Amish Heritage

Amish Meatloaf Recipe

Amish meatloaf with oats is the ultimate comfort food. And there’s nothing quite like having a Sunday dinner, with the whole family gathered around the table, enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal of scalloped potatoes and Amish meatloaf.

There is something beautiful about family being gathered around the table, enjoying each other’s company while enjoying good food. And sadly, this is something that has been lost in today’s society.

Mom’s Old Fashioned Meatloaf for dinner

Growing up, my Amish dad insisted that the family has to gather around the table for three meals a day, if at all possible. Of course, when the kids were in school, they weren’t home for lunch. And when some of the teens started getting jobs outside of the home, they were not there for every meal either. But if we were at home, we had to sit down with the family at mealtime.

Sometimes it really irritated me. If I was out mowing the yard and wanted to quickly finish, I didn’t feel like stopping to go eat. Or there were times I wanted to skip meals because I was trying to lose weight or fasting for some reason. But we still had to sit down with the family, even if we didn’t want to eat. And we always had to wait until everyone was finished eating before we were allowed to leave the table.

This may sound a bit extreme, and it was. But the Amish put a lot of value on that family time together. And honestly, we can take a few lessons from them on this. The traditional home and family have become broken over the last century, and we have a lot more problems in our society because of it.

Gluten-free Meatloaf, Meatloaf without Breadcrumbs

I have tried numerous meatloaf recipes over the years, and there are many good recipes available. Some of them use bread crumbs instead of oats. But my Amish mom always used oats and tomato juice in her meatloaf. And I like that this recipe is gluten-free meatloaf with oats.

It seems like there are a lot of people in our country that are on gluten-free diets because of allergy issues. And they are always looking for gluten-free recipes. So I am quite happy to share with you a delicious gluten-free meatloaf recipe.

Dutch Meatloaf

Growing up on the farm, we always butchered our own cows. So there was always plenty of beef in the freezer. And my mom often served this old-fashioned meatloaf with oats to a large crowd of guests. She formed two large loaves in a big roaster.

You don’t need a loaf pan to bake meatloaf. You can shape a loaf in any size pan, and it keeps its shape. Although I usually bake mine in a loaf pan, because it is the easiest way to make it. But don’t let it stop you from making meatloaf just because you don’t have a loaf pan.

This 2 lb. meatloaf recipe with oatmeal is very easy to make. Just mix all your ingredients, shape it into a loaf, and bake it. Let the meatloaf rest for several minutes after removing it from the oven. Remove the loaf from the pan, cut it into slices and serve.

Venison Meatloaf

You can also make this meatloaf with venison. I don’t have lots of farm-raised beef in the freezer nowadays. But my husband and our son like to deer hunt in the fall. So we usually get to freeze some deer meat, and I am always happy to have some extra meat in the freezer.

Venison does not have a lot of fat, so it is drier. Some people like to add some pork fat to their venison to add moisture. But when I make burgers or meatloaf, I often use a mixture of ground chuck and venison. It’s great to use together, as it balances the fat content.

I hope you enjoy this Amish meatloaf with oats!

More Amish Dinner Recipes, Amish Food

Amish Haystacks Recipe

Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Amish Beef and Noodle Dairy Casserole

Check out my YouTube channel at “My Amish Heritage” where I teach you how to say PA Dutch words and phrases.

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