We came across the backbone for this yummy recipe on a wonderful food blog we follow, The Nourishing Home. Kelly shares lots of great recipes that fit into whole food living, especially gluten-free and/or dairy-free. This one boosts the nutritional value of this ever-so-humble, but – face it – delicious comfort food considerably. Making it with NNBeef premium grassfed ground beef can’t help but make it even More Better! Try it as a traditional loaf, or the cuter, original muffin tin version. We love it either way and hope you will, too!
• 1 1/2 lbs NNBeef premium ground beef
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/4 C finely chopped onion
• 1/4 C finely chopped organic red bell pepper
• 1/4 C finely chopped carrot (bagged shredded organic carrots make this eeea-sy!)
• 1/4 C finely chopped organic zucchini
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1/4 t Italian herb seasoning
• 1/4 t dried parsley
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/8 t onion powder
• 1/8 t fresh ground pepper
• 1 large pastured egg
• 2 T ketchup
• 1/2 C bread crumbs or oats (GF if desired)
Optional: Ketchup-Maple Topping (below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 6 jumbo-muffin tin (or line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper); set aside.
Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Saute´ vegetables and garlic until soft (about 3 minutes).
Place ground beef in a large mixing bowl and add the veggies to the beef and allow to cool a minute. Then add all the remaining ingredients, except the optional topping. Using your hands, combine the ingredients together until well incorporated.
Evenly divide the meatloaf among the 6 cups in the prepared jumbo muffin tin. (Or shape into a bread loaf pan sized loaf and place on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, but baking time will be longer.) Bake muffins approximately 20 minutes, loaf about 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with the ketchup-maple topping (below), if desired, and continue baking another 15 minutes, until cooked through.
Tomato Ketchup-Maple Topping (yes, it’s really good!): In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 C ketchup with 2 T of pure maple syrup.
This recipe doubles beautifully and makes the best leftovers! Enjoy!
Many thanks to Kelly of The Nourishing Home! See the original Meatloaf Muffins Fun for the Whole Family! (DF, GF) here.
I’ve never thought of using a muffin Tim for meatloaf! Love the idea!
I do, too, Caroline! Cooks faster and lots of fun to have your own cute portion. Thanks for weighing in!
Fabulous! My husband took one bite and ran out to the store for fresh horseradish sauce. We only buy pasture raised meats, too.
Hi Desert Deb! Fresh horseradish sauce sounds divine on this meatloaf. We’ll pull it out next time we make it! Great suggestion, and thank you for reading and commenting on this yummy meatloaf! Pasture raised is the way to go – congrats on a great decision there, too!