There’s something comforting about a classic meatloaf to sit down to for supper or as some would call it dinner. This meatloaf holds lots of mosture with the help of the oatmeal. The caramelized topping is a basic, and easy BBQ sauce that is the icing on the cake. It adds just the right amount of sweetness to this dish.

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My Mom made this a lot when I was growing up and to me, it’s a plate of comfort food that has a wholesome feel to it. I know a few anti-meatloaf eaters who changed their minds after trying this recipe. My husband is one of them, he now requests I make it throughout the year. This is a hardy dish that is easy to make and doesn’t take long to whip up for a quick, and easy dinner.

I love to mix it up the night before or in the morning while I am cooking breakfast and put it covered in the refrigerator until I am ready to throw it in the oven. I simply prepare it in the pan like I would for baking and then cover it before placing it in the refrigerator to bake at a later time.

Freezing Meatloaf: You can even mix this up and freeze it and simply thaw it out the day/night before you are ready to bake and eat it.

Using a fork to mix everything works really well.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground hamburger

1 and 1/2 c old-fashioned oatmeal

1 and 1/2 c whole milk

2 eggs

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Topping:

1 c ketchup

1/4 th c brown sugar

2 tbsp mustard

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 x 13- inch baking dish by lightly coating with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl combine the ground meat, old-fashtioned oatmeal, milk, eggs, onion powder, salt,and pepper.
Mix everyhing together and spread evenly on the bottom of the baking dish using a rubber spatula to pack it down and smooth it out. You can also opt for a cookie sheet and form it into whatever size loaf you want.
In a separate small bowl mix the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar and spread it over the top of the meatloaf.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

This goes well with many different sides. I love to serve this with mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans.

Options:

You could make this recipe using half-ground pork and half-ground beef instead of all-ground beef.

Supstute oatmeal for saltine cracker crumbs. If you decide to use crackers half the salt since crackers are so salty.

This makes a great freezer meal as well. I made this when I had my second child and it was great to have on hand and ready to go. I froze it uncooked and set it out the night before in the refrigerator and it’s ready to bake when I was ready to use it the next day. Right on the packaging the temperature and time it takes to make it to save yourself from looking that up later.

Mom’s Easy Meatloaf

This old-fashioned meatloaf is simple and easy to make. A hardy meatloaf with a topping that melts in your mouth.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Ingredients

2 lb ground hamburger
1.5 c old-fashioned oatmeal or crackers ( I always use oatmeal)
1.5 c milk
2 egg
2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Topping:

1 c ketchup
1/4 th c brown sugar
2 tbsp mustard

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. In a mixing bowl combine the ground beef, oatmeal, milk, egg, salt, onion powder, and black pepper and mix well. I find a fork works well for this.
In a separate small bowl mix the ketchup, brown sugar, and yellow mustard.
Using a rubber spatula pat down the meatloaf mix in the bottom of the 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Using the same spatula spread on the topping over the meatloaf.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a meat thermometer reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the fat content of the meat you may see some shrinkage around the edge away from the pan.