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Warming Winter Meals: Italian Chicken Meatloaf

March 2, 2014 By Lena

As a young girl, and the daughter of immigrant parents, I didn’t grow up with the “traditional” Canadian comfort foods like macaroni and cheese, chicken noodle soup, or – everyone’s favourite – meatloaf. Instead, I stared at my plate of curried chicken and rice with dismay, dreaming about the wonderful taste sensations that were advertised as electric orange pasta in a box.

Years later, as an adult, I learned how to buy chicken noodle soup in a can and make the said electric orange pasta. And then, I craved my mom’s spicy, homemade curried chicken with unmatched longing and nostalgia. Who knew – I grew up with comfort foods after all.

However, there’s one comfort food I missed out on – warm, dense, perfectly moist meatloaf. How I love meatloaf! One of the easiest made-from-scratch meals you can serve your family, it’s my favourite go-to dish when I want minimal fuss and maximum comfort factor. And for a meal my whole family gobbles up (especially the boys!) I always make my Italian Chicken Meatloaf, featuring Maple Leaf Prime Naturally Extra Lean Ground Chicken.

This recipe yields a moist, delicious meatloaf without all the fat and calories of a traditional ground beef loaf. I like to serve it with additional warmed tomato sauce, however, it’s great on its own or thinly sliced for sandwiches too. Best of all, it freezes beautifully.

INGREDIENTS

2 lb Maple Leaf Prime Naturally Extra Lean Ground Chicken
2 eggs
1/2 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp each salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of your favorite tomato or pasta sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, eggs, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Place the combined mixture into your prepared loaf pan. Evenly spread pasta sauce on top of the loaf and bake in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.

Remove meatloaf from oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 6-8.

For more delicious winter warming meals, visit Maple Leaf Prime on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. 

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: easy meal ideas, Maple Leaf Prime Naturally, recipes, Warming Winter Meals

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Victoria Ess

    March 2, 2014 at 2:00 pm

    This sounds really good! I love how simple your recipe is and I’ve also never tried to make meat loaf with chicken instead of beef. We love meatloaf though, so I will be trying this I’m sure.

    • Lena

      March 2, 2014 at 3:40 pm

      Thanks Victoria! I call this an “un-recipe” because really, it’s just basic Italian flavourings, Still, turns out perfectly every time!

  2. Flora M

    March 2, 2014 at 2:08 pm

    OK – now my tummy is starting to rumble – sounds yummy ! Going to put this in my recipe folder for sure :)

    • Lena

      March 2, 2014 at 3:40 pm

      Please do – I really think you’ll like it!

  3. Guppy5700

    March 2, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    Looks yummy! I have never ventured beyond the traditional beef meatloaf but I really should!

    • Lena

      March 2, 2014 at 3:41 pm

      Of course you should! Ground chicken is amazing in meat loaf… and better for you too!

  4. MrDisco

    March 2, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    that looks yummy

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 7:31 am

      Give it a try, Mr Disco!

  5. jaimeem

    March 2, 2014 at 6:09 pm

    Sad truth : Ive never attempted any sort of meatloaf

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 7:32 am

      Oh no! It’s like the easiest thing in the world to make!

  6. Heidi C.

    March 3, 2014 at 12:46 am

    This sounds yummy! Parm, garlic, cheese…Heaven!

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 7:36 am

      I agree! This taste combination never fails!

  7. Lynda Cook

    March 3, 2014 at 8:41 am

    Thanks for sharing this Lena, it looks very good and something different for me to make instead of beef all the time, I have everything but the grnd. chicken, going to go get me some and surprise the family, I just can’t tell them what it is or they won’t eat it..lol

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 7:36 am

      LOL – How did turn out, Lynda?

  8. Teena in Toronto

    March 3, 2014 at 9:01 am

    That looks delicious! I’m not a fan of Parm so I’d leave it out.

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 7:54 am

      You can absolutely leave it out! And I’m going to try this recipe again with incorporating mozzarella into the loaf to make it extra cheesy – I’m hoping it will turn out great!

