How can you make gluten free a meatloaf recipe that calls for 1.5 cups of bread crumbs to 3 lbs of meat w/out buying gluten free bread, etc.

I make meatloaf all the time using gluten-free rolled oats. It also works to use the potato flakes for instant potatoes--just mix them in as you would breadcrumbs and they'll re-hydrate as it bakes. The potato flakes will make for a smoother meatloaf texture, but it'll also be a more delicate loaf.

Bob's Red Mill has a great gluten-free oatmeal that would work nicely in a meatloaf.

I wonder would tapioca flour or cornstarch work?

Quinoa flakes, flaked rice, possibly puffed rice or corn or millet -- something that will absorb liquids and not overwhelm.

Yes, I always use oatmeal too. Just be sure to buy the ones marked 'gluten-free' or 'processed in a wheat-free facility'. Oats are gluten free, but can be contaminated in the processing, so check labels. Oh, and save me a slice of meatloaf for a cold sandwich, would you?

Agree amysarah - I always make meatloaf with oatmeal; I've never used breadcrumbs. Works great.

I'm not very knowledgeable about gluten-free cooking, but I've heard of meatloaf made with oatmeal instead of bread crumbs. (Am I correct that oatmeal is gluten-free? Not 100% sure.) Rice - perhaps ground - should work too; it's often used in traditional stuffed peppers - the meat stuffing there isn't so very different from meatloaf, right?

Yikes, that sounds difficult! I'd probably just buy a loaf of gluten-free bread. What if you added rice or quinoa or some other non-gluten grain/pseudo-grain?

Do you have any rice crackers that you could pulse up in a food processor? Alternatively, seal them in a plastic bag and run a rolling pin over them.