This delicious, moist, healthy turkey meatloaf with fresh parsley is a simple, easy to make dinner idea the whole family will enjoy. Serve with or without gravy. You might also like turkey wellington recipe with mushrooms.
This simple, healthy turkey meatloaf with fresh parsley takes only 15 minutes to prepare! Most of the work is done in the oven so you can concentrate on making side dishes to serve alongside the meatloaf.
When it comes to making meat recipes I often choose turkey as it's lean, versatile and delicious. Despite the fact that turkey meat is low in fat this easy turkey meatloaf super moist and soft.
Why this recipe works
The combination of meat, fried onion, celery, wine and fresh parsley is the reason this meatloaf is moist and fluffy and why it shouldn't be baked in a classic meatloaf tin. It would simply stew in the juices produced by the meat and herbs. As it is baked on top of a baking tray, the meatloaf has a nice thin crust on the outside while still being moist and tender on the inside.
You can serve this healthy meatloaf with or without gravy. It seemed a waste not to make a gravy though as the meatloaf released lots of juices so I served mine with gravy (it takes only a few minutes to make, see more details in Instructions).
It keeps its shape and is easy to slice so you can use leftovers in sandwiches.
Healthy turkey meatloaf ingredients
This meatloaf is very simple to make and uses a handful of ingredients. I briefly stewed a few vegetables along with a bit of wine for more flavour and added moisture before combining them with the meatloaf mixture. The only spice I used was paprika.
Step-by-step recipe instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a saucepan fry the onion and celery in a little oil for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the wine and parsley and cook for 2 more minutes. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
2. Place the mixture in a blender. Pulse until well combined but still with some texture in it.
3. Add the meat, paprika, salt and pepper, tomato paste and breadcrumbs.
4. Pulse again briefly until well combined and sticky.
5. Place the mixture on top of a large plate, form a log then transfer onto the baking tray. Sprinkle with more paprika and drizzle with a little oil.
6. Bake for 1 hour or until fully cooked and the juices are clear. You can serve the meatloaf immediately or make a quick gravy using the juices from the meat. (Cover the meatloaf while you make the gravy)
7. To make the gravy collect the juices in a bowl. In a saucepan melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 1 tablespoon of corn flour and whisk to form a paste. Gradually add about 100-120 ml of vegetable stock (cold), the meatloaf juices and continue cooking until the sauce is smooth and starts bubbling up, whisking all the time. Adjust seasoning, add a scatter of herbs/spices if you like and serve with the meatloaf.
Expert tips and FAQs
- Use meat containing about 7% of fat, not less.
- I don't recommend using dried instead of fresh herbs in this recipe. They would produce a tougher and dryer texture, not great in a meatloaf.
- For best results it is important to pulse the mixture in a food processor rather than just stir with a spoon.
- Cooking times may vary depending on the shape of your meatloaf but you shouldn't need to bake it for more than 60 minutes.
- I didn't want to waste the juices from the meatloaf so decided to turn them into a quick gravy but the meatloaf is super moist and can be served on its own.
- Serving suggestions: delicious with creamy spinach mashed potatoes or spiced potato wedges.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
You might also like
- Easy Turkey Shepherds Pie with Vegetables
- Easy Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce Healthy)
- Meat Stuffed Eggplant Recipe (Turkey)
- Healthy Turkey Lasagna with Vegetables
You might also like this collection of easy one-pot chicken recipes.
Keep in touch!
If you make this recipe I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Healthy Moist Turkey Meatloaf Recipe
Equipment
- Food processor
- Non-stick pan
Ingredients
- 600 g ground turkey approx. 7% fat
- 4 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- ½ celery stalk finely chopped
- 4 tbsp white wine
- 5 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus a little more for drizzling over the loaf
- 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp sweet or hot paprika plus more for sprinkling on top
- ⅔ tsp fine sea salt plus plenty of pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Set aside.
- In a pan heat up the oil, add the onion and celery and fry over a medium/low heat for about 4 minutes stirring often. Add the wine and parsley and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Blitz in a food processor to break up the larger pieces (do not puree completely).
- Into the blender add the meat, breadcrumbs, tomato paste, seasoning and onion mixture and pulse until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together and form a sticky mixture.
- Transfer the mixture onto a large plate and form a log, approximately 20 cm long. Transfer onto the baking sheet, sprinkle with the paprika, drizzle with a little oil and bake for about 1 hour or until the juices are clear. Serve immediately or cover the meatloaf while you make a quick gravy.
- To make the gravy collect the juices in a bowl. In a saucepan melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 1 tablespoon of corn flour and whisk to form a paste. Gradually add about 100-120 ml (½ cup) of vegetable stock (cold), the meatloaf juices and continue cooking until the sauce is smooth and starts bubbling up, whisking all the time. Adjust seasoning, add a scatter of herbs/spices if you like and serve with the meatloaf.
Notes
- Use meat containing about 7% of fat, not less.
- I don't recommend using dried instead of fresh herbs in this recipe. They would produce a tougher and dryer texture, not great in a meatloaf.
- For best results it is important to pulse the mixture in a food processor rather than just stir with a spoon.
- Cooking times may vary depending on the shape of your meatloaf but you shouldn't need to bake it for more than 60 minutes.
- I didn't want to waste the juices from the meatloaf so decided to turn them into a quick gravy but the meatloaf is super moist and can be served on its own.
- Serving suggestions: delicious with creamy spinach mashed potatoes or spiced potato wedges.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Not the biggest meat loaf fan. But something tells me I'd like this.