This delicious and authentic Italian polpettone recipe has been passed down for generations in our family. Made with ground beef, breadcrumbs, herbs, parmesan and a red sauce, it's a flavorful twist on traditional meatloaf. Buon appetito!
What Is Italian Meatloaf?
Growing up, we just knew of this dish as polpettone. Not to be confused with polpette, which is an Italian meatball. Polpettone is a free-form meatloaf with all the classic ingredients you find in Italian meatballs. It is shaped into an oval (free-form style in a large baking dish) and covered in tomato sauce and baked in the oven until juicy and delicious.
When I first went to a friend's house and had their family's meatloaf I was surprised by it and did not like it at all. It was the classic American-style meatloaf with BBQ sauce and not what I was used to.
That was my first experience with the differences between Italian-American cooking and American cooking. When I was older and traveled to Italy, I learned that polpettone just means "big meatball" and the countless ways that this dish is made.
In Italy, I have seen it made like meatloaf but with different fillings in the center, I've also seen it in the shape of a hamburger. I learned that the interpretation of this dish is wide and loose.
I guess this is a great example of how growing up Italian-American, you sometimes feel a bit stuck between cultures. You may not know everything about traditional Italian cooking and styles but you know you don't fit in with the American culture and that style of cooking.
This recipe for polpettone is my Nana's recipe and the one she made at many of my Italian family's gatherings. It tastes like a meatball and the best part is you do not have to spend all that time rolling. Just mix and shape into an oval for a classic meatloaf shape.
What You Will Need
- Ground Chuck and Ground Sirloin: We always use a mixture of the two for flavor and to keep the meatloaf moist.
- Parmesan cheese: The good stuff, Reggiano.
- Large eggs
- Italian bread crumbs: My Nana always used day-old bread that she ground up herself into fine crumbs. You can do this or use Italian bread crumbs from the store.
- Garlic: Finely minced
- Kosher salt
- Fresh Basil
- Really good marinara: This is made with San Marzano tomatoes and simple ingredients. The recipe is below with the instructions.
How To Make Nana's Polpettone (Italian Meatloaf)
- Prep: Prepare the garlic, shred the Parmesan, and gather all of the ingredients you will need.
- Mix: In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together except the eggs. Once those ingredients are well combined, add the eggs and mix again.
- Form Meatloaf: This is the fun part! Take the meatloaf mixture and place it in your baking dish and form it into an oval shape.
- Cover in sauce: Pour a good amount of tomato sauce over the top making sure to cover all of the meat.
- Bake: Bake the polpettone in the oven for about 50 -60 minutes. By this time, the tomato sauce on top will have thickened and you will have nice caramelization around the edges of the meatloaf.
When To Add Eggs To Meatloaf
If you read through some of the steps on how to make the polpettone, you will see that the eggs are not added to the other ingredients until the end of mixing. My grandmother taught me this is because you want to make sure all of the ingredients are well mixed together with the meat first.
If you add the eggs at the same time as the other ingredients, you will have the eggs sticking to the breadcrumbs and not the meat. You want all of the flavors and the breadcrumbs coating the meat then you add the eggs to stick to that.
This step makes all the difference when making this polpettone or Italian meatballs!
Recipe Tips
- Use a baking dish that has sides as opposed to a sheet pan so the sauce is contained in the pan.
- Make extra San Marzano tomato sauce for serving with the meatloaf since the sauce that is poured over it during baking will thicken.
- Try to make your own breadcrumbs. In Italy (which is why my Nana did this as well) breadcrumbs are made from day-old bread which is not really the same as the dry breadcrumbs you get at the store. If you have day-old bread, whether it is baguette, ciabatta or country bread, throw it into the food processor and make your own.
- If you have extra meatloaf and want to save it for a meal the next day, just cover it well and refrigerate it. You can heat it covered in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. It also makes the most amazing meatloaf sandwiches sliced up and place on hoagie rolls.
Recipe Faqs
Polpettone means big meatball in Italian. It can refer to large meatballs or large loaves of meat that are similar to meatloaf.
Polpette is the Italian word for meatballs. It can be any variety of meat from pork, beef, or veal.
Make This Even More Amazing With These Italian Sides!
Nana's Polpettone (Italian Meatloaf Recipe)
Equipment
- 1 9x11 baking dish
Ingredients
Polpettone (Italian Meatloaf)
- 1 lb Ground chuck
- 1 lb Ground Sirloin
- 1 ½ cups Bread crumbs Italian or homemade
- 1 ½ cups Parmesan Cheese finely grated
- 1 cup Tomato Sauce store-bought or homemade
- 3 Large eggs lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoon Garlic finely minced
- 2 tablespoon Fresh basil leaves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Tomato Sauce
- 28 ounces san marzano tomatoes canned whole
- ½ yellow onion diced very fine
- 2 cloves garlic diced very fine
- 1 ½ tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 fresh basil leaves
- ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Making The Polpettone
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add all of the ingredients into a large bowl except the eggs.1 lb Ground chuck, 1 lb Ground Sirloin, 1 ½ cups Bread crumbs, 1 ½ cups Parmesan Cheese, 3 tablespoon Garlic, 2 tablespoon Fresh basil leaves, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Mix well.
- Now add the eggs and mix well again.3 Large eggs
- Place meat into a 9x11 baking dish and form into an oval that almost fills the dish.
- Pour tomato sauce over the top.1 cup Tomato Sauce
- Place in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes.
Tomato Sauce
- In the same pan that you seared the pork tenderloin in, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add your olive oil.1 ½ tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Now add your red pepper flakes, onion and a pinch of salt and cook until the onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes.⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ½ yellow onion diced very fine
- Add your garlic and cook for one more minute.2 cloves garlic diced very fine
- Add your whole canned tomatoes to the pan.28 ounces san marzano tomatoes canned whole
- With a potato masher (or bottom of a mug) mash down the tomatoes gently. It can get a little messy so do this part slowly.
- Keep mashing down the tomatoes until they are mostly broken down.
- Stir the tomatoes into the olive oil mixture well.
- Add your salt, oregano and basil and stir.2 fresh basil leaves, ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to thicken.
- Taste the sauce for any additional salt.
- Spoon some over the polpettone before baking and reserve the remaining sauce for serving.
Annie says
My family loved this!
kisitalian says
So glad to hear that Annie! Thank you for sharing 🙂