Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf

Name: Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp. cooking oil; 1 small onion, chopped; 2 lbs. lean ground beef; ½ cup dry breadcrumbs; 2 Tbsp. ketchup, divided; 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce; 2 tsp. Italian seasoning; ½ tsp. garlic powder; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed (it’s about 20 ½-inch cubes); ½ cup tomato sauce (basic marinara); 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

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This cheese-stuffed meatloaf takes the comfort food classic and gives it new life with a gooey, cheesy center!

O.K, I have a confession to make. I seriously love meatloaf. I’m not sure why I feel embarrassed to admit that. It’s probably because the name of the food, the meat + loaf thing doesn’t sound very appealing. And maybe also because the recipe is so old school, and not always in a good way. But if you make it well, it can still be a comforting staple of your dinner table.

I came up with what I think is the perfect Classic Meatloaf recipe (lots of helpful tips there too), and even have a Meatloaf Series over on TheCookful. But I wanted to try something new and what I came up with is… Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf! That’s right, this meatloaf has a delicious surprise inside.

Meatloaf on a white plate with cheese oozing out of the middle.

How To Fill Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf

The instructions for making the meat mixture is in the recipe card below, but I wanted to take you step-by-step for the cheese filling.

Transfer your meat mixture to a foil-lined baking sheet. Shape into a 10×5 inch loaf and then I make a trench in the center. Go far down but leave a good inch of meat at the bottom. (Note, I doubled the recipe here and made two loaves, which is why you see two loaves in the pictures.)

Meatloaf mixture shaped into loaves with a trench in the middle.

Add your cheese. I used cubed cheese because I thought shredded might melt too quickly and escape. It worked really well and there was very little leakage. However, I haven’t done a test with shredded cheese to see if it would be worse. I figured, it worked with the cubes, why risk it? Here you have 4 ounces of 1/2 inch cheese cubes (about 20 cubes).

Unccoked meatloaf with cubed cheese in trench in middle.

Smooth the meat up, around and over the cheese.

Bake it at 350°F for 45 minutes. Then add tomato sauce and shredded cheese to the top and bake until the internal temperature is 160°F (use an instant-read thermometer to check this), about another 15 minutes.

After that, it is crucial (CRUCIAL!) that you let it rest for at least 10 minutes, though 15 is better. Just take the pan out of the oven and put it on a pot holder on the counter and leave it there. The resting time lets all the juices settle a bit so that the meatloaf is easier to slice and so that the slices hold their shape. Don’t worry, it will still be hot and full of melted cheese when you cut into it.

Once it has rested, use two large spatulas to transfer the meatloaf to a cutting board. If you choose a nice board, you can slice it and serve it from there. When it comes to slicing, consider using an electric knife. You don’t have to exert as much downward pressure so the slices stay really nice and intact and you can get away with make thinner slices.

There you have it. A delicious meatloaf with a oozing melted cheese filling. Who could ever say no to that?