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
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Recipe
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
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I originally shared this recipe September 2013. Updated August 2019, February 2022 and January 2025.
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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.
No, the loaf pan will take much longer –here’s my recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/meatloaf/
Hands down the BEST meatloaf!! Even better than my moms!! Super easy to make and the whole family LOVED them! Definitely a family favorite!
I made these exactly the same but doubled up and in mini loaves in a 18 loaf pan and cooked for 20 min each time and they were FANTASTIC. So much so that this is my first review on Pinterest ever. Loved by my eaters including myself. Thank you.
First time trying this, I put together a weekly menu so I can watch my budget at the grocery store, today was meatloaf or meatballs with side dishes. My son said meatballs sounded good and I didn’t have the energy for meatballs so I compromised, mini meatloaves and my son loved it and so did I
Yum. If you use lean meat make sure to add a little extra sauce to the meat. This recipe was delicious and I used a little olive oil spray, I was surprised it didn’t stick to the pan at all. Great recipe!
OMG I loved this recipe!
I do not enjoy cooking AT ALL, but this looked so good! I have always loved the ends & edges of regular meatloaf so you can imagine how thrilled I was to see this version!
I did change it up a bit as I only had Progresso Italian bread crumbs. I also did not add mustard. Lastly, I also cut up a green bell pepper to add like my grandmother used to!
I changed the sauce as well. Again, like my grandmother I just used ketchup & a whole lot of brown sugar.
I never comment on recipes but this was FABULOUS!! I will definitely cook this again! I also appreciate the info on freezing as it will come in handy! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Great recipe, very easy and quick to bake. My one substitution was celery instead of onions. I thought the sauce was a bit too sweet, will cut down on the sugar next time or try BBQ sauce instead of sugar as others have suggested. I liked the chili powder in the meat mixture very much!
I cut the recipe in half since there is just the two of us. And I substituted impossible burger for the ground beef. Came out great. Got a thumbs up from my husband who also ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! This was definitely a quick, 30-minute meal and I really appreciated that. I will definitely save this to my favorites list. 🙂
Great recipe! I added one carrots finely chopped into it and my 3 yo loved it.