  9. francine

    March 3, 2014 at 10:56 am

    this sounds great (after tweaking the recipe to remove the veggies I don’t like.) I never would have thought to use ground chicken. we usually buy ground beef or boneless skinless chicken breast for meals but I have never even tried ground chicken.

    • jaimeem

      March 3, 2014 at 11:40 am

      Me either, her recipes always sound and look soooo good!

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 7:56 am

      Ground chicken is yummy! And when you ladle tomato sauce over a slice of this meatloaf, it tastes exactly like chicken parmigiana!

  10. Marissa

    March 3, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    Yummy! I have all the ingredients on hand and I’m going to make it for dinner tonight! Thanks for sharing.

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 8:15 am

      Perfect! Let me know what you think, Marissa!

  11. Chandra Christine O'Connor

    March 4, 2014 at 3:25 pm

    Im not a meatloaf liker but this one with the chicken sounds yummy

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 8:18 am

      Maybe I can convert you Chandra? :)

  12. Stephanie LaPlante

    March 4, 2014 at 6:04 pm

    Meatloaf with chicken? I totally want to try it.

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 8:18 am

      Please do Stephanie!

  13. MrDisco

    March 4, 2014 at 11:37 pm

    I wonder what the addition of Bacon would do to the dish

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 8:30 am

      I think it would probably make it delicious as heck :)

  14. Tricha

    March 5, 2014 at 9:49 am

    This looks good. My kids have a hard time trying new things and I have never made meat loaf for them but I would try this.

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 8:31 am

      Please do Tricha! Both my kids like it smothered with tomato sauce.

  15. Judy C (Judy Cowan)

    March 5, 2014 at 10:04 am

    Really sounds good. I have some ground turkey in the freezer so I might substitute this and make this up dinner one night this week!

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 8:31 am

      Awesome! I haven’t tried it with turkey but certainly would!

  16. Melinda L.

    March 5, 2014 at 10:15 am

    Mmmm that looks delicious and easy to make

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 8:31 am

      Both true statements!

  17. loriag

    March 6, 2014 at 9:30 pm

    I didn’t grow up eating meat loaf, but now as an adult love it. I have been looking for a good recipe, I shall give it a try.

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 8:34 am

      Please do Lori! it’s a great change from ground beef!

  18. Lena

    March 7, 2014 at 7:35 am

    Ah… maybe we can make it happen next week :)

  19. Cheryl Grandy

    March 7, 2014 at 1:17 pm

    I love meatloaf, but have never made chicken meatloaf. This looks delicious! I’ve pinned the recipe so I can try it. Thanks.

    • Lena

      March 7, 2014 at 9:59 pm

      Thank you Cheryl, enjoy!

  20. Leigh-Ann Murphy

    March 8, 2014 at 9:26 pm

    This looks delicious, we are huge meatloaf lovers but never thought of a chicken meatloaf. Adding it to grocery list for this week. Thank you!

    • Lena

      March 16, 2014 at 4:25 pm

      You’re welcome Leigh-Ann, enjoy!

  21. Rick F

    March 9, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    This looks so good!!

    • Lena

      March 16, 2014 at 4:25 pm

      Thanks Rick! Please try it!

  22. Jen Conlin

    March 9, 2014 at 8:03 pm

    This is what is for dinner tonight with Garlic Mashed and salad! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

    • Lena

      March 16, 2014 at 4:26 pm

      Awesome! How did you like it Jen?

  23. Florence C

    March 29, 2014 at 12:47 pm

    Thank you Lena for posting. I made this last evening for supper. It was a winner for me and my husband. Went nicely with my veggies of turnip, carrot, sweet potato and broccoli.

  24. Susan T.

    April 21, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    I have actually never had meatloaf because I don’t eat much beef so this is a great alternative!

  25. Treen Goodwin

    May 29, 2014 at 10:46 am

    This sounds awesome , will have to try it out and see what its like ,, thanks for sharing :)

  26. Debbie White Beattie

    July 2, 2018 at 4:14 am

    Your recipe looks delicious and it’s nice to see something different in a meatloaf by using chicken instead of beef

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Lena Almeida

Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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