Cranberry Turkey Meatloaf
This Cranberry Turkey Meatloaf is a Thanksgiving Meatloaf with Cranberries, Mushrooms, Pecans and Cranberry Glaze. Serve with a cavatappi mac and cheese, jalapeño cranberry sauce, and your other favorite Thanksgiving sides!
Read on to learn how to make my favorite homemade cranberry sauce and all the tips and tricks for making meatloaf recipes. Or just grab your meatloaf pan, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make turkey cranberry meatloaf!
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Ingredients
The starting formula for how to make meatloaf and meatballs is a pound of ground meat plus one egg plus one half cup of breadcrumbs or equivalent. It’s the spices and fillings that give your turkey meatloaf its character. This cranberry turkey meatloaf with has:
- Ground turkey – pick the least lean option you can. This will give you more flavor in this turkey meatloaf or turkey meatball Stroganoff recipes.
- Mushrooms – cremini or white button mushrooms are best.
Meatloaf pans
The best meatloaf pans are 9 inch by 5 inch pans with an insert with holes that allows the fat to drip away from the meatloaf. This is the pan that I have used for years. It isn’t critical to use a meatloaf pan, especially with a turkey meatloaf, but I would recommend buying one if you make a lot of meatloaf.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- Use ground chicken in place of ground turkey.
- Use gluten-free panko or other breadcrumbs.
- Make cranberry sauce from dried cranberries.
Recipe tips and tricks
Making the cranberry glaze
There is nothing complicated about making this cranberry glazed turkey meatloaf recipe. It starts off with some basic homemade cranberry sauce.
I combine fresh cranberries, the zest and juice of an orange, and a small amount of sugar to create the cranberry glaze for this recipe. You only need to add water if your juice doesn’t cover the bottom of the pan.
Note: if you can’t find fresh cranberries, you can still make cranberry sauce. Check out my recipe for making cranberry sauce from dried cranberriesj.
When I make cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, I often add a bit more sugar and some cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Here, I’ve kept the ingredients for the glaze simple. You’ll just want to make sure to mash the cooked berries.
After glazing this meatloaf, I’d recommend serving this cranberry glaze thinned and warmed with a tablespoon or more of balsamic vinegar. That makes it more ketchup than jam.
Making the turkey meatloaf
While some meatloaves can be thrown together and baked immediately, this recipe requires a bit of pre-cooking. Cooking the onions and mushrooms gets rid of the raw onion taste and reduces the water in the mushrooms so the meatloaf holds together better. You can roast and then chop the garlic separately if you prefer.
Add the vegetables and the rest of the ingredients, all chopped small, to a large bowl. Don’t skip the step of toasting the nuts, which really brings out their flavor.
I always toast nuts, whether I’m adding pine nuts to my pumpkin couscous salad or using toasted walnuts in my coffee walnut loaf cake. I promise that once you start toasting nuts, you won’t go back.
Mix everything together except for the egg and turkey. And then incorporate those with your hands. There’s no need to knead. Your goal is just to make sure that everything is mixed together.
Form the turkey meatloaf in your meatloaf pan or shape it into a loaf in a cast iron pan. Bake for about 40 minutes until the internal temperature of the meatloaf is 160°F.
Add about ¼ cup of the cranberry glaze to the top of the meatloaf and continue cooking for about 5 to 10 more minutes, until the turkey is cooked to 165°F. Remove the turkey meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes for easier slicing.
What to serve with this turkey meatloaf
I would take my cues from Thanksgiving turkey for meatloaf sides for this recipe. Think mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, or these Thanksgiving sides:
- Mashed purple sweet potatoes.
- Maple roasted Brussels sprouts.
- A fall salad like this feta kale salad or arugula pear salad.
- If we’re keeping to the Thanksgiving theme, I’d pick a light-bodied red like Beaujolais or an inexpensive Pinot Noir.
Recipe FAQs
Unlike my taco meatloaf, which really tastes like taco, this cranberry turkey meatloaf won’t fool you into thinking that you’re eating turkey dinner. But it’s better for you than an average meatloaf due to the ground turkey. And, if you add some good meatloaf sides, well, that’s the best part of Thanksgiving anyway. Except for the apple pie, of course.
Meatloaf can be stored in the refrigerator for three to five days. Meatloaf also freezes very well. Just slice it before freezing, wrap it well, and put it in a freezer bag. Reheat it in the oven in a foil-covered pan.
Related meatball and meatloaf recipes
Check out other recipes for burgers, meatloaves, and meatballs like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Cranberry, Pecan, and Mushroom Turkey Meatloaf
Equipment
- Meatloaf pan or cast iron pan
Ingredients
Cranberry glaze
- 1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
- 1 orange, zested and juiced
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
Turkey meatloaf
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 cremini or button mushrooms, chopped
- ¼ cup yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped or one teaspoon dried sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or one teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
- ½ cup panko
- ¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
Cranberry glaze
- Put the berries, orange zest, orange juice and sugar into a medium pot. Add water, if needed, to cover the bottom of the pot.1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries, 1 orange, zested and juiced, ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- Heat the berries over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries have popped and the liquid has started to thicken.
- Remove the pan from the heat and mash the berries.
- Transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl to cool.
Turkey meatloaf
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-low heat.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.8 cremini or button mushrooms, chopped, ¼ cup yellow onion, chopped
- Add the garlic, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook for one more minute.2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Remove the pan from the heat and let cool while starting while putting together the other meatloaf ingredients.
- Add all of the meatloaf ingredients except for the turkey and egg to a large bowl and mix with a spoon.½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped, ½ cup panko, ¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped, ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- Add the turkey and egg and use your hands to lightly combine until mixed.1 pound ground turkey, 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- Form the meatloaf in the meatloaf pan or shape it into a loaf in a cast iron pan.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until the internal temperature of the meatloaf is 160°F.
- Add about ¼ cup of the cranberry glaze to the top of the meatloaf and continue cooking for about 5 to 10 more minutes, until the meatloaf is 165°F.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes for easier slicing. Serve with additional cranberry sauce as is or combined with a bit of balsamic vinegar (see note).
Notes
Nutrition
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