A hearty meat loaf is the perfect comfort food, particularly when it is paired with mashed potatoes. And for many of us, this comforting dish reminds us of "mom’s home-cooking". Interestingly enough, meat loaf has made a comeback. Many finer restaurants are now spicing this dish up and serving it as one of their trademark "gourmet" dishes.

Meat loaf can be made with one or more kinds of meat. By adding different types of meat you can alter the texture of the finished meat loaf. A coarsely ground meat is ideal so that the loaf has texture and doesn’t end up the consistency of pâté. If using different types of meat make sure the amount of meat in relation to the other ingredients are the same ratio and make sure you don’t over-mix the mixture or it will become heavy and tough. The best method for mixing meat loaf is still to use your hands.

Part of the fun of meatloaf is that it is completely open to interpretation. You can completely change the taste of a meat loaf by, not only adding different types of meat (pork, turkey, chicken, beef, or veal), but you can also experiment with the other added ingredients. In addition, many meat loaves have an accompanying sauce (traditionally — a ketchup sauce) — however this too can be modified with different spices, chile’s, vinegars and the like.

We have discovered that, although bread crumbs are traditionally used to bind the mixture and lighten the finished texture, it is possible to create a wonderful meatloaf without breadcrumbs and hence make your meatloaf "naturally" gluten-free. In fact, many of the meat loaf recipes on

Meat Loaf with Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Glutenfreeda.com omit the use of breadcrumbs altogether and focus on a variety of other flavorful ingredients.

We invite you to try these wonderful meat loaf recipes as winter comes to a close.

Italian Meat Loaf

Louisiana Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf with Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Turkey Meatloaf