Making a hearty, comforting dinner is easier than ever with this Air Fryer Meatloaf recipe.

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Quick Comfort Food

We love making food in our air fryer. It’s easy to use, faster than the oven, and perfect for all our favorite Air Fryer Ground Beef Recipes.

Here we’ve taken our recipe for Mom’s Best Easy Meatloaf and converted it to be air fryer friendly. If you don’t have an air fryer on hand, you can make the original oven version instead.

What's the difference you might ask? Hows about HALF the cooking time. Seriously!

And we're talking a full-sized meatloaf here, not our Cheesy Mini Meatloaf Muffins.

A sliced air fryer meatloaf on a serving tray.

Here’s Why You'll Love Air Fryer Meatloaf

Simple ingredients. Ground beef, onion, bread crumbs, eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. That’s all you need for the base of this meatloaf! Can’t get much easier than that.
It’s fast. This recipe doesn’t require much prep, and most of the hour is for cook time. That means you can do kitchen clean-up and dishes (or laundry, whatever you’ve been putting off all day) while your dinner cooks in the air fryer!
Leftovers. Like with the original, one of the best excuses to make this recipe in the first place is so that you'll have leftovers so that you can make our incredible Hot and Cheesy Meatloaf Sandwich recipe.

All the ingredients needed to make our air fryer meatloaf recipe.

Key Ingredients for Air Fryer Meatloaf

Ground beef. You’ll need 2 pounds of ground beef for this recipe, and that will yield 6 servings of meatloaf. Maybe a little extra for leftovers. (*see above)
Bread crumbs. I used crumbs from about 4 slices of bread, and it made all the difference. Avoid using dried bread crumbs in this recipe if you can.
Ketchup. This is the base of the glaze. If you aren’t a fan of ketchup, you could substitute barbecue sauce, but it won’t have the same flavor profile.
Brown sugar. It adds just the right amount of sweetness without overwhelming the glaze.
Mustard. This will balance out the sweetness of the brown sugar and ketchup.

Bowl filled with ground beef, breadcrumbs, diced onions, eggs, salt, pepper, and milk.

How to Make Our Air Fryer Meatloaf

Place the ground beef, onions, and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Pour the milk and eggs directly over the breadcrumbs, allowing them to soak in the moisture. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Use your hands to gently combine and bring the mixture together.
Make a foil “sling” to hold and transfer your meatloaf. Layer two pieces of foil that are about double the length of your air fryer.
Place the ground beef mixture into the center of the foil and form a loaf measuring about 6-7 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 2-3 inches high. Fold the edges up on either end of the loaf so you can lift it and place it in the air fryer.
Air fry at 370 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cover the meatloaf with a piece of foil, and continue cooking at 370 degrees F for another 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. When the timer goes off, slather the mixture all over the top of the meatloaf, then continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
Allow the meatloaf to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes:

Cuts cooking time in half vs. traditional oven meatloaf
Be sure to shape the loaf into a loaf that will fit into your air fryer. We have the Ninja 4.5 quart, and it’s got a diameter of about 7 inches, so we keep ours at about 6.5 inches long.

A plate of sliced air fryer meatloaf with mashed potatoes.

FAQs

Should You Cover Meatloaf In Foil?

To keep your meatloaf moist, cover it with a piece of foil after 15 minutes in the air fryer. Then, take off the foil, add the glaze mixture, and finish out the cooking process with 10-15 minutes in the air fryer.

A sliced air fryer meatloaf topped with ketchup glaze and parsley.

Why Do You Put Ketchup On Top of Meatloaf?

Three reasons: Tradition, Taste, and Toddlers.

Ketchup is a traditional topping on meatloaf recipes going back 100 years and more.
It hits on all 5 of the major tastes, and so it brings out and compliments the different tastes that are in meatloaf.
Also, kids like it, so adding ketchup may just give you a higher probability that a picky kiddo will actually eat it.

Closeup of a slice of air fryer meatloaf on a plate.

More Air Fryer Recipes

If you love the air fryer as much as we do, we’ve got you covered! Check out our Air Fryer Meatballs, Air Fryer Hamburgers, and Air Fryer Taquitos.

📖 Recipe

Sliced air fryer meatloaf on a serving platter.

Air Fryer Meatloaf Recipe

Our Air Fryer Meatloaf with ketchup and brown sugar is perfect for busy nights when you need a simple, quick meal for dinner.

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 40

Resting Time: 10

Total Time: 1

Servings:

Calories: 642kcal

Ingredients

Meatloaf Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion (finely diced)
2 cups fine bread crumbs (from about 4 slices bread, not dried bread crumbs)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
¾ cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Glaze Ingredients

¾ cup ketchup
3 T brown sugar
2 teaspoons mustard

Instructions

Place the ground beef, onions, and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Pour the milk and eggs directly over the breadcrumbs, allowing them to soak in the moisture. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Use your hands to gently combine and bring the mixture together.
Make a foil “sling” to hold and transfer your meatloaf. Layer two pieces of foil that are about double the length of your air fryer.
Place the ground beef mixture into the center of the foil and form a loaf measuring about 6-7 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 2-3 inches high. Fold the edges up on either end of the loaf so you can lift it and place it in the air fryer.
Air fry at 370 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cover the meatloaf with a piece of foil, and continue cooking at 370 degrees F for another 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. When the timer goes off, slather the mixture all over the top of the meatloaf, then continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
Allow the meatloaf to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Cuts cooking time in half vs. traditional oven meatloaf
Be sure to shape the loaf into a loaf that will fit into your air fryer. We have the Ninja 4.5 quart, and it’s got a diameter of about 7 inches, so we keep ours at about 6.5 inches long.