I freaking LOVE my air fryer. Love it so damn much. Did you get one from Christmas or whatever mid-winter holiday you celebrate? Based on how many photos I’ve been tagged in lately, all people really received was air fryer and instant pots. So many instant pots. Well if you didn’t receive an air fryer this year and you’re still on the fence, just know that I’ll be sharing more air fryer recipes in the future. So far I have –
- Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp with Sriracha Dipping Sauce
- Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Air Fryer Potatoes
- Air Fryer Bacon Brussels Sprouts (video!)
And now meatloaf. And sure, you can make this in the oven but it will be no where near like the air fryer version. This version makes the bacon extra crispy on the outside while discarding the excess fat from the bacon, without leaving it dry.
If you’re still not sold on an air fryer, I totally get that. And it’s fair to be hesitant. I’ve shared this list before on other posts, but I’m going to share it again. It’s my air fryer pros and cons list. Let’s start with the cons because I’m much more of a pessimist –
- Do you absolutely need one? Not really. You can fry or bake things instead.
- Do they take up a lot of room? Hell yes they do. I have the 6qt size and it’s massive.
- Do you need to use less fat when it comes to cooking with the air fryer? Yes, a bit less. But I’ve also only fried one thing in my life so I’m probably not the best person to ask. I wasn’t born in a place that thinks deep frying is a way of life. Nor do I love fried food much.
But here’s the reason I love my air fryer –
- I don’t have to heat up the house with the oven in the summer time.
- I don’t have to wait for the oven to pre-heat.
- I don’t have to dirty my oven when cooking chicken wings.
- My house doesn’t smoke up like it does with the oven sometimes (because the chicken wings made it so damn dirty).
- I can cook meat and veggies faster than in the oven.
- I can get brussels sprouts crispier than the oven.
I think the pros outweigh the cons, personally. My main complaint is how big it is. I have a medium-size kitchen and I have to store it on its side in one of our drawers. Which makes it a little hard to get out daily, but that’s my only complaint.
Other than that, I love it. Breakfast potatoes in it are crispy perfection. Even better than what you can make in an oven. Does it compare to a deep fryer? Doubtful. I’ve never used a deep fryer because who TF has room for that in their kitchen unless they are Paula Dean? I miss Paula Dean. I know she said dumb racist things that she can’t really ever come back from, but I miss her annoyingly loud laugh and outrageously bad-for-you food. Giada just isn’t the same. Don’t get me wrong, Giada has some delicious looking food and great boobs, but her laugh doesn’t burn your ears like Paula’s. That got very off track. Anywho, go try this. You’re going to LOVE it!
Air Fryer Meatloaf
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound thick cut bacon
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 egg*
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2–3 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees.
- Mix together meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl with clean hands until completely combined. Then whisk together sauce ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside.
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Line a 9×5 loaf pan with slightly overlapping strips of bacon. Place the meatloaf mixture on top of the bacon then wrap the strips around the meat to completely surround the meatloaf. Then tip the pan over the remove the meatloaf.
- Place the meatloaf in the air fryer. I put mine at a diagonal to fit. Turn oven heat up to 350 degrees F then timer up to 50 minutes.
- Once timer hits the 30 minutes mark, press pause, and using a basting brush to brush about 3 tablespoons of the sauce on top of the meatloaf. Lightly cover the meatloaf with a piece of tin roil. (This will keep the bacon from burning in the remaining cooking time.)
- Cook for 16 more minutes, then remove the foil, baste the meatloaf once more in about 3 tablespoons of the sauce then let cook without the foil for the remaining 4 minutes.
- Once cooked, let the meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Just a heads up, it’s definitely a little challenging getting the meatloaf out. Once the wire rack has cooled, you’ll be able to slightly push up and raise the wire rack up from the basket. Or you can always use a couple handy dandy spatulas. This will be the hardest part of your day, calm down.
Notes
*To make this meatloaf egg free, I used Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
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More Meatloaf Ideas!
Instant Pot Sweet & Spicy Garlic Herb Meatloaf
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Juli this meatloaf was freaking amazing! The flavor was excellent. This recipe even for me, who does not have an airfryer yet, and forgot the egg :O was perfect! I just set it in a 9×13 Pyrex dish on parchment paper Baked it at 400* for an hour and 15 minutes. Oh and I doubled the recipe. OMG! One of my favorites of all your recipes. Stupid Amazing! Thanks
glad you liked it carol!!
This was my first air fryer meal ever and HOLY CRAP…..it’s amazing. Mine didn’t look as pretty as yours but we inhaled it despite the lack of beauty ????. I have a special meatloaf recipe that is the only one I have ever loved and this one rivals it and maybe surpasses because of the ease to prepare. My air fryer will become my go-to appliance as soon as I amass more recipes. Keep ’em coming!!!!!!!!
woot woot!! so glad you loved it! it’s definitely a recipe that isn’t too pretty, so no need to worry about that!
Like Sherry, this was my first air fryer meal ever and it is AMAZING! I substituted the almond flour with coconut flour (that’s all I had in my pantry), and I didn’t have a 9×5 loaf pan. I did have a smaller bread pan and was able to divide the recipe exactly to make two small loaves. The loaves were small enough and I was able to fry both of them at the same time. My husband couldn’t stop eating it! WINNER WINNER! I am looking forward to more air fryer recipes!!!
My meatloaf did not turn out as beautiful as your meatloaf. The bacon burnt within the first 30 minutes (could have been the brand I used), but the meatloaf was delicious nonetheless. I know for next time to put the foil on within about 15/20 minutes. Thanks for a delicious meatloaf
glad it still tasted good Mo. the air fryers definitely range in temperatures
I LOVED this recipe. It’s probably the best thing I have ever cooked in my air fryer. Question. Do you have a trick to keeping the foil on? Mine kept blowing up to the top of my air fryer. I tried tooth picks etc. and the foil wouldn’t stay on. My bacon was a little crispy but it was still super amazing. My husband took one bite and said it was the best meat loaf he’s ever had.
hmmm, i didn’t have that issue myself. if you could tuck the sides of the foil under the meatloaf, that might work!
I love my air fryer. Hardly turn on my oven since I got mine, Thank you so much for the recipes. Will try thr meatloaf tonight.
it’s the best!! love mine so much!
Thank you for having a bunch of air fryer recipes! Just got my air fryer this week–so far have only made steak in it (perfect!)–and I’m looking forward to trying your creations (I’ve been a fan of your recipes for years). This meatloaf looks yummy, and today plantains (from your most recent email) have made my shopping list. Oh my gosh, I can hardly wait for weekend batch cooking to begin!
yay!! air fryers are the best!! hope you love any of the recipes you try!
Hi Juli, thanks for the recipe! I have a teenage boy and a hungry hubby. I’m worried 1 lb of meat won’t be enough. If I increase the meat, do you think it will affect the cooking time?
yes, it will definitely need to cook a little longer
My husband is allergic to nuts, anything you’d recommend to replace the almond flour? I have stayed away from meatloaf because all of the grain free recipes I’ve seen use almond flour. Help! Thanks ?
you could always use gluten free breadcrumbs instead!
Speaking of boobs, you don’t see the insanity of calling yourself “paleo” and having breast implants? Such a fool, yet you are foul too. Sad.
lol
Thanks for the recipe! I don’t have an air fryer, but can bake it. What temp/time do you recommend?
Thank you!
i haven’t baked this meatloaf, but you can follow the directions in this post! https://paleomg.com/bacon-chorizo-chipotle-smothered-meatloaf/ the bacon just won’t be quite as crispy as it would be in an air fryer