Stuffed Cuban Meatloaf

A Two for Tuesday Recipe 

My mom use to make Cuban Meatloaf when I was kid and I was always fascinated by how she got the egg into it and made it not only taste great but look so pretty. My mom would always wave me off when I complimented the dish and she'd say "eh that's just picadillo with an egg in the middle, nothing special", but it was to me! Her comment is how I figured out how she made it.

My parents came over from Cuba in 1960 and I am thinking this may very well be a Cuban-American recipe, not sure that I've ever seen this in a Cuban food cookbook, but I use to see it at a few Cuban restaurants. The flavors are reminiscent of a Cuban Picadillo, one of my favorite of Cuban meal, which is a ground beef dish that simmers in onions, peppers garlic and lots of seasonings in a rich tomato sauce. But I digress, so back to the meatloaf! The meatloaf stays very moist because of the cooked onion, peppers and garlic that are added to the raw meat. It packs a big flavor punch that is a result of the blend of spices in my homemade sazón completa seasoning.  When you cut into it, you see a perfectly cooked egg, hugged by a blanket of pimientos and dotted by Spanish green olives, it's really impressive and is just so flavorful and delicious! If you have leftovers it's great the next day in a sandwich or you can make my cheesy biscuit empanadas!


1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound of ground pork
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 small pinches of salt
1/4 cup dry white wine or Vino Seco
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablesspoons Cuban sazón completa {you can make your own*}
1/2 cup finely grated Cuban cracker or panko breadcrumb
1 egg
Grated zest and Juice of 1 lime


For the stuffing
4 large soft boiled eggs {how to make the perfect soft boiled egg*}

1 7 ounce can of pimientos
10 small Spanish manzanilla green olives - pitted and stuffed with pimientos

For the topping over the meatloaf
1 pimiento, chopped until it is pulped
8 small Spanish Manzanilla green olives, finely minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 -3 tablespoons white wine



Heat a skillet over medium heat, add oil, onion, pepper, garlic and salt, stirring frequently, cook for 7-10 minutes until the vegetables are well softened. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup dry white wine, add tomato paste, allow to cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool enough that you can handle it with your hands.

To the ground meats add, the sazón, grated cracker, egg, lime zest and juice, and the cooled vegetable mixture. mix through using your (clean) hands. Do not overwork the meat.  Keep light and loose.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

To stuff the meatloaf lay out a 1" thickness of beef mixture on to a sheet pan, and shape into a loaf, about 8" long by 4" wide. Make a small "well" about 1/2 in from the  edge. Place eggs one behind the other, over each egg with a piece of pimiento (like a blanket), add an olive on either side of the top and bottom of egg. Carefully start covering the eggs with the remaining meat mixture, shape it into a dome shape.

To make the topping blend all the topping ingredients together and spread over top and sides of meatloaf.

Place in preheated oven, cook for 50-60 minutes, making sure to rotate your baking sheet halfway through the cooking process. Let the meatloaf rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Serve with white rice, mashed potatoes, vegetables or a salad of choice. Traditionally, my mom use to serve this with white rice, Cuban black beans and maduros. ENJOY!

Recipe Notes:
Make your own Cuban Sazón Completa, no MSG or fillers and way better.
If you have never made a soft-boiled egg, check out my post How to Make the Perfect Soft Boiled Egg but instead of simmering for 5, simmer just for 3 minutes. This give the egg the head start it will need to continue cooking with the meatloaf.