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Home / Recipe Collections / Meatloaf / Homemade Meatloaf Sauce

Homemade Meatloaf Sauce

5 minutes mins
| 1 Comment |
4.41 from 5 votes
Jump to Recipe 04/24/18 | Updated: 04/26/24 | by Nora

Homemade Meatloaf Sauce is an easy and delicious topping to put on your meatloaf. It’s quick to put together with a few simple ingredients, and tastes absolutely delicious. Try it on your next meatloaf – you will love it!

Meatloaf sauce in a jar with a spoon

I think by now you’ll know that I have a thing for meatloaf. I mean, looking at you… Mozzarella Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf!

I also enjoy a good BBQ Turkey Meatloaf, but the last time I was just about to make one, I realized I was all out of BBQ sauce. Gasp, shock, what!

I contemplated making my own BBQ sauce (just without the pineapple chunks), but then I figured I could probably do something even easier, without having to boil it to thicken.

And I was right!

Thus, my homemade meatloaf sauce was born.

Making homemade meatloaf sauce is incredibly easy:

  1. Stir everything together and use on meatloaf.
  2. That’s it.

Yes, really!

spooning meatloaf sauce out of a jar

Making homemade sauce and condiments is actually ridiculously simple, which is why I’ve been doing it more and more to save money and also to eat a little healthier.

I even make our own Teriyaki Sauce for meatballs, salmon and chicken, and my own Korean BBQ Sauce!

Once you start making your own condiments, you’ll ask yourself why you ever bought them in the first place.

The same goes for salad dressings, by the way!

But what goes into a sauce for meatloaf?

Nothing spectacular, really.

  • tomato paste
  • water
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • fruit preserves
  • honey
  • salt

You can switch up the fruit preserves however you like, my favorite is apricot.

You can even leave them out and substitute some extra honey, if you’re scared your meatloaf will be too fruity. (But I very much encourage you to try it – it’s delicious!)

We also love adding a pinch of smoked paprika to the meatloaf sauce sometimes, for that smoky BBQ flavor. Yum!

spreading homemade meatloaf sauce on a turkey meatloaf

For a 1 pound meatloaf you need about ½ cup of sauce, which this recipe makes. if you make a 2 pound meatloaf, simply double it and you should be fine.

I guess I’m pretty happy I was all out of BBQ sauce that day – I still love a good meatloaf smothered in BBQ sauce, but this homemade one is going to become a regular in my meatloaf rotation.

And yes, meatloaf rotation is very much a thing, ha!

Get the printable meatloaf sauce recipe for your binder here:

Printable recipe

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spreading meatloaf sauce on meatloaf
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Homemade Meatloaf Sauce

Homemade Meatloaf Sauce is an easy and delicious topping to put on your meatloaf. It’s quick to put together with a few simple ingredients, and tastes absolutely delicious. Try it on your next meatloaf – you will love it!
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
4.41 from 5 votes
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Recipe details

Prep 5 minutes mins
Total 5 minutes mins
Servings 1 cup

Ingredients
 

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons hot water
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons fruit preserves we love apricot
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • Salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Stir together all ingredients until a smooth paste forms. Use on meatloaf as directed in your recipe.

Notes

Makes enough to generously use on a 1 pound meatloaf, if brushing once before baking, once during baking and once after baking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 213kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 2gSodium: 562mgPotassium: 622mgFiber: 1gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 815IUVitamin C: 16.3mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 2.5mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Sauce
Cuisine: American, Traditional

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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4.41 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Raquel Wilfong says

    Jul 31, 2019

    5 stars
    Added a little more honey just bc I didnt have preserves on hand, and a few dashes more of the Worcestershire sauce. Very good, and a much better taste than just the ketchup/ brown sugar thing. Thanks!

    Reply

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

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Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

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