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Meatloaf with Sweet Onion Glaze

Meatloaf with Sweet Onion Glaze. A great old fashioned meatloaf recipe that stays moist and is complimented with the most delicious, easy to make, sweet onion glaze.

Old Fashioned Meatloaf with sweet onion glaze close up image of cut slice on serving platter.

Old Fashioned Meatloaf with sweet onion glaze

Of all the things I’ve ever cooked for her, my meatloaf is what Spouse most often requests. It is a very good standard recipe made even better with the addition of a sweet and spicy onion glaze.

With her other favorite, yesterday’s Rum and Raisin Ice Cream for dessert, I guess I have no fear of the doghouse for the time being…and they say the way to MAN’s heart is through his stomach… luckily I’m not sexist! 😉

Old fashioned meatloaf with sweet onion glaze. wide shot of complete meatloaf, sliced on serving platter

Old Fashioned Meatloaf with sweet onion glaze

A good, old fashioned, homemade meatloaf recipe is hard to beat and everyone needs a good standard version in their comfort food repertoire. This has been my standard recipe for at least the last 25 years but with a little recent updating; a great recipe s always an evolving thing.

This one stays moist and juicy and gets a major flavour boost from a tangy, sweet onion glaze. Some mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes is all it takes to complete one of the best comfort food meals ever.

Coarse Ground Beef Chuck Blade Roast

Coarse Ground Beef Chuck/Blade Roast

TIP

We began grinding our own beef quite a few years ago and it really makes so much difference in everything from great burgers to a proper, slow simmered Spaghetti Bolognese

We use a grinder attachment which is available for KitchenAid mixers. I always prefer a coarser grind for better texture.

Grinding pork for sausages

Coarse grind your own beef if possible or ask your butcher.

My favourite cut of beef to grind is a chuck roast (blade roast). You’ll discover that ground chuck has far, far more flavour than regular supermarket ground beef.

The other advantage, of course, is the ability to trim much of the fat if you want, resulting in a much leaner end product.

I do not, however, recommended this when making burgers. Very lean ground beef makes for very dry burgers unless you are going to cook them quite rare.

Old Fashioned Meatloaf with sweet onion glaze shown on seving platter with peas and carrots.

Old Fashioned Meatloaf with sweet onion glaze

If you liked this recipe be sure to check out another of our time tested, old fashioned family favourites, The Very Best Spaghetti & Meatballs!

The Best Spaghetti and Meatballs

The Best Spaghetti and Meatballs

Originally published on  Jan 8, 2008

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Old fashioned meatloaf with sweet onion glaze. Image with title text for Pinterest

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Old Fashioned Meatloaf with sweet onion glaze close up image of cut slice on serving platter.
Yield: 8 servings

Meatloaf with Sweet Onion Glaze

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Meatloaf with Sweet Onion Glaze - a great old fashioned meatloaf recipe that stays moist and is complimented with the most delicious, easy to make. sweet onion glaze.

Ingredients

For the Meatloaf

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 medium red onion, finely diced
  • 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
  • 3 ounces milk
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
  • 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika (optional)
  • 1 egg, beaten

For the Sweet Onion Glaze

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, julienned
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup plain tomato sauce
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp hot sauce, more or less to taste
  • 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp dry mustard powder
  • 1 tsp ground ginger

Instructions

For the meatloaf:

  1. Saute the garlic and red onion in the olive oil only until softened but not browned.
  2. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for a few minutes before adding to the ground beef.
  3. Mix together the Parmesan cheese, pepper, thyme, oregano, nutmeg and paprika. Mixing these together first helps to distribute the seasoning evenly through the meatloaf.
  4. Add to the ground beef and breadcrumbs along with the beaten egg and the sautéed onion and garlic.
  5. Combine all well and press into a medium to large sized loaf pan. It's a good idea to use a loaf pan that's a little larger than the amount of meatloaf mixture to allow for the addition of the glaze later. The pan I use is perfect. It gets filled to about ½ inch from the top rim.
  6. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes.
  7. Drain excess fat from the loaf pan and add the sweet onion glaze.
  8. Return to oven for an additional 30-45 minutes. Drain excess fat again before serving.

For the Sweet Onion Glaze:

  1. In a small saucepan sauté the onion, garlic and olive oil for about 3 minutes until the onions soften but do not brown.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer slowly for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Notes

Any leftovers can be used for meatloaf sandwiches on toasted crusty bread or as we often do at our house, as paninis with the addition of some mozzarella or provolone cheese.

Recommended Products

Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 448Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 105mgSodium 723mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 2gSugar 16gProtein 30g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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Dorothea

Tuesday 9th of April 2019

Barry this is a wonderful meatloaf., I made it exactly as written. My husband and I loved it. I added this recipe to my Pinterest and reviewed it giving your website a shoutout. Thanks again from Lancaster, NY

Heather

Tuesday 9th of April 2019

Do you use store bought bread crumbs?

Michael sigmund

Tuesday 12th of June 2018

FABULOUS THIS RECEIPE IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!michael

Claudine strickland

Thursday 9th of February 2017

I noticed that salt is missing from meatloaf, will this make a difference in taste. Never cooked meat without salt before.

Claudine

Barry C. Parsons

Friday 10th of February 2017

I don't add salt because of the amount of parmesan cheese in the meatloaf, which has enough salt in it to season the meatloaf in my opinion. Add a dash if you like, if you are a person who heavily seasons their cooking.

Jackie

Friday 11th of July 2014

Hi Barry

What brand of loaf pan did you use in this recipe.

Barry C. Parsons

Monday 14th of July 2014

Brand? Not sure. Mine are ancient! :)

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