I've used turkey, chicken, pork, veal, lamb, venison, and fish to make meatloaves. I've made other loaf of non-meat, but not sure if that counts. Potato loaf most, but sometimes mushrooom, root vegges, legumes.

Turkey and chicken tend to be a bit more lean and less flavorful. What did you do with mushrooms? Canned, fresh, fresh sauteed? Onions- fresh or carmelized? What kind of garlic? What other seasonings like herbs? What are you using for your salt- salt, soy sauce, and seasoning salts, or if you like ketchup you can try adding in a bit of boullion to kick in some salt and flavor. Do you use eggs or bread in your loaf? Dairy at all? Eggs and dairy can contain fats that add mouth feel, bread can fill out and mesh with meat.

Ground lamb meatloaf is the bomb! Mix in some chopped fresh cilantro, sauteed onions, and minced garlic and you'll never go back to beef.

I use a mix of beef and pork in my meatloaf (ditto meatballs), generally in a 2-1 ratio. Have made ground turkey meatloaf before when married to no-red-meat DH but I don't care for it. Despite what you add to glam things up it is still dry and tasteless and lacks the richness of a traditional meat meatloaf.

I also make salmon loaf but its hard to compare seafood to beef:-) Different kettle of fish altogether!!

The only one I’ve made w/o beef was Ina’s turkey meatloaf that I thought was just so-so. I cut the amounts in the recipe back since I didn’t want or need to use 5 lbs. of ground turkey. Maybe subbing some of the turkey with turkey or chicken sausage would help.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/turkey-meatloaf-recipe-1940896

Ricky has a good point regarding ground lamb. I almost always have some in the freezer but haven’t used it for meatloaf. I could tweak these tasty meatball ingredients to make meatloaf. I use all lamb for them. So good served with tzatziki.

2 medium garlic cloves
1 cup chopped red or yellow onion
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves
3/4 pound ground lamb
3/4 pound ground beef
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika

5 pound loaf? Wow, that's a lotta dinner! And IMO rather underseasoned, it sounds so-so, lol. A teaspoon of thyme is more likely to a two pound loaf for us, and probably kick in some savory, marjoram, maybe some paprika. Cook in tomato paste to the onions, don't just stir it in a raw it out. Less worst, maybe some soy or fish sauce to balance that out.

Lamb is pretty pricey around here, so I keep an eye out for when it goes on sale. I'll get a boneless leg and grind it with pork (and sometimes veal), onions and garlic, seasonings and make a gyro style loaf with it. It takes a couple days to make a sheet cake sized loaf, I portion and vacuum seal it off for us to enjoy through the year.

I make ground turkey meatloaf, and I enhance the flavor with either chicken or mushroom bouillon, which I use in place of salt. I also add a packet of gelatin and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, as well as quite a few dried mushrooms eggs, plus the onion and garlic that you used.

I use a mushroom velouté sauce instead of ketchup, which I add at the time of serving. I use the mushroom soaking liquid to make a panade with coarse breadcrumbs and also in the velouté sauce.

“Despite what you add to glam things up it is still dry and tasteless and lacks the richness of a traditional meat meatloaf.”

Agree…just not the same.

My mother tried to make poultry meatloaf a number of times before we convinced her it couldn't be done. Then she invented a turkey and chicken loaf that's really good. Because it's lean, it doesn't have the firmness of classic meatloaf, but it has a pleasant texture. The secret is to actually handle it more than you would beef to bring out the stickiness. She mixed the ground and sausage in the food processor. Ground turkey, poultry sausage, tomato juice for color, oatmeal and eggs for binder, seasoning.

I use my meatball recipe for meatloaf and it's good with either turkey or beef.

Meatloaf

2 - 2 1/2# ground beef or turkey

2 eggs

1 lg clove garlic, minced finely or crushed

2-3 Tbs. minced fresh parsley

1 Tbs minced fresh marjoram - or 1 tsp. dried

1 - 2 Tbs. minced onion or scallion

3/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. smoked paprika

1/8 heaping tsp. nutmeg

1 cup stuffing mix crushed fine - or plain breadcrumbs

optional: ketchup

Oven 350F

Mix all ingredients very well.

Pack well into oiled loaf pan, and bake 40 - 45 minutes.

Cover top w/ ketchup, if desired, and bake for 10 minutes more, or until internal temp. is 160F

Let cool 10-15 minutes before cutting.

8 - 10 servings

Of course seasoning can be adjusted as desired.

Here it’s quite common to use half ground beef and half sausage meat in meat loaves.

we make a mixed meat ham ball loaf which uis very popular for the holidays.

tweak the sauce ingredients as you like ... more/less sugar, vinegar and tomato soup

time 1 hour 325

meat mixture

1 pound ground ham

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground sausage or pork

2 eggs

1 cup panko or graham cracker crumbs

sauce mixture

1 can tomato soup

1/2 cup ac vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tbl prepared mustard

mix the first five ingredients and form into a loaf or individual ham balls.

mix the remaining ingredients and use as a glaze during cooking, basting every 20 minutes or so for 1 hour at 325

This is a regular request around here. Do not omit the accompanying mayo/arugula dressing:

Pancetta and Turkey Meatloaf Sandwiches

1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons whole milk

1/2 cup grated Romano

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat

10 ounces sliced pancetta, about 10 slices

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pancetta-and-turkey-meatloaf-sandwiches-recipe2-1946442.amp

I made meat balls last week with ground turkey because it was on super special cheap....but it could have been a meatloaf. I used 2 pounds ground turkey, 2 eggs, a generous "glub" of dry white wine and smashed some Pepperidge Farmss tuffing mix into crumbs and added enough of that to firm up the mix, fried a little and tasted....added salt, black pepper and more thyme and rubbed sage. It was different and pretty good.

