Pork, Apple and Sage Meatloaf
This simple Pork, Apple and Sage Meatloaf has all the flavors of the season in one tasty package. It not only makes for a very tasty meal, but makes great leftovers too. This dish is truly perfect meatloaf comfort food!
Why is Meatloaf one of the most popular comfort foods? I don’t really have that answer, it just is and it is certainly on the top of my comfort list. When it comes to making meatloaf, I love the fact that everything goes into 1 bowl and you get in there with your hands all at once. Then it’s just mix and roast. Easy-peasy!
Autumn/Fall Meatloaf
In keeping with the flavors of the season I use ground pork, apple and sage and the combination is beyond flavorful and oh so comforting.
Ketchup in Meatloaf
I don’t typically cook with ketchup, but I have to admit that it adds amazing flavor to the gravy and, as an added bonus, it also caramelizes to create a delicious crust that’s simply delectable.
Make Ahead Meatloaf
This pork, apple and sage meatloaf is both a fantastic and inexpensive dish for entertaining on a fall evening. Also perfect for family dinners, it can be prepared ahead and roasted when you’re ready cutting your time in the kitchen down.
Best Pan for Pork Meatloaf
I don’t use the usual loaf pan for meatloaf. Just like my Italian Meatloaf, I like to make it in a high-sided 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan. This not only allows the heat to circulate more around the meatloaf (to create that wonderful crust) but allows me to add stock to make gravy (more on this below).
Meatloaf Gravy
I recently started adding beef broth or stock to the pan with the meatloaf and this makes a delicious brown gravy while it bakes. The juices are added to a saucepan and thickened after baking.
Meatloaf Leftover Ideas
The leftover ideas for meatloaf are endless and only limited by your imagination. Here are some ideas that come to mind: You can go for the traditional meatloaf sandwich, toss it with pasta and vegetables, roll it up in wonton wrappers and make egg rolls, or break it up and sauté it with some potatoes to make a breakfast hash. That is, if you have any leftovers!
Freezing Leftover Meatloaf
Speaking of leftovers, this recipe makes a large meatloaf (enough to feed 8 people). What I sometimes do is I mix the meatloaf and separate them it into 2 halves when I’m only feeding the 2 of us and freeze the rest for another day.
Pork Meatloaf Cooking Time
This large meatloaf takes about 1 hour to cook, depending on your oven. Please keep in mind that it’s not good practice to rely on time alone when cooking meat, using a meat thermometer is the best way to know when the inside is up to the correct temperature of at least 165°F/74°C.
Pork Meatloaf Serving Suggestion:
A delicious homemade apple ketchup (pictured below) is a delicious condiment to serve with this meatloaf or use it top top the meatloaf before baking in place of regular ketchup. I served the meatloaf with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans.
If you’ve tried this Pork, Apple and Sage Meatloaf or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
Pork, Apple and Sage Meatloaf
Ground pork sweet apples and fresh sage are baked topped with ketchup.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (about 2) apples, cored, peeled and grated
- 2 pounds (907 grams) ground pork
- 3/4 cup (200 grams) yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup (small handful) fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup (38 grams) breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup (235 grams) tomato ketchup
- 2 cups (472 ml) beef stock/broth
- Cornstarch or flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Wrap the grated apples in a clean towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP SO YOU DON'T GET SOGGY MEATLOAF.
- To a large bowl add the ground pork, apples, onion, oregano, sage, egg, breadcrumbs, milk, salt and pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Add the meat mix to a 9 x 13. inch (23 x 33 cm) casserole dish and mold into a meatloaf shape, 10 inches long and 5 inches wideT (25 x 13 cm). Top with ketchup and pour beef broth to the bottom of the pan.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and contine to bake for 30 more minutes, or until a thermometer when inserted into the center reaches 165°F/74°F.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- To make the gravy using cornstarch, strain through a sieve and add to a saucepan. Mix a little cornstarch with water and stir into the gravy, simmer until thickened. Using flour, mix a little flour in a bowl with a little of the warm gravy, pour into the pan and whisk bringing to a simmer until thickened.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
2 slicesAmount Per Serving Calories 418Total Fat 25gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 131mgSodium 446mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 2gSugar 8gProtein 32g
29 Comments on “Pork, Apple and Sage Meatloaf”
Loved the pork meatloaf. However, rather than the gravy/ketchup suggested, I made a glaze comprised of apple butter, chili sauce, apple cider vinegar, & dry mustard from another recipe. It complemented the meatloaf very well.
