Air Fryer Meatloaf. How to make a delicious homemade meatloaf in air fryer. Easy to prep and the meatloaf slices come out perfect, every single time. Loaded with flavour and a tomato ketchup glaze and served with no drain mashed potatoes. Plus, the best way for reheating meatloaf in the air fryer the next day.
We originally shared meatloaf in air fryer back in late 2015 as a frugal Christmas dinner. Here is the updated version.
Air Fryer Meatloaf
The first time I discovered meatloaf was in the summer of 2012 when I was visiting my aunt and uncle in America. I always thought meatloaf was this over complicated dish.
I mentioned this to my uncle, who told me he couldn’t cook but could make a meatloaf.
The next day he made me one.
I saw my uncle make it with a shop bought herb mix, some breadcrumbs and some ground minced beef, I told Dominic that when we get home, we MUST make air fryer meatloaf.
I even kept my uncle’s packet mix for his meatloaf, so that I could see what herbs went into it, so that I could recreate it in the air fryer at a later date.
This is the same air fryer meatloaf, updated a bit over the years, but still the same meatloaf that us Milner’s have on a regular basis.
A cheap family meal that requires very little effort and is just shouting out to be cooked in the air fryer.
Can You Make Meatloaf In The Air Fryer?
Yes you can make meatloaf in the air fryer. Even better meatloaf in the air fryer is simple, delicious and perfect for air fryer beginners.
You mix the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl like you would if you were making a regular meatloaf.
Then you use silver foil to cook your meatloaf in the air fryer.
How To Make Meatloaf In Air Fryer?
I imagine you have a zillion questions and want to know exactly you will be able to make meatloaf in the air fryer.
Let me start with some of my top tips for perfect air fryer meatloaf and then I will share with you the air fryer meatloaf recipe.
Almost seal it in silver foil – Note that when I make it, I have a space. Like you are wrapping a gift and you didn’t quite have enough wrapping paper. But instead of cursing, that is the look you want to achieve. That way the meatloaf has room to breathe, it wont take a ridiculously long cook time, but you will keep your air fryer clean. Plus, this silver foil has more than one use, that you will read about in our leftovers section.
The tomato ketchup meatloaf glaze – You can make this while your meatloaf is cooking. Then cook for the last few minutes with the glaze. Opening the silver foil so that the meatloaf is sat in the silver foil and not sealed.
Air fryer meatloaf pan – As you know I am obsessed with my air fryer baking pan. But you really don’t need it for this recipe. You can just use silver foil instead like we do. The silver foil is also fantastic for pressing down on your meatloaf so that it can keep your meatloaf shape too.
Healthy air fryer meatloaf – If you follow Paleo, Whole30 or a low carb diet you can make a healthy air fryer meatloaf instead. Simply avoid adding in eggs and breadcrumbs and swap the tomato ketchup for an alternative glaze.
Meatloaf in Air Fryer XL – I am using my Philips Air Fryer XL for my meatloaf. But I spent many, many years making it my old and small Philips Air Fryer. All this means is that if you are using a smaller air fryer, that you will need to make your meatloaf smaller. The size of our meatloaf is 4lbs and it is easy to swap it for a 2lb one, by halving the ingredients. Or you could half them, then half again for an air fryer 1lb meatloaf.
Meatloaf in air fryer or instant pot – There is often the debate between making an air fryer meatloaf and an instant pot meatloaf. I prefer the air fryer meatloaf if I had to choose just one. It is easier to add the glaze, it is easier to serve directly from the air fryer and it tastes more flavoursome. But cook instant pot meatloaf and you can cook it together at the same time. Or you could do what I do and make meatloaf in the air fryer, along with instant pot no drain mashed potatoes.
Air Fryer meatloaf slices – I recommend waiting for your meatloaf to cool a little before making air fryer meatloaf slices. It slices much better and you don’t have any of those bad meatloaf edges to worry about.
How To Cook Meatloaf In Air Fryer?
The quick version of air fryer meatloaf goes as follows:
- Load ingredients into a bowl.
- Mix well with your hands and form a meatloaf shape.
- Wrap in silver foil until almost covered.
- Cook + glaze + Serve.
There is a little more to it than that, but those are the simple basics!
Air Fryer Meatloaf Temp?
The ideal air fryer meatloaf temperature is three different temperature options:
- Starting at 160c/320f for most of the cooking – This stops the meatloaf from burning and gives it a good head start.
- Increasing to 180c/360f for cooking it with the lid off the silver foil. This makes sure that the meatloaf is fully cooked. Avoiding doing this too soon also means that you don’t get a burnt or dry meatloaf.
- Finishing with 200c/400f for the tomato ketchup glaze. This gives your meatloaf the delicious tomato glaze and gives a bit of crisp to your meatloaf.
How Long To Cook Meatloaf In Air Fryer?
