Traeger smoked meatloaf recipe stuffed with bacon and cheese is so amazing! If you’re looking for the ultimate comfort food that oozes with flavor, this is How Long to Cook Meatloaf on your electric or pellet Green Mountain today!
Are you starting to smoke meats again this year?? We are, and this smoked meatloaf recipe is now listed as one of our favorite electric smoker recipes here on The Typical Mom. It. Is. Incredible!! You can see that in the photo above I am sure.
This not only looks droolworthy, but every bite is just out of this world I tell you. Get ready for greatness. You can pack it full of sharp cheddar cheese like we did here or use your favorite slices.
I mean you could skip the cheese and bacon with this but OH MY please don’t. As is yes it is incredible, but these two babies take this over the top for sure y’all. We will talk about how long to cook meatloaf this way so you can get it just right.
To get your meats absolutely perfect we have this printable meat smoking chart to refer to so each and every time it will be fork tender.
- Recently we upgraded to this Traeger pellet smoker and grill and love it.
- We started with an electric smoker that was a Charbroil which worked well to start with.
- I like applewood pellets, we always have those on hand and make almost everything.
How Long to Cook Traeger Meatloaf
You need about 2 hours to cook this until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F inside. This timing is using 2 pounds of ground beef. If you wanted to make a smaller log with half the hamburger it would take less time. Have a thermometer on hand to check once you turn up the heat to crisp the outside.
- Wood chips or Pellets – We like using a variety pack to make our electric smoker recipes. We also love these Jack Daniel’s wood chips. Apple pellets were used to make this particular one in our Green Mountain smoker.
- Smoker – we have a simple electric smoker and just purchased a larger pellet grill & smoker!
Timing – you’ll need the meat smoking chart at the top of this post to know what temp and how long to cook each meat. If your smoker doesn’t have a built in digital thermometer you’ll want that too.
We have one with and one without. It sure is nice to be able to check without opening the lid. When smoking meats you don’t want to do that if at all possible. An even temp. is very important to achieving the perfect “cookness”. Now let’s get started…..
Ingredient Notes
You are going to need 2 lbs. ground beef of course, 80/20 is best. or you could use half ground sausage (HOT Jimmy Dean is great) and half beef for some heat.
Your large Eggs should be added at room temperature ideally. I prefer organic free range for the richest flavor and add moisture.
Adding a packet of French’s Onion soup mix adds flavor so you really don’t have to include anything else as far as that goes.
What can you stuff meatloaf with?
Cheddar cheese is the best thing to stuff it with of all. If you are going to wrap the outside with pork you could leave out the cooked slices inside but both would be amazing. To create an ooey gooey center I think shredded cheddar as well as some thicker slices are best but any variety would work including cream cheese.
But wait, this one has cooked strips of bacon inside too! Yes you can leave both of these items out but seriously, just go all in and give yourself a treat this evening.
Here are a few step by step photos to show you how to make this amazing meat loaf recipe. We will include oven directions as well below.
And we added BBQ sauce to the top – if using one with heat be prepared for it to REALLY heat up, we prefer honey style to bring a bit of sweetness in
A large bowl for mixing, Parchment paper, Grill pan or silicone mat to place on your grate inside your smoker and a baking sheet is handy too if you’re making this in the oven. Use a loaf pan if you’re making a smaller/shorter version of this if that’s all you have on hand.
This is a quick step by step but there is a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post as well: Make sure you preheat smoker to 150, or preheat oven to 350 degrees. Ensure there are pellets or wood chips inside your smoker, enough to last almost 3 hours.
How Long to Smoke Meatloaf
You are going to want to set aside about 3 – 3.5 hours to get this cooked all the way thru. I will say that there is a range for a few reasons. The temperature outside may make it take longer, if your log is thicker it will increase the timing, and if you want the center more medium vs. well done it will be a bit less.
Always check internal meat temperature before serving. This should be 150 F internal temperature when you take it off, no higher.
What temperature do you smoke meatloaf?
Start out at 150F for about 2 hours for 2 pounds. If you want to add barbecue sauce on to the top pour some on at this time. Then you will turn your smoker/grill up to 400 degrees until it crisps on the outside as much as you’d like and internal temp reaches 150 degrees. Times may vary on this depending on how thick your loaf is. Take off griddle and place on cutting board. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Smoked Meatloaf Recipe
Equipment
- 1 smoker
Ingredients
- 1.5-2 lbs ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 packet onion soup mix
- 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper, optional, depending on heat level desired
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 slices cheddar cheese, optional add in
- 4 strips bacon, precooked
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 150, or oven to 350 degrees. Make sure there are pellets or wood chips inside your smoker. Enough to last almost 3 hours. We used apple for this smoked meatloaf recipe.
- In a bowl add all ingredients except bacon and cheese. Mix together well.
- Set out a piece of parchment paper on to your countertop. Lay your meatloaf mixture down and spread out so it forms a square and is about 1/2″ thick all the way across.
- Sprinkle your shredded cheese on top, then place your sliced pieces of cheese (if you decide to add more) on top of that spread out.
- Lay your precooked slices of bacon down, spread out evenly.
- Lift one end of your parchment paper up and begin to roll this into a long log of sorts.
