How Long to Cook Meatloaf In Air Fryer So It Remains Tasty & Moist

Numerous families view meatloaf as a staple of comfort cuisine. When prepared for the right duration at the appropriate temperature, meatloaf can turn out to be juicy, filling, and flavorful. However, achieving the perfect timing and temperature is often a challenge for many. This article aims to address this common problem by offering guidance on how to properly cook a meatloaf in an air fryer, ensuring it stays delicious and moist.

For those unfamiliar with the air fryer, let’s walk through a brief synopsis of what it is. An air fryer is essentially a super oven. It is an extraordinary cooker with the ability to fried foods quickly using similar technology to a convection oven. Scorching hot air circulates throughout the cooker resulting in a beautiful sear or crisp around everything you cook. This amazing technology works wonders for meatloaves and a myriad of other foods. Today we will discuss exactly how long you want your meatloaf to air fry for and how to do it.

How Long To Cook Meatloaf In Air Fryer

The length of time needed to cook your meatloaf to perfection will depend on the specific recipe you are cooking, as well as the model of the air fryer that you are using. Typically, meatloaves take between 15 and 30 minutes to fully cooked through when cooking in an air fryer. The main advantage of using the air fryer is that your meatloaf will cook in a fraction of the time. You will need to play around with the specific temperatures and time that works best with your model of the air fryer.

As a rule of thumb, the denser your meatloaf is the longer it will take to cook. Also if you opt to cook at a lower temperature (350 for example) your meatloaf will take longer to fully cooked through than if you were to cook it at a higher temperature.

Air Fryer Smoked Paprika Meatloaf

Time: 1 hr.

Serves: 6

Calories: 317kcal

Equipment

• Air Fryer

Ingredients

For Loaf

• Oil for cooking
• Onion (chopped) – 1
• Garlic cloves (crushed) – 2
• Smoked paprika – 2 tbsp.
• Beef (minced) – 2 lb.
• Tomatoes (chopped) – 2
• Fresh parsley leaves – 2 cups

Coating

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Set your air fryer to preheat to 375 degrees F.
2. Add beef into the bowl. Mix onion, garlic cloves, paprika, tomatoes, and parsley.
3. Shape into a loaf then carefully transfer to your air fryer basket. Lightly brush or spritz with oil.
4. Set to cook in your air fryer for 15 minutes.
5. Mix together the ingredients for coating.
6. Remove meatloaf from the air fryer and base the loaf with your coating mixture.
7. Allow to continue cooking at 350 degrees temperature for another 10 minutes.
8. Let the meatloaf cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Bonus Recipes

Here are a few fancier recipes that you can whip up if prepping for a dinner party or special occasion.

Easy Italian Meatloaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 13 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2-lb. lean ground turkey
• ¼ cup onion, minced
• garlic, 2 cloves, minced
• parsley, chopped, 2 tablespoons
• 2 eggs
• 1½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Set your air fryer to preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. Toss the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Make a meatloaf out of this mixture and place it in the air fryer basket.
4. Allow to air fry for 13 minutes (rotating the basket halfway through).
5. Leave to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

Air Fryer Turkey Meatloaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 5 lb. ground turkey
• 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 4 tablespoons parsley, minced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
• Salt, to taste
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Set your air fryer to preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. Toss the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Make a meatloaf out of this mixture and place it in the air fryer basket.
4. Allow to air fry for 13 minutes (rotating the basket halfway through).
5. Leave to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

Parmesan Chicken Meatloaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 12 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1-lb. ground chicken
• 1 large egg, beaten
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• ½ cup pork rinds, ground
• garlic powder, 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• kosher salt, 1 teaspoon
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Crust:

• ½ cup pork rinds, ground

Directions

1. Set your air fryer to preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. Toss the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Make a meatloaf out of this mixture and place it in the air fryer basket.
4. Allow to air fry for 13 minutes (rotating the basket halfway through).
5. Leave to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

Classic Pork Meatloaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1-lb. ground pork
• 1/3 cup panko
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons chives
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme

Directions

1. Set your air fryer to preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. Toss the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Make a meatloaf out of this mixture and place it in the air fryer basket.
4. Allow to air fry for 13 minutes (rotating the basket halfway through).
5. Leave to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

Final Thought

Meatloaf no longer takes hours to prepare. With your air fryer, you can be enjoying a juicy, succulent meatloaf in a matter of minutes. Be sure to utilize the tips and recipes included in this post to land you ahead of the curve in your meatloaf cooking journey.

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