Recipe: Pepper Jack Turkey Meatloaf

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This is a delicious turkey meatloaf recipe with chunks of melted pepper jack cheese throughout! It uses ground turkey for a much healthier choice!

Meatloaf is one of those foods that you can make in a million different variations.  Beef, turkey, bread crumbs, oats, cheese, ketchup, BBQ sauce, and the list goes on of things you can interchange for different types of meatloaf.

My husband doesn’t typically like meatloaf, but he likes this meatloaf!!  And it’s a turkey meatloaf!  

It is so delicious, and you get these big melted bites of pepper jack sprinkled throughout. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe, and even the meatloaf haters will love it.

I’ve had this recipe a long time – probably over 15 years. (Are you noticing this a theme with me?  Old tattered recipes!)  It was given to me by a friend, and I still use the ragged piece of paper it was originally typed on. (Sign of a great recipe – a tattered one!)  

I promise you it tastes amazing. I can even get my 9-year-old to eat this, and he doesn’t like anything!

Pepper Jack Turkey Meatloaf Ingredients

• 2 lbs of ground turkey
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3/4 Pepper Jack cheese cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup of ketchup (for the topping)

Making the Turkey Meatloaf

To make this, you mix all the ingredients together except the ketchup and the cubes of cheese.

Once it’s all mixed, fold the cubes of cheese in at the very end. 

Put it in a meatloaf pan, and top with the ketchup.

I suggest the meatloaf pan because the top loaf pan has holes that will allow the grease and fat to drain down into the bottom pan. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

Can I Make This Turkey Meatloaf Without Ketchup?

I have a few friends who HATE ketchup and don’t like it on their meatloaf. You CAN make this turkey meatloaf without the ketchup! 

In this dish, the ketchup is just the topping, so it’s an easy swap. Other things you can use as the meatloaf topping:

• barbeque sauce (YUM! – this is my alternative topping of choice!)
• pizza sauce
• marinara sauce
• brown gravy
• can of mushroom soup

I would use a sauce of some sort because it does help the meatloaf from drying out while baking.

What can I serve this turkey meatloaf with?

There is nothing that doesn’t pair well with this turkey meatloaf. Here are a few of my favorite side dishes to serve with this meatloaf:

• mashed potatoes
• stewed potatoes
• corn on the cob
• creamed corn
• sauteed squash and zucchini
• green beans
• roasted broccoli
• roasted asparagus
• cooked carrots

Serve and enjoy! I never find meatloaf to be very appealing on presentation, and this one isn’t much different. However, it tastes amazing!!

Other easy weeknight recipes you might like:

Instant Pot Beef Tips

Simple Taco Soup

Bacon and Sausage Quiche

Interested in making, but no time right now?  Just pin this and save it for later!