So, I recently made a meatball sub inspired by wedding soup flavors. In that post, I considered making a turkey meatloaf with flavors like stuffing and mashed potatoes in it among other weird meatball subs. I like to mix it up with meatloaf. I have done a mushroom one (and a Swiss Mushroom one too actually), a breakfast one, and I do “normal” ones with the ketchup glaze, or A1, or gravy all the time. I think next up is a taco-inspired meatloaf. Maybe. It’s probably fair to call it “white people taco” inspired.

Did you know I like Thanksgiving dinner? I may have a problem. I made some roasted butternut squash along with this, so I cooked it hotter than I normally would… and employed a foil tent for the first half hour. I listened to one of my many Halloween playlists while making dinner today though, not my Thanksgiving one. I do need to get my turkey maze on a T-shirt or apron.

Gobblerloaf!

Turkey Meatloaf with Cranberry-Apple Glaze

🍗

Meatloaf Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. ground turkey
• 1 (6 oz.) box stuffing mix
• Milk (just enough to soak the stuffing.)
• 1 cup finely shredded carrots
• ¾ cup Instant mashed potato flakes
• 2 eggs
• 2 dollops of sour cream
• 1 cup broken-up French fried onions
• Seaonings:
  • 1½ tsp. Poultry seasoning
  • 1 tsp. Season-All
  • 1 tsp. Dash table blend
  • 1 tsp. Onion powder
  • 1 tsp. Paprika
  • 1 tsp. Dried parsley
  • 1 tsp. Minced garlic
  • ½ tsp. Garlic powder
  • ½ tsp. Black pepper

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 (14 oz.) Can jellied cranberry sauce (I used the Aldi brand.)
• 1 (4 oz. cup) Unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. Brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Clover honey
• Seasonings:
  • ½ tsp. Poultry seasoning
  • ½ tsp. Mustard powder
  • ¼ tsp. White pepper
  • ¼ tsp. Onion powder

Meatloaf Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Soak the stuffing mix in milk to soften.
3. In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, soaked stuffing, potato flakes, eggs, shredded carrots, French-fried onions, and all seasonings. Mix until just combined.
4. Divide into two loaves (~1½ lbs. each) and shape onto a parchment lined sheet pan or into loaf pans.
5. Bake at 400° F, tented loosely with foil, for the first ~30 minutes.
6. Remove foil.
7. Continue baking, checking internal temp starting around 45 minutes. Apply glaze in the last 15 minutes or so.
8. Pull loaves once they hit 165° F internal.
9. Rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

Glaze Method:

1. Melt jellied cranberry sauce over medium-low heat.
2. Whisk in applesauce and brown sugar until smooth.
3. Add apple cider vinegar, honey, white pepper, and mustard powder to taste.
4. Simmer until it coats the back of a spoon.

Notes:

• I honestly don’t measure anything unless I’m using whatever came in the box or can. This is a guess. Season until your ancestors tell you to stop.
• I thought about sautéing a mirepoix here instead of just the carrots. Maybe next time? I do that for my stuffing, and it adds so much.
• I used something that’s somewhere between cheese-grater and lemon-zester so my shredded carrots were TINY.
• I normally may cook meatloaf at a lower temperature, but I was cooking butternut squash at the same time, popped on to the top rack.
• I also served this with canned green beans (hit with butter & onion-powder), instant potatoes (mixed THICC), and some turkey gravy from a packet so everyone had their choice of glaze, gravy, GTFO, or both.
• I put my beef meatloaves on top of bread to prevent burning and soak up grease, but there was hardly any fat here. I could have skipped it & let the parchment paper do its thing.
• I don’t like the cranberry sauce with whole (or mushed) cranberries, and neither does my diverticulitis… but, if you do, I’m gonna guess that would work well here too.
• In the name of mad science, should I include squash, green beans, and/or cranberry sauce IN the loaf next time?
• If you don’t have poultry seasoning, use sage, thyme, & rosemary.

Apologies for the absolutely atrocious photo, but I was hungry.

This might be a cool thing for a second holiday gathering, a small gathering, or in June when you want a turkey dinner. I have some Thanksgiving mazes you can solve too. Maybe skip the ground beef one, unless you wanna just get the book (it even made the cover!).

Really though, if you’re here, you gotta make these Thanksgiving sliders some time too. Should I make a thanksgiving dinner meatball sub with gravy to dip it in?

Hit me up in the comments with your thoughts, concerns, questions, tips, or tricks! Do you make one like this? What kind of themed meatloaf do you make?