Forget Ordinary Crackers — Giada De Laurentiis Uses This Snack For Better Meatloaf

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Meatloaf is about as iconic as comfort food gets, so your go-to recipe for it is probably tried and true. But if you've ever made a subtle tweak and experienced the delicious difference it can make, you know it's worth paying attention to any potential upgrades. For example, a classic meatloaf recipe employs breadcrumbs. These bind the meat and vegetables together and absorb the other ingredients' moisture but also hold it, creating a loaf that's dry enough to stay together but moist enough to be tasty. However, many people have realized crackers work better than breadcrumbs — they enhance the finished meatloaf with an airier, lighter crumb texture, and have a saltier crunch. Can meatloaf get even better? Giada De Laurentiis says yes.

We got to chat with the chef, cookbook author, and TV personality who's now partnering with Home Chef to create a line of meal kits bringing her signature Italian flair to home cooks. Guess what else De Laurentiis brings her signature Italian flair to: meatloaf. When we asked her where she stands on crackers in meatloaf, she revealed, "I don't add crackers, but I have been known to add taralli, which are like crackers. They're Italian olive oil crackers. They're sometimes with fennel, they're very dry." You'd recognize taralli for their ring shape — hailing from Italy's Puglia region, they look like little bagels and are denser, crunchier, and more flavorful than your standard saltines or water crackers. They give meatloaf more texture and flavor complexity. 

Taralli is one of 13 of Giada De Laurentiis' favorite foods. "I grew up on taralli, and I love the fennel, and you can get different flavors if you want to. But I love the fennel, and to me, that is sort of my Italian spin on it," she says. Italian-ized meatloaf? Sounds delicious, and even authentic, considering meatloaf's history can be traced back to ancient Rome. So, we also asked De Laurentiis about the rest of her meatloaf process. 

"I put [the taralli] in the food processor, and I add a little bit of that and ketchup," the chef explains. "I know [ketchup is] not elevated...but I'm telling you, a little bit of ketchup in there is freaking great." Ketchup has long been a staple meatloaf ingredient, but some people argue for alternatives like tomato paste. Ketchup, however, "adds that vinegar and sweetness," De Laurentiis says. "That, I think, is delicious if you're making meatloaf." Ketchup's acid and sweetness perfectly balance the meatloaf's richness and savoriness, while taralli improves its texture and contributes added notes depending on the variety you choose. Take a cue from De Laurentiis and use Mitica fennel taralli, or go another fragrant, herbaceous route with Flora imported rosemary taralli, or spice things up with Mitica peperoncino taralli.

To finish things off, De Laurentiis employs parsley for freshness and glazes her meatloaf with ketchup and apple cider vinegar, or with a coating of cheese and taralli. "It's like a cheesy, taralli, crispy-crackery top," she says. If that doesn't convince you to taralli up your meatloaf, we don't know what will.