Our bacon-wrapped smoked meatloaf is a delicious spin on a classic meatloaf recipe and we guarantee, you will love everything about it! The meatloaf is stuffed with cheese and glazed with a tangy BBQ sauce. As the meatloaf cooks on the pellet grill, it takes on a delicious smoke flavor you can taste in every bite!

The bacon adds delicious flavor to the BBQ meatloaf, but it also creates a self-basting effect which is key to getting perfectly moist, tender and juicy meatloaf.

Bacon wrapped meatloaf stuffed with cheese on a serving platter.

Smoked meatloaf with bacon is quite possibly the best meatloaf to have ever graced your dinner table!

Made with a ground pork and ground beef mixture that’s seasoned with fresh onion along with bbq seasoning (you could also use our dry onion soup mix), there’s big flavor in this meatloaf.

There’s also melted cheese in the meat mixture, a sweet and tangy BBQ glaze, and smoky bacon, so you know it’s going to be a good one.

Why This Recipe Works

We love our Traeger and have been using this convenient pellet grill smoker for so many delicious recipes lately!

A few favorites include these smoked Traeger jalapeño poppers, smoked BBQ chicken wings, and these smoked baked potatoes.

We are big fans of old-fashioned meatloaf (try this Pork and Beef Meatloaf or our Turkey Meatloaf recipe) so it made sense for us to try meatloaf on the pellet grill next!

Our smoked bacon-wrapped meatloaf is everything we knew it would be: extra juicy and tender, packed with bold, smoky flavor, and with just the right extras that truly make it epic.

It is:

made with simple ingredients
delicious meatloaf that is easy to prepare
a fun, smoky twist on traditional meatloaf.

The Ingredient List

To make this tasty, bacon-wrapped smoked meatloaf, you will need:

onion
Worcestershire sauce
BBQ sauce
eggs
BBQ dry rub seasoning
breadcrumbs
ground beef
ground pork sausage
sharp cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese
bacon

Ground beef, ground sausage, bacon, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, onion, bread crumbs, cheese, BBQ seasoning.

Bacon Wrapped Smoked Meatloaf Recipe

This is an easy meatloaf recipe with a smoky twist!

If you’ve ever made a bacon-wrapped meatloaf before, you should know that we’re keeping this one extra simple. There’s no need to create a bacon weave. You’ll just lay the strips of bacon on the meatloaf and tuck the ends!

Here’s a quick look at the process but be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to view the printable recipe card.

Before you begin: preheat the pellet grill to 225 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Grating an onion then mixing it with eggs, seasonings and breadcrumbs, then adding ground meat.

Finely grate the onion and toss it into a large bowl (along with juices).
Whisk in the Worcestershire, BBQ sauce, eggs, onion soup mix, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.
Stir in the breadcrumbs and let them soak in the mixture for 5 minutes.
Crumble the ground meat over the mixture and mix it until well combined.

Stirring cheese into meatloaf mixture then shapping it into a loaf and covering it with bacon. Finally, smoking the meatloaf on a pellet grill.

Stir the cubes of cheese into the meatloaf mixture.
Transfer it from the large mixing bowl to the baking sheet and shape into a loaf. Lay pieces of bacon on top of the meatloaf, slightly overlapping them.
Tuck the ends under the loaf. Brush your favorite BBQ sauce over the top of the meatloaf.
Place it in the Traeger. Close the lid to the grill and smoke the meatloaf, basting it partway through the cooking time.

Serve the meatloaf with mashed creamer potatoes, or a potato casserole, and fresh green beans.

Two slices of meatloaf on a plate with mashed potatoes.

More Grilling Recipes

Recipe Tips for Success

Crushed crackers, Panko bread crumbs, or crushed croutons can also be used instead of the bread crumbs.
If you prefer to suspend the meatloaf above the grease and juices while it cooks, you can place a wire rack on top of the sheet pan and put the meatloaf on the rack.
An expert tip for the best meatloaf is to skip using a loaf pan! Instead, pat the meat mixture into a loaf shape for the perfect outer crust.
Store leftovers in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Use thin-cut bacon to cover the meatloaf. Thick bacon will not render down as well as thin bacon.

A serving fork picking a slice of meatloaf.

This might become your new favorite meatloaf recipe! The mix of ground beef and ground pork, delicious aromatics and seasonings, the bacon, the cheese, and the smoky flavor… it all comes together for the most flavorful and tender results!

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? More Recipes You Will Love:

Our Hot Meatloaf Sandwich is the best way to repurpose leftover meatloaf! This hearty sandwich is packed with meaty flavor, served on tender ciabatta buns with marinara sauce, mozzarella and finished off with slices of fresh basil. Heated in the oven until toasted and melty, this sandwich has so much Italian-inspired flavor!

Our Onion Soup Meatloaf Recipe is super easy to make! Only six ingredients and a quick prep time and you have a tender, flavorful meatloaf that’s easy to make any night of the week.

Have you ever had Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce? It’s the perfect combination of sweet, tangy and zest, and this sauce is just as versatile as any barbecue sauce! Use it for your favorite barbecue dishes, or as a dip or sandwich spread.

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Bacon Wrapped Smoked Meatloaf

This smoked bacon-wrapped meatloaf is stuffed with cheese and glazed with a tangy bbq sauce. The smoky flavor from the pellet grill adds a delicious depth of flavor, and the bacon creates a self-basting effect, keeping the meatloaf incredibly moist. Pockets of melted cheese ooze out of every slice, and the bbq glaze adds a sweet and tangy flavor.

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Pin Save

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 3

Total Time: 3 30

Servings: to 8 servings

Calories: 711kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

1 large onion
⅓ cup BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
3 tablespoons BBQ dry rub seasoning
1 cup breadcrumbs
1-½ pounds ground beef
½ pound ground pork sausage
2 to 3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese cut in small cubes
2 to 3 ounces mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
1 pound thin cut bacon

Glaze

¼ cup BBQ sauce

Instructions

Preheat the pellet grill to 225°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Finely grate the onion and toss it into a large bowl along with the juices from the onion. Stir in the BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, and dry rub. Whisk well.
Stir the bread crumbs into the mixture. Let the crumbs soak in the wet mixture for about 5 minutes and absorb the liquid.
Crumble the ground beef and pork sausage over the mixture and mix it until well combined. Stir in the cubes of cheese.
Place the meat on the baking sheet and shape it into a loaf. Lay slices of bacon over the top of the meatloaf, slightly overlapping them. Tuck the ends under the loaf.
Brush BBQ sauce over the top of the meatloaf and place it in the Traeger. Close the lid to the grill and smoke for 2-½ to 3 hours or until the internal temp reaches 160°F. Baste the meatloaf with more BBQ sauce one more time, 30 to 45 minutes prior to removing it from the smoker.

Notes

In place of the bread crumbs, you can use crushed crackers, Panko bread crumbs, or crushed croutons.
If you want to suspend the meatloaf above the grease and juices while it cooks, you can place a rack on top of the sheet pan and put the meatloaf on the rack. We found it makes more of a mess to clean the grates of the rack.
Optional cooking method: you can bake this in the oven at 350°F for 1 hour.