Easy Ground Chicken Meatloaf Recipe – Just 6 Ingredients

This easy ground chicken meatloaf recipe only has 6 ingredients but is filled with homestyle appeal. This easy meatloaf recipe is a quick spin on an old classic and is ready to be introduced to your weekly menu roundup. 

Admittedly, it does have a bit of an Italian flair to it. But what can I say? I’m Meditterian and cannot help myself. I just love the combination those flavor profiles bring to the mix. 

Growin up, meatloaf was such a family staple. I think we had this for dinner at least once a week – but not with chicken of course. We always ate the traditional ground beef recipe instead. It’s nice to mix things up every now and then and that’s why I decided to offer up this idea for your consideration.

Chicken is such a great alternative to ground beef. You could swap this protein in (or ground turkey if you’d like) and cut down your red meat intake in a snap.

Most recipes can make this adjustment without too much overthinking. It’s your kitchen, after all. You are the head chef! Do you. 

A chicken loaf is prepared just like your traditional loaf, but with this recipe, we added a few extra layers of cheese. Let’s walk through those steps right now so you can create this staple for your family and friends. 

Easy Ground Chicken Meatloaf Recipe – Just 6 Ingredients

I will say that being able to whip out an easy ground chicken meatloaf recipe will become a lifesaver for you! I know that when things get a little crazy, this dish helps me out whenever I am in a crunch. All I need to do is a little mixing, forming, and then baking.

No babysitting which is always a bonus when thinking about new dinner ideas. Throw this meal into your oven and then deal with whatever mess is going on in your life.

I don’t mean to judge, but I just know how crazy it gets in my house around 3:30/4:00PM. 

This section contains affiliate links.

I chose Perdue products because I know that they have a “no antibiotics ever” rule and their poultry eats a 100% vegetarian diet.  I had a chance to meet the Perdue family – including Jim and Chris Perdue – and am now working with the brand for the next few months learning more and more as I go.

If you’d like to get a behind-the-scenes look at all that I’ve seen so far, be sure to click here to check out the scoop! 

Chicken Meatloaf Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Perdue ground chicken (Disclaimer: I’m a paid Perdue Farms ambassador.) 
• 1 jar, 24 oz, pasta sauce, divided
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs
• 2-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

How To Make Ground Chicken Meatloaf 

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, add the Perdue ground chicken, 1/2 cup of your favorite pasta sauce, one egg and the bread crumbs. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Before we go any further, I do want to note that I am telling you to use jarred tomato sauce. Yeah – I said it. This recipe is all about saving time and getting dinner on the table as quickly as possible. If you want to whip up a quick, homemade sauce of your own – then please do. 

Ok, let’s get back to the mix! Line a baking sheet with wax paper and spread the chicken mixture onto the wax paper. Flatten the chicken with the back of a spoon.

Add 2 cups of mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken, keeping about a 1″ border. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Roll, starting at the short end, jelly-roll style. Pinch together the ends/seams. Place the loaf into a loaf pan, keeping the seam on the bottom.

Bake for 45 minutes. Make sure you watch your oven to ensure that your top is cooking evenly. Sometimes, I like to rotate the pan if I notice that my oven isn’t playing nicely. 

When you hit the 45-minute mark, pour remaining sauce and 1/2 cup cheese on top of your chicken meatloaf and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Take your chicken loaf out and let it stand for about 10 minutes before serving. This ground chicken meatloaf recipe will serve between 6-8 people. 

What Is The Difference Between Chicken Meatloaf And Old Fashioned Meatloaf?

To be honest with you, both recipes are prepared exactly the same way and have the same flavor profiles. The only difference is the protein that you decide to use. 

What Can You Top Your Chicken Loaf With?

There are a few options that people use as toppings when it comes to this ground chicken meatloaf recipe. You could consider gravy or ketchup instead of tomato sauce – but that is a personal preference. I will say that I don’t think gravy would go with mozzarella though. 

Gravy works when you are making the traditional version – eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, parmesan cheese. Just remember, that this particular recipe has a lot of gooey cheese inside making it taste more like chicken parmesan than anything else. 🙂 

If you had any fresh parsley, I would consider sprinkling some on top for color and flavor. 

Is Ground Chicken Meatloaf Healthy?

Ground chicken is lean. I think this is something we can all agree on, right? So, if you had to compare this recipe to ground meat meatloaf – which is traditionally made from red meat –  you would absolutely save calories and fat. It is a “better” choice. 

How Will This Taste As Leftovers?

My family isn’t so hot with leftovers. Just being honest here. But meatloaf leftovers are delicious – plain and simple! It reheats wonderfully!

There are a few different ways to approach this. You can reheat your chicken loaf in the microwave and nobody will judge you.

Not one single soul. OR you could put the slices on a pan and brown them in the oven or a toaster oven until heated through. If you have some extra sauce lying around, top it off. 

What Side Dishes Work With Ground Chicken Meatloaf?

Personally, we like to make mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes as a side dish for a ground chicken meatloaf.  If I am feeling a little lazy, we LOVE LOVE LOVE au gratin potatoes from the box in a pinch.

As far as vegetables are concerned, anything will go! Literally anything! What do you have in the fridge? Sautee it and serve. Don’t overthink it. Broccolini, snap peas, regular peas, corn, Brussel sprouts… I can go on and on. 

If you have a side salad and a warm loaf of bread you will be ahead of the game. But we don’t usually have loaves of bread on any given Tuesday. We reserve those extra carbs for a Sunday meal if you know what I mean. 

What do you think about this easy chicken recipe? Something you’d like to try? I really hope you do! The kids love to eat my ground chicken meatloaf recipe and I hope your little ones do too. 

Other Chicken Recipes To Consider:

• Homemade Chicken Nuggets With Ground Chicken And Sweet Potatoes
• Slow Cooker Chicken Noodles Soup – Asian Rice Noodles
• Kentucky Bourbon Chicken Wings Recipe
• Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Recipe
• Simple Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe
• Chicken Fried Rice Recipe
• Chicken franchese recipe