Halloween Mummy Meatloaf Recipe

Trick or treating on Halloween brings plenty of candy into the house. Handing out candy will do just the same — especially if you have plenty leftover. It's a holiday all about sweets, with every candy you could ever want by the handful. But Halloween also offers the opportunity to enjoy savory dishes all dressed up for the holiday.

Before you head out to a Halloween party or for a night of trick or treating, prepare a hearty meal. This meatloaf is the ideal dish dressed up in its Halloween best as well. And luckily, recipe developer and food photographer Petar Marshall is here to show you just how to put it together.

With plenty of veggies — including onion and red bell pepper — to add great texture and flavor, this classic meatloaf is the perfect base. It's wrapped up to resemble a mummy with plenty of layers and baked to golden perfection. Keep reading to find out just how to make a Halloween mummy meatloaf of your own for a festive Halloween dinner.

Ready to dive into making this adorable mummy meatloaf? For this recipe, you'll need 1 ½ pounds of ground beef, one egg, milk, five cloves of garlic, one shallot, one red bell pepper, one onion, brown sugar, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, one package of phyllo dough, ketchup, mustard, and salt and pepper for seasoning. According to Marshall, if you prefer to leave out some of the vegetables, it's completely up to you. Feel free to leave them out or even add extra veggies to make it your own.

To get started making this Halloween mummy meatloaf, first preheat the oven to 350 F. Allow the oven to warm up while you prepare the meatloaf mixture.

Take out a mixing bowl, and add all of the ground beef in the bowl. Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground beef, and season the meat with salt and pepper. Add in the milk and the egg, and mix the ingredients to combine.

Next, add in the minced garlic along with the diced shallot, red bell pepper, and onion. Continue mixing the meat mixture well. To finish off the mixture, add in the brown sugar and the breadcrumbs. "The breadcrumbs give structure to the meatloaf to hold it together," says Marshall. "You may need to add a bit more if the mixture seems too soft."

Once the mixture is prepped and ready, prepare a loaf pan. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper to prevent the meatloaf from sticking. "The parchment paper will make it much simpler to transfer the meatloaf for wrapping later on," says Marshall. Once the prepared pan is ready, transfer the meat mixture to the prepared loaf pan. Press to form a loaf to shape it more, if needed. Once ready, put the meatloaf in the oven, and bake for one hour.

After allowing the meatloaf to bake for one hour, remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool slightly. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, and transfer the meatloaf to the baking sheet. Cut strips out of the phyllo dough, and wrap them around the meatloaf. Wrap the bottom, sides, and the top of the meatloaf to create a mummy. 

Once the meatloaf has been wrapped, place the baking sheet in the oven for five minutes while you prepare the topping. Mix together the ketchup and mustard in a small bowl. After five minutes, open the oven, and brush the ketchup and mustard mixture on top of the mummy meatloaf. Bake the meatloaf for an additional 10 minutes until the dough is golden. 

Once baked, remove the meatloaf from the oven, slice, and serve warm. This tasty, bootiful dish is sure to be a Halloween-time favorite at your house!