Miranda Lambert’s Mama’s Meatloaf Is the Ultimate ‘Down-Home Dish’

It seems in most families, birthday dinners can go one of two ways. The person whose birthday it is can either choose a restaurant to celebrate or choose a favorite recipe they want prepared for them. If you’re the latter, it obviously helps to have someone in your family who is a good home cook.

In Miranda Lambert’s case, she’s opting for a home-cooked meal on her birthday—and, luckily, she has a mama who knows her way around the kitchen. In fact, many of the recipes in Lambert’s cookbook, “Y’all Eat Yet?”, come from her mom’s repertoire. 

However, before Lambert had her own cookbook, she was featured in Southern Living’s “Country Music’s Greatest Eats” cookbook in 2014, alongside country stars like Alan Jackson and Trace Adkins. It’s there that the Grammy Award-winning artist shared the recipe for her Mama’s Meatloaf.

Miranda Lambert’s Mom’s Meatloaf

Lambert’s mom’s meatloaf is the ultimate “down-home dish” and one of the singer’s favorite comfort foods, according to Southern Living. 

“My Mama’s meatloaf has always been my favorite recipe. It’s been the choice ‘Birthday Dish’ for me and my brother since we were little,” she said.

At first glance, the easy comfort food recipe might look like your standard meatloaf with sweet ketchup-based glaze. On closer inspection, you’ll notice it has slight modifications and secret ingredients that take this meatloaf up a notch.

First, Lambert’s mom uses crushed saltine crackers instead of breadcrumbs as the binder. Second, the brown sugar doesn’t just go in the ketchup glaze. Lambert’s mom adds a touch of brown sugar to the actual meatloaf itself for a sweetness throughout. Lastly, and most importantly—Lambert says it’s the secret ingredient—her mom adds pork sausage in addition to ground beef. She uses a 2:1 ratio of ground beef to breakfast sausage to give the meat blend a new, unexpected flavor.

With the 2 pounds of lean ground beef, 1 pound of pork sausage, 18 crushed saltine crackers, and 1/4 cup brown sugar, Lambert’s mom combines 1/2 a diced green bell pepper, 1/2 a finely chopped onion, 2 beaten large eggs, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard. She bakes the meatloaf in a 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven for an hour before topping it with a mixture of 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of ketchup. Once glazed, she bakes it for about 15 minutes—or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C)—then lets it stand 20 minutes before serving. 

It might not be our birthday—or Miranda Lambert’s, for that matter—but we think this comforting meatloaf recipe is suitable for any night of the week. And if this recipe is from the house that built Lambert, then we definitely want in.