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    You are at:Home»Dairy-Free Recipes»Entrees»Tom Colicchio’s Dairy-Free Meatloaf is a Top Chef Contender

    Tom Colicchio’s Dairy-Free Meatloaf is a Top Chef Contender

    28
    By Sarah Hatfield on February 8, 2019 Entrees, Sarah's Recipes

    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.

    Tom Colicchio's Dairy-Free Meatloaf Recipe - a Top Chef Contender! Great with beef or turkey, for dinner or sandwiches. Includes gluten-free and egg-free options. Naturally nut-free and soy-free.

    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.

    Tom Colicchio's Dairy-Free Meatloaf Recipe - a Top Chef Contender! Great with beef or turkey, for dinner or sandwiches. Includes gluten-free and egg-free options. Naturally nut-free and soy-free.

    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.

    Tom Colicchio's Dairy-Free Meatloaf Recipe - a Top Chef Contender! Great with beef or turkey, for dinner or sandwiches. Includes gluten-free and egg-free options. Naturally nut-free and soy-free.

    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.

    5.0 from 7 reviews
    Tom Colicchio's Dairy-Free Meatloaf
     
    Print
    Prep time
    20 mins
    Cook time
    1 hour
    Total time
    1 hour 20 mins
     
    This recipe is adapted from People magazine. It was originally shared with us by Cate O'Malley, but I've added some options.
    Author: Sarah Hatfield
    Serves: 6 servings
    Ingredients
    • 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
    Instructions
    1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
    2. 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).
    3. Remove the vegetables from the heat and let cool.
    4. In a bowl, stir together the meat, eggs, onion and garlic mixture, bread crumbs, mustard, oregano, salt, and pepper until combined.
    5. 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.
    6. Spread the ketchup evenly over the top of the loaf.
    7. 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.
    8. Remove and allow to rest slightly, draining any excess fat or liquid if necessary.
    9. Cut the meatloaf into ½-inch thick slices and serve.
    10. Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 2 days.
    3.5.3229

    Resources for Adapting this Dairy-Free Meatloaf

    Vegan Grain Meat Grind for a Plant-Based Loaf

    Grain Meat Grind Recipe - Homemade Vegan Ground Meat Alternative created by the Head Chef of Field Roast! Dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free.

    Great Bread for Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Bread Crumb Needs

    Canyon Bakehouse Gluten-Free Bread - All dairy-free!

    Easy Aquafaba is My Favorite Egg Sub for Meatloaf

    Aquafaba - Your Complete Guide to this Vegan Substitute with FAQs, Step by Step Pictures, and More

    Sarah Hatfield

      Sarah is the Associate Editor for Go Dairy Free. Her previous experience includes work as a copy editor at Thoroughbred Times magazine, a content writer at Travelago.com, and an intern at Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Sarah was a 'mom blogger' for many years but now mostly hangs out on Go Dairy Free and Instagram.

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      28 Comments

      1. Charlie Trotter on March 9, 2022 11:33 pm

        I is allergic to dairy and eggs. Used an egg replacer and it is really tasty! Thanks for sharing. Love it!

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on March 10, 2022 5:23 pm

          Glad it worked out well with an egg replacer! Thanks for sharing your feedback.

          Reply
      2. Maria Rhodes on November 1, 2021 4:46 am

        Beautiful recipe, very rare that I already have all ingredients a recipe calls for 😛 Thanks so much for sharing!

        Reply
      3. Charlie Trotter on June 27, 2021 8:44 am

        This is an amazing…and it looks soo yummy & sound so delicious…I will defnitely be trying this …Thanks for sharing….
        Love it!

        Reply
      4. Susan on November 20, 2020 8:51 am

        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.

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on November 20, 2020 9:36 am

          So glad you enjoyed it Susan! And thank you for sharing your modification.

          Reply
      5. Renee Glass on April 28, 2020 8:45 pm

        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.

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on May 1, 2020 3:22 pm

          That’s great! Thank you for leaving your feedback Renee.

          Reply
      6. Renee Glass on April 28, 2020 7:49 pm

        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.

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on April 28, 2020 8:42 pm

          Great! So glad you enjoyed it Renee and thank you for the feedback!

          Reply
      7. Kristy Newman on April 24, 2019 5:29 pm

        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!

        Reply
        • Sarah Hatfield on April 25, 2019 4:13 am

          This is so great to hear. Thank you so much for your notes on how you make it gluten free and egg free, Kristy!

          Reply
      8. Sean on March 12, 2019 5:06 pm

        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

        Reply
        • Sarah Hatfield on March 12, 2019 5:13 pm

          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.

          Reply
      9. Jessi on December 2, 2018 4:52 pm

        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!

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on December 5, 2018 9:47 am

          Fabulous! So glad the recipe worked out well for you Jessi.

          Reply
      10. Andrina Mathew on September 6, 2018 11:53 am

        Yummy, I love to have meatloaf in lunch on weekend. thanks for sharing,

        Reply
      11. Pingback: Sunday Morning Coffee: January 28, 2018

      12. Rhonda on July 22, 2017 2:51 pm

        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.

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on July 22, 2017 9:38 pm

          That’s fantastic Rhonda! Awesome that it worked out well for you and we appreciate your feedback.

          Reply
          • Rhonda Sawtelle on October 21, 2017 9:40 am

            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)

            Reply
            • Alisa Fleming on October 26, 2017 7:23 am

              Fabulous! Thanks for sharing this Rhonda.

              Reply
      13. Cassie B on December 28, 2016 7:00 pm

        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.

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on January 2, 2017 1:52 pm

          So glad it worked out, even lower sodium. Thanks for your feedback Cassie!

          Reply
      14. JoLynn on July 10, 2013 6:44 pm

        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.

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on July 11, 2013 3:09 pm

          Glad it worked out JoLynn! Thanks for sharing your substitution.

          Reply
      15. Linda Stewart on September 13, 2012 12:36 pm

        I have a question

        What can be in place of the egg? My husband can’t eat eggs either.

        Thanks!

        Reply
        • Alisa Fleming on September 17, 2012 9:15 am

          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.

          Reply

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