If preferred, top this cottage meatloaf with fresh herbs.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 5 mins |
| Servings: | 5 |
| Yield: | 1 9×5-inch meatloaf |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- ¾ cup fresh bread crumbs
- ½ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup tomato juice
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ cup ketchup
- 4 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with aluminum foil.
- Make meatloaf: In a large bowl, mix ground beef, bread crumbs, ketchup, tomato juice, onion, eggs, mustard, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper together until well combined. Press mixture into the prepared pan.
- Make topping: In a separate bowl, mix ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard together until smooth. Spread mixture over meatloaf.
- Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink, 35 to 45 minutes. Drain off fat. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 475 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 30 g |
| Cholesterol | 196 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 44 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 988 mg |
| Sugars | 15 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
To ramp up the flavor just a little bit it needs some bell pepper in it it’s pretty bland without a different flavor in there. But I really like the recipe
I skipped the tomato sauce, mustard, and red pepper flakes (didn’t have them). Was still delicious. Based on the reviews I did not add more ketchup to replace, I just went with it and it was delish.
good solid recipe – I substituted half the ground beef with ground pork and formed the meatloaf in the pan but baked it outside the pan to remove the grease – very good
I didn’t love it. It was ok but I called my mom after to ask how she makes hers because I knew it had a much better taste.
This has become our only go to meatloaf recipe for the past three years. No modifications needed for me. A friend brought it to us for a dinner gathering and we fell in love with it.
very good family really enjoyed I changed one thing I added bell pepper for more flavor will make again
We really liked this recipe. In fact, my stepson said that it was the best meatloaf recipe yet.
Delicious! I couldn’t find my recipe as I recently moved so I tried this one. I did omit the tomato juice and used onion powder instead of fresh onions ( it’s a texture thing for me) but otherwise followed the recipe. I’ll definitely be making it again.
I have made this as is so many times I lost count! I don’t typically like meatloaf at all, but I gobble this one up, and my tribe loves it too.
Easy and delicious!
This is hands down the best meatloaf ever! The only changes I made was instead of regular mustard I used Dijon mustard and instead of plain bread crumbs I used garlic and herb bread crumbs. I have made this recipe before using all the listed ingredients originally from the recipe but this last time I made it I change those two things and it took it to a whole nother level of goodness!
I have just about the whole set of Great American Recipes, this is my family’s favorite for the last 20 some years. In fact my daughter in law called a few months ago and said my son had been asking her to get my recipe…. love this meatloaf!
As others have suggested I doubled the sauce. Also I substituted Worcester sauce for tomatoe juice. I also divided and cooked in a muffin pan for 30 minutes applied sauce and then baked 15 minutes more at 365 degrees.
I freaked out when I realized I couldn’t find the card with my meatloaf recipe that had been mailed to me twenty years ago. Luckily, I found it!! Everyone in my family LOVES this meatloaf! It is delicious and easy!!
This is the best meatloaf recipe I have ever made, and I have made it numerous times throughout the years. I used to have the original “Great American Recipes” card, but lost it, and luckily found it posted here! I use very lean hamburger meat when I make it so it’s not as greasy. I have even made this in my instant pot in 25 minutes! I highly recommend this meatloaf recipe!
I have made this for years since I first received the card about 10 years ago in the mail. I couldn’t find it so went to the best route of searching it on the web. My 11 year old loves it and asked me last night if I could make it today. Great recipe!! I’ve added my own twist by removing the juice and using tomatoe sauce, a lil cinnamon to the sauce and some time changing up on the seasoning. Love mash potatoes as a side with broccoli.
Awesome recipe. I made this in cupcake tin, for individual portions. I was out of brown sugar so substituted for a teaspoon of sugar and a little syrup. Couldn’t tell the difference.
I made this exactly as instructed. No changes. It was so good!!! It’ll be my new “go to” meatloaf recipe. It held together very well. I’ve had trouble in the past with other recipes with it falling apart. I look forward to making this again. Great taste!
I made it following the recipe exactly because it was the first time I made it. It called for simply lining the pan with aluminum foil. Next time I would definitely put it in a drip pan, so it wouldn’t get so mushy setting in the grease. It was good but there is nothing special about it and I definitely would not hold up to being good for sandwiches the next day as it fell apart too easily.
Huge hit with my gang! Didn’t change a thing!
This was excellent! I used ground venison instead of beef and my homemade verde salsa instead of tomato sauce. I did a double batch and added some thyme and two more eggs so it would hold together good. Foil was awesome idea so I could freeze the extra one. Venison and extra eggs make this a high protein meatloaf.