Meatloaf is one of those tasty, comforting dishes that has great flavor and is the perfect choice for a warm and filling family dinner. Unfortunately, some meatloaves are packed with sugar and don ‘t appeal to everyone! With this recipe, we found a lighter and still delicious approach to the classic dish and the cutest method of cooking them that you’re sure to love!
Using ground turkey or chicken is a great way to make this dish a little leaner, and we cut out the brown sugar and ketchup–the usual calorie bomb culprits–to make it even lighter. With a good amount of veggies in this, plus some great flavor, thanks to the mustard and Worcestershire, the only way to make it even better was (obviously) to bake it in a muffin tin! Adorable packing and presentation, along with easy to track portion sizes! We did add some yummy mashed potato “frosting” to help really make it a meal, but if you ‘re thinking about your waistline and trying to be good, go ahead and skip the mash; you could always go for quinoa or a healthy, wholegrain rice if you want some more substance. Don ‘t worry though, you can’t go wrong with this– it ‘ll taste great no matter what!
Meatloaf Muffins
Yields 12-18
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef), room temperature
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 red bell peppers; 1 sliced into strips, 1 finely diced
- 1 white onion, finely diced
- 2 cups mashed potatoes or potato puree
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- green onion, chopped, garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F and lightly spray muffin tin with non-stick spray.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and sauté diced red pepper and onions until softened. About 10 minutes.
- During the last minute of cooking, add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper and transfer vegetables to a large bowl.
- Add sliced red pepper strips to pan and cook until softened, 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
- To the large bowl, add ground turkey and breadcrumbs, and mix together with garlic, diced bell pepper and onion so everything is completely incorporated.
- Mix in eggs, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Spoon meat mixture equally into muffin tins and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until no longer pink.
- If using leftover mashed potatoes, refresh with heavy cream
- Remove meatloaf muffins from oven and top with sautéed bell pepper strips and a generous heap of mashed potatoes or potato puree.
- Return to oven and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Garnish with green onion and serve immediately.
Recipe adapted from Taste Of Home