I love this savory, flavorful, home-warming dish so much (the crispy bits! The ketchup glaze!) that sides are often an afterthought. When I think about what to serve with meatloaf, I'll typically head straight for a pair of standbys: mashed potatoes and a side of green veggies ( like broccoli or green beans).

Milk and other dairy products, like heavy cream and buttermilk, contain both water and fat, adding two types of moisture to our meatloaf. There's a long-held theory that milk can tenderize ground meat, and this is the reason often cited for cooking ground meat in milk to make a Bolognese-style ragù.

Mix ground beef, quick oats, onion, milk, eggs, 1/4 cup ketchup, parsley, garlic, salt, basil, and black pepper together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined; pat the mixture into a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake meatloaf in the preheated oven until firm and no longer pink inside, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Sure, egg yolks add some rich flavor to a meatloaf, but the real reason we need eggs is for structure—to help bind the meatloaf together. This is especially important since we're making a free-form meatloaf, or one that you shape by hand, versus using a loaf pan.