Brown Sugar Meatloaf with Chipotle Gouda

Brown Sugar Meatloaf stuffed with Chipotle Gouda and a tangy glaze. This is meatloaf like you’ve never had it – but like you’ll wish you always had!

Y’know, for never having posted a meatloaf recipe in the five years I’ve been blogging, I sure seem to be on a meatloaf kick lately.

But this isn’t just any meatloaf. We’re talking Brown Sugar Meatloaf. Stuffed with Chipotle Gouda…then topped with a smoky-sweet glaze.

Unlike my Turkey Meatloaf Bites, this Brown Sugar Meatloaf uses all beef. Of course, turkey could easily be used in its place, it’s really your personal preference.

This is an easily adaptable recipe – turkey instead of beef, any cheese could be used (although the chipotle gouda is insanely good) and, if you don’t care for spicy, simply leave out the chipotle. Heck, I even used the Truvia brand’s new Brown Sugar Baking Blend in place of the brown sugar. I had to do something to lower the calories after all that cheese and the Brown Sugar Baking Blend has 75% fewer calories!

I used a LOT of chipotle gouda in this Brown Sugar Meatloaf. A full 8 ounces which was a good 3 cups or so. I wrote the recipe with just 1-2 cups but go with what your instincts tell you. I knew the cheese would leak out a fair amount, especially when I heaped so much on, but I like to take what’s leaked out and spread it over the top. I’m cheese-crazy, what can I say :) However much you use, it’s easy to stuff it. First, just make your Brown Sugar Meatloaf base, and mound up your cheese, like this:

Then top it with the remaining meatloaf mixture and seal it in as best you can. Finally, spread that glaze all over the meat, like this:

All that’s left to do after that is bake it until it’s cooked through and the cheese is melty and oozing out the sides. Which will give you this:

Wait…it won’t give you those killer Loaded Hasselback Potatoes, you have to make them! But they’re even easier than this Brown Sugar Meatloaf so you’re good to go!

Oh!! I forgot to tell you something…sometimes I’m in the mood for the veggies to be diced so I get little chunks of goodness. Other times, I like to run the veggies (in this case, the mirepoix, otherwise known as onions, celery and carrots) through my Vitamix or food processor so they’re super fine and blend right into the meat. I still saute them, it’s just more of a cohesive mass more than separately diced veggies. This is a great trick if you sub with turkey because it helps keep the meat juicy and tender.

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Brown Sugar Meatloaf

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Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 cups chopped Chipotle Gouda, I used Boar's Head
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 3 Tablespoons Truvia Brown Sugar Blend, or 1/3 cup regular brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons adobo sauce, from a can of chipotle peppers

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Saute carrot, celery and onion in a medium skillet for a few minutes or onions are soft. Add garlic, saute another minute or two.
3. Add skillet ingredients to ground beef in a medium-sized bowl. Using your hands, gently mix in eggs, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper until just combined.
4. Place half of meatloaf mixture on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil (this will make cleanup a breeze). Shape into a loaf shape, keeping the top very flat. Place cheese in a mound on top of meat, then top cheese with remaining meatloaf mixture, forming into one large loaf and sealing completely to prevent cheese from oozing out during cooking.
5. Mix together ketchup, brown sugar and adobo sauce. Lightly brush 1/2 of mixture onto top and sides of loaf (it makes a thick layer).
6. Bake for 45 minutes, then pour/brush remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Continue baking another 15 minutes or until meatloaf is completely cooked through. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

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Kristy Bernardo

Kristy Bernardo is the recipe creator behind The Wicked Noodle. She's a five-time cookbook author, has taught cooking classes to both kids and adults, and has been creating recipes for nationwide brands since 2009. She learned most of her cooking skills from her mom and grandmother, then honed those skills at boot camp at the Culinary Institute of America.

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