As I was photographing this meatloaf, I thought to myself how difficult it was to actually make meatloaf look delicious. Then again I thought, maybe saucy photos are the way to do it. Saucy photos are popular on Pinterest so I’ve concluded that people must love them.
Or at least that’s what I told myself when I photographed this recipe anyway. Heh.
Regardless, please know that this saucy enchilada meatloaf stuffed with cheddar and jalapenos is one of my favorite things to meal prep and enjoy on a frequent basis. Bake it up, throw it in meal prep containers with some sweet tater fries and have yourself the best lunch ever.
Trust me, you’ll have coworkers flocking to your desk to see what you’re eating… kinda like how I flock to the movie theater every time Zac Efron appears in a new movie.
No seriously. I do.
If you know me really well then you know that anything enchilada is MY JAM. And I love making versions of my own quick and easy enchilada sauce on a pretty frequent basis. ENCHIE SAUCE IS MY LIFE.
So to get straight to the point: this lean turkey meatloaf + a quick homemade enchilada sauce is everything you’ve been waiting for. We make it far too often in our home, and it’s bound to be a staple in yours too.
What to serve it with:
Guac + tortilla chips
OR
sweet potato fries
Hope you guys enjoy this for dinner soon! You’re going to LOVE!
If you make it, I’d love to see you upload it to Instagram and tag #ambitiouskitchen. And if you make this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment and rate the recipe below.
More delicious dinner recipes to try:
Cheesy Chicken Quinoa Enchilada Meatloaf Muffins
Cheddar-Stuffed Sweet Potato BBQ Turkey Meatloaf
The Best Healthy Turkey Lasagna You’ll Ever Eat
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Jalapeno-Cheddar Stuffed Enchilada Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients
- For the enchilada sauce:
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- For the meatloaf:
- 1 pound 94% lean ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1/2 white onion, very finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (can also use gluten free bread crumbs)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 oz sliced sharp cheddar cheese (or 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese)
- 1 jalapeño, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- First make the enchilada sauce by combining all the enchilada sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine turkey, egg, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, add 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce, cumin, chili powder and salt. Use your hands or a large spoon to mix until well combined. I find that it's much easier to combine the ingredients if you use your hands.
- Place half of meat mixture on foil-lined pan and shape into a 10x4 inch rectangle. Top with cheddar evenly, leaving about an 1/2 inch of room on the sides.
- Add jalapeno slices on top of cheddar. Top with the remaining meat mixture, enclosing the cheese completely and sealing the sides/edges together.
- Spread half of the enchilada sauce on top of the meat loaf, reserve other half for brushing on when meatloaf is finished baking.
- Bake meatloaf for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Top with remaining sauce and allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into 4 slices. Top with cilantro and serve with sweet potato fries or a side salad.
Can you make this in advance and freeze it?
Yes! Feel free to freeze it before or after cooking it, then let it thaw in the fridge overnight before cooking.
This meatloaf has become one of our staple recipes we rotate through! So yummy! We do add a few more slices of cheese to the middle. It also helps to form the loaf in a loaf pan and then transfer to a baking sheet before cooking.
Love this recipe. Always hated ketchup on/in my meatloaf and this is the perfect meatloaf to me. Only changes I made were beef for the meat. Make sure get very lean beef! And I used a poblano pepper instead of a jalapeno because the little lady doesn’t care for the heat. I will be looking at your other recipes.
Apologies. After reading replies and seeing your other recipes hope I didn’t step on any toes by suggesting beef instead of turkey.
Your red meat loving fan,
George
Not at all!! Enjoy 🙂
I love this! Meatloaf was my least favorite food as a kid, and I hadn’t eaten it in 15 years until this recipe came up. I make this all the time! Very easy and flavorful recipe! Perfect weeknight meal because you can make it then forget about it for 45+ mins while
It bakes
So glad you found this one!!
This was amazing! I love healthy recipes like this and it was super easy! I doubled the ingredients and cooked in a standard meat loaf pan and mixed everything together instead of layering it. I added about 20 minutes to the time and it came out so yummy! The sauce is so simple and tasty. I will make this again. I imagine this will reheat well and work for meal prep lunches. Thank you for hearing! I will definitely be making this again!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
This is probably my FAVORITE meatloaf recipe I’ve ever used! Perfectly moist and bursting with flavor. Such a treat and absolute favorite in our house! Thanks for this amazing and easy to make recipe, AK!
