Oma's Traditional German Meatloaf Recipe (Falscher Hase)

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

Published: March 9, 2009, Updated: June 12, 2025

This German meatloaf (falscher hase) is my easy family favorite ... savory, slightly smoky from bacon, and perfect hot or cold.

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Classic German meatloaf wrapped in bacon ... moist, tender, and ready for dinner

It’s called falscher hase ... “false hare” ... because of its loaf shape, not the flavor. Just shape it like a rustic bread loaf and you’re set.

Top Tips For Best Results

1. Use a Shallow Dish: Bake in a 9×13 baking dish to allow the bacon to get crisp all over.
2. Check Doneness with Thermometer: Cook until the center reaches 165 °F (74 °C), then let it rest before slicing.
3. Customize the Flavor: Stir in mustard, mushrooms, ketchup, or herbs like thyme or parsley into the meat mix for extra depth
4. Gluten-Free Hack: Use Gluten-Free breadcrumbs

This traditional German meatloaf is covered with bacon and often has hard-boiled eggs hidden inside. Especially fun for Easter, it’s a surprise to dinner guests when the meatloaf is first sliced open.

Surprise! A traditional German twist ... hard-boiled eggs tucked inside.

Since this is such a quick meatloaf recipe to throw together, I usually like to make at least a couple of loaves at once.

One loaf is to eat hot right away, while the other(s) will be stored and reheated for another dinner (slices warmed in the microwave are delicious) or sliced for sandwiches (a real treat!).

Wrapped in crispy bacon, this meatloaf is a hearty family favorite.

Above, I’ve made it without the hard boiled eggs. Whether you make this German meatloaf with or without the eggs, it makes a great dinner that also provides wonderful leftovers for sandwiches the next day. So yummy on rye bread with a little mustard or ketchup!

Another German way of making meatloaf is to pour a cup of hot beef broth over the meatloaf while it is baking. When the meatloaf is done baking, the liquid is thickened with a slurry of corn starch and cold water. Then sour cream is stirred in, along with salt and pepper to taste, for a delicious sauce to serve with the meatloaf.

How to Make Meatloaf

(Find the printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.)

You’ll see what an easy meatloaf recipe this is to make.

Start by gathering your ingredients for the meat mixture and pre-measure them. For a single loaf, you'll need: 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground pork (or just use all beef), 2 large eggs, 1 finely chopped onion, ½ cup bread crumbs, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.

Simple pantry staples come together for this delicious German comfort food.

You’ll want to have everything ready because you’ll be using your hands to mix.

(Ok, you CAN use a wooden spoon if you prefer, but it’s just so much more fun squishing everything together with your fingers!)

Once mixed, it’s time to form your loaves ... hands-on, just like Oma did!

Mix everything together gently. You don’t want to over mix or the meatloaf will be tough. Just mix it all together until well combined.

Then it’s time to form your meatloaf. You’ll see that below I formed the mixture of ground meat into two small loaves. 

I made two small loaves out of the meat mixture ... perfect for customizing toppings.

That’s because I wanted to make one covered with bacon and the other brushed with BBQ sauce.

One with bacon. The other brushed with BBQ sauce.

After it is shaped like a loaf, it is placed in a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Do not use a loaf pan. Not only does this ensure that the fat cooks out of the meat, making this a healthy dinner choice, it also produces a wonderful crust that is just so yummy.

Making smaller loaves also means there’s more crust to share. The best part of the meatloaves is the amazing crust. YUM!

Then it’s off into the oven. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the meatloaf is fully cooked.

Out of the oven ... crispy, golden, and smelling amazing.

Once the meat reaches 165°F it’s ready to come out and rest a bit. Then it’s ready to cut into thick slices and serve.

Classic German meatloaf ... moist, tender, and ready for dinner.

You can also let it cool down totally and use it for sandwiches. This is always such a treat.

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Meatloaf  Variation

This German meatloaf recipe is so versatile. Here I’ve turned 8 pounds of ground beef (that I got on sale) into:

From meatballs to mini meatloaves—ground beef never looked so good.

• German meatballs that will be oven-browned and then frozen
• 4 mini bacon-covered meatloaves to be eaten right away
• meatballs that will be cooked as Königsberger Klopse mit Sosse for the coming week
• and some left ground beef to freeze for some future use

Mini German meatloaves ... bite-sized bundles of bacon-wrapped goodness.

I love making this recipe into mini meatloaves … that way there's lots more crust for everyone!

What to serve With Meatloaf

Meatloaf served with red cabbage and mashed potatoes is always such a treat.

It is also delicious served with boiled potatoes and vegetables such as creamed Brussels sprouts, traditional German sauerkraut, or pan-roasted baby carrots.

Other Delicious German Meat Recipes

• Oma’s German Beef Rouladen
• Oma’s Classic German Sauerbraten 
• Oma’s German Schnitzel Recipe 
• Oma’s Chicken Cordon Bleu

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Oma's Traditional German Meatloaf Recipe (Falscher Hase)

This German meatloaf (falscher hase) is my easy family favorite ... savory, slightly smoky from bacon, and perfect hot or cold.

Prep Time:

15 minutes

Bake Time:

1 hour

Total Time:

1 hour 15 minutes

Servings:

Makes 4 - 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds (900 g) lean beef (or half beef and half pork)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 onion, finely chopped, (browned in vegetable oil, if desired)
• ½ cup (60 g) breadcrumbs or 1 Kaiser roll (see hints below)
• 1½ (9 g) teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon (1 g) black pepper
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled (optional)
• 4 strips bacon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, gently mix ground meat, eggs, onion, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. 
3. If you're hiding hard-boiled eggs inside: flatten the meat into the shape of a square, lay the peeled eggs in a straight line in the middle of the meat, and then fold sides over them. Shape meat into a loaf shape.
4. If you're not hiding hard-boiled eggs inside: mold meat mixture into a loaf shape.
5. Place meatloaf into a large shallow container - not into a loaf pan! I use a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
6. Lay bacon slices on top of the meatloaf.
7. Place dish in preheated oven for 50 - 60 minutes or until done. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the meat loaves are at 165°F.
8. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. 

Notes/Hints:

• Traditionally, stale buns were used instead of bread crumbs. Easiest is to use a Kaiser roll, and soak it in some warm milk or water for about 10 minutes. Drain it, squeeze out the liquid, and crumble the roll and add to the meat instead of the breadcrumbs.
• Shape into 2 smaller loaves, so there's more crust - everyone just loves the crusty ends - they're extra delicious! 
• Add any or several of the following: ¼ to ½ cup ketchup, barbecue sauce, mustard, and/or sautéed mushrooms.
• Change flavor by adding 1 teaspoon thyme and/or a teaspoon paprika.
• Other seasonings to try: caraway seeds, fresh parsley, or dried parsley flakes.
• You can omit the bacon strips to wrap the loaves. Instead, brush with barbecue sauce or ketchup before baking.
• This tastes so good when it's served with German potato salad.

*  *  *  *  *

Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

Recipe updated on June 12, 2025

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.