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This Stove Top Stuffing Meatloaf is easy to make with just 3 ingredients, plus an easy ketchup glaze! Serve with mashed potatoes for the ultimate weeknight family dinner.
I love a good meatloaf for dinner, because everybody in my family will eat it without complaining. Especially when there’s mashed potatoes involved!
I almost always make my meatloaf with stovetop stuffing, because then I don’t need to measure out a million different spices to give the meatloaf flavor. I also never leave it unglazed, either I bake it with gravy or like I’m sharing here: With an easy ketchup and brown sugar glaze. So simple, yet so good!
Ingredients you’ll need
This is just an overview of the ingredients needed – scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for exact quantities and instructions.
Ingredient notes
- Beef: I always try to use lean ground beef (at least 93%) when I make meatloaf. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a ton of extra grease in the pan. If you can’t get lean ground beef, make sure you are very careful when removing the meatloaf from the pan. And you may need to drain the pan before removing the loaf.
- Stuffing mix: We like the Savory Herbs stuffing a lot, but the Chicken or Turkey are nice, too.
- Brown sugar: Feel free to use regular sugar or honey as a substitute.
- Worcestershire sauce: Soy sauce would be a good substitute, or just leave it out if you don’t have either on hand.
Step by step photos
This recipe has two key components: The meatloaf mix, and the ketchup glaze. Don’t worry, both are very easy.
For the meatloaf, the first step is to add the stuffing mix to a bowl and stir in 1 cup of hot water. Then you let it sit for 5 minutes.
After this, just add the egg and meat and stir to break them up. Then add 1/2 cup of the ketchup glaze and mix completely. I prefer mixing the meat with the hand mixer – not a fan of touching the raw meat mix ever since I had to turn 30 pounds of meat into meatloaves for an event, sorry 😂
By the way, I always make the ketchup glaze while the stuffing sits so I don’t just sit around waiting. It’s super easy – just ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder stirred together.
Finally, pack the meat mixture into a well-greased loaf pan. I know it’s traditionally baked in a Bundt pan, but in a Bundt you can’t glaze the top – and that’s my favorite part. So, I bake this in a loaf pan and it comes out great.
Spread half of the remaining ketchup glaze over the meatloaf, save the other half for at the end of the baking time.
Then, bake in the hot oven for 45 minutes. Carefully spread with the remaining sauce and return to the oven to finish baking for another 5-15 minutes.
The exact baking time depends on your exact size pan and how hot your oven runs. Mine definitely needs 1 hour in total to be done. The meatloaf needs to bake until it’s no longer pink in the middle. A food thermometer should read 160°F if stuck right in the middle of the meatloaf. You can read more on safe cooking temperature’s on the government’s food safety website: Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures Chart
Let the meatloaf sit on the counter for 5 minutes, then slice to serve 😍
Recipe tips
- Make sure you mix the meat really well with the eggs and stuffing, otherwise your meatloaf will not bake evenly!
- Do not add more than 1 cup hot water to the stuffing mix! I know the box says to add more water, but you do not follow the box instructions here – just 1 cup of hot water, otherwise your meatloaf could come out mushy.
- Don’t skip the 5 minute rest – this helps to lock the juices in the meatloaf so you don’t end up with dry slices.
Serving ideas
We love this meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a vegetable on the side – green beans are a favorite, but glazed carrots or even just peas are also delicious.
Leftovers go sliced into sandwiches for us, just the best lunch on the next day!
More easy dinner recipes
- Easy Shepherd’s Pie
- Hamburger Foil Packets
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Crockpot Tortellini Soup
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to add a review by tapping the stars in the recipe card below!
Stove Top Stuffing Meatloaf
Yield: 8 slices
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
This Stove Top Stuffing Meatloaf is easy to make with just 3 ingredients, plus an easy ketchup sauce!
Ingredients
For the meatloaf
- 1 (6-oz) box Stove Top Stuffing Mix (any flavor)
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 large eggs
For the ketchup glaze
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
Instructions
- Combine stuffing mix and hot water in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, combine ingredients for the sauce in a separate small bowl. Set aside.
- Stir soaked stuffing mix to break it up, then add beef and eggs. Mix to break up eggs and beef, then add 1/2 cup of the ketchup sauce and mix very well.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Pack meat mixture into a greased 5x9 inch loaf pan. Make sure to press down well to get an even, firm loaf.
- Top meatloaf with 1/2 of the remaining ketchup sauce, then bake for 45 minutes.
- Carefully remove from the oven and top with the remaining ketchup sauce. Bake for another 5-15 minutes, until no longer pink in the middle (a thermometer should read 160°F at the thickest part of the meatloaf).
- Let sit on the counter for 5 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan and slice to serve.
Notes
- Beef: I always try to use lean ground beef (at least 93%) when I make meatloaf. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a ton of extra grease in the pan. If you can’t get lean ground beef, make sure you are very careful when removing the meatloaf from the pan. And you may need to drain the pan before removing the loaf.
- Brown sugar: Feel free to use regular sugar or honey as a substitute.
- Worcestershire sauce: Soy sauce would be a good substitute, or just leave it out if you don’t have either on hand.
- Make sure you mix the meat really well with the eggs and stuffing, otherwise your meatloaf will not bake evenly!
- Do not add more than 1 cup hot water to the stuffing mix! I know the box says to add more water, but you do not follow the box instructions here – just 1 cup of hot water, otherwise your meatloaf could come out mushy.
- Don’t skip the 5 minute rest – this helps to lock the juices in the meatloaf so you don’t end up with dry slices.
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