Not good. We ended up eating cereal for dinner. I wouldn’t make it ever again. Only positive thing is it was easy to put together.
Delicious! I’ve made this meatloaf and your BBQ meatloaf multiple times and love them! The first few times I made it I used shredded cheese and struggled with getting the inside to be as thick with cheese as your pics look. And then I realized that slicing a block of cheese was the ticket. I’ve done that the past 2 times I made it, and the cheese is definitely more noticeable. I just saw that you have an another recipe for a meatloaf stuffed with pepperjack, and I will definitely have to try it!
Amazing! And yes the blocks of cheese really help with the melt factor in this one 🙂 glad you loved it and hope you love the spicy one, too!
I love this recipe and make it every month or two! It’s super tasty and pretty quick to throw together.
Love it! So happy it’s a favorite 🙂
this meatloaf is unbelievable
The final appearance of this meal is difficult to make attractive, but the taste is amazing! My family loved it! Will become a staple for us. If your people like Cilantro, sprinkling fresh cilantro over the top when it comes out of the oven will help improve the appearance factor. A little white cheddar sprinkled on top also may help, but it does increase the calories. Thank you for this recipe. I love it.
Meatloaf is a tough one to make look “pretty,” but it’s always so delicious! Great tip about cilantro (I’m a huge fan). Glad you enjoyed!
A new family fav!
I’m so glad!
can you use canned enchilada sauce or will it not come out the same?
That should work just fine!
Looking forward to trying this tonight!! Do you happen to have the macros for it? I like to log my food to stay on track! Thanks 🙂
Hi Angelica! The nutrition info has been updated in the post above 🙂 Enjoy!
I made this tonight and it was so good! I used a loaf pan and had no trouble. My husband enjoyed it too… but I didn’t have a jalapeno. Guess I’ll have to make it again to compare 🙂
Perfect! So happy you guys liked it 🙂 Enjoy the spice in your second batch, too!
Hey there – I’m curious why you didn’t use a loaf pan for this meatloaf to make the shape more structured? Do you think that would work as well?
Hi Laura! I like to freeform my meatloaf recipes, but a loaf pan would work as well 🙂
Made this tonight with some sweet potato tots……it was absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
Delicious! Sweet potato tots sound amazing…
I made this last night, I never make meatloaf and it was amazing with all the flavors!
Such a great, go-to recipe! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This meatloaf was delicious! I replaced the onions with shredded zucchini since the kids don’t like onions. Turned out well! Thanks for creating this tasty recipe!
Perfect! I’m glad the kiddos enjoyed, too!
Just popped it in the oven. Used puppet jack cheese and some sliced pickled jalapeños from a jar. Fun to make!
Amazing! I hope you enjoyed 🙂
Just popped mine in the oven, it smells so good- cannot wait!
Amazing! I hope you enjoyed!
Would the Yves ground round work in place of the ground turkey? I’m assuming it wouldn’t need to cook as long correct?
I’ve never tried cooking with it, so I’m not 100% sure!
Has anyone tried almond meal as a sub for bread crumbs? Any alternatives?
Almond meal should work!
I just tried it but I used de-oiled almond flour, which made it kind of dry. Would use it again taste-wise but would only use 1/4 cup 🙂
So easy and good! I used ground beef instead and cooked in a bread pan and it still came out amazing!
Perfect! 🙂
This looks incredible! I am a huge fan of turkey meatloaf and can see this being such a tasty alternative. I love the idea of serving with sweet potato fries. I could eat those every day! It would be amazing with mexican rice too, I think. Now I’m hungry and it’s nowhere near lunch time!
Mexican rice sounds delicious with this! I hope you get the chance to make it 🙂
Yes, this looks really yummy. Def a recipe, I know my hubby will like. Keep them coming, I am loving all your recipes 🙂
Enjoy!!
Well this sounds amazing!! I need to try this one for dinner!
YES! So, so good.