Meatloaf In A Muffin Tin – Individual Mini Meatloaves Recipe
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These delicious individual size mini-meatloaves are baked in a muffin tin! Muffin pan meatloaf is perfectly portioned, cooks twice as fast and tastes amazing!
Have you ever used your muffin pan for anything that’s not sweet? There is always the first time for everything! Muffin pan is a perfect tool for making individual size meatloaf! Yes, meat DOES belong in a muffin tin!
Some people also call these mini-meatloaves “meatloaf muffins” or “meatloaf cupcakes”, but I’d like to pass on the whole muffins association. I like my muffins and cupcakes to be traditional sweet baked goodies, and I’d like to have them stay that way. So I’ll never refer to muffin pan meatloaf as meatloaf muffins or cupcakes – that just doesn’t sound appealing. Do not insult my muffins or cupcakes :) These things are called “mini-meatloaves”, period. The muffin pan is just a tool to make them – perfectly portioned, juicy and delicious meat.
The main advantage of making a meatloaf in a muffin tin is the cooking time is cut in half. Regular size meatloaf cooks in a an hour and 15 minutes, but when you put the same amount of meat in a muffin pan, it will cook in just 35 minutes!
If you want to have meatloaf on a weeknight, you won’t have to wait for over an hour for it to cook. Just stuff the meatloaf mixture in a muffin tin and dinner will be on the table in 35 minutes!
Like these yum-yums on a plate next to my mini-meatloaves above? Those are slow cooker mashed potatoes and Mexican street corn salsa! Just click on those links to grab the recipes :)
Individual muffin tin meatloaves are perfectly portioned and you don’t even have to slice the meatloaf. Not having to transfer crumbling meatloaf slices to a plate also makes life just a tiny bit easier :)
Just grab a personal mini-meatloaf and dig in! Two mini-meatloaves is the right portion for a hungry person!
Another awesome thing about individual muffin pan meatloaves is that they are easy to freeze. Make your own frozen dinners! Just put each cooked mini-meatloaf in a ziploc bag, squeeze the air out and put in a freezer. You can thaw it in refrigerator overnight or in a microwave when you have a spontaneous meatloaf craving. Meatloaf on demand – perfectly portioned and waiting for you! Did you know that you can freeze regular big meatloaf too? See my article on how to freeze meatloaf. It’s not as easy to freeze as the individual meatloaves though :)
Enjoy this delicious meatloaf in a muffin tin! Now since you got your muffin tin out, here’s your excuse to make some REAL MUFFINS! I have several amazing muffin recipes that make huge bakery-style muffins! Here you go:
Gluten-Free Blueberry Oat Muffins – super-healthy muffins that are low-fat, gluten-free and naturally sweetened with honey! Healthy muffin that tastes amazing – you owe it to yourself to check it out!
Pumpkin Muffins Recipe – so soft and giant!
Sweet Potato Muffins – yes, sweet potato is an awesome addition to the muffins, it creates amazing texture!
Chocolate Chip Muffins – bakery-style muffins loaded with chocolate chips!
Easy Banana Muffins – it’s like a banana bread in a muffin tin!
Meatloaf In A Muffin Tin - Individual Mini Meatloaves Recipe
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef or turkey
- 1 egg
- 1 onion minced
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup dried bread crumbs or Parmesan cheese for Keto option
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Recommended Kitchen Tools (click the links below to see the items used to make this recipe)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a non-stick muffin pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix ground meat, egg, onion, milk, bread crumbs, Worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
- Put the meat mixture in the muffin cups.
- Spread the ketchup on top of the meatloaf mixture.
- Put the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
I made this tonight and definitely will be making it again!! It’s easy and delicious!
I don’t have a normal muffin pan but I have the jumbo size and the tiny mini ones. I’m pretty sure the cooking times for these would be different then the normal sized but I’m not sure by how long. Any ideas?
I’d subtract 10 minutes for mini and add 10 minutes for jumbo muffin tin. To be sure, use the instant-read meat thermometer – 160F for ground beef and 165F for ground turkey.
Thank you! I’ve got them in the oven right now.
Is the milk necessary? My son has a dairy allergy. I have almond milk but I’m wondering if it’s okay to skip the milk all together. Otherwise, these sound great. I’m planning to freeze some for quick weekday meals.
You can substitute milk with almond milk or water. Don’t leave it out as it’s needed in this recipe for moisture.
I made this recipe in jumbo muffin tin. It was delicious!
Can I substitute saltine crackers for the bread crumbs?
Yes, just process the crackers in a food processor to turn into crumbs.
I only have a 1 pound package of ground turkey. What will be the measurement changes?
I put a little bit a twist to this. I used bbq sauce instead of milk, water or ketchup. Used oats instead of bread crumbs and added bacon. My family loves them.
I’ve been making meatloaf with ground turkey and oatmeal for years! One of my family’s favorite things I cook.
Just made these for the 1st time. I love them & was so easy. When they were done, i noticed there was a lot of “grease” in each of the muffin cups. Has anyone else ran into this? Suggestions of what can be done to not have this happen?
If you use extra-lean ground beef, there’ll be no grease :)
I use ground turkey instead of beef and don’t get grease. I also add diced colored peppers and onions, and sometimes mushrooms. We do Keto, so I toast low carbohydrate bread for crumbs and use almond milk.
Made this recipe for Sunday lunch. So good.
Love this recipe . I have used it several times. It did make a lot of grease but I read the solution to that above
This was so good! Had to sub a couple things tho. Only had beef/pork mix and husband doesn’t like ketchup on meat. He loved it with leftover bourbon chicken sauce glaze. Will make again lots!
These are so delicious that I’m going to make a big batch to freeze. Is it best to leave the glaze off when baking these to freeze , and place it on when it’s time to reheat in the microwave OR freeze with glaze?
It doesn’t really matter, so I would do whatever is easier, which I think is freeze with glaze.
These mini-meatloaves baked in a muffin tin are such a brilliant idea!
I agree mini meatloaves are best enjoyed as they are! Calling them ‘meatloaf muffins’ or ‘meatloaf cupcakes’ just doesn’t capture their savory goodness. I love using a muffin pan for perfectly portioned, juicy mini meatloaves without mixing them up with baked goods. Thanks for clarifying!