Southern Meatloaf Sandwiches
Holy sandwich, Batman! These Southern Meatloaf Sandwiches are the perfect comfort food on cold winter days!
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Meatloaf. It’s one of those things that we all love to make fun of. For starters, the name itself itsn’t exactly appetizing. Meatloaf. A loaf of meat? What exactly is that!? The term doesn’t exactly conjure up images of a gourmet meal.
Meatloaf became popular during the Great Depression and WW II as a way to stretch a little bit of meat into an entire meal. The secret? Adding lots of breadcrumbs. The problem? Those breadcrumbs led to a dry and bland meatloaf. Too many folks remember meatloaf as a food of their childhood that unfortunately wasn’t prepared well. We’re here to fix that today!
Southern Meatloaf Sandwiches
Sure, meatloaf might be on the receiving end of a lot of jokes, but a good meatloaf is really hard to beat. Well, unless you take said meatloaf and turn it into Southern Meatloaf Sandwiches!
The base for these Southern Meatloaf Sandwiches is our version of meatloaf, but feel free to substitute in your meatloaf recipe instead. The real game begins with the leftovers when we slice up that leftover meatloaf and transform it into sandwich royalty. I prefer using sourdough bread for a meatloaf sandwich as sourdough (1) is hearty enough to stand up to a big sandwich and (2) has a nice tart flavor that works well with the classic sweet ketchup topping on meatloaf. Add some mozzarella cheese and some crispy fried onions, and you’ve got all of the textures and flavors for a sandwich of legends!
Meatloaf Sandwich Ingredients
- Meatloaf. This part is obvious. The key to a good meatloaf sandwich is a good meatloaf. Feel free to use our recipe below or substitute your own.
- Thick, Hearty Bread. I recommend buying a loaf of sourdough bread and slicing it yourself into nice thick slices. Any sort of hearty crusty bread will work here though.
- Dijon Mustard, Ketchup and Mayonnaise. Combine these 3 classic condiments into a delicious sauce for your sandwich. Think about it like a better version of Big Mac Sauce.
- Mozzarella Cheese. A slice of mild cheese (such as mozzarella) creates a wonderful cheesy, melty meatloaf sandwich.
- Crispy Onions. Sprinkle some crispy onions on the sandwich before adding that 2nd slice of bread on top. The crispy texture adds so much to this recipe!
- Lettuce. A slice of romaine or iceberg also adds a nice crunch.
How to Make a Meatloaf Sandwich
- Butter and Toast the Bread. Spread softened butter on the inner side of each slice of bread. Cook the bread slices in a dry skillet (butter-side down) until golden-brown.
- Add Sauce. Spread a generous amount of the sauce onto the non-buttered sides of bread.
- Add Meatloaf and Cheese. Add a thick slice of warm meatloaf and a slice of cheese on top of bread. (If desired, you can put the open-faced sandwiches under a broiler at this point to melt the cheese.)
- Add Crispy Onions and Lettuce. Then add the 2nd slice of bread on top. Enjoy!
If you’re craving some classic comfort food to warm you up on these cold winter days, then these Southern Meatloaf Sandwiches are calling your name. Grab some rustic sourdough bread and let your inner sandwich artist come out and play! Enjoy!
Did you make this Southern Meatloaf Sandwiches recipe at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Southern Meatloaf Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 3 celery ribs diced
- ½ cup finely diced green bell pepper
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 pounds Certified Angus Beef ® brand ground beef I used 85/15
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
For Sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
For the Sandwich
- 8 slices sourdough bread
- butter softened
- ¼ cup dijon mustard
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese
- 1 can crispy onions
- lettuce
Instructions
For the Meatloaf
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a large skillet, add olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion, celery and bell pepper; cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add minced garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
- Using a large bowl, add onion mixture, ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, ketchup, Cajun seasoning and eggs; stir until just combined.
- Spray a standard loaf pan with nonstick baking spray. Transfer meatloaf mixture into pan. Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes.
- Using a small mixing bowl, combine all Sauce ingredients (ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce). Remove meatloaf pan from oven and pour off any excess grease. Spread sauce mixture evenly on top of meatloaf and continue baking for 15-20 more minutes, or until internal temperature of meatloaf reaches 160°F.
- Let meatloaf rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
For the Sandwich
- Brush tops of bread with softened butter.
- Using a griddle or large frying pan, place bread butter-side down. Cook over medium heat until bread is golden brown.
