Bloody Mary Mix Is An Easy Shortcut For Exceptional Meatloaf

Classic and comforting, an easy meatloaf recipe is a useful addition to any home cook's repertoire for a crowd-pleasing family dinner. But if you find yourself bored with the same old loaf, or just want to add something special, it's worth looking toward your bar cart rather than your pantry for a perhaps slightly unusual addition: bloody mary mix.

Just as easy to cook with as it is to drink, the brunch favorite is a great way to ramp up the taste of homemade meatloaf. With spicy ingredients like punchy horseradish, sriracha, Tabasco, or serrano peppers, bloody mary mix brings a similar combination of heat and fruity tanginess to a meatloaf as it does to a cocktail. Not only that, but the mix can help improve the texture, too, keeping your meatloaf extra-moist and juicy.

While there are many ingredients that will seriously upgrade homemade meatloaf, the beauty of using bloody mary mix is that it can be incorporated into different parts of the recipe — from the meat mixture itself to the ketchup topping — depending on how hot you like it. And it couldn't be easier to use; you only need around a cup of the mix for a meatloaf made with two pounds of meat.

To incorporate the spicy, tangy flavors of a bloody mary into your next meatloaf, simply add a cup of the mix to your bread crumbs, which will quickly absorb the liquid and become full of flavor, ready to be combined with the rest of your meatloaf ingredients. Once mixed and baked, the hot, salty flavor will be evenly distributed throughout the juicy meatloaf. Alternatively, you could pour around half a bottle of the mix over your meatloaf halfway through baking, then continue cooking for another half an hour.

For an easy way to give the meatloaf even more flavor and moisture, try adding bloody mary mix to the saucy topping. Just combine a tablespoon with a half-cup of ketchup or tomato sauce, and spread it across the top of the dish before it goes in the oven. You could even add a splash of vodka for a more boozy cocktail feel.

Bloody mary mix makes an easy shortcut for various meatloaf styles, whether you're using beef or turkey. And you can use either a regular or spicy mix, depending on your heat tolerance.

As well as making meatloaf extra-delicious, bloody mary mix can be used to easily boost the flavor of plenty of other favorite meals. Try adding the mix to meatballs in tomato sauce for a dish perfect for a leisurely brunch. Or, shake some into a simple tomato soup, chilled gazpacho, slow-cooked chicken stew, or beef casserole for a powerful kick.

Alternatively, try using bloody mary mix as an easy marinade. Simply coat chicken, shrimp, steak, or vegetable skewers in the mixture before grilling for tasty and tender results. Or, add the mix to a sweet-yet-tangy barbecue sauce for extra depth — it's perfect with grilled meats, fish, burgers, or fried chicken.

An incredibly versatile ingredient, bloody mary mix can also jazz up dips and dressings. It's a quick and easy way to spice up salsa, and works equally well with creamy dips. The acidity, heat, and saltiness make it perfect for injecting flavor into salad dressings; just whisk it with olive oil for a lively coating that works with everything from crunchy chopped vegetables to sharp blue cheeses. Even better, whatever dish you choose, you'll almost certainly have enough mix leftover for an accompanying drink.