How to Cook Moist Sous Vide Meatloaf

Did you know you can sous vide meatloaf? Learn How to Cook Moist Sous Vide Meatloaf with easy tips to make it moist, flavorful and perfect every time.

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Sous Vide Meatloaf Recipe

Sous vide cooking is one of my favorite methods of cooking meats. Even though this is my first sous vide recipe on the blog, I use it often and plan to post more sous vide recipes. It’s a fun way to cook using technology and creates perfectly cooked meatloaf, every time.

This Moist Sous Vide Meatloaf is a unique way to use the benefits of sous vide cooking. It takes a classic meatloaf recipe and transforms it with precision sous vide cooking.

How to make meatloaf moist

Cook with sous vide instead of in the oven. Meatloaf can be tricky to cook and keep moist. There’s a few key ingredients and tips that help, and I’ll share them in this post. Traditionally meatloaf is baked in the oven. This requires careful watching and checking temperature often. Also, the cooking times can vary depending on the oven as well as the size of the loaf.

Not so with sous vide, it cooks to the exact same temperature throughout at your set time, no matter the size or shape of your meatloaf.

What is sous vide cooking?

Sous vide uses a special kitchen appliance that regulates heat at a certain temperature. Food is placed in a water bath, usually a pot or large container, and keeps it at an exact heat for a set amount of time. Food is sealed in plastic, submerged and cooked in this bath.

For example, if you want to cook a steak or other sous vide recipes to a perfect medium-rare, set it to 135° and let it cook for about an hour. If it goes longer, or the steaks isn’t uniform thickness, that’s fine since the heat never goes higher the set temp. This is the beauty of this method of cooking. Afterward, a quick sear on the stove or grill is recommended for extra flavor and texture, since this method of cooking won’t brown the meat. For this Sous Vide Meatloaf recipe, I used the FoodSaver V4440 2-in-1 Automatic Vacuum Sealing System. It removes air from the bag so that food is protected from the deteriorating effects of oxygen during storage and freezing. It’s also ideal for sous vide cooking to create even cooking as well as allowing it to submerge in water.

The FoodSaver Vacuum Seal Rolls use unique multi-layer construction for durability and are BPA-free. They’re strong enough to go straight from the freezer to a hot water bath, with no separate defrost required. Designed to withstand even boiling temperatures, making them safe for sous vide cooking.

How to cook moist meatloaf using sous vide

1. Prepare sous vide machine in a large pot water bath and set to 153° F. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and milk to soak. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan to medium heat. Add celery and onion. Cook until fragrant and soft. Stir in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in seasoning and tomato paste.
3. In a large bowl, mix together beef, sausage, bread crumbs, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until well incorporated. Mix in cooked veggies, then form into 2 rounded rectangular loaves.
4. Place a loaf sideways into vacuum sealer roll/pouch with one end sealed. Cut opposite end about 4” from the loaf. Set the vacuum sealer to the moist mode and seal meatloaf. Repeat for the other loaf.
5. Submerge loaves into the water and sous vide 153° for 75 minutes, or until slightly firm and some clear juices have formed in pouches.

Tips for sous vide meatloaf

There’s a few key ingredients and tips to create moist sous vide meatloaf. This recipe is a traditional recipe with very classic ingredients that include ground beef, sausage, bread crumbs, egg, and tender vegetables. For the best moist meatloaf I suggest:

• Breadcrumbs and milk: Breadcrumbs creates extra space and air between the meat proteins, it also holds some of the fat from the meat. Otherwise, you’d be basically cooking a big burger. Soak them ahead of time in milk to create more moisture and volume.
• Mix in eggs: Adding eggs helps hold everything together.
• Add vegetables such as onions, celery, and carrots: This creates soft areas in the loaf as well. Cook them ahead of time to prevent crunchy bits.
• Use fattier meats: Normally I prefer cooking with lean 93% beef, but 85% creates a more moist meatloaf, even if a lot of the fat drains out during cooking. Incorporating ground sausage into the beef adds a nice variety of flavor and texture
• Cook using sous vide at 153° for 75 minutes: Instead of baking in an oven and risking overcooked meatloaf. The meatloaf will cook only to the set temp.
• Coat with sauce and broil: Since sous vide does not brown meats, adding the glaze and this step at the end will create a traditional coating that comes with roasting.

