This brown sugar meatloaf is everything a good meatloaf should be, moist, juicy, flavorful, and topped with a sweet, delicious, thick brown sugar glaze!
In a large bowl mix the first 11 ingredients until evenly blended. Add the ground beef (1 1/2 pounds) and with your hands mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
Mix all the topping ingredients in liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
On a rimmed, parchment paper-lined baking sheet form the meat ingredients into a loaf 5w x 7l x 2h (the mixture is a bit loose so making it wide, about 5 inches, works best). Pour half the topping over the meatloaf. Brush the sauce over top and sides in an even layer.
Bake meatloaf in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and brush the remainder of the sauce over top and side in an even layer then return the meatloaf to the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Allow meatloaf to cool for 10 minutes then serve.
Notes
Spice it Up: The hot sauce is added in such small quantities that it really just adds a little extra flavor, it doesn’t add any heat. My hubby’s a total wimp when it comes to heat and he doesn’t even notice it’s in this recipe.
If you want some heat you’ll need to bump up the amount of hot sauce significantly! You can also add some cayenne pepper to add more heat.
Gluten-Free: If you look through the ingredient list you’ll notice that this recipe adds oatmeal to the meatloaf rather than the usual breadcrumbs.
I really like this for two reasons; first, the oatmeal adds some really great nutrition, and second, if you use gluten-free oatmeal, it makes the overall dish gluten-free. I buy the gluten-free oatmeal at Trader Joe’s and really like it. We are a divided gluten family. Hubby tries to go mostly gluten-free, the rest of us, not so much!
Leftovers: If you happen to have any leftovers, this makes KILLER meatloaf sandwiches.