People will be curious as to what these water chestnut-crusted, delicious, and moist turkey meatballs are. The savory and sweet flavors of the apple-mustard sauce are perfectly balanced.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 1 medium onion, minced
- ½ cup saltine cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup minced green bell pepper
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 pounds extra lean ground beef
Instructions
- Mix tomato sauce, brown sugar, and mustard in a bowl until sugar dissolves.
- Mix onion, cracker crumbs, bell pepper, eggs, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Add ground beef and 1/2 of the tomato sauce mixture; stir until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a 2-quart, microwave-safe baking dish. Spread remaining tomato sauce mixture over top.
- Microwave on high until the loaf is set, the juices run clear, and meat is no longer pink inside, 10 to 15 minutes depending on the power of your microwave. An instant-read meat thermometer, inserted into the center of the loaf, should read 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).
- Remove from the microwave and immediately drain any grease from the dish. Let stand, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 382 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 148 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 665 mg |
| Sugars | 12 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
It came out a bit mushy and had a lot of liquid. I had to drain it a bit about halfway through cooking because it was boiling over in my microwave. I agree with the comment that there was too much sugar (and I generally love anything sweet). I did make some substitutions, so perhaps that’s why. I used panko bread crumbs instead of cracker crumbs, and Splenda brown sugar instead of regular. I had a large onion, so I used 3/4 of that instead of the medium. I cooked it slightly over 10 minutes, and it looked done, but perhaps I should have drained it again and cooked it more. I don’t know….. I did eat some of it for dinner. It wasn’t inedible.
This will definitely be a frequent main dish in our house. It was delicious, moist, but not mushy, and very easy to make. Substituted ground turkey for the beef. Substituted plain breadcrumbs for the crackers because I didn’t have crackers. Will definitely try crackers next time.
I used bread crumbs, a whole red bell pepper, omitted the salt and left everything else the same. Best to use oblong dish that is not deep. Mine in square deeper dish took 22 mins in the microwave.
For crust, top with crunchy fried onions.
I really like this and it’s good I didn’t have to turn on the oven in the hot temperatures we are getting.
I have not made this recipe yet but please make sure you temperature check it, microwaves heat unevenly because they don’t heat the same way an oven does and can leave cold spots harboring serious illnesses. Other than making sure your microwave is heating all the way this would be super convient and I can’t wait to try
I tried this today and tweaked it a bit by adding boiled eggs and peas (husband’s favorites) and it turned out to be one tasty and amazing meatloaf!
I made a few adjustments and it turned out perfectly! I used about 3/4 cup ketchup and 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing instead of tomato sauce, Triscuit Roasted Garlic crackers instead of saltines. My boyfriend was skeptical at first when I told him I was going to make a meatloaf in the microwave, but when he tasted it, he was pleasantly surprised. Two thumbs up for this easy and tasty recipe. I will be making it again.
Easy and delicious
Made a few changes. We used spaghetti sauce instead of plain tomato and added Velveeta cheese to the meat and the topping. Delish!
I did leave out the green pepper as my husband isn’t crazy about them. I love this recipe! I myself am not crazy about meatloaf but I love this one. Since there are only two of us I halve the ingredients. I also use a round casserole bowl and leave an opening in the middle so that it cooks more evenly. This is my go to recipe!
OK. I tried it. I have to say it was my mistake to try to serve it to my company of 6 before doing a “test drive”. I followed the recipe to the hilt. So…this is what I didn’t like: too much sugar, too much tomato sauce. I would skip sugar all together. It smelled great while in the microwave. Didn’t look like meatloaf at all. Crumbled when I tried to cut it into slices. Burned at the bottom (too much sugar). Thank heavens I was making sholet at the same time and could use those “crumbs” of meatloaf for that and doing so to save the dinner. I think I’ll go back to the conventional way of making meatloaf. It was kind of an embarrassed to say the least. I don’t think I’ll attempt do use this recipe again.
Microwave meatloaf is a staple in my house. This is a great base, you can experiment with adding different spices, bbq sauce, cheese if you please!
Very impressive for microwave meatloaf I thought it’d be tough but not at all excellent meatloaf Thank You
As others, I was skeptical about microwaving a meatloaf. I halved the recipe for the two of us; used a glass pie plate with a custard cup turned upside down in the middle, and arranged the meatloaf around it. Thank you sooo much. Loved not turning on the oven on a hot summer day! And, yummy too. : )
Awesome! Raising three kids has made me MORE and MORE appreciative of short-cut recipes like this one! I double the sauce to serve on the side and have meatloaf (my 7 year-old’s favorite!) on the table in 30 minutes flat.
I was hesitant to try this recipe at first. Microwave meatloaf doesn’t sound appetizing, but I had a craving for meatloaf and didn’t want to spend two hours making it. Surprisingly, it turned out delicious and moist. I’ll be using this recipe from now on. I did substitute the saltine crackers for seasoned breadcrumbs. Just try this recipe once, and you’ll love it. It’s easy to customize, too– add mushrooms, garlic, chives, etc.
Amazing! It came out moist and flavourful. I used more veggies (pepper and onions) than the recipe called for and I used garlic tomato sauce. My fiance was excited when he found out I was making meatloaf and then shocked when I put it in the microwave. I packed it around a baking dish and used my meat thermometer to check the done-ness. Lots of grease/oil but I just drained it out. Thanks Shelby!
Easy to make! Tasted pretty good! Will have to determine the optimum microwave cooking time in our new microwave. Was a little undercooked at first, and then just five minutes more made it perhaps a little too cooked. Did make as a ring in my Tupperware Stack Cooker, using the colander to drain so it would not sit in any grease while cooking. Boy, am I glad I sell Tupperware! 🙂 Will definately make again!
Surprisingly good texture and quite tasty, it’s great to be able to have meatloaf on a work night.
Very easy and cooking in the micro keeps the kitchen from getting any hotter.