Southwestern Mini Meatloaf Recipe
Posted: 05/12/2014
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This fun southwestern mini meatloaf recipe will be a hit for adults and kids alike. Cute, tasty, and healthy — what more could you want in a little loaf of meat?
Can you believe it is May? I can’t. I swear, time goes faster every single year. I think it’s the kids. I blame everything on the kids.
Messy house? Kids.
Messy hair? Kids.
Running late? Kids.
Muffin top? Kids.
Stretch marks? Oh my gosh — kids.
Food on my shirt? Kids. I’m just happy I made it out of the house wearing a shirt.
I blame the good stuff on them too. A whole lot of smiles and more joy than I ever knew possible.
Also, these fun little meatloaf muffins. Kind of kid food because they are mini-sized and cute (as cute as meatloaf can be). Adult food too though — because of the great flavors of corn, black beans, green onions, barbecue sauce, and more.
A mini meatloaf is a cute little package that is perfect for kids, guests, or packing in lunches. Everyone will love them.
About this Mini Meatloaf Recipe
While this recipe isn’t meatless, it’s a good way to eat less meat. The ground chicken is mixed with black beans, corn, egg, and oats to increase the protein, fiber, and veggies. I also add lots of chopped parsley (so good for you!) and sliced green onions.
If you like, substitute ground turkey or lean ground beef. Either would work well so if you have a preference, or if something is on sale, or if it just happens to be what you have in your fridge, go for it.
It takes about 10 minutes to make the meatloaf mixture. Try not to overmix it — gentle is better with meatloaf. Use a cupcake or muffin tin to bake the meatloaf. This recipe makes 12 little meatloaves. Brush the tops with barbecue sauce or ketchup if you want.
Normally, classic meatloaf takes a good hour and a half to bake when you bake it in a loaf pan. The beauty of this mini meatloaf recipe is that these babies are ready in less than a half hour!
I serve these “meat muffins” with more barbecue sauce. They’d be great with salsa and sour cream for more of a taco take on things. In fact, they’d be good wrapped in a soft flour tortilla.
More fun food ideas
- Pizza Macaroni and Cheese Muffins
- Lamb Lettuce Wraps with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Sauce
- Parmesan Crusted Pizza Grilled Cheese
- Mini Turkey Meatloaf Sheet Pan Dinner
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps — a restaurant copycat!
- Egg White Muffins with Sausage and Broccoli
- Southwestern Mac & Cheese Muffins
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
This fun southwestern mini meatloaf recipe is a hit with adults and kids alike. Cute, tasty, and healthy -- what more could you want in a little loaf of meat?
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken (or lean ground turkey or beef)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (or canned corn)
- ¾ cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- ¾ cup barbecue sauce, divided (more, if desired for serving)
- ½ cup rolled oats (old-fashioned or quick oats)
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onion (more, if desired for serving)
- ½ cup minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin tin (12 wells) generously with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, corn, black beans, ½ cup barbecue sauce, oats, green onion, parsley, oregano, salt, egg and egg white. Mix until thoroughly combined but do not overmix.
- Divide mixture evenly between each of the 12 wells in the prepared muffin tin. Brush top of each mini meatloaf with remaining ¼ cup barbecue sauce.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from the oven and let the meatloaves cool for 10 minutes. Use a fork or a small spatula to remove meatloaves from tins.
- Serve meatloaves with sliced green onions and/or barbecue sauce, if desired.
Notes
- Substitute ground turkey or lean ground beef, if desired.
- Ketchup can be substituted for the BBQ sauce.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 2mini meatloaves, Calories: 258kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 96mg, Sodium: 714mg, Potassium: 687mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 662IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 49mg, Iron: 2mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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Allie says
What kid friendly sides do you think go best with this meal? I made this last week and one of my five year olds literally said, “this is the best dinner you’ve ever made!” I slacked on the sides and just grabbed whatever we had, but now that I know it’s part of our meal rotation I need to pick up my game! A
Rachel Gurk says
Oh my gosh, that is the BEST! My kids are ridiculously picky right now so their sides are basically limited to canned green beans and fresh fruit. These microwave sweet potato chips are always fun! If they like potatoes, you could do some mashed potatoes in the slow cooker. Another fun option might be these zucchini pizzas – the cook super fast so you could do them after you pulled the meatloaves out of the oven.
Leah says
This is one of our favorites. Thank you!!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you like it! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Marcia says
This is such a great idea. I can’t wait to make it for my family. My kids will love it! Thanks for sharing!!
Judy Tanner says
What is the website for Taste of Michigan?
Thanks,
Jude
Rachel Gurk says
Hi — the website isn’t currently up. Did you have a question I could answer?