This classic American favorite gets a little makeover with a crust of marinara sauce and melted freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. Italian-style meatloaf is a great variation of the original meatloaf recipes. I love the fact that it is so easy to make.

I added sauteed chopped onion, bell pepper, and minced garlic this time, and I think this small addition also adds great flavor.
What can be easier than mixing all ingredients and letting the oven do the cooking?
Italian meatloaf gets a delicious crust because it is baked with marinara sauce on top and then gets even better with a coat of melted gooey mozzarella.
What To Serve with Italian Meatloaf?
When the meatloaf has been in the oven for the first 50 minutes, cook a pound of spaghetti. Drain the spaghetti, drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over it to keep it from sticking, and keep warm.
Remember to cook the spaghetti in water with a tablespoon of salt added. Otherwise, it will be tasteless. Once the meatloaf is done cooking, serve it sliced on the spaghetti. I also like to serve a Ceasar salad on the side.

Cooking Tips
- Remember to add salt and pepper to the meat mixture. We sometimes forget this and end up with a bland-tasting meatloaf.
- Chop the onion and bell pepper finely. Otherwise, you will have big chunks of them inside the loaf.
- When cooking the spaghetti to serve with the meatloaf, remember to salt the water generously.
- Keep an eye on the meat once you add the layer of cheese. You want it just melted.
- If you want to add a little sauce to this dish, add an extra cup of marinara sauce to the bottom of the baking dish and scoop it over the spaghetti for serving.

Italian Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ½ lb Italian sausage
- ⅓ cup onion, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
- ½ lb mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded and divided
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce, divided
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a small skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the onion, red bell pepper, and minced garlic.
- In a large bowl, add the ground beef, sausage, sauteed veggies, and all the rest of ingredients except half of mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of marinara sauce. Mix using your hands until all ingredients are well combined.
- Grease a baking dish and place the meat mixture on it. Shape it to your liking
- Pour reserved cup of marinara sauce on top and sides of meatloaf. Bake, uncovered, for 50 minutes.
- Take meatloaf out of the oven and sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top. Return to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.