So I have a new item on my stockpile list: crushed pineapple. That way, I can make this any time I want. Because I will be making it often. Being a food blogger, I’m always trying out new recipes and mix-n-match concepts with the food that I have on hand and what’s on sale at the grocery store. We have a very small “regular rotation” of recipes because of this…but this meatloaf is being added to the regular rotation. I’m so glad that I doubled this recipe…I doubled it so that I could make a regular loaf pan of meatloaf, and muffin tin meatloaves as well.
Huge. Huge. Huge hit!
The leftovers went into the freezer and made for quick and easy lunches. Below you’ll find the doubled recipe…cut it all in half if you just wish to make 1 meal’s worth. (But I highly recommend making extra to freeze!)
(Note: I tagged this recipe as Gluten Free…just sub the regular bread crumbs for gluten free bread crumbs.)
Hawaiian Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple drained well (reserve the juice)
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
For the Sauce
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 2/3 cup ketchup
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- Side dishes suggestions: green beans or corn or fries or mashed potatoes, or baked beans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, drained crushed pineapple, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.
- Add half of the mixture to a 9×5 loaf pan, and the other half divided into 12 muffin tins. (Or put the other half into another 9×5 loaf pan.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour (for loaf pan) or 20 minutes (for muffin tins).
- Meanwhile, whisk together 1/2 cup of the reserved pineapple juice with the ketchup and brown sugar. For loaf pan: after 1 hour of cooking, pour the sauce over the top of the meatloaf and bake for another 10-15 minutes. For muffin tins: after 20 minutes, pour the sauce over the top of each cup and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until cooked.
- Prepare preferred side dishes.
- Serve Hawaiian Meatloaf with sides.
- To Freeze: Let come to room temperature, slice into meal size slices, and then place into plastic freezer baggie and place flat into the freezer. Reheat in the microwave when wish to serve again.
Melissa H. says
What size can of crushed pineapple did you use? Maybe I should read the recipe again, I could have just missed it.
Melissa H. says
What size can of crushed pineapple did you use? Maybe I should read the recipe again, I could have just missed it.
Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says
Hey Melissa,
I used a 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple, as the recipe is written for 2 meals. If you just want to make 1 meal, then use half the can.
Erin
Sara says
Do you cook the muffin sized ones for 1:15 too?
Pamela S says
Don’t you have to cook the muffin tin ones less time? I can’t imagine cooking them as long as the loaf pan!!!
Brenda says
Hi…what size can of crushed pineapples…
cheryl says
I went to the “adapted from” link and saw a picture of a 15 oz can of pineapple. She says in that recipe to use 1/3 of that can. So a 5 or 6 oz can? The small one.
Laura says
Allergic to beef, but I bet this would be just incredibly amazing with ground turkey instead. Might take a little less cooking time since the turkey is so much less fatty than the beef, but really worth experimenting with and checking with food thermometer. Might also try replacing bread crumbs with my son’s favorite binder, crushed Ritz crackers. A little different, but equally easy and good.
Emily says
I wasn’t able to get too much juice to drain from my pineapple, so I used half pineapple juice and half orange juice for my sauce. Excellent!!
Sally says
Used one 8 oz bag of chicken stuffing mix instead of bread crumbs, also just a little shake ot curry powder.
Cora says
These look yummy! Have been wanting a Hawaiian meat muffin recipe. 1 question… Do you have any tips for pre-treating the muffin tins so they aren’t super messy in the end?
Thanks!
Diana says
We love adding oatmeal to ours instead of bread crumbs. And we have omitted egg with some success. (Allergies) We recently food processed the oatmeal into “bread crumbs” consistency so Dad wouldn’t balk again lol…
Melissa says
This was delicious! My toddler loved it and my husband who doesn’t share my love for meat enjoyed it too. I was impressed with how moist the meat stays. I’m glad this recipe was a double because now I have a great dinner stashed in the freezer for later.
Instead of baking in loaf pans, I shaped the mixture into two loaves and baked on a greased baking sheet. This way you get sauce on all the sides and not just the top! I halved the amount of sugar in the sauce, but I will probably just leave it out next time because ketchup has so much sugar as it is.
It may be because I didn’t bake in a loaf pan, but mine took much less than 1hr10min to cook. I used the thermometer probe attached to my oven to monitor the temperature and it was done after about 45 minutes or so.
Thanks for another great recipe!!
Priscila says
Thanks! Great recipe, I am trying it.