Mini Meatloaf
My mom made us meatloaf in a muffin tin all the time when I was a kid. It’s so yummy cooked this way and it’s also way easier to make and faster to cook the regular meatloaf! I particularly love that this recipe can be prepped in the morning, or even the night before, making dinnertime way less stressful.
I LOVE mini meatloaf because:
- Faster cook time
- Individual portion sizes
- Easy to make ahead, store and freeze
- More fun to eat!
Mini Meatloaf in 5 easy steps:
- Combine meatloaf ingredients. In a large mixing bowl (using your hands or a large spoon), combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, barbecue sauce, mustard, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and egg.
- Press into muffin tins. Divide the meat among the 12 cups in a standard muffin tin, pressing them down to fill the cup.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Make the sauce. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Once muffins have cooked for 15 minutes, remove them and blot out any grease in the muffin cups. Spoon the sauce over them.
- Return to oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve muffins with a side of Perfect Mashed Potatoes
I love the meatloaf sauce in this recipe because it’s delicious and couldn’t be EASIER, with only four simple ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, dijon mustard, and nutmeg. You can prepare it up to one week in advance, stored in the refrigerator.
Healthy Meatloaf?
These meatloaf muffins are only 140 calories made with lean ground beef or about 120 calories made with ground turkey (that’s including the sauce!). I often use ground turkey instead of ground beef because once I add the sauce, my family really can’t tell the difference.
Freezing and Storing Mini Meatloaf:
- To store: place the cooked muffins in a container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- To freeze: prepare the meatloaf and press it into the muffin tin. Cover the muffin tin with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer to “flash freeze.” After about 1 hour, remove the raw, partially frozen meatloaf muffins and place them in a freezer safe resealable bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- To re-heat: remove the muffins from the freezer and place them in the muffin tin, in the refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and top them with sauce. Bake again for 10-15 minutes.
Sides for mini meatloaf:
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Mini Meatloaf Muffins
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup onion , chopped
- 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
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl (using your hands or a large spoon), combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, 1 Tbsp barbecue sauce, mustard, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and egg.
- Divide the mixture among the 12 cups in a standard muffin tin, pressing them down to fill the cup. Bake for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a small bowl mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce.
- Remove the meatloaf from oven and use a paper towel to soak up any grease on the meatloaf.
- Generously spoon 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.
Nutrition
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe September 2013. Updated August 2019.
Jen says
This recipe is definitely a keeper for our family. Super easy to make and delicious! Thank you!!
Mandy says
I have made these several times and everybody loves them. Won’t make meatloaf any other way now. Thank you!
Kristin Barber says
Love it! The sauce on top is delicious. Glad I did it and not just ketchup. Way better!
Vicky says
Hi! I’m not a very good cook but I haven’t given up yet on finding a recipe for meatloaf that I can make and enjoy. I’ve been trying to find one that’s not only easy j to make, but tastes good so I don’t have to waste it. I found this one on Pinterest. I only have a mini loaf pan, so I just used that. I have to say, I could actually really enjoy this one!! There is only one change I will have to make with the next batch is to just don’t add any chili powder. I’m a big wimp when it comes to spice.
I also enjoyed the glaze. Thanks for the tip to remove the fat the has come up to the top. The glaze stayed where I told it to 😁 and it came out perfect. It wasn’t too sweet and no one ingredient overwhelmed another. Thank you so much for a recipe that I look forward to making again and again!
Marcia says
I make these and love the technique since I’m a single person. I always use cooked white rice instead of bread crumbs. This is a trick I picked up in the Pontiac Press in the 70s where a page had recipes for picnicking at Meadowbrook Theater.
Marcia says
I also sauté the onion and garlic to precook them a bit.
Christina says
I made these for the first time last week & they were amazing. My boys are very picky eaters & they both cleared their plates.
Sarah says
Made these for dinner and they were a hit! Everyone loved them including the kids 🙂
I also precooked onions with garlic and added 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese to ingredients.
Thanks!
Bridgette says
Did you use fresh garlic when you sautéed it with the onions or the garlic powder called for in the recipe?
Catherine says
I’ve made mini meatloaf many times but all of my family agreed this was the BEST EVER! So delicious and so easy!
Marla says
It was delicious! I made it without mustard because I didn’t have any, and used Italian breadcrumbs instead of panko. Turned out great!