Forget Ketchup! Upgrade Your Meatloaf With A Flavor-Packed Ingredient

Meatloaf is a timeless classic that continues to grace dinner plates across the United States ... but if we're being honest, it isn't all that interesting. It does have a lot going for it, to be fair. Meatloaf was once a breakfast food due to the protein-packed ground beef and eggs that compose it, and the savory flavor of Worcestershire sauce rarely disappoints. The ketchup, however, tends to lack pizazz. But thanks to a conversation with Gabrielle Chappel at the New York City Wine & Food Festival, we discovered an alternative to ketchup that puts an exciting new spin on this vintage meal.

Chappel — the winner of Season 3 of "Next Level Chef" — gave us advice on how to elevate meatloaf like a pro. Instead of adding shelf-stable ketchup for sweetness, she suggested something more flavorful. She said, "I love smoked red pepper because I feel like it kind of is like ketchup, but on steroids, because it's still sweet. It's unctuous, it's silky, and it provides a lot of texture and contrast."

Chappel has witnessed first-hand how utilizing peppers takes meatloaf flavor to new heights. She said, "I used to make a meatloaf for my client all the time where I would make roasted red peppers. And so I would fire the peppers, peel the skins, make like actual roasted red pepper. Then take half of it and incorporate it in the actual meatloaf, and the rest, drape it over the top." That's not the only upgrade Chappel lends her meatloaf, however.

One reason to put ketchup in meatloaf is to lend the dish a slightly zesty personality that balances all the savory ingredients. However, Chappel takes a different route. Further explaining her recipe, she said she also incorporates "a healthy drizzle of olive oil and let that cure with a little bit of champagne vinegar, so you get a little tanginess too."

Of course, if you are going through all the trouble of roasting peppers and curing olive oil, you want to be sure to give your meatloaf its chef's kiss. Chappel had some sage advice for this as well. She says to add "some flaky salts, like smoked flaky salt if you're feeling fancy."

There aren't many wrong ways to make this meaty amalgamation of ingredients. From Chappel's ketchup-less recipe to Molly Yeh's Chicago hot dog spin on meatloaf, it is a dish that almost begs to be played with and manipulated into something extraordinary. If you follow Chappel's lead, get creative and consider what ketchup is bringing to the table in terms of flavor in this classic meal. You might just find your own unique twist that takes meatloaf to the next level.