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The best Mini Meatloaf recipe is delicious and easy to make, cooked in a muffin tin. We top it with a simple homemade sauce that is irresistible.
Mini Meatloaf is a kid favorite meal that we ALL crave.
Mini Meatloaf is a kid favorite meal that we ALL crave.As much as I love our traditional meatloaf recipe, I make this mini meatloaf in a muffin pan much more often because the meatloaf cooks so quickly, and I love the individual portion sizes.
This is a go-to for me on busy weeknights because the meatloaf and sauce can be made in advance, so they're ready to go in the oven at dinnertime. Plus, meatloaf muffins are freezer-friendly, so it's worth making a double batch to have a quick freezer meal ready for another day.
How to make Mini Meatloaf:
Combine: With clean hands, a large spoon, or meat chopper, mix ground beef (or ground turkey), breadcrumbs, BBQ sauce, mustard, onion, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and egg until combined.
Bake: Press meat mixture into a standard 12 cup muffin tin, pressing down to fill the cup. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15 minutes. While baking, mix all sauce ingredients.
Add Sauce: Spoon sauce over each meatloaf muffin then bake again for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through (160°F on meat thermometer). Serve with extra sauce, cauliflower salad, roasted vegetables, or mashed potatoes.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing Instructions:
- Store leftover meatloaf muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- To Make Ahead: Combine meatloaf mixture and press into muffin tin. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to overnight.
- To Freeze: Combine meatloaf mixture and press into greased muffin tin. Cover with plastic wrap and “flash freeze” in the freezer for about an hour. Carefully remove each partially frozen mini meatloaf and transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, place frozen meatloaf muffins in the muffin tin and thaw in the frdige overnight. Bake as instructed.
Recipe Variations:
- Turkey Mini Meatloaf: With lean ground beef, each mini meatloaf muffin is only 140 calories. If you use ground turkey, it's only 120 calories (both include the sauce).
- Gluten-free Adaptation: Use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs, and gluten-free BBQ sauce.
Serve With:
- Brussels Sprout Salad
- Mashed Potatoes
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Roasted Vegetables
- French Green Beans
- Wild Rice Pilaf
- Potatoes Au Gratin
- Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Whole Roasted Cauliflower
- Wedge Salad
Mini Meatloaf Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef, ,or ground turkey (680 grams)
- 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs, , or regular breadcrumbs (100 grams)
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped, (70 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon barbecue sauce
- 1 Tablespoon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 egg, , lightly beaten
Meatloaf sauce:
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, (73 grams)
- 1/2 cup ketchup, (120 grams)
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix Meatloaf Sauce ingredients: brown sugar, ketchup, dijon mustard and nutmeg.
- Meatloaf Mixture: In a large mixing bowl (using your hands, meat chopper, or a large spoon), combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, 1 Tbsp barbecue sauce, mustard, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and egg.
- Press into muffin tin, divide the mixture evenly among the 12 cups, pressing meat down to fill the cup.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and use a paper towel to soak up any grease on the meatloaf. Generously spoon meatloaf sauce over each mini meat loaf. Return to oven for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the meat is cooked through.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and any extra sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe September 2013. Updated August 2019, February 2022 and January 2025.
Love this. I decided to give meatloaf another shot because I haven’t hated it since I was a child. Wow!! I loved it, my husband loved it and my 4 & 7 year old picky eaters couldn’t get enough!! Thanks!!
I’ve made mini meatloaf many times but all of my family agreed this was the BEST EVER! So delicious and so easy!
These were delicious! Love all of your recipes – thank you for always being my “go-to” when coming up with what to make for dinner!
Thank you so much Kate! That means a lot.
I made these and they were absolutely delicious! 10/10.
I’m actually not reviewing your recipe exactly. I’m reviewing your method. Our family has a turkey loaf recipe that we have been using for over 50 years. It is a favorite. It makes a turkey loaf that is made with dry stuffing mix and poultry seasoning and celery and onion and eggs. We serve it with cranberry sauce. It tastes like Thanksgiving 😊. I’m on Hospice now and my 83-year old husband has to cook for us. (He didn’t cook before.) He tried your method with our recipe so that he could easily pluck a mini turkey loaf out of the freezer to heat in the microwave for my lunches. Wow, it worked great! They were done perfectly. Thank you! You have helped us.
Do we spray and or line the muffin tin?
I spray the muffin tin!
Thank you Rachel
Your meatloaf sauce has four ingredients:
Meatloaf sauce:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
However, your picture of the meatloaf sauce has something else – what is that?
Also, why do the instructions tell you to “Press into muffin tin, divide the mixture evenly among the 12 cups, pressing meat down to fill the cup“, but in your picture, it looks like the mixture has been gently dropped in and doesn’t come close to filling the cup?
I hate inconsistencies like this in online recipes.
Thanks for catching that! The circled ingredient is the brown sugar. lauren usually doubles this recipe for her family since they love it so much!
For the muffin tin: You’re right that the photo shows it right after scooping. You don’t need to press super hard, but do press enough to fill the cup and remove air pockets so they hold together nicely while baking. Thanks for the question!
SOOO Good!! So much flavor and very easy to make.
I’m on Hospice and need easy things for my husband to make. If he bakes 12 and freezes, how would he reheat them?
Absolutely ❤️ If he bakes all 12, cools, then freezes: reheat 1–2 at a time either thawed (350°F, covered, 12–15 min) or from frozen (350°F, covered, 25–35 min). Add a spoonful of sauce before reheating to keep them moist. Microwave option: 1 mini meatloaf + a little sauce, cover, heat 60–90 sec, then 30–60 sec more if needed.
Thank you!
If I use a mini muffin tin, how long should I bake it for?
Yes! In a mini muffin tin, bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, then add the sauce and bake another 6–8 minutes, or until they hit 160°F in the center. Keep an eye on them the first time since ovens and tin sizes vary a bit.
Do these have to be frozen before cooking? If I cooked an extra batch and then froze them for easy lunches would it affect the flavor or texture? Asking because you specify freezing before cooking.
They don’t need to be frozen first 😊 You can cook them right away. You can also bake them, cool, and freeze for easy lunches later. The flavor and texture still hold up really well.
Super easy, quick and delicious. My kids inhaled these. Great weeknight dinner for a busy family!
Yum! What a keeper! My teen daughter gave it two thumbs up, too! Thanks for the yummy recipe. 🙂