One of my favorite restaurants in Santa Fe, New Mexico was featured in one of the earlier episodes of “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” – the Zia Diner. They had a super eclectic menu that featured comfort food with a southwestern twist. Unfortunately, the diner closed a few years ago.
I remember one of the times my family ate there during our annual weekend vacation to Santa Fe to celebrate my mom’s birthday, and I ordered the meatloaf for the first time. I am almost positive that it stood out to me on the menu because my dad, who loves meatloaf, was talking about how great it was. Anyway, that was an out-of-the-ordinary choice for me, but I ordered it and loved it. Although the experience was years ago, I still remember what the dish looked like and how absolutely delicious it was.
Since then, my family tried to recreate that meatloaf and I have been perfecting the recipe in my own home now too. There was no going back after trying the Zia Diner’s meatloaf. Traditional meatloaf no longer tasted nearly as good. For me, it became such a crave-able dish that it quickly got added to my list of top comfort foods.
When you think of meatloaf, you probably do not think of pine nuts and green chile. But, those are the exact ingredients that made the meatloaf at the Zia Diner special. It surprisingly tastes delicious with the traditional mashed potatoes and gravy, as well. Since the restaurant is now closed, I can’t taste their meatloaf to compare mine to theirs… but my memory tells me it tastes just like it!
Copycat Zia Diner Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ¼ cup diced green chilies
- ¼ cup old fashioned oats
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 1½ tbsp onion soup mix
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Set the baking dish aside.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well, but do not overmix.
- Form the meatloaf mixture into the traditional meatloaf log shape and place it in the prepared baking dish.
- Cover the dish and bake the meatloaf for 45 minutes.
- Uncover the dish and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Allow the meatloaf to rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- This meatloaf goes well with mashed potatoes and gravy, but it would taste great with additional green chile or red chile sauce too.
