Printable recipe
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
Yield: 4 servings
Ready In: 1 hour
This is one of my favorite instant pot dinners: A full, comforting family meal – all made in one pressure cooker! The meatloaf turns out juicy and tender and goes perfectly with the mashed potatoes and carrots. My kids love it when I make this (and I do, too, because it's SO easy!).
Recommended Equipment:
Ingredients
For the Vegetables:
- 2 pounds potatoes (cubed)
- 1 pound carrots (peeled and cut into sticks (OR chunks for slightly firmer carrots))
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cloves garlic
For the Meatloaf:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (finely chopped)
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large gg
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ground pepper (to taste)
- ¼ cup ketchup (OR your favorite meatloaf sauce)
For the Mash:
- 2-4 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Salt (pepper and ground nutmeg (to taste))
Instructions
- Add veggies to instant pot: Place the potatoes and carrots at the bottom of the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker (it’s OK if the carrots are a little on top of the potatoes, but make sure the potatoes are not on top of the carrots or they’ll squish them). Pour the chicken broth on top and add the 2 cloves garlic.
- Make the meatloaf: Place all ingredients for the meatloaf EXCEPT for the ketchup in a medium-large bowl. Mix well (I use a hand mixer with the dough hook attachments) and shape into a firm loaf.
- Cook: Place a greased rack over the potatoes and carrots (you can also use foil with a few holes poked in). Set the meatloaf on top and brush with 2 tablespoons ketchup. Close the instant pot, set the pressure valve to “sealing”, pick “pressure cook” on high for 20 minutes.
- Finish: Once cooking time is up, naturally release pressure for 5 minutes (switch off the instant pot and just leave it alone). Then manually release the remaining pressure. Remove meatloaf and carrots from instant pot, brush meatloaf with the remaining ketchup. Mash the potatoes right in the instant pot with sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg (if you like). Serve the sliced meatloaf with the mashed potatoes and carrots.
Step by Step Recipe Video
Nora’s Tips
WHAT TYPE OF GROUND BEEF IS BEST FOR MEATLOAF?
I did some serious testing on this (told you, Meatloaf Queen). And while many will say a fattier ground beef adds more flavor, I have to say I don’t like meatloaf that way. I always use at least 90% lean ground beef for meatloaf, otherwise it will positively swim in grease, and even though the fat drips out the loaf itself is still super greasy and not how I like it at all. Add to this that the juices and some fat from the meatloaf drip over the potatoes and carrots in this recipe… You’ll really want to go for a lean ground beef here.WHAT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO MIX AND SHAPE MEATLOAF?
This is one of my favorite hacks: Use your hand mixer with the dough hook attachments to mix the meat, egg, breadcrumbs and seasoning in a medium-large bowl!- it’s quick
- it’s easy
- no need to knead raw meat with your bare hands
- it works like a charm
WHAT POTATOES SHOULD I USE?
Definitely use a floury kind that’s great for mashing. Otherwise you’ll get potato sludge. Yukon gold would be a great one to pick! And you can leave the peel on if you prefer! I peeled my potatoes because they were from the farm down the road, super dirty and quite bruised.A WORD ABOUT THE CARROTS:
I LOVE that I get to cook the dinner veggie right alongside the rest of the meal here. I’ll just say this so you can’t blame me for baby-soft carrots: The carrots do get very soft in this recipe. It’s actually great for us, because the 2 year old is going through a phase where she thinks chewing is an absolute waste of time… If you want carrots that are a little less soft, do not cut them into sticks. Instead, cut them into large chunks and they’ll cook a little slower.CAN I DOUBLE THE RECIPE?
You CAN double the meatloaf (shape it into TWO smaller loaves, NOT one large one, or cooking time will be different!). But you cannot double the carrots and potatoes – otherwise the instant pot will be too full and won’t fit the rack.DO I REALLY NOT NEED AN ALUMINUM FOIL PAN FOR THE MEATLOAF??
