This Mini Meatloaf is tender, juicy, covered in a sweet and tangy sauce, and comes in a perfect portion size! It is the ultimate comfort food for any day of the week and gets rave reviews every time I serve it. Definitely the best ever mini meatloaf recipe.

 

 

Meatloaf isn’t the most glamorous dish. But when you serve up a mini meatloaf covered in a red, sweet glaze, who can resist that? My three year old likes to call the glaze her candy sauce. Because it’s that good.

I love the faster cooking time. Cooking regular sized meatloaf takes a while to make sure it’s cooked through. But when you make them mini meatloaf muffins, they cook ever so much faster.

I also love the flavor of this mini meatloaf recipe! Have you ever had a meatloaf that tasted like a bland hamburger? That is not this meatloaf.

It is packed with sweet, tangy, and a hearty meat flavor that makes you want to come back again and again.

The mini meatloaf’s are so easy to prepare. No need to precook any vegetables. They actually make a wonderful pre-made meal. Make them ahead of time. Freeze them. Eat when you’re ready. Perfect!

 

 

Ingredients in Mini Meatloaf

• Ketchup: Chiefly made from tomatoes and vinegar the ketchup will be used both in the meatloaf and in the glaze.
• Brown Sugar: This is probably what makes my three year old call the glaze a candy sauce. Who can resist a glaze with brown sugar.
• Lemon Juice: Most often I like getting lemon juice fresh from the lemons instead of from a bottle. I think it adds a lot of flavor to most dishes. However, bottled juice works great too.
• Powdered Mustard: I prefer powdered mustard so as not to make the meatloaf too wet. 
• Ground Beef: The main staple to this recipe.
• Bread Crumbs: If you don’t have bread crumbs or want to try a more low carb version, use saltine crackers instead.
• Onion: The onion doesn’t need to be precooked. 
• Egg: The egg holds it all together. Without eggs the meatloaf would just fall apart. 
• Beef Bouillon Granules: I love adding bouillon granules as they are so easy to toss in and pack a lot of flavor. You could also substitute for beef bone broth concentrate.

Pro Tip: Lean meat is more likely to dry out than fatter meats. I recommend using between 80-90% lean but no higher than that so your meatloaf will stay extra juicy.

 

 

How to Make Mini Meatloaf

• Make Sauce: You’ll make the sauce first as a portion of it will be going into the meatloaf and another portion will be used to glaze the tops. 
• Mix: Combine the ground beef, a portion of the ketchup mixture, and the rest of the ingredients. Plop them into your cupcake pan.
• Cook: In order to turn the ketchup mixture into a glaze, it needs to be cooked with the meatloaf but it cannot be cooked the whole time or it’ll burn or may run off the sides with the amount of fat that will be coming out of the meatloaf muffins. Wait until the meatloaf is cooked through and then bake it at the end.

Pro Tip: The muffin tin meatloaf can be served right away. If you need to wait a little while, cover them with aluminum foil to keep them warm until you’re ready to eat.

 

 

How Long To Cook Mini Meatloaf

While regular sized meatloaf takes about an hour to cook, mini meatloaf only takes half of that. Plan on 20 minutes for the meat to cook and another 10 for the glaze.

 

 

How to Store Meatloaf

1. Refrigerate: Keep them in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
2. Freeze: Don’t cook the mini meatloaves but follow the recipe up to that point. Place the raw meatloaves, pressed into the cupcake pan, into the freezer for 1 hour to flash freeze. Remove them from the freezer and place them in a freezer bag and back in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Pro Tip: Write the date and cooking instructions on the bag so you don’t need to look for the recipe when you are ready to eat them.

 

 

How to Cook Frozen Mini Meatloaf

Remove the uncooked mini meatloaves from the oven, pop them back into the muffin tins, and cook for 30- 40 minutes, until cooked through. Super simple.

You could also remove them from the oven, thaw them in the muffin tin overnight and then cook according to directions. Whichever one you find easiest, it’ll work either way.

 

 

Can I Use Cupcake Liners to Bake Mini Meatloaf?

I find that when you use cupcake liners to bake mini meatloaf the liners become totally saturated with grease and therefore not fun to pull off. And also really messy. You can use silicone muffin liners and those work great!

 

 

More Kid Friendly Ground Beef Recipes:

• Cowboy Soup
• Baked Burritos
• Mexican Stuffed Shells
• Tex Mex Casserole
• Taco Egg Rolls
• Salisbury Steak Casserole
• Super Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe
• Instant Pot Spaghetti
• Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
• Chili Mac
• Stuffed Pepper Casserole
• Empanada Recipe
• Mexican Sloppy Joes
• Mexican Pie

 

 

You are going to love eating mini meatloaf. Tender, sweet, and flavorsome, it is the perfect addition to your weeknight meal or for company. Kids can’t resist the fun portion sizes and neither can adults. Enjoy!

 

Recipe adapted from All Recipes

Originally Posted: June 30, 2014

Photos & Text Updated: October 13, 2021

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