I’m always on the lookout for cozy family-friendly recipes in the winter. I’m also on the lookout for sales. My local Aldi had 2-pound packages of ground turkey on sale recently. I decided to try Tom Colicchio’s Dairy-Free Meatloaf recipe from our archives. Even with turkey instead of ground beef, the meatloaf was full of flavor.
Dairy-Free Meatloaf with Celebrity Chef Status
Believe it or not, meatloaf is often made with dairy. It’s very common to moisten the breadcrumbs with milk before stirring them into the meat. Some breadcrumbs are made with dairy. And some recipes add cheese, naturally. But Top Chef Judge Tom Colicchio knows that the best meatloaf is made without dairy.
Tom Colicchio’s dairy-free meatloaf recipe was originally shared with us by Cate O’Malley of Sweet Nicks. She found it in People magazine’s Meals Under $10 column back in 2009. Fortunately, this recipe is a timeless classic.
I’ve added a few options and adapted instructions from my kitchen, and updated the post with new photos. This hearty dairy-free meatloaf makes enough for dinner as well as for sandwiches the next day. The original recipe says to make a free form loaf and bake it on a roasting sheet. I used an 8×4-inch bread pan instead. Either method will work just fine.
Special Diet Notes: Tom Colicchio’s Dairy-Free Meatloaf
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, optionally gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, and soy-free.
For an egg-free, dairy-free meatloaf, see Alisa’s Egg Substitute Guide. She has included at least three options in that guide which work well for meatballs and meatloaf. You can also see the reader comments below.
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 pounds 85% lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 2 large eggs (see post above for egg-free options)
- ¾ cup fresh dairy-free bread crumbs (gluten-free, if needed)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or ½ tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden, 6 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes (be careful not to burn the garlic).
- Remove the vegetables from the heat and let cool.
- In a bowl, stir together the meat, eggs, onion and garlic mixture, bread crumbs, mustard, oregano, salt, and pepper until combined.
- Form a loaf and place it in an 8x4-inch baking dish or loaf pan (preferably glass) or shape it into a 7x5-inch loaf and place it in a roasting pan.
- Spread the ketchup evenly over the top of the loaf.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until the meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 145ºF for beef or 160ºF for turkey. It may take an additional 15 minutes or so if using ground turkey.
- Remove and allow to rest slightly, draining any excess fat or liquid if necessary.
- Cut the meatloaf into ½-inch thick slices and serve.
- Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 2 days.
Resources for Adapting this Dairy-Free Meatloaf
Vegan Grain Meat Grind for a Plant-Based Loaf
Great Bread for Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Bread Crumb Needs
Easy Aquafaba is My Favorite Egg Sub for Meatloaf
24 Comments
Alisa – I just want to thank you for sharing this recipe. I couldn’t find my standby and stumbled upon this. So simple and so, so good. I used egg replacers since my toddlers are allergic to eggs and dairy.
So glad you enjoyed it Susan! And thank you for sharing your modification.
OMG wow this meatloaf was realy good! i made it tonight for dinner! and everyone loved it! i ushaly go out to get my meatloaf. but in this current time i cant go out to eat so i made this and it was really easy! it was nice and moist! AND THE FLAVOR WAS SPOT ON! i will make it again sometime! but i will try it with ground turkey.
That’s great! Thank you for leaving your feedback Renee.
OMG wow this meatloaf was realy good! I made it tonight for dinner! and everyone loved it! I usually go out to get my meatloaf. but in this current time I cant go out to eat so I made this and it was really easy! It was nice and moist! AND THE FLAVOR WAS SPOT ON! I will make it again sometime! but I will try it with ground turkey.
Great! So glad you enjoyed it Renee and thank you for the feedback!
I make this using flax egg (1 tbspn flax mixed with 3 tbspns of water per egg and let sit for 5 mins). I also used gluten free rice crackers. We have made the recipe 3 times now and love it. Thanks!
This is so great to hear. Thank you so much for your notes on how you make it gluten free and egg free, Kristy!
Just made this. It’s really good. So many recipes online have more liquids (milk, or much more ketchup etc) that I was worried it might be dry. It was great. I did make two minor changes: 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground turkey. and I topped with 1 tbs ketchup and 1tbs BBQ sauce.
My wife is the cook, but I wanted to make my son his favorite meal, meatloaf. With help as good as yours, I got this!
Thank you,
Sean
This is great, Sean! I’m so glad to hear you liked it. I can’t wait to try your barbecue sauce suggestion. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment.
Just made this for my family. My son is allergic to dairy and eggs. Used an egg replacer and it was delicious!! Definitely a keeper!
Fabulous! So glad the recipe worked out well for you Jessi.
Yummy, I love to have meatloaf in lunch on weekend. thanks for sharing,
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I made this tonight. I used 1 pound of lean ground turkey and 1 pound of lean ground beef. I also left out the salt and pepper, and used GF bread crumbs and no-salt-added ketchup. My 91 year old Mom does not like meatloaf, but she LOVED this recipe! She even had seconds! The meatloaf was moist and tasty. I made two loaves— doubled the recipe. I sliced and froze the second loaf for easy future meals.
That’s fantastic Rhonda! Awesome that it worked out well for you and we appreciate your feedback.
Made this again today, only made Meat Muffins or Meat Cupcakes (not sure what to call them). Really liked the individual portions. Make a double batch and will freeze the extras. My family loves this recipe – and so do I!
(No salt added, used No Salt Ketchup)
Fabulous! Thanks for sharing this Rhonda.
This is an excellent recipe. I left out the salt, used oats instead of breadcrumbs, and cut the dijon mustard & ketchup by 1/2 as the meal included by 94 year old grandmother who is on a sodium restriction. Thanks for a great recipe.
So glad it worked out, even lower sodium. Thanks for your feedback Cassie!
We can’t do eggs in our family either so I used a “chia egg” in place of the egg, and it came out great! Just grind 1 Tbsp chia seeds and mix with 3 Tbsp warm water. Let stand a few minutes until it’s goopy and egg-like.
Glad it worked out JoLynn! Thanks for sharing your substitution.
I have a question
What can be in place of the egg? My husband can’t eat eggs either.
Thanks!
Linda, I haven’t specifically tested this recipe without egg, so these are merely suggestions as to what might work well:
Flax eggs – ground flax combined with water to make a gelatinous egg-like mixture (could also use chia seeds)
Added moisture – like coconut milk or otherwise to help bind the bread better
Ener-G egg replacer – I know many people use this successfully in meat loaves
Avocado – I often use mashed avocado as a binder in savory foods.
Each egg is about 1/4 cup, so you would want to use roughly that amount for replacement.