Did you know that meatloaf first become popular in the United States during the Great Depression? Made to stretch your dollar, this inexpensive meal made from hamburger has turned into a favorite family meal across the states. While some meatloaf recipes call for a "frosting" of mashed potatoes, brown gravy, or bbq sauce, it seems that the users of Pinterest have spoken: great meatloaf is best served with a tangy and sweet ketchup-based sauce. This is real comfort food here.
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Megan of Pip and Ebby currently holds the recipe for the best meatloaf recipe on Pinterest. With over 82,000 repins, this best-ever meatloaf is made from ground beef, crushed Ritz crackers, and a generous helping of ketchup. And with a cook time of only an hour and a half, it hardly takes any time to get this favorite meatloaf recipe on the table fast.
This is a classic meatloaf recipe to add to your dinner rotation. Check it out this easy dinner recipe below.
How to Make the Best Ever Meatloaf
To begin, mix together the ground beef, crushed Ritz crackers, a large egg, milk, ketchup, onion, salt, ground black pepper and garlic powder in a large bowl. You can always substitute ground turkey, ground pork, lean ground beer, or even ground venison for the ground beef. The same goes for breadcrumbs in place of the crackers.
Transfer the mixture to a loaf pan and shape. Although it's not in the recipe, this meat mixture would probably make some yummy Italian meatballs cooked either in the skillet, slow cooker, or instant pot and served with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese.
Back to the recipe: once the meatloaf is in the prepared loaf pan, bake this easy classic recipe until the ground beef is fully cooked, about an hour and a half. Nobody likes an uncooked meatloaf tonight. Yuck. Once the internal temperature hits 165F using a meat thermometer, you are good to go!
Meanwhile, in a small bowl make the delicious glaze spread. Combine the ketchup, brown sugar, apricot preserves and Worcestershire sauce and mix to form a tasty sticky sauce. Pour the glaze over the meatloaf about 45 minutes through the cooking time and bake for the remaining 45 minutes. If you don't have the ingredients listed for the glaze, try using your favorite bbq sauce instead.
As one of the most delicious and moist meatloaf recipes online, this savory, weeknight recipe will appease even the picky eaters in your family. Serve with a side of roasted veggies or your favorite casserole.
We just can't wait to try the meatloaf sandwiches the next day. Talk about the ultimate comfort food that would even make Grandma proud!
Get the full recipe here.
This post was originally published on November 29, 2018.
