Meatloaf with Balsamic Mushroom Sauce

Classic meatloaf gets an upgrade with a rich and savory balsamic mushroom sauce. 

Two slices of meatloaf on a white plate topped with balsamic mushroom sauce

Meatloaf with Balsamic Mushroom Sauce

My Balsamic Mushroom Pasta recipe is, by far, the most popular post on this blog. I love that recipe, too – it’s easy to make, fancy-looking and you really can’t go wrong with the amazing combination of mushrooms and balsamic vinegar. There’s just something really special about that dish.

When something goes right sometimes it’s a good idea to replicate it, so I’m bringing on the balsamic mushroom sauce again, but this time I’ve drizzled it over tender juicy slices of meatloaf. I think the sauce dresses up what I consider a humble and simple main course – there’s something so homey about meatloaf and adding some sauteed mushrooms with a rich and glossy sauce just sort of elevates it, I think.

It’s guest-worthy, for sure.

While it doesn’t go from pan to plate as quickly as it’s cousin, Balsamic Mushroom Pasta, it’s not hard to execute and in the time it takes to bake the meatloaf the sauce is ready to go.

Golden brown mushrooms, savory meatloaf, and a glossy rich mushroom sauce.  This is some serious comfort food.

A skillet with cooked mushrooms

Winter is the perfect excuse to eat stick-to-your-ribs comfort food like this meatloaf with balsamic mushroom sauce. When it’s cold and snowy outside there’s nothing better than a warm and comforting dinner to ward off the chill. This balsamic mushroom meatloaf is the perfect cold-weather antidote.

P.S. These crock pot mashed potatoes are a perfect side-dish!

two plates with meatloaf topped with balsamic mushroom sauce

More Comfort Food Dinners

17 Comfort Food Recipes

Hearty Sausage Soup

Shepherd’s Pie

Print

Meatloaf with Balsamic Mushroom Sauce

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

Classic meatloaf gets an upgrade with a rich and savory balsamic mushroom sauce.

  • Author: April @ Girl Gone Gourmet
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

For the Meatloaf

  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
  • 1 pound ground beef

For the Sauce

  • 1/2 cup butter, divided
  • 16 ounces cremini mushrooms, large ones quartered and small ones left whole
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 3 cups beef stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • Salt & pepper
  • grated parmesan, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, onion, garlic, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Next, stir in the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Stir until just combined. Add the ground beef and, using your hands, combine everything together just until the breadcrumb mixture is well combined with the beef. Form the beef mixture into a loaf and press it into a 1.5-quart loaf pan. Bake it at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees. Remove it from the oven and let it rest for at least five to ten minutes before slicing and serving.
  3. To make the sauce, melt four tablespoons of the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the quartered mushrooms and let them cook until they are golden brown, about ten minutes. Pour in 1/4 cup of the balsamic vinegar and let it boil until the liquid has evaporated. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
  4. In that same pan, add 2 tablespoons of butter and let it melt. Ad the chopped mushrooms and let them cook in the butter for a few minutes. Add the beef stock and bring it all to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the beef stock is thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat and add the parsley and cream. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper to start).
  5. Spoon the quartered mushrooms over the meatloaf slices before pouring a few tablespoons of the sauce over the top. Garnish with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.

Nutrition

  • Calories: 712
  • Sugar: 12.4g
  • Sodium: 1219.6mg
  • Fat: 40.3g
  • Carbohydrates: 39.2g
  • Fiber: 3.2g
  • Protein: 49.2g

Do you love this recipe? Don't forget to leave a comment and your recipe star rating!

Juicy meatloaf topped with a rich and creamy balsamic mushroom sauce | girlgonegourmet.com

22 Comments

  1. I love balsamic but my family is so so. Can you tell me if it is crucial in the meatloaf as well as mushrooms. I don’t want it to be “too” balsamic flavor. If I eliminate in meatloaf what would I substitute, wine perhaps?

    1. Hi Melissa – I would recommend cutting the balsamic in half for the meatloaf if you don’t want it too tangy. Hope that helps!

  2. I made this for friends and it was a big hit! I change the sauce and added a little cornstarch to thicken it up and chopped the mushrooms so they were smaller. Everything else I did the same!






  3. Sounds great 😁😁
    Question
    The ingredients for the sauce include 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, plus two tablespoons
    I can’t see where you add the Two additional tablespoons
    Thank You
    Can’t wait to try this delicious looking recipe






    1. Hi Julie, sorry for the confusion! You only need the 1/4 cup so I’ve updated the recipe. Thank you for catching that!

  4. I made this and it was delicious. However, the meatloaf was on the soft side and didn’t hold together well. Have you encountered this? I’m thinking of reducing/eliminating the milk or using only one egg next time. Any thoughts or suggestions?

    1. I haven’t had this issue but I wouldn’t reduce the eggs because they do act as a binder. Overcooking the meatloaf can cause it to fall apart, but it doesn’t sound like this was the issue for you? You could try reducing the milk a bit as you mentioned so let me know if you try that.

    1. Yes, but it may thicken when it’s chilled. Warm it up slowly in a saucepan on the stove and you may need to add an extra splash or two of cream to loosen it.

  5. Hi April,

    I tried this recipe tonight and my husband, who is so hard to please really liked it. The only problem I had was that the loaf was very soft and fell apart when I tried cutting it. I cooked it for an hour, but put it back in a hot oven for an additional 15 minutes and it was still very soft. Do you think it was because I used a glass loaf pan instead of a metal one? Also, do you think I should use 1 egg and less milk or keep that the same? I want to make it again on Tuesday and not sure if you could get back to me before then.

    Otherwise the taste was excellent! Thank you.
    Gabrielle

    1. I’m glad you liked the flavor! As far as the texture, I haven’t tried this recipe another way, but reducing the amount of milk could help or maybe omit it altogether. Also, how lean was the ground beef that you used?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.