This easy Mini Meatloaf recipe is made with ground beef or ground turkey and topped with a delicious meatloaf sauce. They cook faster, are easier and healthier than traditional meatloaf.
Looking for more kid-friendly meals? Try Hawaiian Meatballs, American Goulash, or Chicken Pot Pie!
Why I love this meal:
- Fast – Making meatloaf in a muffin tin is easier to make and faster to cook than regular meatloaf.
- Make Ahead – This meatloaf is easily prepped in the morning or even the night before, making dinnertime way less stressful. I also like to make extra and freeze the individual portion sizes for future quick meals.
- The Sauce – The homemade sauce only has four simple ingredients and couldn’t be easier to whip up. It takes this meal over the top with how delicious and flavorful it is!
How to make Mini Meatloaf:
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 Tin: 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 meatloaf has 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 until cooked through. Serve mini meatloaf muffins with a side of Perfect Mashed Potatoes or this Apple Pecan Salad.
Healthy Meatloaf?
These easy mini 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.
Make Ahead, Freezing, and Storing Instructions:
- To Make Ahead: Combine meatloaf ingredients and then press into a muffin tin. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to bake, or up to overnight.
- To Freeze: Grease muffin tin and press meatloaf mixture into each. Cover and “flash freeze” for about an hour. Carefully remove each partially frozen meatloaf muffin and place them in a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, place the frozen servings back in muffin tin and allow them to thaw completely in the fridge. Then bake as instructed.
- To Store: Place the cooked muffins in a container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Serve With:
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Recipe
Mini Meatloaf
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs , or regular breadcrumbs
- 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, meat chopper, 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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I originally shared this recipe September 2013. Updated August 2019 and February 2022.
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Very good recipe! And much easier than making a full meatloaf and worrying about it being cooked the way through. I made it with mashed potatoes, carrots and peas. Definitely will be sharing this recipe and will be making it again.
Sooo good!
I had to adjust cooking times slightly as mine looked a little bigger than yours. I used a thermometer to make sure the internal temp was 165f. These are super greasy. I did pre-spray the pan which after the amount of grease left behind I don’t think it was necessary. My boyfriend ate one before it even got to the dinner table. I will for sure be adding this to my weekly rotation.
I use to make mine like this too and agree too greasy…I now just shape mine in mini loaves and bake them on a cooling rack tha sits inside a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil. The fat drips off and foil makes easy clean up. They came be frozen too
Thanks for posting the recipe.
Didn’t make these in tins (I have cupcake tins and was thinking muffin tins were larger) but I love Tastes Better From Scratch recipes and just made little loaves.
So. So. So. Good.
It is kind of a sweet meatloaf (which is just fine for my sweet tooth!), but i definitely understand if some would prefer to cut on the sugar in the sauce. I served it with lemon pepper green beans and while it might sound like a weird combo, it actually went really well together. I’ll make it with potatoes next time, but I was just working with what I had on hand tonight.
So happy for another winner! Feels a lot lighter than regular meatloaf, too 🙂
I just stumbled upon this recipe after not being able to find the one I typically use. I am so glad I saw this one. We just had it for supper. It’s definitely my new favorite! The nutmeg is the secret ingredient that makes it stand out!
I found this recipe about a year ago and make it often, definitely have added it to my repertoire. My husband is a chef and does most of the savory cooking (I am the baker in the family) – he enjoys this recipe when I make it and adds the mashed potatoes. I have even used the mini mini muffin tin when I use 2 pounds of beef and a little left over. Just like little poppers, they are actually really yummy if you are looking for a protein snack. I enjoy the sweetness of thr sauce topping, but I can understand those that think it’s too sweet. Thanks for sharing it!