I hereby nominate this 5th day of November to be declared “Ugly Recipe Day!” Ugly recipes, you see, need love too. Sometimes the ugliest ones are actually the best. This is one of those guys: Cape Cod Cranberry Meatloaf
It’s definitely not pretty (and I totally bow down to anyone who has the ability to make gorgeous meatloaf), but it sure is good.
What’s special about it? Well, it starts with your typical meatloaf mixture: ground beef, breadcrumbs, and onion bound together with eggs, milk and ketchup. Fresh thyme and rosemary are mixed in too, and the whole thing is set into a loaf pan loaded with a generous puddle of brown sugar- sweetened cranberry sauce. The sauce seeps into the meatloaf as it bakes, loading it with flavor and keeping it moist and tender too.
My family of three gave my Cranberry Meatloaf 3 double-thumbs-up. We usually like to use ketchup to dunk our meatloaf into, but this recipe has enough flavor on its own. No dunking ketchup needed. The meat itself is tender, and the sweetened cranberry sauce lends a slight sweet flavor to the dish. It’ll be a dinner-repeat in our house for sure. I served it with some special scalloped potatoes that I’ll be sharing on the blog next week (and I promise… they’re pretty).
Cape Cod Cranberry Meatloaf
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- ½ cup whole cranberry sauce
- ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2½ pounds ground beef (I used 85% lean)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 small (about ¾ cup) onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ½ cup plain breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 to 4 whole bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the cranberry sauce and brown sugar. Place the cranberry sauce mixture in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (except bay leaves and thyme sprig) and mix well. Set the meat loaf mixture in the pan on top of the sauce.
- Top the loaf with bay leaves and thyme sprig and bake 1½ hours or until cooked through. **Place a rimmed pan on the rack under the loaf to catch any excess drippings. (Line that pan with foil if you want easy clean up!)
- Allow the loaf to cool for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprig. Very carefully use a spatula to scoop underneath the meatloaf and move it to a serving plate. Drizzle some of the pan juices over the loaf.
Notes
- If you are preparing this recipe as gluten-free, just be sure to use brands of cranberry sauce and ketchup that are known to be GF, and use GF breadcrumbs in place of regular breadcrumbs.
Nutrition
If you’re into meatloaf, these meatloaf recipes on some of these great food blogs look good too:
Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf by What’s Cookin’ Chicago?
Bacon- Wrapped Meatloaf by Taste and Tell
Turkey- Pesto Meatloaf with Tomato Sauce by Kalyn’s Kitchen
Greek Turkey Meatloaf by The Perfect Pantry
Classic Meatloaf by Simply Recipes
Meatloaf Cupcakes by Bake at 350
I will definitely be making this again! Made for the first time for Valentine’s Day. The recipe made enough to fill a large heart-shaped cake pan and another small one. I put the drippings in mashed potatoes. Next time, I will make a gravy with them. The fresh rosemary and thyme on top were killer. My kitchen smelled so good for days. I put half the meatloaf in the pan, added cheese, then put the rest of the meatloaf on top.
I also added worcestershire sauce, A1 sauce, and a little onion soup mix.
I’m so glad that I found your recipe! Years ago, on a new cakepan liner, I found this recipe and another one for poppyseed lemon cake with a banana cream filling. Both were fantastic! But many years and many moves later,I’ve lost both recipes. From what I recall, your cranberry meatloaf is identical. I’m saving it for future reference, as this is my FAVORITE way to have meatloaf!!! (Now if I could just find that cake recipe…) Thank you!!!
This recipe was absolutely amazing!! My entire family enjoyed the meatloaf.
We have ‘meatloaf’ pans that strain the fat away at the bottom, so I just mixed the cranberry and sugar into the meat.
Thanks for sharing it! 🙂
I was looking for a ground turkey recipe on Pinterest and found this. I did make it with ground turkey and it was super tasty. Definitely going to be a repeat in my menus.
I made this for dinner last night. It was delicious. My mom, who has made many meatloaves, said this was the best tasting meat loaf she’d ever tasted. Who knew a little cranberry sauce could make all the difference?! I will be making this recipe again.
Brown food is so hard to photograph – but I have to say this looks fantastic! I just bought some ground turkey and was planning on making some meatloaf this week – we’re all in the mood for some comfort food after the hurricane. I love the sweet tangy flavor of cranberry sauce in this recipe – going to have to give this a whirl!
Made this last night for my family! I did substitute ground turkey for the beef because that is what I had on hand. This was soooo good! My family loved it! A nice combination of savory and sweet. It was almost like Thanksgiving dinner in a loaf! Thanks so much for a great recipe!! I’m keeping this one 🙂
I’ll have to try it with turkey!
Ok, I don’t particularly like meat loaf but my husband loves it! With the addition of cranberries and brown sugar I may love it too. Thanks for this lovely fall recipe.
Lori, I don’t think it’s ugly. I used to hate meat loaf because the stuff I had as a kid was horrible. I thought that’s how meat loaf was supposed to be. Luckily I found some good meat loaf recipes and now I add it to the menu once in a while.
This is one I will try for sure. I usually serve my meat loaf with ketchup on the side, but for this one, I think I will serve it with a side of home made cranberry sauce.
Ugly?! Um, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen all day – and I want it in my belly bad!!!
Oh, I love the flavors of this meatloaf. My husband is not a big fan of meatloaf, but I think he will love this!
OMG, I bet this would be good made with ground turkey and spicy italian sauceage in place of the beef. 🙂
Was thinking meatloaf tomorrow. I usually use a brown sugar/chili sauce glaze. I will try this as I happen to have cranberry sauce in the fridge. I am going to try with groung turkey.
First of all, I think it looks amazing! I’d definitely want to dig in! Loving the unique twist. Thanks for the link love as well!
Oh my gosh this sounds amazing!!! I love cranberry and in meatloaf sounds delish!!
ugly doesn’t matter– as long as it’s yummy!!
The ugliness won’t stop me from devouring this entire loaf!
even if you think it’s ugly, you did an amazing job styling it and photographing it! i love meatloaf and i love that you gave it your own spin and flavor to it!
Love your take on a classic meatloaf with this recipe, Lori! I’m a New England girl at heart so I love using cranberries this time of year. Delish!
I think this actually looks fabulous, Lori. I love the top, it looks so caramelized and perfect! I actually just made a meatloaf last night and I was thinking that there is no way that I could ever make it look nice for the blog. I do love meatloaf though!
Beautiful, Lori! I bet this would also make amazing sandwiches.
I’ve seen so many meatlof recipes lately, and believe me…yours still looks delicious and I’m sture it tastes incredible too, especially when it folds in cranberry sauce.
I’ve found that ugly food is always the yummiest…this sounds amazing!! Perfect Fall meatloaf 🙂
Una ricetta davvero interessante!!!
I love everything about this ~ looks amazing even with it’s looks!
Meatloaf is such a perfect winter meal, love this!
I love it, Lori!!! I have many, MANY ugly recipes! And sometimes they are just the best! This sounds delicious!
haha! We should all get a free pass every once in a while to post something ugly but totally delicious! There are too many great recipes that fall under that category. This meatloaf looks awesome.