Can You Substitute Bread Crumbs in Meatloaf? (2024)

FAQs

Can You Substitute Bread Crumbs in Meatloaf? ›

¼ cup cracker or pretzel crumbs. ¼ cup crushed cornflakes or other unsweetened cereals. ⅔ cup regular rolled oats (Use this only as a substitute for bread crumbs in meat loaf and other meat mixtures, such as burgers.

Rolled Oats

Oats are the perfect substitutes for breadcrumbs in meatballs or meatloaf. While they aren't ideal for a crispy coating, they add the right amount of texture to bind meat, eggs and flavorings together into a delicious Italian-inspired feast.

Breadcrumbs for meatloaf are used to absorb the juices and keep them in the meat while it cooks so that it stays moist; without the breadcrumbs, the meat would dry out in the oven. Breadcrumbs also add to the meatloaf's tender texture so it's more than a giant seasoned hamburger when you pull it out of the oven.

If you don't have any bread, you can substitute it for breadcrumbs, crackers, cereal grains, oatmeal, instant rice, instant barley, or even potato flakes! However, bread is still the best choice of all the potential options.

When this happens, it's because you didn't use enough. Next time, try adding in an extra egg and/or some more breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rice, barley, corn flakes, crackers, and dried soup mix can also stand in as binding ingredients as well. Including larger quantities of these items should help solve the problem.

Ground meat needs no assistance in holding its form when cooked. Bread crumbs are there to keep the fat in the meatballs. Yes, you heard me right, we want the fat to stay in our meatballs and not leach out.

Milk and other dairy products, like heavy cream and buttermilk, contain both water and fat, adding two types of moisture to our meatloaf. There's a long-held theory that milk can tenderize ground meat, and this is the reason often cited for cooking ground meat in milk to make a Bolognese-style ragù.

The meatloaf can be cooked uncovered. However, if you are concerned about it burning, you can cover the meatloaf with foil for the first 45 minutes and uncover it for the final 15 minutes to allow the meatloaf to brown on top.

Oats are a great breadcrumb substitute when used as a binder in meatballs or meatloaf.

As per my understanding, Yes, breadcrumbs are important for SEO and it also help to the user to check the path of a particular page. with breadcrumbs user can easily find their current location and explore all the other categories through this. The user can easily go to related content of the site.

Can I use Ritz crackers instead of breadcrumbs? ›

Crushed-up Ritz crackers make a great substitute and add an extra burst of buttery flavor and moisture to your dish that regular breadcrumbs can't quite match.

The Basic Meatloaf Formula

All recipes for meatloaf start with the same basic formula: 2 pounds of ground meat and a “panade” made of bread or crackers soaked in milk. Along with a few eggs, this panade helps to hold the ground meat together and adds some essential moisture to the mix.

The most common reason meatloaf is mushy is too much liquid added to the mixture. Too much liquid will stop the meatloaf from baking and cause the meat to boil instead.

It's best not to use flour instead of breadcrumbs. While you can use flour to coat chicken, it won't have the crisp texture that breadcrumbs or an alternative can provide. Don't use flour as a binder in meatballs because the mixture will become paste-like.

Use a food processor or blender to process or pulse the cubes into crumbs. Each slice of bread yields ¼ cup of dried bread crumbs.

Use milk as a binding agent so bread sticks. Add the tenders to the bowl of breadcrumbs, one or just a couple at a time, and pat to coat thoroughly. Shake of the extra crumbs from each piece of chicken before placing carefully into the pan.