- Meanwhile, combine the dijon mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise together in a small bowl.
- To build sandwiches, brush a generous amount of sauce onto the non-buttered side of 4 pieces of bread. Add thick slice of meatloaf and a slice of mozzarella cheese to each sandwich.
- {Optional} Place sandwiches open-faced under a broiler until cheese has melted.
- Finish by adding crispy onions and lettuce. Top with remaining slices of buttered bread.
Notes
Looking for more tasty sandwich ideas? Check out these other favorites:
Well this looks absolutely delicious. Would love to try it for a weekend treat!
Oh, these meatloaf sandwiches are amazing, Caroline! They definitely put a whole new twist on “leftovers.” Thanks so much!
David, unlike you, I grew up eating meatloaf but don’t remember the last time I enjoyed me some meatloaf since my teen years (though that song by Meat Loaf is one of my favs and one I get Lil Shashi to listen to when she joins me in my errand-running) But – all those years of eating meatloaf, I don’t think any of us thought to have meatloaf sandwiches like Laura’s office-mate did! And I gotta sa… duuuude.., meatloaf with mozzarella and crispy fried onions on a sammie – why, that’s one deliciously texturific sandwich for sure! Two thumbs up on this one! Happy Valentine’s Wednesday to the Spiced Household!
I’m with ya! When we first started making meatloaf, we just sliced it up and served it the “traditional” way. But then when Laura saw her labmate’s meatloaf sandwich, everything changed! This is one heck of a good sandwich, and it gives a whole new meaning to the term leftovers! 🙂
Meatloaf is my dad’s all-time favorite dinner and I had to laugh at this. He’s the only person in our family who likes it; growing up we all dreaded dad’s birthday because that was the one day a year my mom gave in and made meatloaf. He ate sandwiches for days afterward because obviously there were lots of leftovers. Meatloaf is still not my thing, but I could definitely be persuaded to give it another try if there’s cheese and French fried onions involved!
Haha! I’m sitting here imagining your Dad with a birthday candle sticking out of his meatloaf. Hilarious! But I agree with you, Kelsie…meatloaf has somewhat of a “suspect” reputation. But it can be so, so delicious with a few fun twists and a couple slices of bread! 🙂
Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU!!!!! For encouraging me to text my Momma and ask her for her meatloaf recipe. 😉😁
YES! Definitely go get your Momma’s meatloaf recipe, Marla! Recipes like that need to be passed down for sure. My grandma had a cookie recipe that we all wish we had a copy of…but no one knows what happened to it. So grab that meatloaf recipe, and then make some sammiches! 🙂
I don’t eat meat anymore but when I did my Mom made the Best BBQ Meatloaf, it used to melt in my mouth it was soooo delicious. I’ve never had Southern Meatloaf but OMG this looks amazeballs. Laura is sooooo smart, I see why you love her so much. Those crispy onions looks bomb. Have a great Valentines Day David!
Oooh, BBQ meatloaf? Say what!? I think I need to revisit this sandwich and use a BBQ meatloaf now. I know you’re not a meat eater anymore, but please thank your Mom in advance for me! 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day, my California friend!
Hi David. Meatloaf in on regular rotation here. My favorite thing is to pan sear a nice slice and put it on toasted sourdough bread with mustard. Pickles on the side don’t hurt.
Dorothy! Hello!! I was just thinking about you yesterday, so what a funny coincidence to see your comment here this morning. Maybe your ears were burning?? Looks like we’re on the same boat when it comes to sourdough and meatloaf…but we haven’t tried pan searing the slice of meatloaf when we make sandwiches. I’m doing that next time! 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting, and I do truly hope you and Gary are doing well. Cheers, my friend!
Good comfort food is all I am longing for at the moment – it is so cold & grey here in London! My mum used to make meatloaf when we were kids and I completely forgot about it until my neighbour brought it along to a picnic and I just loved it! So easy to make as well and I completely agree with you that the quality of the meat makes all the difference. Very much like the high standards of Certified Angus Beef, sounds like a great company!
Oh my gosh, I hear ya about the cold and grey days. We’re actually getting a little heat wave (by heat wave, I mean cracking into the 6-8°C range), but I’m sure there’s another cold, snowy blast right behind it. And cold snowy blasts require comfort food! Certified Angus Beef brand really is an amazing company, and it’s nice to know more about the quality of the food we eat. Now go find your Mum’s meatloaf recipe and make some meatloaf sandwiches this weekend! 🙂 Thanks, Miriam!
