We love meatloaf and tacos, so when a friend gave us this recipe for the Best Taco Meatloaf we couldn’t wait to try it. This easy meatloaf will be a regular meal on our menu because it’s so good! #besttaco #meatloaf
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Easy Taco Meatloaf
This recipe is so easy to make. Just mix up ground pork, ground beef, a 10-ounce bag of Doritos, salsa, cheese, taco seasoning, and eggs. We formed the mixture into serving size mini meatloaves. Topping the meatloaves with more salsa and cheese helps keep them extra moist. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, but be sure to use a meat thermometer.
Since meatloaves can vary in size using a meat thermometer to determine doneness is very important! We don’t guess or look at color with ground meat, we always use a digital meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F for an internal temperature.
We love that this recipe makes enough for us to have a couple more meals throughout the week! Another individual meatloaf variation we have is the Best Pizza Meatloaf.
Should I Buy Meat at the Grocery Store?
As I’ve shared we are farmers. We raise pigs and cows and my in-laws raise pig and turkeys. We always have plenty of our own beef in the freezer so that’s where we got the ground beef for this recipe. While we raise pigs we usually buy our pork at the grocery store because there’s only a set amount of bacon, ham and pork chops on each pig. Sometimes we want more or less of a certain cut of pork and with limited freezer space, it usually makes sense for us to pick up the pork we want when it’s on sale. So we bought the ground pork at Kroger.
I know that pigs from both sides of our families are sold to packing plants that eventually sell their meat to Kroger. So we do support our own family and families all across the United States just like ours when we buy meat at the grocery store.
How to Make Taco Meatloaf
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Mix meatloaf ingredients well and shape into mini loaves with your hands
- Top with salsa and cheese
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until internal temperature is 160ºF
What is Needed to Make Taco Meatloaf?
- Lean ground pork
- Lean ground beef
- Taco seasoning
- Doritos
- Eggs
- Shredded Mexican blend cheese
- Salsa
Tips for Making Taco Meatloaf
- Crush Doritos into fairly small pieces to make mixing easier
- Shape meatloaves equal sizes so they cook evenly
- Use a digital meat thermometer inserted in the center of meatloaves to ensure internal temperature reads 160ºF
- Meatloaves can be topped with salsa and cheese at the beginning of baking time OR part way through baking time to prevent cheese from burning
- Leftovers reheat well in the microwave
- Meatloaves freeze well in an airtight container or freezer bag
Other Delicious Recipes with Meat:
- Applesauce Meatballs
- Farmhouse Meatloaf
- No Peek Pork Country Style Ribs in the Crock Pot
- Farmhouse Crock Pot Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Loaded Lasagna
- Crock Pot Stew Meat & Mushrooms in Wine Sauce
Easy Desserts to Serve with Dinner:
- 5 Ingredient Chocolate & Peanut Butter Bars
- Best Rich & Moist Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake
- Peanut Butter Caramel Bars
- The Best Cake Recipe
- Milky Way Cake
Printable Recipe for the Best Taco Meatloaf
Best Taco Meatloaf
We love meatloaf and tacos, so when a friend gave us this recipe for the Best Taco Meatloaf we couldn't wait to try it. This easy meatloaf will be a regular meal on our menu because it's so good! #besttaco #meatloaf
Ingredients
Mini Meatloaves
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound lean ground pork
- 1 package taco seasoning
- 1 bag crushed Doritos 12 ounces
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 16 ounces salsa
Meatloaf Topping
- 8 ounces salsa
- 1 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover baking sheet with foil.
-
Mix meatloaf ingredients well. Shape into loaves the desired size with your hands.
-
Top with salsa and remaining cheese. Bake until internal temperature is 160 degrees F.
*We made 7 mini meat loaves and they reached 160 degrees internal temp in 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
- Crush Doritos into fairly small pieces to make mixing easier
- Shape meatloaves equal sizes so they cook evenly
- Use a digital meat thermometer inserted in the center of meatloaves to ensure internal temperature reads 160ºF
- Meatloaves can be topped with salsa and cheese at the beginning of baking time OR part way through baking time to prevent cheese from burning
- Leftovers reheat well in the microwave
- Meatloaves freeze well in an airtight container or freezer bag
Shared on Weekend Potluck and Meal Plan Monday
Whitney Terry
December 3, 2018 at 10:47 amDo you think I could half this recipe if I don’t have one or the other meat? It looks yummy!
Jennifer
December 3, 2018 at 1:26 pmAbsolutely! The flavor would change slightly, but I think it will still be delicious! And yes, this is a big recipe. I hope you enjoy 🙂
Brandy Lea
January 13, 2019 at 10:24 amSpanish Rice and any vegetable would be great!
Amber
December 7, 2018 at 1:35 amCan you use just hamburger and no pork?