Sides to serve with meatloaf

• Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Candied Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes
• String Bean Casserole with Candied Bacon
• Roasted Beet and Kale Salad
• 5 Minute BLT Coleslaw Salad

More easy dinner recipes you may like:

• Roasted Pork Sirloin
• One Pot Chicken Minestrone Soup
• Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Pork Chops

Looking for more sous vide recipes?

The Anova app has lots of recipes or browse their site for more sous vide recipes.

Dont have a sous vide machine or prefer baked meatloaf? Try my Gluten-Free Meatloaf with mushrooms recipe.

Leave a comment below and star rating if you made this recipe or want to share your thoughts.

 

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5 from 7 votes

How to Cook Moist Sous Vide Meatloaf

Learn How to Cook Moist Sous Vide Meatloaf with this easy classic meatloaf recipe. Cooked to moist perfection using a sous vide machine.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword meatloaf in sous vide, moist meatloaf recipe, sous vide meatloaf

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Resting time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Calories 454kcal

Servings 8

Author: Matt Ivan

Did you know? Servings and ingredient amounts can be adjusted on all my recipes. Click the green number above to change.

Ingredients

• ▢ ¾ cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
• ▢ ½ cup whole milk
• ▢ 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• ▢ 2 stalks celery, diced small
• ▢ 1 medium onion, diced small
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ▢ 1 pound ground beef, 85% lean
• ▢ 1 pound ground mild Italian sausage
• ▢ 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ ¾ cup ketchup, bbq or desired sauce

Instructions

• Prepare sous vide machine in a large pot water bath and set to 153° F. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and milk to soak. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a non-stick pan to medium heat. Add celery and onion. Cook until fragrant and soft, about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in seasoning and tomato paste. Let cool slightly.
• In a large bowl, mix together beef, sausage, bread crumbs, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper until well incorporated. Mix in cooked veggies, then form into 2 rounded rectangular loaves.
• Place a loaf sideways into vacuum sealer roll/pouch with one end sealed. Cut opposite end about 4” from loaf. Set the vacuum sealer to moist mode and seal meatloaf. Repeat for other loaf.
• Submerge loaves into water bath and sous vide 153° for 75 minutes, or until slightly firm and some clear juices have formed in pouches.
• Remove from water and let sit 15 minutes. Open pouches, drain liquid and place loaves on baking sheet.
  
• Coat tops with sauce and broil 2-3 minutes until heated. Cut into slices and serve.

Notes

• Breadcrumbs and milk: Breadcrumbs creates extra space and air between the meat proteins, it also holds some of the fat from the meat. Otherwise you’d be basically cooking a big burger. Soak them ahead of time in milk to create more moisture and volume.
• Mix in eggs: Adding eggs helps hold everything together.
• Add vegetables such as onions, celery and carrots: This creates soft areas in the loaf as well. Cook them ahead of time to prevent crunchy bits.
• Use fattier meats: Normally I prefer cooking with lean 93% beef, but 85% creates a more moist meatloaf, even if a lot of the fat drains out during cooking. Incorporating ground sausage into the beef adds a nice variety of flavor and texture
• Cook using sous vide at 153° for 75 minutes: Instead of baking in an oven and risking overcooked meatloaf. The meatloaf will cook only to the set temp.
• Coat with sauce and broil: Since sous vide does not brown meats, adding the glaze and this step at the end will create a traditional coating that comes with roasting.

Nutrition Facts

How to Cook Moist Sous Vide Meatloaf

Amount Per Serving (1 slice)

Calories 454 Calories from Fat 297

% Daily Value*

Fat 33g51%

Saturated Fat 11g69%

Cholesterol 137mg46%

Sodium 1073mg47%

Potassium 494mg14%

Carbohydrates 18g6%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 21g42%

Vitamin A 290IU6%

Vitamin C 6.4mg8%

Calcium 65mg7%

Iron 3.1mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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This how to cook moist meatloaf recipe is adapted from the Kitchn.