You know, the thing about momma is she’ll never let you go hungry. You stop by really quickly to say hello, she’ll be sure to fix you up something to snack on. You come over to help her in the garden, you’ll show up to freshly baked cookies. She insists you stay for dinner, and she’ll whip up a feast with her famous Momma’s Meatloaf Casserole as the star. That last one is the best-case scenario, for sure. She feels pure joy as we sit around the table together digging our forks into her hearty, meaty, mash-potato-topped masterpiece… and honestly, we do too. There’s nothing better than spending time with that dear gal and it’s an added bonus that her food is always tasty, too. Make your own memories with Momma’s Meatloaf Casserole! It would bring her so much joy to know that others enjoy it just as much as we do!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch-thick cubes
- cold water, to taste
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- 1/4 cup chives, freshly chopped
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3/4 cup green pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- fresh parsley, optional, to taste, for garnish
Directions
Step 1 –In a medium pot over high heat, add the potatoes and cover with the cold water.
Step 2 –Cover the pot with the lid and bring the potatoes to a boil.
Step 3 –Remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the potatoes until they are tender, about 15 minutes.
Step 4 –Strain the potatoes and return them to the pot.
Step 5 –Mash the potatoes until smooth.
Step 6 –Stir the half-and-half, the butter, 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 clove of the garlic, and the chives into the mashed potatoes until fully combined.
Step 7 –Stir the egg yolks into the mashed potato mixture until completely incorporated.
Step 8 –Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 9 –In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it is shimmering.
Step 10 –Add the remaining garlic cloves, the onion, the bell pepper, and the celery to the oil and sauté over medium-high until they are completely soft, about 8 minutes.
Step 11 –Add the ground beef to the veggie mixture and cook, while crumbling the meat, until it is no longer pink, about 7-10 minutes.
Step 12 –Add the remaining salt, the tomato sauce, the breadcrumbs, the Worcestershire sauce, and the tomato paste to the beef mixture and stir to combine.
Step 13 –Evenly spread the meat filling into a 2-1/2-quart casserole dish.
Step 14 –Top the meat mixture with the mashed potato mixture and carefully spread it over the entire surface.
Step 15 –Bake the meatloaf casserole until heated through, about 25 minutes.
Step 16 –Serve the meatloaf casserole garnished with the parsley.