Jennifer
December 8, 2018 at 1:41 amSure! The flavor will likely change a little bit, but I’m sure it will still taste good 🙂
Kelly
December 13, 2018 at 5:00 amIs it ok for the chips to be in raw egg and meat?
Jennifer
December 13, 2018 at 2:08 pmSince it is ground meat be sure to use a meat thermometer and follow all food safety guidelines. We cook ground beef and ground pork to 160 degrees F, internal temperature.
Martha
January 14, 2019 at 5:01 pmThe mixture will be thoroughly cooked so it won’t matter. You put bread crumbs, cracker crumbs or oatmeal in regular meatloaf.
Whitney
December 17, 2018 at 11:11 pmWhat would be a good side?
Jennifer
December 18, 2018 at 2:41 pmWe love to use a frozen bag of steamable vegetables. Italian style green beans are our favorite, but sometimes we just use what we have on hand 🙂
Mary
January 10, 2019 at 10:00 pmOne word…..yum!!! Thanks for sharing your meatloaf with all of us at Weekend Potluck, Jennifer! Hope to see you tomorrow, sharing more of your delicious recipes!
Jennifer
January 11, 2019 at 11:56 amThank you so much! Yeah!!! We love this recipe and hope others will too!
CHERYL DONNELLY
January 11, 2019 at 7:53 pmThanks for this recipe. My family loved it and you made me look good! THANK YOU.
Patty
January 12, 2019 at 5:51 pmIs there something else I can use instead of chips or will it work without them? Gotta stay away from carbs
Jennifer
March 6, 2019 at 5:17 pmGreat question! I haven’t tested other options, but if you do please let me know how it turns out!
Janel
January 15, 2019 at 6:25 pmAfter I have tried a new recipe, I ask my husband if it is a “keeper.” Today I tried this delicious recipe and he said it is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing it with us
Robin
February 18, 2019 at 11:40 pmWe are doing low xarb,and this recipe sounds delicious! I am wondering how many ounces/cup would the crushed Dorito equal, as I would like to replace those with crushed pork rinds to make this a low carb meal? I can’t wait to try it!!!
Robin
February 20, 2019 at 3:40 pmUpdate. This was ABSOLUTELY delicious!!! I made 2 changes, since hubby & I are doing low carb eating I substituted pork rind planko (2 cups) for the Doritos, and rather than small “loaves” I used my muffin tins. The recipe made 26 Taco Meatloaf Muffins. Will definitely make again, so good!
Judy Ruffing
March 18, 2019 at 11:58 pmI was wondering if these could be froze?
Jennifer
March 19, 2019 at 12:14 amWe have cooked these and frozen extras to be reheated later. This works well for us. Always be sure to follow safe food handling procedures!
Jeanenne
June 2, 2019 at 7:08 pmDo I put 16 Oz of salsa in the meat loaf mix and 8 Oz of cheese in the meat loaf mix? Then do I put 8 ounces of salsa and 8 ounces of cheese on top? It’s probably me, but I don’t quite understand the directions. Got all the ingredients and am excited to make this. Can’t wait to make it! Thank you.
Jennifer
June 3, 2019 at 1:52 amYes! You got it exactly right! The meatloaf ingredients are listed first, mix all of them together and shape as desired. Then top with the salsa and wait until almost done baking to add cheese to prevent burning. I hope you enjoy!
Teresa
July 4, 2019 at 2:48 amThis recipe sounds pretty easy and looks really good!! I like the small, almost meatball looking meatloaves. Can I use pepperjack cheese instead of cheddar or fiesta cheese? I didn’t know if it melts differently than other cheese. Thank you in advance.
Jennifer
July 4, 2019 at 12:43 pmYes! Feel free to try different cheeses. We’ve found that lighter colored cheeses burn more easily and it’s better to put them on for the last ten minutes of baking to allow just enough time for them to melt.
Jeanenne
June 4, 2019 at 7:39 pmIt was me!!!! Brain fog!!! You were very explicit re directions. Thanks so much for replying so soon!! My granddaughter is going to love this recipe!!
Jennifer
January 11, 2019 at 12:49 pmThank you so much! Yeah!!! We love this recipe and hope others will too!
Jennifer
January 11, 2019 at 12:49 pmThank you so much! Yeah!!! We love this recipe and hope others will too!
Teresa
July 10, 2019 at 4:53 amIt definitely turned out waaaaay better than I thought it would!! My only complaint is I had soooo many little meatloaves., but, as I was typing this, I think I had more than one pound of pork. Hehe!! I’ve never bought ground pork before, and our store didn’t have any real selections of it, So, the only
“bad” thing is we’ve got more leftovers. HAHA!! We made it with homemade salsa instead of the kind in the jar, which I think helped it taste so good. It didn’t look pretty when I was cooking it,but was SUPER GOOD!!