No, you don’t. I prefer keeping my cooking with aluminum foil to the necessary minimum (eg mostly campfire cooking), so I was really curious if this recipe would work without foil. So I did a test – and it did! Just make sure you grease the rack really well and you’ll be all set.Nutrition
Calories: 449kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 784mg | Potassium: 1906mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 19355IU | Vitamin C: 40.4mg | Calcium: 161mg | Iron: 11.1mg
More recipe information
Join my Newsletter to Get Recipes in Your Inbox
Did you know there’s people in my family who call me the Meatloaf Queen?
It’s true. And with the wealth of meatloaf recipes on this blog, I think they have a point ?
It all started out with my Mozzarella Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, which is an absolute reader favorite. But there’s more:
- Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
- BBQ Turkey Meatloaf
- Greek Turkey Zucchini Meatloaf
- I even make my own homemade meatloaf sauce!
As you can see, there’s no way I could have let this winter pass without adding to the collection, so this is one more to make!
P.S: Check out our collection of easy dinner recipes with ground beef for more ideas!
Jaime says
Oh so yummy and easy! I halved the recipe and rather than mashing the potatoes, I left them as is and tossed them with the carrots. My other half proclaimed it a must for the dinner rotation.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Jaime!
Al Trepczyk says
Very good. The meatloaf was very tasty.
Nora says
I’m so glad!
Libby says
Delicious and easy. I did use the trivet.
Grace says
My husband and I’s favorite meatloaf recipe by far!!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Grace!
Emily says
Just gobbled this up, so good! I only had a couple baby carrots left, not even enough to cover the bottom, but they were delicious! I used beef broth instead of chicken broth, and roasted the potatoes in the oven instead (hubby likes them browned).
But the star of the show was the meatloaf! A great consistency and very flavorful. Only change was to sprinkle liberally with garlic powder. Will make this regularly now. So easy and delicious. Even the one year old ate it up!
Karen Mellett says
I always have trouble making meatloaf, but this was so easy, and so good!!!!
Lisa Harris says
I saved this recipe a couple weeks ago, and just made it tonight for the first time. Absolutely amazing! I did double the lbs of ground beef (2 lbs instead of 1) and used 5 good sized russet potatoes and about 8 large carrots cut into large chunks. (Doubled the amount of broth to compensate)
I don’t have a rack, so as suggested, I used aluminum foil with holes poked in…
When finished cooking, I poured almost all of the juice over the carrots in a separate small saucepan, mashed the potatoes right in the pot with a small amount of the juice and some butter, and I did broil the finished meatloaf for 5 minutes to develop a nice crust
Just absolutely delicious.
Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad to read this, Lisa! Thanks for your amazing feedback, I appreciate your time.
Donna says
Since I found this site and this recipe it is the only way I make meatloaf now ; I even brought my instant pot camping and made this for dinner one night! Just wondering if anyone has tried just placing the meatloaf on top of the potatoes or if they need to be on the rack ( I hate cleaning that thing)?
Thanks
Donna
Nora Rusev says
Donna, I make chicken thighs in the instant pot by just placing them on top of potatoes, and also meatballs. So I think the cooking process should work! The only concern I’d have is the weight of the meatloaf pushing down too much and triggering the burn warning. But definitely worth a try, in my humble opinion.
Stacy says
really good!!
Jossely M Hlaban says
This was absolutely delicious. The most tender and savory meatloaf. And making mashed potatoes right there in the same pot is genius! The flavors from the meat and veggies were absorbed and it was the perfect consistency. Thank you for sharing this.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Josselyn! Thank YOU for trusting my recipe, and for coming back to leave a review – I appreciate it.
Elsie Isaac says
Yummy
DENNIS SLACK says
Made the meatloaf and potatoes for my wife. What a hit. Had enough for left over lunch the next day. Great tasting and easy to make. Will do it again soon.
Nora says
Glad to hear it, Dennis! Thanks for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate your time.