The Best Brown Sugar Glazed Meatloaf Recipe

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Brown Sugar Glazed Meatloaf is comfort food done right – tender, juicy ground beef topped with a sweet-and-savory glaze that caramelizes as it bakes. If you grew up eating meatloaf but want one that’s anything but dry or boring, this is the recipe to try.

If you grew up in the United States, chances are great that you have had meatloaf. At least once. For many of us, it is quintessential American comfort food, ranking high alongside Buttermilk Biscuits and Apple Pie.

Made with simple pantry staples and finished with a classic brown sugar and ketchup glaze, this easy meatloaf is the kind of dinner that brings everyone back to the table—and usually back for seconds.

Why This Brown Sugar Glazed Meatloaf Works

• Simple ingredients, reliable results: no fancy add-ins—just classic comfort food that works every time.
• The glaze does double duty: a thin layer on the bottom keeps the meatloaf moist, while the top caramelizes into a sticky, flavorful crust.
• Balanced sweetness: brown sugar adds richness without overpowering the savory beef.

Ingredients

This meatloaf features a rich brown sugar glaze layered on both the bottom and the top, keeping the meat tender while creating a caramelized, slightly sticky finish.

Glaze Ingredients

• ¾ cup ketchup
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar

Meatloaf Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ⅓ pounds ground beef (grass-fed is best)
• 1 ⅓ cups bread crumbs
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk

How To Make Brown Sugar Glazed Meatloaf

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Before making the meatloaf, prepare the glaze by combining ketchup, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. Let it sit for a moment so that the sugar can dissolve a bit in the ketchup.
3. Next, spoon about a small layer of glaze (about ⅓ cup of the ketchup mixture) on the bottom of your loaf pan. (I use a 9×5-inch loaf pan.) Set the rest of the glaze aside and begin making the loaf.
4. Place the onion and bell pepper in a food processor and pulse until finely diced. Add the ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, milk, and ⅓ cup of the glaze. Pulse just until combined.

No food processor? No problem—finely chop the vegetables and mix everything together by hand in a large bowl until just combined.

1. Next, place the ground beef mixture into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Spoon the remaining brown sugar glaze on top.
2. Bake the meatloaf in the middle of the oven rack for an hour in the preheated oven.

It’s important to cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If the meatloaf is below 160 degrees, continue baking it until it reaches that temperature to be safe.

I suggest that if it has been baking for an hour and still has not reached 160 degrees, check every 10-15 minutes. (If you still cannot seem to get the minimum safe temperature, you might want to invest in an oven thermometer.)

Love meatloaf in all its forms? Try Home-Style Meatloaf in the Instant Pot for classic comfort food made easy, savor Boarding House Meatloaf inspired by the legendary boarding house in Lynchburg, Tennessee, or go bite-size with Mini Meatloaf Muffins for quick dinners and freezer-friendly portions.

Brown Sugar Glazed Meatloaf

Brown Sugar Glazed Meatloaf – this recipe will soon become your family’s favorite recipe for meatloaf. It’s delicious!

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Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 389kcal

Author: Lynda – Southern Kissed

Ingredients

• ¾ cup ketchup
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ⅓ pounds grass-fed ground beef
• 1 ⅓ cups bread crumbs
• 1 small yellow onion chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• Combine ketchup, brown sugar, and salt in a small mixing bowl and allow to sit for a couple of minutes to allow sugar to dissolve.
• Spoon one-third cup of sauce into bottom of a loaf pan. Set aside.
• Place ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, bell pepper, eggs, milk, and one-third cup of glaze into food processor and process until mixture is thoroughly blended.
• Place meat mixture into loaf pan and smooth down the top. Spread remaining glaze on top of loaf.
• Bake for 1 hour or until internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees.
• Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 899mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 31g

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Meatloaf FAQs

Meatloaf Facts & Trivia

• Meatloaf has European origins. It was mentioned in the Roman cookery collection Apicus as early as the 5th century.
• Europeans and Americans are not the only ones who enjoy meatloaf. Other countries, ranging from Chile to Vietnam, have their own versions of the meaty dish.
• America’s version of meatloaf originates from scrapple, a Pennsylvania Dutch dish made from pork scraps.
• Meatloaf gained much appreciation during the Great Depression, thanks to its adaptability. People were able to make use of less expensive fillers to stretch ground beef and create a satisfying dish.

Last Bite

Did the brown sugar glaze win you over? Leave a comment below and let me know if this meatloaf earned a spot in your regular dinner rotation.