The air fryer meatloaf cooking time is a total of 45 minutes. This includes a 25 minute head start to get the meatloaf going, a middle cook for 15 minutes at a medium temperature and then a final cook to get that wonderful crispy tomato ketchup glaze.
Air Fryer Meatloaf & Potatoes
Are you like me and do you love air fryer meatloaf and potatoes? Well I have found that the best option, is to cook mashed potatoes in the instant pot, as your air fryer makes your meatloaf.
Then time it, so that you can serve your air fryer meatloaf and potatoes together.
What I also love to do is to make some extra mashed potatoes and then it can go towards another meal.
Or if instant pot mashed potatoes are not your thing, here are a few other potato options:
- Air Fryer Potato Cakes
- Air Fryer Roast Potatoes
- Air Fryer Garlic Potatoes + Bacon
- Instant Pot New Potatoes
Reheat Meatloaf In Air Fryer
This is my favourite part of cooking. I am obsessed with leftovers and will use up every bit of food and none goes to waste when I am cooking.
I also love to make yummy things that most people wouldn’t think of from leftovers. For example, in my slow cooker Monday pie, I also show you how to use the leftovers of one meal to make a Tuesday Carbonara.
So, instead of just reheating air fryer meatloaf I had a better idea. I had just 1.5 slices left of meatloaf and lots of mashed potatoes.
I chopped up the meatloaf and added it to the mash and then I had meatloaf hash.
Then I placed it back on the silver foil and loaded the silver foil into the air fryer. It then perfectly cooked and you had reheated meatloaf.
Plus, it tasted AMAZING and I do this every time I have some leftover meatloaf that needs using up.
The best cook temperature to reheat meatloaf is 160c/320f and start with 4 minutes and increase in 3 minute intervals depending on how much meatloaf you want to reheat.
I then cooked some instant pot carrots to serve with it and we had a Milner family dinner.
Air Fryer Meatloaf
Ingredients
Kitchen Gadgets:
Meatloaf Ingredients:
- Instant Pot No Drain Mashed Potatoes
- 2 kg Minced Beef
- 1 Small Diced Onion
- 1 Tsp Garlic Puree
- 1 Bread Roll
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 Tbsp Worcester Sauce
- 2 Tsp Parsley
- 1 Tsp Paprika
- 2 Tsp Mixed Herbs
- Salt & Pepper
Meatloaf Glaze:
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
- 1 Tsp Garlic Puree
- 2 Tsp Worcester Sauce
- Salt & Pepper
- Olive Oil Spray
Instructions
- Add into a bowl your meatloaf ingredients. Blend your bread roll into breadcrumbs in either a blender or a food processor.
- In your bowl give everything a good mix and make sure everything is well mixed in. You don’t want an uneven spread of your seasoning.
- Make your meatloaf shape and wrap in silver foil, leaving a little space at the top. The tighter you wrap your silver foil around your meatloaf the easier it is for your meatloaf to keep its shape.
- Place your meatloaf in your air fryer basket and cook for 25 minutes at 160c/320f.
- Remove the top layer of silver foil. You want the silver foil to still offer a good layer under the meatloaf but not over it. Cook for a further 15 minutes at 180c/360f.
- While the meatloaf cooks make your glaze. Mix the glaze ingredients in a little bowl, until well mixed.
- When the air fryer beeps, spray the top of the meatloaf with extra virgin olive oil spray. Then using a spoon add your tomato ketchup glaze. Cook for a further 5 minutes at 200c/400f.
- Give it a few minutes to cool, slice and then serve with your favourite sides.
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!
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Your air fryer meatloaf recipe says it serves 4, and uses 2kg (4.4lb) of beef. That’s over a pound of beef per person! I guess your family have big appetites…..
Hi Stephen,
Yes this is the uncooked weight of the meat, even when using lean meat you will still lose a lot of weight through fat draining away when it is cooked, so we thought the size was ok for 4 people and we do not have overly large appetites 🙂
The picture looks creepy, but boy, was it good! thanks, I loved it! :)))))) (sorry about the 4 star there was also some stuff in it that my kids did not like)
WOW, THANX for these great recipes and the quick response
I have never liked meatloaf. Never attempted to cook it. But, I love my air fryer and the way food comes out, and mashed potatoes are a big favorite. Your recipe sounds sooo good, and easy. I just printed it. Grocery store tomorrow and then meatloaf. Thank you.
Loved your air fryer meatloaf and even better your use of leftovers. Never once had i thought of reheating mash like this or using those spare slices of meatloaf.
I ABSOLUTELY love an air fryer, I use it for a lot of things, but the way it makes everything taste is amazing, like chicken, can be juicy and crispy, such a huge fanas well.
Thank you for sharing thí recipe
Looks delicious. Never heard about this Air Fryer before. It is a discovery for me