Roasted Pineapple Meatloaf Sheet Pan Dinner

Easy Sheet Pan Dinner

Roasted pineapple meatloaf, yes, you heard that right. Imagine taking your basic meatloaf and adding a twist that takes it to the next level, much like these Mini Chipotle Meatloaves!

The lightly sweet pineapple Hoisin glaze replaces the ketchup and Worcestershire style glaze. The flavor is a revelation. It puts an Asian inspired spin on classic meatloaf and adds a new universe of flavor. Best of all, it’s all baked on one easy sheet pan!

• Mini Chipotle Meatloaves

Delicious Roasted Pineapple Meatloaf

Roasted pineapple adds a touch of acidity, an edge of caramelized sweetness, and a bit of umami from the burnt edges. This is the flavor sensation that sold a gazillion Hawaiian Pizzas. I particularly love it in this Roasted Pineapple & Chipotle Honey Ham and Roasted Jalapeño, Pineapple & Chicken Tenders!

Even better, Hoisin sauce and pineapple juice go together like sunrise and sunset. Each is great on its own merits. But together? That is what makes the world go round!

You can do this meatloaf with ground pork or turkey. You can even do it with ground pork mixed with ground turkey. Truth be told, I think if you put this glaze on an old shoe then it would still taste delicious.

• Roasted Pineapple & Chipotle Honey Ham
• Roasted Jalapeño, Pineapple & Chicken Tenders

What Exactly Is Hoisin Sauce?

If you are not familiar with Hoisin sauce then it is time to check it out. Hoisin sauce is an oriental sweet brown sauce made mostly with soy beans. People either cook with it as a glaze or browning liquid, or they use it for a dipping sauce.

The seasonings vary, but five spice seasoning, fennel, chili, vinegar, and pepper are mixed with a soy bean paste. It is sweet, yet complex, and goes great with all kinds of meat and vegetables.

Hoisin sauce is typically the dipping sauce when you have Peking Duck at a Chinese restaurant It is very sweet and savory, so that is why it goes well with the sweet and sour aspect of pineapple in this recipe.

If you want to really take this sheet pan dinner to the next level, you can make your own homemade Hoisin sauce.

The Virtue Of Individual Pineapple Meatloaf Portions

Most people cook meatloaf as a big loaf in a baking pan. In this case, I recommend the small portion sized method for a very good reason.

The flavor of the glaze is so delicious, so the individual portion sizes provides a few benefits.

The smaller portion sizes cook much more quickly than the big pan of meatloaf. When you smell this cooking then you will really grasp how important that becomes.

With more surface area to spread the glaze on, that means more glaze per bite. In fact, you can’t take a bite without getting a bit of glaze in the mouthful. You can’t do that with regular style meatloaf.

You can cook the pineapple chunks and the individual meatloaf portions together so the juices from each blend and flavor each other. The smell of this wonderful chemistry in your kitchen brings you back to wondering how soon it will be done.

Storing Meatloaf For Later

Not much chance there will be leftovers with this recipe, but in the event there is… storing in the fridge or freezer is not a problem. Indeed, it might even taste better as leftovers! It also makes for a great meal prep recipe!

If you store it in the fridge, then make sure it is in a tightly sealed container. Ideal if there is a bit of headroom in the container. The top of the meatloaf gets pretty sticky.

Freezing works too. You can wrap them in wax paper then store them in an airtight container or zipped locking bag. Easy to take out and put in the microwave to heat and eat.

You may just want to add a little more Hoisin glaze when you reheat them, in case they dry out a little bit.

Variations On Your Meatloaf

I recommend starting with ground turkey or ground pork. Those work wonderfully and both seem like they were invented to put Hoisin sauce on. However, feel free to break the mold. Lamb, beef, and even ground chicken or shrimp will also work wonderfully.

Get creative and try blends like beef, lamb, and pork. Or do a shrimp and chicken mix. If you are going outside the box to make a pineapple meatloaf, then you might go all the way outside and see what you can come up with.

Sides That I Recommend For Roasted Pineapple Meatloaf

With the roasted pineapple, you kind of already have a warm salad built into this dish, but you can certainly try a few sides to go along with it as well.

If you are up for it, then check out a couple of these suggestions

Roasted Balsamic Root Vegetables – the vinegar and starchiness of the root vegetables works well with the sweet and savory pineapple meatloaf

Citrus shrimp salad – Light and citrusy and the shrimp helps create a surf and turf combination

Thai peanut chicken crunch slaw salad – Stay in an asian theme with this Thai inspired chicken slaw salad

• Roasted Balsamic Root Vegetables
• Citrus shrimp salad
• Thai peanut chicken crunch slaw salad

Serving: 1 g | Calories: 563 kcal | Carbohydrates: 54 g | Protein: 37 g | Fat: 24 g | Saturated Fat: 6 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14 g | Cholesterol: 139 mg | Sodium: 484 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 44 g