Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Instant Pot Bacon Blue Cheese Mushroom Meatloaf for 2 (or more)

Instant Pot Bacon Blue Cheese Mushroom Meatloaf for 2 (or more)

This one pot Instant Pot meal combines bacon, blue cheese, and mushrooms in a satisfying meatloaf cooked alongside sweet potatoes. If you like a bacon, blue cheese and mushroom burger, you'll like this meatloaf!

image of a blue plate with slices of bacon blue cheese mushroom meatloaf, mashed sweet potatoes, and bread


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This is not a sponsored post.

I feel like I should put that out there since you can see packaging materials in my photos. When I bought the first package of this ground beef with pork & bacon blend I thought it would be terrific in a meatloaf--and easy to make do if you cannot find the same product. After all, many grocery stores sell a "meatloaf mix" or "meatball mix" which has ground beef and ground pork. I've never seen one with bacon before, though, which is what caught my eye.

photo of a dog looking at an Instant Pot filled with the ingredients for bacon blue cheese mushroom meatloaf with sweet potatoes
Simon is giving the food the side-eye. I think he knows he's not getting any.


When I read further on the packaging--small batch, local, got their start selling at farmer's markets, donate 1 meal for every package sold--well, I was sold. So I'm happy to share with you what brand of ground meat product I'm using--MightySparkFood--just know that I'm sharing because I like the product I purchased, not because the company is aware I exist and asked me to develop this recipe.





[Using my best How to Speak Minnesotan]
So, the recipe, then. When I developed my Turkey Meatloaf with Wild Rice recipe and Feta for my Instant Pot Basics cooking class, I did so because I'd wanted to use this product but I had a student who did not eat pork. [I've made that recipe 4 times in the past 2 months and apparently never bothered to grab a camera during the process. Stay tuned, the 5th time is the charm.]

image of a blue plate with 2 slices of mushroom blue cheese meatloaf and sweet potatoes


Because cheese in an Instant Pot meatloaf is a thing of beauty, I thought about adding blue cheese to the beef/pork/bacon combo. Then I thought further, adding mushrooms to the mix. I'm glad I had the extra time for those thoughts because this meatloaf is delicious and my spouse and I fought over the leftovers. If you like burgers with blue cheese, mushrooms, and bacon--you will like this meatloaf.


photo of mixing bowl filled with ingredients for bacon blue cheese mushroom meatloaf ready to be mixed


This gluten free recipe serves 2 to 3 people but can easily be doubled if you want to serve a family. Now that we're empty nesting for much of the year it's easier to make a smaller entrée than deal with lots of leftovers. Soups are another story--like the Instant Pot Chicken & Wild Rice Soup I recently shared. I'm delivering soups to my parents each week and am happy to have leftovers for weekend lunches. I'll be honest--the kids aren't as into blue cheese and mushrooms as we are!


image of shaped bacon blue cheese mushroom meatloaf in foil boat


I made a video to show you how I make this in my Instant Pot. I'm a visual learner, so seeing how it all fits in helps me much better than reading about how to make a foil boat. If you're like me I hope this helps.


Notes: If you're unable to source a ground beef & pork with bacon blend, I suggest chopping up 1 or 2 slices of raw bacon per pound of meatloaf mix. Yes, chopping raw bacon is a pain--I used to do 5 pounds at a time when I worked in a restaurant. For this, the smaller the pieces the better.
If you have a 6 or 8 quart pressure cooker feel free to double this recipe to serve 4 to 6 folks. If you're using a 3 quart pressure cooker, stick with just one pound of meat. Stick with 30 minutes.
If you're also feeding people who don't care for blue cheese, mushrooms, or even--gasp--bacon, feel free to make a pound of their favorite meatloaf and cook it in a separate boat alongside this one. I cannot promise you that the flavors of the meatloaves won't intermingle, however, even if the meatloaves themselves remain in their individual boats.
If you'd like a side salad or fresh green veggie alongside your meatloaf & sweet potatoes, use the hands off time once you've programmed the Instant Pot to make additional sides. Or just relax with a glass of wine. Your choice!



photo of blue plate with 2 slices bacon mushroom meatloaf and mashed sweet potatoes



For more recipes using mushrooms, please see my Mushroom Recipes Collection. For more recipes using sweet potatoes, please see my Sweet Potato Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?


image of a black mutt dog staring longingly at a plate of bacon mushroom blue cheese meatloaf
Behind the scenes--from start to finish, Simon has yearned for this meatloaf.

2 comments:

  1. where does the bbq sauce go? no mention of what to do with it.. i presume it goes in the meatloaf?

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    Replies
    1. Lori,
      Good catch! I typically spread BBQ sauce on top of my meatloaf prior to baking, which is why I listed it in the ingredients, but I found that the mushroom/blue cheese topping combined with the bacon/beef filling was flavorful enough for me. I'd intended to leave the BBQ as "optional" and I'll amend the instructions.
      Thank you!

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