If there’s one recipe I’ve made more times than I can count, it’s this meatloaf. It was one of the first things I learned to make on my own, and it’s never once let me down — which is exactly why I call it no-fail.
The secret is keeping it simple. Ground beef, an egg, onion, milk, and breadcrumbs — that’s your base. The glaze is brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup, and it caramelizes in the oven into something that’ll have everyone scraping the pan. You don’t need a loaf pan, you don’t need fancy ingredients, and you don’t need to be an experienced cook.
This is the kind of recipe that belongs in every home kitchen. It reheats beautifully, makes great sandwiches the next day, and feeds a hungry family without breaking the bank. If you’ve never made meatloaf from scratch, start here.
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Easy Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds pounds ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup dried bread crumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
- 1/3 cup ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, onion, milk and bread OR cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased 9×5-inch loaf pan, or form into a loaf and place in a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. Mix well and pour over the meatloaf.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour.
