Community Pick
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
"I use chili sauce or salsa instead of ketchup to give a nice contrast to the sweetness of the brown sugar. A lighter version can be made using Splenda brown sugar blend, skim milk, and Egg Beaters. Got this one from the AllRecipes website. It's one of their most popular recipes."
photo by Ashley Cuoco
- Ready In:
- 1hr 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1⁄2 cup ketchup
- 1 1⁄2 lbs lean ground beef
- 3⁄4 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3⁄4 cup saltine crumbs, finely crushed
directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan.
- Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar.
- In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf.
- Place on top of the ketchup.
- Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.
Questions & Replies
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Do you cover it with foil before baking?
Reviews
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Yooper, this was truly wonderful, moist, very good tasting, meaty (not too much filler), held-together beautifully, even when sliced hot, now that’s a good meatloaf! I knew that ½ cup packed brown sugar was way too much sugar for us with ½ cup ketchup, as we don’t like meat too sweet. So I tried 1/8 cup packed brown sugar, tasted it and it was just right for us. Would not change a thing in the ingredients other than the brown sugar/catsup ratio. Because my oven tends to burn on the bottom I put the catsup/brown sugar mixture all over the top of the meatloaf and that worked great. And thank-you Yooper for suggesting this recipe in my recipe request, I was looking forward to making it and we all really enjoyed it and Will be making it again! -
This is an absolutely amazing recipe. My husband actually argued with a co-worker over who's wife made the best meatloaf -- turns out it was the same recipe! I've never enjoyed meatloaf but actually crave this. Wouldn't change a thing, except my family loves ginger so we add a little more. -
I have never tasted a better meatloaf. It doesn't fall apart and tastes great.
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Made this for my family, who love meatloaf. I am not a meatloaf lover myself, but have to admit that this was the best meatloaf I have ever eaten. Smelled great cooking and the rest of the family could not get enough! All I heard was "Awesome" through the whole meal. I used 2 lbs. of 85/15 ground beef, but otherwise followed the recipe. My mixture was VERY wet, to the point that I could not even shape it, but I just kind of poured it into the loaf pan and the texture after cooking was fine and it sliced great without falling apart. Took about 1 1/2 hours to cook through since it was larger. Thanks for the great recipe...unfortunately, there was none left for sandwiches :( -
this was a very good meatloaf but i found the brown sugar and ketchup to be too sweet for my taste. i shaped the mixture into a loaf and put the ketchup and brown sugar on top like a glaze. i did only use a little less than 1/2 cup of milk and my mixture was still very wet but other than that i stuck to the recipe. the meatloaf itself is very good and the next time i make this i will leave out the brown sugar and ketchup. thank you mark for the recipe.
see 176 more reviews
Tweaks
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This has been a family favorite for a long time. I have always made it with panko crumbs rather than saltines. Also I use red onion. As others have said, I sometimes use chili sauce instead of ketchup. Last tweak is I always double the recipe and make two loaves. I mound them up on top of foil wrapped cooling rack placed inside a rimmed cookie sheet, and pour the ketchup/brown sugar mix over the tops. Takes a bit longer to bake when there's 2. -
Great recipe was a bit skeptic at 1st but its worth trying .. mixed Ground beef with Italian sausage (removed casing) added clove and a half of garlic, Instead of saltine crackers I used pretzels and lathered the sauce A bit on the bottom of the pan and the rest on top of the loaf before I put it in the oven...came out awesome;) -
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I'm such a fan of yooper's recipes, how could I have missed this one? So easy and simple, yet the best meatloaf I've ever made. Well formed and tasty. I used sweet chili sauce instead of catsup. Gave the meat a nice tang. I've finally found a meatloaf recipe that will be made more than once...thanks for yet another good recipe, yooper. -
The best part of this recipe was the way the meatloaf kept its shape and sliced beautifully (especially nice for sandwich eaters). We really liked the moistness of this meatloaf. I did not however care for the flavor or lack of. It needs just a little something more. I will make the meatloaf again with maybe some garlic and diced carrots. <br/>I did use salsa instead of ketchup and a little less milk.
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Woooooow!! What a terrific meatloaf recipe! Before I give the full feedback let me advise that I did change some things ONLY because I had to use turkey and that was a first. The basics of the recipe remained the same however in fear that the turkey would make the recipe bland I made the following modifications..... please know that this is my new ONLY meatloaf recipe and turkey may be the permanent replacement for ground beef (it was so tender and moist).<br/>Added: heaping half cup of celery sauteed it with the onion with salt. pepper, and Italian seasonings with butter and olive oil. Also added a bit more bread to the cracker crumbs (3 dinner rolls); Put 1/3 c brown sugar into the mix, 3/4 cup ketchup, 1 Tsp chicken base, garlic & onion powder. Love this site and love this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
yooper
houghton, mi
What can I say about myself that hasn't already been mentioned in the police reports? Just kidding! I'm a single guy who loves to cook! Good thing, or I'd starve or go broke eating out! I love to read, horror and mysteries are my favorite.
Love music, (except rap) and I'm a huge Green Bay Packer Fan!
