Go Beyond Your Average Meatloaf By Adding Apples

Few meaty dishes can warm you up like a hearty slice of classic beef meatloaf. You can pair it with another comfort food side dish, such as macaroni and cheese, baked beans, or creamed spinach, to create an even more flavorful meal — but meatloaf is fine served by itself. This American staple is beloved by those who love the combination of sweet and savory flavors, as this scrumptious baked meat dish is traditionally topped with a ketchup-based glaze to bring those flavor notes to the table. However, you can push the sweetness further with one special ingredient.

Think beyond the topping as a way to boost sweetness in your meatloaf; you can amplify these flavor notes before you even finish cooking. How? Incorporate apples into your favorite meatloaf recipe. 

When you mix shredded apple slices with your other meatloaf ingredients, the resulting dish will be succulent and sweeter than you ever imagined. Even more incredible is that you won't be able to taste the apple flavors when you take a bite of your meatloaf. Plus, there are so many kinds of apples you can mix into your meatloaf recipe to achieve your desired level of sweetness, whether you prefer a little or a lot. 

There are over 20 kinds of apples; several varieties can give your meatloaf a distinctive upgrade. Your finished dish will get the most pronounced enhancement when you grate or shred some Fuji apples and mix it with your meat mixture. Gala apples may not make your meatloaf as sweet as Fuji apples, but they'll come very close. 

Golden Delicious apples are a little less sweet than other varieties, but they will still sweeten your meatloaf enough for you to taste the difference. The same goes for Red Delicious apples, which have the added benefit of bringing sour flavors to the mix. Honeycrisp apples have equal sweetness and tartness, which can further amplify the complex flavor profile of your meatloaf. After you've decided to include apples to make your meatloaf as sweet as you want, we suggest upgrading this dish further by topping it off with a savory glaze to pair with the boosted sweetness.

If you're using apples to sweeten your meat mixture, your meatloaf topping should have some salty, spicy, or tangy flavors for balance. There are plenty of sauces that will do the job. Brush a little barbecue sauce on your meatloaf for a smoky and sweet combination of flavors. Glaze it with yellow mustard for harmoniously tart and sweet bites. Or, pour Worcestershire sauce on your meatloaf to give the salty and spicy topping what it needs to balance the sweetness from your apple-infused meat mixture.

Top off your meatloaf with a nice layer of tomato gravy for a peppery and zesty finish that permeates every bite. For a fiery kick to your sweet meatloaf, top it off with your favorite hot sauce to give it some heat and delicious flavor. No matter what topping you add to your meatloaf, make sure you savor the sweet hit of flavor that comes from apples.