David, it’s good to know that you’re promoting a certified brand of our Scotch Beef out there. I’m lucky enough that I can get Angus Beef here in any supermarket, and it’s a mighty fine quality meat! Those southern meatloaf sandwiches with the mozzarella cheese and crispy fried onions have me salivating here! 🙂
Yes! You know, I totally didn’t make that connection between Angus and Scotland until you said something. But you’re right! I actually just visited a local cattle farm recently that’s doing some pretty cool stuff with genetics…more on that in an upcoming post, though. That’s interesting that Angus Beef is hard to find over there, but it really is worth looking for! I know when I see that label that it’s going to be a good cut of meat for sure. And these sandwiches? Woah. They were amazing! (Notice I used the past tense…too bad they’re all gone now. Haha!) Thanks, Neil!
Well, well, well. Thanks so much for getting that song stuck in my head, David, lol. I would bawl that song out from the top of my lungs. I’m quite the singer, you know. NOT. HA! This is some sandwich, my friend. Genius to put meatloaf on a sandwich!!! I, mean, it has got to taste better than meatloaf by itself. Topped with crispy onions and a yummy sauce? Oh yeeeeeah! I’ll be dreaming of this one and definitely trying soon 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Hey, there are a lot worse songs out there to have stuck in your head than that one, Dawn! In fact, I just love watching this video…it’s such a good performance. And if you’ve never had a meatloaf sandwich, then you owe it to yourself to make one sometime soon. They are the very definition of comfort food! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend, and I hope you have a great weekend!
We literally make meatloaf just so we can make sandwiches with it the next day! But I have to admit that your version blows ours out of the water – MUST TRY!
YES! I totally know what you mean about making meatloaf just to have sandwiches. Sometimes leftovers are even better than the original…especially when you turn ’em into a sandwich. Definitely try this sauce + the crispy onions on top. So good!! Thanks, Marissa!
That surely is a comfort food sandwich if I have ever seen one. By the way, I might’ve gone to the same school as Meat Loaf. That’s what everyone always said, anyway, but I never believed it (or wanted it to be true).
Wait, you went to the same school as Meat Loaf!? That’s pretty cool…I mean the guy is an icon in music. I seriously could watch that video on repeat for like 30 minutes…while munching on a meatloaf sandwich. Hah!
That is a good song! I’m pretty sure I saw somewhere that, that song pretty much reignited his whole career after being pretty stagnant for awhile! That’s the info I get for vegging out on youtube videos somedays when I get bored hah
Seriously though I can’t believe I never thought about turning meat loaf into a delicious sandwich! Growing up my dad hates meatloaf so whenever he was out of town me and my brothers all knew meat loaf was going to be on the menu! Now if I had this post back then I’d sure be making it into this to die for sandwich. Next time I end up with meat loaf leftovers this post is where I’ll be going next!
Yeah, I totally understand vegging out on YouTube videos. I seriously could watch this video on repeat for hours…it’s so powerful! Now switching gears to meatloaf, I’m with ya. We didn’t eat it much (at all?) growing up, but this sandwich version is so darned good! In fact, I’d be tempted to make this meatloaf JUST to have leftovers for sandwiches. Epic comfort food right there! 🙂 Thanks, Matt!
We had a lot of meatloaf growing up. I always enjoyed the leftover meatloaf sandwich better than the meal itself. I love these crispy onions on the sandwich! That takes this sammy to a whole new level!
Meatloaf sandwiches are a thing of legend in our house, Kathy! I mean a good meatloaf is hard to beat (especially in sandwich form) but then go add some sourdough bread and crunchy onions? Sign me up! In fact, I kinda wish I had some more of these left for lunch today. 🙂 Hope you’re having a great weekend so far, my friend!
Meatloaf (both the food and the singer) is a very favorite! I am known to make meatloaf just for the sandwiches made with leftovers. I also may or may not have joined in with the DJ with Anything for Love at my own wedding reception! My poor kids, they endured an entire trip to Indianapolis with me via car, singing my heart out to Meatloaf one year also…and it was a long trip as we were bumper to bumper in Columbus that year for a few hours. lol Yeah, I’m a pretty devoted fan.
Yes! I really do enjoy a good meatloaf, but it’s one of those foods that’s even better as leftovers…especially in sandwich form. I love that you sang Meatloaf for that entire car trip. He really does have some great driving music! 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting, Shelby!