Plowing Through Life

Best Taco Meatloaf

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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

7 mini taco meatloaves on plate and baking pan

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Easy Taco Meatloaf

This recipe for taco meatloaf or Mexican meatloaf is so easy to make.  Everyone always clears their plates!  Just mix up ground pork, ground beef, a 10-ounce bag of Doritos, salsa, cheese, taco seasoning, and eggs.

We like to form the mixture into serving size mini meatloaves in our hands.   Topping each mini meatloaf with more salsa and cheese helps keep them extra moist.  Bake at 350º 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 160º 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.

Our family’s traditional meatloaf is Farmhouse Meatloaf, sometimes it’s easier to use a slow cooker so we make our super moist Slow Cooker Applesauce Meatloaf or Crock Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf.  They are all very good meatloaf recipes!

collage Best Taco Meatloaf covered in salsa and cheese and plated next to green beans

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

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Mix meatloaf ingredients well and shape into mini loaves with your hands
  3. Top with salsa and cheese
  4. 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 Mini 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

Mini taco meatloaves covered in salsa and cheese on a foil covered baking sheet

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Printable Recipe for the Best Taco Meatloaf

mini taco meatloaf on a foil covered baking pan
4.67 from 6 votes
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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

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Best Taco Meatloaf, mexi meatloaf, taco meat pie
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 491 kcal
Author Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life

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

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cover baking sheet with foil. 

  2. Mix meatloaf ingredients well. Shape into loaves the desired size with your hands.

  3. 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

collage of steps on how to make the best taco meatloaf

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Since 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.

      Reply

    • 4 stars
      The mixture will be thoroughly cooked so it won’t matter. You put bread crumbs, cracker crumbs or oatmeal in regular meatloaf.

      Reply

    • We 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 🙂

      Reply

  5. One 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!

    Reply

  8. After 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

    Reply

  9. We 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!!!

    Reply

  10. 5 stars
    Update. 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!

    Reply

    • We have cooked these and frozen extras to be reheated later. This works well for us. Always be sure to follow safe food handling procedures!

      Reply

  12. 5 stars
    Do 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.

    Reply

    • Yes! 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!

      Reply

      • This 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.

        Reply

        • Yes! 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.

          Reply

    • 5 stars
      It 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!!

      Reply

  13. This recipe is great! I don’t bake with the salsa and cheese on top and put the burger in a tortilla with refried beans and salsa and cheese and wrap the tortilla around them and grill them. My family loves them! Especially with tater tots and salad!

    Reply

  16. 4 stars
    It 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!!

    Reply

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