Here’s a Sunday dinner idea that we’ll bet you’ve never tried. It’s our favorite meatloaf recipe with an unexpected spin — literally. We stuffed our Italian-seasoned meatloaf with al dente bucatini pasta and rolled it right up.

If pasta with meat sauce is your go-to comfort meal, you’ll find a lot to love in these familiar flavors. Except we flipped it up — instead of meat on top of pasta, we baked the pasta right inside the meatloaf.

Pasta-Stuffed Meatloaf Roll marinara sauce sliceTipHero

This recipe is similar to the Italian dish braciole, except instead of rolling up slices of meat, we made a savory meatloaf with a mix of ground beef and pork, panko breadcrumbs, and Italian herbs.

Pasta-Stuffed Meatloaf Roll marinara sauce parsleyTipHero

Stuffed meatloaf looks impressive, but the rolling technique is surprisingly easy. We’ll show you how to get a perfect roll with a little help from a sheet of plastic wrap.

Pasta-Stuffed Meatloaf Roll rollingTipHero

Wait till you hear the oohs and aahs when you slice into this roulade to reveal the pretty swirl of bucatini pasta.

Pasta-Stuffed Meatloaf Roll slices platedTipHero

Pasta-Stuffed Meatloaf Roll

Makes 2 rolls
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • ½ medium onion, minced
  • 4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 pound bucatini pasta
  • olive oil (to toss with pasta)
  • 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
  • chopped fresh parsley (optional garnish)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper, and set it aside.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs and the milk. Set it aside, allowing the panko to absorb the milk.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef and pork, onion, Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, egg, garlic, and the soaked panko. Mix everything until well combined, and set aside.
  4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the bucatini pasta and cook it for about 10 minutes or until it’s al dente. Drain the bucatini and shock it under cold water to stop the cooking process. Toss it in olive oil and set it aside.
  5. Cover a work surface with a sheet of plastic wrap, approximately 12 inches x 15 inches in dimension. Spread half the meat mixture onto the prepared plastic wrap, and press it into a rectangle approximately 8 inches x 12 inches in dimension, and about a half-inch thick.
  6. Line the cooked bucatini noodles lengthwise across the meat, until the surface has been covered.
  7. Roll the meat by pulling the far edge of the plastic wrap toward you, folding the meat over the bucatini and rolling it in toward you. Use the plastic wrap to help evenly pull the meat tight as you roll.
  8. Gently unwrap the meat onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160°F/ 70°C.
  9. While the meatloaf roll is baking, heat your favorite marinara sauce. Ladle the sauce onto a serving platter, and place the finished meatloaf roll onto the center of the sauce, ladling more marinara over the top. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.
Pasta-Stuffed Meatloaf Roll slicesTipHero

Herbivores could try making this with our awesome vegetarian mushroom meatloaf recipe, too.

Recipe adapted from Dilek Dinçer.