This Pantry Snack Doubles As One Of The Best Meatloaf Binders You Can Use

Breadcrumbs are a typical meatloaf binder, and they do help us to use up a leftover bread loaf that is starting to stale. (There are only so many croutons and french toast casseroles you can eat, after all.) That being said, though, there are other types of leftovers needing to be used up, even some snack foods. Potato chips, in fact, are particularly disappointing once they're no longer fresh. Despite the famous Lay's slogan "Betcha' can't eat just one," you can't always finish the entire bag while each chip is still crunchy. That's okay, though, since Erica Blaire Roby advocates adding this ingredient to your meatloaf as a flavorful binder or topper.

Roby, founder, owner, and champion pitmaster at Blue Smoke Blaire BBQ, emerged victorious on Season 2 of Food Network's "BBQ Brawl" to be named the"Master of Cue." Her repertoire also extends beyond barbecue, however, as she proved by sharing this tip about meatloaf making: "If you're feeling creative, crushed potato chips ... can act as a binder." She recommends crushing them in a food processor first if you're mixing them with the ground meat. You can also crush them by hand or with a rolling pin to make coarser chips to use as a topping — as per Roby, "A really fun idea would be to make crushed chips a crust on top of the meatloaf, for crunch and salt." Speaking of salt, though, she did note that you might want to watch the amount you use in the meatloaf recipe. You may need to reduce it as necessary to compensate for adding such a salty ingredient.

Erica Blaire Roby also mentioned a different crunchy snack that could work as a meatloaf binder, that being pretzels. Both the hard and soft kind would work, although the latter would be better used as a bread substitute in the loaf itself while the former would be ideal for a crunchy topper. Tortilla chips would also work well either in or on a meatloaf, and some cooks have even been successful with crushed Cheetos.

The type of snack you use might depend on what you have on hand, but you could also choose it to suit a certain type or flavor of meatloaf. For example, tortilla chips would suit a Southwestern-style meatloaf made with chiles or salsa, while pretzels could work in a German-inspired loaf made with ground pork and glazed with mustard. As for potato chips, these come in a number of different flavors that could complement different types of meatloaves. Barbecue chips could be paired with a barbecue sauce topping, while salt and vinegar or all-dressed ones could add some tang to the standard ketchup glaze. Even the more uncommon flavors (like Cajun squirrel, quite possibly the weirdest chip flavor in history) might be incorporated into meatloaf by a sufficiently creative cook.