- Roll up in such a way that you can remove the parchment paper when you’re done.
- Once completely rolled up pinch the ends of your meatloaf roll so the least amount of cheese escapes in the smoking process.
- Lay meatloaf log on to a long grill plate as you see we used in this post.
- Place inside your smoker, on grates, in the middle. If baking in your oven it will take approx. 60 minutes to reach 150 degrees internally.
- Close lid and smoke for 2 hours 15 minutes.
- If you want to add barbecue sauce on to the top pour some on at this time. Now turn your smoker/grill up to 400 degrees until it crisps on the outside as much as you’d like and internal temp reaches 150 degrees. (times may vary on this depending on how thick your meatloaf is)
- Take off griddle and place on cutting board. Allow smoked meatloaf to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FAQ
We like applewood or Hickory to smoke meatloaf on Traeger for the best flavors. Ground beef is great with almost all varieties though
Why we like a grill pan vs. a silicone mat or baking sheet. Some people swear by silicone but I am not a fan. First off I’d rather use cast iron vs. any sort of plastic type of material for baking or grilling. Secondly, I love that this griddle/grill pan has ridges so a lot of the grease is kept away from the meat. If you flip it over it is a flat cast iron griddle too. Perfect for making pancakes on the stovetop, it’s super versatile.
If baking in your oven at 350 degrees F, use a baking sheet with parchment underneath. If you want a really crispy outside you can instead set on a cooling rack, on top of a sheet pan so it can drip the grease down below. This method will take approx. 60 minutes to reach 150 degrees internally.
I liked using this grill pan you see here so it didn’t leak below the grates and create a mess You can add smoked corn for the last hour if you want too.
You can add 1/4 cup bbq sauce to top add once you turn up the temp. Let’s talk choosing a bbq sauce. The first time we made this stuffed meat loaf we added barbecue sauce which we buy all the time. It was SPICY! We think it amplified the little bit of spice it had in it while it was crisping up in the smoker. Now we use honey style. If you really like heat then by all means use a spicy or some hot sauce.
Other Traeger recipes you’ll love
- Serve with our smoked bread and enjoy!
- Next try our smoked brats that are cheap and done in no time.
- This is how to smoke a steak and have the most killer meal ever.
I have spent over an hour reading ( copy/pasting ) just about all of your different smoker recipes… 2 years ago I invested a Woodfire smoker outdoor grill ( 8 or 9 preset menu options ) and I love it!!! Perfect size for a single person , but I have never tried the ” smoker ” alone option and can’t wait to use some of your recipes 🙂
I want to thank you for being so generous hearted to post all of these recipes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)))))))))))
so welcome
Delicious!! My whole family loved it! I smoked it for 7hrs at 180 the 225 last 30 min with bbq. Also done in the winter so may mess with the cooking time. Only thing done differently was added 3/4c bread crumbs and crumbled the bacon.
So glad it was a hit!
We smoked this on our Traeger last night at it was FANTASTIC! Going to plan a meatloaf party with friends with this recipe being the star. Followed your directions exactly although mine was smaller in size (1.5 lb beef) and I couldn’t get my Traeger below 180 but it cooked up in 2 hours and was the best tasting thing to come off my smoker.
Yay!! It is a favorite in our house too.
This was soooooo good! The flavors are amaaaaazing! We used the smoker method – it did take a little longer than we planned so we actually finished it up in the oven. The only thing I did different was to break up my bacon so it was sprinkled on instead of slices and I did add about 1/2 cup of panko crumbs.
Yay for YUM
Sooooo want to try this. Have a question, do you think I could sneak some bagged baby spinach inside and proceed with the rest of the recipe? It cooks longe enough for the spinach to be done, correct.
Thanks, Janet
No Breadcrumbs?? Crackers?? Or Oatmeal?? Curious. Before I smoke it!!
can you tell me why the carbs are so high?
@Robert Bunn,
I’m wondering the same thing.
Maybe the onion??
What would you recommend for cooking this in the Ninja Foodi?
This is how I cooked a regular meatloaf. You’d have to make it shorter to fit and use only 1 lb of meat so cut the recipe in half essentially. Then use these timings. https://temeculablogs.com/ninja-foodi-meatloaf/
Thank you soooo much for this recipe! We had it for supper tonight and it was a huge hit. Followed the recipe for the oven and it turned out perfect.
Yeah!!! So glad it was a hit for y’all
I think you may want to adjust the cooking temp to around 225 for a smoker instead of 150. Just my opinion but I think the cooking time for your temp will get an all nighter. I have this in my smoker right now at 225 and I’m thinking this will still take 3 or so hours to reach a temp of 160-165.
No this is what we used and it turned out great. States to move up to 400 after 2 hrs 15 min. in recipe card. If you make your meatloaf thicker than stated it will take longer for sure. 1/2″ inch is recommended for this timing.
But it wasn’t only 1/2″ after you rolled it? Did you squash it down?
No, just the meat before you roll it is that size, thicker once rolled up
@Cory, agreed. We are sitting at 2.5 hours and internal temp of 125.
@The Typical Mom, the recipe indicates to turn it up to 400 after 2 hrs 15 minutes but also that it should reach 150 internally by this point. We are 3 hours in at 150 and still only at 130 internal temp.