This sounds delicious, I’ll give this a try next time. Thank you for sharing.
Hi..
Is the beef stock just to make the gravy? Can you still make without it?
Thabk you
The beef stock is for the gravy, and it also helps keep the meatloaf moist while baking but you can leave it out.
I made this last night for dinner. I used ground turkey and my kids got very impatient while it was cooking because it smelled so good. Tasted very good too and can’t wait for the leftovers.
I haven’t tried it with turkey, I’ll be trying it next time.
I have this in the oven right now and my kitchen smells like Thanksgiving and my mouth is watering.
The smell gets me every time, enjoy!
I made this for dinner last night, along with your fabulous apple-ketchup and it was to-die-for fantAstic. Absolutely incredible flavours.
I did sautee half of the apple and fresh sage along with the onion, then put the rest of the apple/sage into the meat, uncooked, and I let the loaf marinate in the fridge pretty much all day before cooking, which I think allowed the flavours to really pop.
Will definitely be making this on a regular basis. Thank you so much for the inspiration. :))
Thank you so much for your tips and feedback. I’m so happy you liked the meatloaf and you reminded me I need to make it soon 🙂
Where’s the apple ketchup recipe? I didn’t see this. The recipe talks about ketchup & gravy, but my version doesn’t show an apple ketchup.
The link seemed to have been missing from the text so I just updated it. Here is the direct link: https://culinaryginger.com/apple-ketchup/
For anyone else reading this, don’t forget to squeeze out the apples before adding them to the meat. I did forget and I had a pool surrounding my meatloaf! I did enjoy the apple catsup very much, it is worth the time to make it.
These tasted wonderful the night we made them (we made 2 loafs), and even better the next day cold, on sandwiches. Substituted the apples with organic, unsweetened applesauce, and made our own apple ketchup by just mixing 2 parts ketchup with 1 part applesauce. Avoiding dairy, so substituted the egg with egg-less mayo (“Just Mayo”), and skipped the milk all-together (texture was fine without it). Our new favorite meatloaf, will be sure to have this one again and again. Thank you! PS: Needed to bake this (at 400 degrees) for 70 minutes though.
Wow Ray thank you so much for the feedback. I love how you were able to customize to suit your dietary needs.
OK, I made this last weekend. I’m also going to go with dried sage next time; just not used to the flavor of the fresh.
I suppose all that makes it sound like we didn’t like it, it tasted very good, so I plan to try again with change.
I do have to admit to being lazy and not making the “apple ketchup” recipe. Instead, I mixed ketchup with natural applesauce and spread that on top of the meatloaf. Not sure how it compares to the real thing, but it tasted pretty good to us.
Hi Rebecca, thank you so much for your feedback. I understand your issue with the sage. I love your idea of the quick apple ketchup and it’s very smart of you to adapt the recipe to your own preferences. I hope you enjoy it the next time because the way we all taste food is a personal thing and we all should enjoy what we eat. Thanks again.
Meatloaf makes me so stinkin’ happy. I just love it. Your version sounds fantastic, the pork, the apples, and the sage, yum! Perfect with your apple ketchup, too. 🙂
G’day Your meatloaf looks delish! Wish I could try some now!
Cheers! Joanne
What a beautiful meatloaf for fall! And the apple ketchup is the absolute perfect accompaniment!
This is the perfect Fall meatloaf! Gorgeous photos too!
Absolutely gorgeous photos and the recipe is terrific. Must try this.
I can almost taste this with that beautiful sweet potato mash. A great reminder to make something like this this winter, Janette! I can imagine how wonderful it would taste covered in a tasty gravy … mmmm!
I love meatloaf and this seasonal version looks amazing! Great and wonderful idea to incorporate apples and pumpkin in it!
Beautiful colors and presentation.
Thank you 🙂
Looks delicious Janette!! Meatloaf is such a wonderful comfort food and I definitely want to try your recipe…the flavor combination sounds fantastic!
LOVE the flavors in this meatloaf, wow!!!
Thank you so much Matt.