Hey! Did you know you can make slow cooker meatloaf? It’s true! You can make meatloaf in the crockpot. Why would you do that? Well, sometimes you just don’t want to turn your oven on (think summertime). Or maybe you just need to make food ahead of time instead of right at dinner time. Or maybe you need some cushion on when you actually eat dinner and turning the slow cooker on gives you that cushion because even if you’re a half hour late the food isn’t going to burn in the slow cooker like it would in the oven! There’s so many reasons to use your slow cooker.
Save this recipe for later on Pinterest!
I used ground turkey for this meatloaf, but you can use a lean ground beef if you prefer. I just mix the ground turkey with a few ingredients and shape it and put it into a bread pan. If you’re using a 6 quart oval slow cooker (the most common size) a bread pan should fit right in there. Then I turn the slow cooker on and forget it about it for several hours!
Save this recipe for later on Pinterest!
When I made this meatloaf I used a separate slow cooker to make baked potatoes. Making baked potatoes in the slow cooker is simple. Just wrap the potatoes in foil and put them in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours on low.
Thanks for stopping by! Do you love crockpot recipes? Wish you had more good ones that your family would actually eat? Get all my new recipes delivered to your email inbox by signing up here. I usually send out 1-2 new recipes per week. And you can unsubscribe at any time. This is a free service! Try it out. You’ll eat better and be more inspired to make family dinner happen at your house.
Slow Cooker Homestyle Ground Turkey (or Beef) Meatloaf
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
An easy recipe for slow cooker ground turkey meatloaf. A traditional dinner that everyone loves!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey (or lean ground beef)
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
- 1/2 cup diced onion or 2 Tbsp dried onion
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- BBQ sauce
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the turkey, tomato sauce, oatmeal, onion, salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix well.
- Shape the mixture and place in a bread loaf pan.
- Place the pan inside your 6 quart oval slow cooker .
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for about 6 hours.
- Brush the top of the meatloaf with some bbq sauce and then place in the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes. This step just makes it look a lot more appetizing and browns up the top a bit!
Notes
To make gluten free: Oats do not naturally contain gluten but are often cross contaminated in the fields they’re grown in. Be sure to use certified gluten-free quick oats. Bobs Red Mill is a common brand.
Want more slow cooker recipes that use ground turkey? Here are 16 recipes that use ground turkey in the slow cooker!
Lou says
I’m making this today. I used my regular meatloaf recipe but all I had was 97% lean ground beef. I hoping that putting it in the crockpot will help from it being to tough as I always use ground chuck instead.
Karen says
I hope you like it!
Mary says
can you double the meat part?? Your recipes are awesome!!!!
Karen says
Yep you can!
Allison says
Would it be necessary to put water under the pan in the slow cooker (water bath), would this make it moister perhaps?
Judith says
Love this recipe. Would you think it would make patties and cook on the base of an air fryer pan?
Karen says
Hi Judith, I’m not familiar enough with the air fryer to know the answer to that! I would give it a try and see how it goes!
Melissa says
My metal loaf pan will not fit into the liner of my slow cooker. Is it ok to use disposable aluminum loaf pans in a slow cooker?
Karen says
Yep!
Kathy says
I like it since I have everything in my pantry. Will mash the potatoes, put a salad together and th here is dinner! Cant wait!
Karen says
Hope you like it Kathy!
April says
Today will make the third time I’ve used this recipe. I love how easy the clean-up is from making it in a loaf pan. Thanks for the great idea!
renee says
can i use bell pepper and egg and , ketchup instead of tomato sauce. ketchup and brown sugar on top.
Karen says
I’m sure you could! And I bet it would taste great.
Katen says
Do you need to put water in the bottom of the crock pot?
Karen says
No you don’t need to.
Mary says
Do I absolutely HAVE to use quick cook oatmeal? Or would bread crumbs work fine..?
Karen says
Breadcrumbs work great!
Tina says
I am so excited to hear I can use the crockpot! I have a question, I usually use 2 pounds ground turkey for my meatloaf for plenty of leftovers, how long should I cook this size loaf on low & on high???
Karen says
Hi Tina, I would say low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. Good luck!
Kelsey says
So this will work If you don’t have a loaf pan and just place it in the actual crockpot as long as it’s lined with tin foil?
Karen says
Yes I believe that would work just fine.
Ashleigh says
my loaf pan fits, but snuggly against the inside walls of my crock pot…it does not touch the bottom of the crock pot… is this going to work?
Thanks, I want to make this so much, its simple and sound lovely.
Karen says
yes that will work great!
Samantha says
If I cooked this in the oven instead of the crockpot, what temperature would I put it on and for how long?
Karen says
oh probably at 350 for an hour! good luck 🙂
Madelon says
I always use pesto sauce in my turkey meatloaf. Think it would be good in crockpot? I mean it should still taste the same…maybe better?? Any advise?
Karen says
I bet it would be amazing! What a great idea 🙂
Karen says
Can I put a glass loaf pan in my crockpot?
Karen says
yep!
lisa wilson says
i made this in the oven. At the end i put the broiler on put the bbq sauce on it. It was good.next time i am going to try it with salsa instead of bbq sauce.
Karen says
Oh yes, salsa would be so good!
terry says
make a round meatloaf line your pot with foil and cook then grab the foil and pull the loaf out of the pot
Karen says
awesome tip! Thanks Terry!
Kaylee says
so this would work if I line the pot with foil for the entire time it cooks?
Karen says
Yep, great idea!
Elaine Williams says
Kaylee – thank you. You just gave me an idea. I have a loaf pan and did not want to have to purchase a bread pan so that it would fit into my 6 qt. crock pot. I think what I’ll do now is line my loaf pan with foil, put the raw meat loaf in and then lift it out of the loaf pan and put it in the crockpot. Essentially using the foil as my loaf pan.
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen says
This is SO intriguing, Karen! I have a smaller, round slow cooker, so I’m not sure I’d be able to pull this off, but I’m loving it!
Karen says
Maybe you could make a mini meatloaf!
Liz says
Yum – thank you and have a good weekend!
Karen says
you too, Liz!