I put the meatballs into boxed chickebn broth, added onions, carrots, celery and simmered about 45 minutes.

Here's the recipe I use for Chinese meatballs:

You can use pork or turkey for this, or a combination of both.

• 1 tbsp dry sherry, sake, or dry Vermouth
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Chinese chili paste
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2/3 cups breadcrumbs or Panko
• 1-1/4 pound pork or turkey or both

Mix all the ingredients together, except for the meat, and then add the meat. Form into small (1-1/4” diametere) meatballs, and sauté covered at medium heat for about 8 minutes on one side and then turn over and cook another 7-8 minutes on the other side. They can also be steamed instead for about 7-8 minutes on a side.

Serve with Yaki Soba noodles or rice and stir fried vegetables. They can also be added to soup.

I rarely use ground beef anymore (except for burgers!)

When I do meatloaf, I use ground turkey mixed with mushrooms. 1 lb turkey to 1/2 lb mushrooms (never use frozen ground turkey, it's too watery), onion, garlic powder, olives, lots of worcestershire,sauce , an egg and your choice of crumble crackers, bread crumbs, panko. I put it in a loaf pan, top with a little more worcestershire and garlic. Drizzle some tomato sauce and about an hour or hour 15 will do the trick! Let set for 15 minutes and you're good to go!

You almost had it but instead of ketchup, use your favorite BBQ sauce. Delish!

I use 2 lbs. ground turkey, sauteed onions, 2 eggs, maybe some bread crumbs. I'll add chopped mushrooms for moisture if I have them. But it’s the BBQ sauce that makes all the difference!

Funnily a recipe came up in IG for a Lentil Meatloaf and I made it. Of course I messed around with it...I left out the flaxmeal and the red capsicum and included chilli flakes. I also added 2 eggs so it wasn’t vegan. It was pretty good and I’d make it again. Also, I just mixed it all together rather than pulse. Although I did kind of squish the carrots, mushrooms and onions together with the potato masher before combining the other ingredients.

Lentil Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 2 cups lentils (I used canned - drained, rinsed)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup red capsicum, diced
• 1 1/4 cup mushrooms, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
• 2 tbsp flaxmeal
• 1 tbsp parsley
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce
• Brown sugar

METHOD

• Fry onion, carrots, capsicum, mushrooms until soft
• Add garlic and salt and pepper for a minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool
• Pulse together lentils, cooked vegetables, tomato paste, BBQ sauce, flax meal, parsley, oats and breadcrumbs. Blend in batches if needed.
• Form mixture into a log and place on baking paper on an enclosed oven tray
• Bake for 35 minutes on 180c
• Remove and spread tomato sauce all over (use more sauce if needed) and sprinkle brown sugar to help caramelise
• Bake for another 15 minutes and then allow to cool out of the oven for a further 15 minutes to firm up

I was never a fan of meatloaf because they all seemed to be covered in ketchup which I really hate. It wasn't until we were on a holiday in Charleston, SC back in the 90's that I found a meatloaf that I actually liked at the Magnolia restaurant. It was based on veal and was served grilled. After we got home from that trip I came up with my own version of this meatloaf.

Meat Loaf Magnolia

==================

(note: It isn't always easy to find ground veal so I have also made this recipe with ground pork)

1 1/2 pounds ground veal or mixture of beef and veal

1 small onion finely chopped

1 to 2 cloves of garlic

2 slices Italian/French Bread soaked in milk

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoons of dried herbs,

(sage and Thyme, a small amount of rosemary

olive oil

Sauce

Green peppercorns

mushrooms

1 to 2 cups chicken broth

Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add minced garlic and saute for

30 seconds. Do not brown garlic

Soak bread in milk

In a large bowl add meat, Dijon mustard, chopped parsley, herbs, onions

and garlic and mix with hands. Squeeze bread to break up and add milk

and bread to mixture. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Saute

a small piece to check for seasoning. Adjust to taste.

Shape meatloaf into a rectangle about 8 X 4 x 3 inches high and place

in a small roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes and then add a small

amount of broth to the pan to prevent the bottom from becoming to

brown. Bake another 30 minutes and baste with the pan juices. Add

more broth if necessary. Cook another 10 minutes or until the meatloaf

is nicely browned.

Let cool and wrap in foil and refrigerate. Reserve pan juices.

Make a sauce by adding some green peppercorns and sautéed mushrooms to

the pan juices.

Heat grill

Slice meatloaf into 1/2 inch thick slices and grill on both sides until

nicely marked and hot.

Serve with mashed potatoes

I also like a meatloaf made with ground turkey breast.

Turkey Breast Meatloaf

You don’t really need a recipe for meatloaf. This is my basic
outline.

1-1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
small white onion chopped
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper
2 to 3 slices Bread
fresh parsley
sage, thyme, rosemary (to personal taste)
2 eggs

Melt butter in skillet and sauté onions and celery. Add garlic
and some chicken broth and simmer until vegetables are tender.
Add the salt, pepper, sage, thyme and rosemary.

Break the bread up in the processor. Added the parsley, the
onion/ celery mixture and processed for a few seconds, just long
enough to combine.

Mix the bread mixture into the ground turkey along with two beaten
eggs.

Fry a little piece of the mixture to test for seasoning.

Shape the meatloaf in a buttered roasting pan (I used a cast iron
skillet) and roast at 375°F for 45 minutes to an hour.
Baste with pan juices once or twice.