Stuffed Meatloaf in Tomato Sauce Recipe

Meatloaf stuffed with hardboiled eggs and spinach cut open on plate.

Stuffed Meatloaf in Tomato Sauce Recipe

This is my mom's classic Italian stuffed meatloaf recipe, or polpettone, simmered in tomato sauce. For the perfect Sunday meal enjoy the sauce with your favorite pasta and serve the meatloaf as your main course!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Sicilian-Italian

Keyword spinach and hard boiled egg stuffed meatloaf in tomato sauce

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 30

Servings servings

Calories 373kcal

Author Nadia Fazio

Ingredients

For the meatloaf

284 grams spinach leaves 10 oz bag
2 tbsp olive oil
1 kg ground meat Just over 2 lbs. I used a combination of beef and pork
1½ cups fresh breadcrumbs made from a day old loaf of Italian bread, crusts removed
¼ cup milk
½ cup grated Pecorino Roman cheese or Parmigiano cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 large eggs
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
4 large hard boiled eggs for the filling

For the tomato sauce

1 small onion diced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic finely minced
690 ml jar tomato passata tomato purée
salt to taste
pepperoncino optional
fresh basil leaves optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the meatloaf

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and tear a second piece of parchment paper of the same size. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl, cover with the milk and toss to coat.
Sauté the spinach in a large pan in olive oil over medium heat until wilted. Stir in the minced garlic and cook an additional minute.
Transfer to a sieve over a bowl and let cool slightly before pressing out excess liquid from the spinach.
In a large bowl combine the meat; Pecorino Romano cheese; minced garlic clove; chopped parsley; eggs; fresh breadcrumbs (excess milk squeezed out); and salt and pepper.
Spread the meat mixture on the parchment covered baking sheet. Cover with the second sheet and use your hands or a rolling pin to evenly spread the meat to cover the entire pan.
Remove the parchment paper covering the meat. Evenly spread the spinach over the meat leaving a 1-inch border all around.
Top the spinach with shredded mozzarella. Place the hard boiled eggs in a row in the lower third of the meat.
Use the longer edge of the parchment paper to roll, as tightly as possible, the meatloaf over the hardboiled eggs. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes to lightly brown the meatloaf.

For the tomato sauce

While the meatloaf is in the oven, heat olive oil in a pan large enough to hold the meatloaf.
Sauté the onion until softened, stir in the garlic and pepperoncinio (if using) and cook a minute longer.
Pour in the tomato passata, add 2 cups water in the jar and swirl it around to gather the remaining sauce and add to the pan. If available, toss in a few basil leaves for extra flavor.
Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
Carefully lower the browned meatloaf in the sauce. Use a ladle to pour some of the sauce over the meatloaf.
Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours until juices run clear when you pierce the meatloaf with a knife. Every half hour or so pour some of the sauce over the meatloaf.
Serve hot along with side vegetable dishes.

Notes

Substitutions and Variations

-Instead of a spinach layer, try this recipe with slices of prosciutto cotto or mortadella.
-Shredded mozzarella may be replaced with provolone, caciocavallo or scamorza cheese.

Can this stuffed meatloaf be prepared on the stove top instead of the oven?

-Yes, this meatloaf is typically simmered in a pot on the stove top. However, with a meatloaf of this large size, I choose the easier option of baking it instead.
-If you choose to halve the recipe to make a smaller polpettone, it will easily fit in a smaller sauce pan on your stove top.

Storage

Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days.

To serve

Once the meatloaf is ready, toss the sauce with your favorite pasta and serve as a first course. Enjoy the meatloaf as a main course with side vegetables such as sautéed rapini; broccoli; asparagus; roasted potatoes or a green salad.

Nutrition