routine.

For the week.

• Cook the pizza meatloaf completely, slice it into portions, place it into a glass container, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I like to make individual dinners by placing a slice of meatloaf, veggie, and grain or potato into an airtight container. 
• To reheat, place the microwave-safe container into the microwave and heat on high for 2-3 minutes or until hot.
• You can also assemble the meatloaf and refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Continue with the meatloaf recipe on the night you plan to cook it. 

To freeze.

• Meatloaf can be frozen, cooked, or raw. Check the how-to freeze meatloaf tutorial I put together for all of my tips.

• Greek Meatloaf
• Mexican Meatloaf
• Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

See more healthy ground turkey recipes.