Not Your Mama’s Meatloaf
Growing up I always disliked meatloaf. We didn’t eat it often, but when we did I basically doused the whole mess in ketchup to cover up what was surely something disgusting. Not that my mom’s recipe was bad, but as a kid MEAT LOAF is probably the least exciting food title there is. And honestly, that name is still pretty bad. But it has recently been revamped in our home to become one of Maddax’s favorites and our go-to for a quick and easy kid-friendly recipe.
I believe there are three secrets to the recent success of meatloaf relaunching its way into our home:
1. Use ground turkey—trust me.
2. Muffin size them—kids love kid-sized things.
3. Serve with Sriracha ketchup—amen!
Here’s how we do it:
There are only 8 ingredients in the recipe, and most of them you probably already have in your house, which makes this super easy to throw together at the last minute.
We use 1 lb ground turkey, but pay attention to the leanness, I feel the sweet spot here is about 85% lean, if you go much leaner than that the turkey will come out on the dry side, in any recipe. So remember, 85% is where its at.
Chop your onion and bell pepper and dump the whole mess into a mixing bowl. Combine it all together with a rubber spatula, or if you’re like me, just take off your rings and really just dig in with your hands until it’s well blended. I promise it’s the best and easiest way.
Note: If you don’t like onions, you can substitute for something else—yellow bell pepper, carrots, etc.—or leave them out.
Once the mixture is well combined, simply transfer into a greased 12-cup cupcake tin. (This also works really well in jumbo muffin tins.) Then drizzle on a bit of ketchup before baking. You can use regular ketchup or sriracha depending on how much spice you’re hoping for.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until meatloaf is cooked through.
For the adults, serve with a bit of Sriracha Ketchup on the side for a little added kick and enjoy!
These little muffin sized meatloafs make great leftovers and freeze well too! Hope they are a hit for your family like they have been for ours.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey - 85% lean
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup oats
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- Ground pepper to taste
- * Sriracha Ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Finely chop onion and bell pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine the turkey, onion, bell pepper, oats, soy sauce, ketchup, oregano, garlic salt and pepper until well combined.
- Transfer evenly into a 12-cup non-stick cupcake baking pan and drizzle with ketchup.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, until the meat loaf is cooked through.
- Serve hot with ketchup or Sriracha ketchup on the side.
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