Italian spinach & mozzarella stuffed meatloaf is an easy and low carb family dinner. Topped with marinara and cheese, it’s healthy, yet anything but boring!
An American classic takes on an Italian twist for a delicious, healthy and easy dinner creation:
Italian meatloaf stuffed with spinach and mozzarella.
All I can say is that this dinner is quick, easy and gives good old meatloaf a run for its money.
Which, by the way, I don’t know why meatloaf gets such a bad rep cause my mom’s meatloaf was yummyyy.
Spinach is added in both the meat mixture and stuffed inside for a little hidden veggie boost 😉
The middle of this stuffed meatloaf is layered with fresh mozzarella slices, marinara sauce, and fresh sauteed spinach. Once baked it’s nice and melted and keeps the meatloaf perfectly moist.
To make this Italian stuffed meatloaf:
Start with mixing together: (with your hands of course!)
- Ground chicken (or turkey)
- Egg
- Olive Oil
- Grated cheese
- Bread crumbs
- Italian seasonings
- Raw chopped spinach
- Onion
- Garlic
Spread half of the meatloaf mixture into a loaf pan, then top with marinara sauce, sauteed spinach and mozzarella slices.
Take a second here to eat some mozzarella slices, because I know you want to!
Top with remaining meatloaf mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes until juices are bubbling.
10 minutes prior to finishing, top with more marinara (about 1/2 cup) and extra mozzarella slices.
Bake until the cheese is melted (about 10 minutes).
*Tip: turn broiler on for 2-3 minutes to get the cheese slightly golden.
Regular meatloaf can get pretty boring, so I like to change things up with my stuffed meatloaf recipe.
Italian stuffed spinach & mozzarella meatloaf is a deliciously easy family dinner; it’s healthy yet takes minutes to prepare, for those nights you need a quick fix dinner (which is most nights if you’re like me!)
If you’ve ever had a dried out hunk of meat that was called “meatloaf”, first of all I’m so sorry for the scarring it left you.
Let’s get that image out of your head and picture this moist delicousness instead…(you’re welcome).
Just doing my part to show the world delicious tasting meatloaf for all those unfortunate souls that have ever been wronged by unpleasant meatloaf in their life ;).
For some other quick and easy healthy dinner recipes try:
BBQ Chicken & Broccoli Cauliflower Rice Casserole
Easy Baked Pecan Crusted Fish
Oven Baked Chicken Breast with Spinach & Cheese
Italian Spinach & Mozzarella Stuffed Meatloaf
Italian spinach & mozzarella stuffed meatloaf is an easy and low carb family dinner. Topped with marinara and cheese, it's healthy, yet anything but boring!
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
- 3 TBS Olive oil
- 1/2 cup Onion, finely diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes
- 1/4 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Basil, dried
- 1 tsp Parsley, dried or fresh
- pinch Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Meatloaf
- 2 TBS Olive Oil, divided
- 4 cups Fresh Spinach, divided (3 cups cooked, 1 cup raw & chopped)
- 1 lb. Lean Ground Chicken, or Turkey
- 1/4 cup Onion, finely diced
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 Egg
- ½ cup Bread Crumbs, or Panko
- 1/4 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Basil, dried
- 1 tsp Parsley, dried or fresh
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 8 oz ball Fresh Mozzarella, sliced thin
- 1-2 tbs Fresh Basil
Instructions
Marinara Sauce
- Add 1 TBS of olive oil to small sauce pan. Add in diced onions and minced garlic. Cook until slightly softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add in crushed tomatoes, oregano, dried basil, dried parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, cover and let simmer for at least 20 minutes.
Italian Stuffed Meatloaf
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 9×5″ loaf pan with non stick cooking spray.
- Add 1 TBS olive oil to saute pan. Add in 3 cups fresh spinach and cook until wiled, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
- Add ground chicken to large bowl with remaining 1 cup of finely chopped fresh spinach, onion, garlic, grated cheese, egg, bread crumbs, oregano, dried basil, parsley, salt, pepper and 2 TBS olive oil. Mix with your hands until well combined.
- Spread half of the meat mixture evenly into your loaf pan. Layer with cooked spinach, about ½ cup marinara sauce (until meat is evenly covered) and fresh mozzarella slices (about half mozzarella ball).
- Top with remaining half of meat mixture, spread evenly.
- Bake for 1 hour or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- Remove from oven, and top with another ½ cup of sauce and remaining half of mozzarella slices. Bake for another 10 minutes until mozzarella is melted. (I like to turn my broil on for the last 2 minutes to get my mozzarella lightly golden).
- Remove from oven, top with fresh basil and let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
*Feel free to use your favorite store bought marinara if you don't want to make your own.
*You may have a little left over marinara sauce so either serve meatloaf with extra or you can freeze it in an airtight container.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Sign up below and never miss a recipe!
Could this recipe also be make with ground beef?
Thanks, Janet
Hi Janet, you can certainly use ground beef!
We love this meatloaf recipe! Thank you for sharing 🙂
You’re so welcome Betty! Glad you like it :).
Wonderful recipe that’s easy to make, my kids can’t get enough!
So glad to hear Barbara, thank you!
This is the best looking meatloaf I have ever seen! It also tastes fantastic – what a beautiful combination of flavours.
Thanks so much 🙂
1 cup- like an 8oz bag of spinach? Or is it better to just measure using a cup?
Hi Sarah, you’ll want to measure it out. It’s 4 cups of fresh, raw spinach total. 3 cups will be cooked and the remaining 1 cup will be used raw in the meatloaf itself. Hope this helps!
This is the third time i’ve made this! Delish. It’s such a hit, that the second time I doubled the recipe, still not enough for leftovers. The family asked me to make more, tripled the recipe today! Best meatloaf recipe
So glad you like it! Definitely a family favorite of ours too :).