Muffin Pan Meatloaf recipes are forever a family favorite; it’s always fun to eat mini muffins when they’re served as the main meal!
Easy to make for dinner tonight and freeze leftovers for later, this is the cutest way to cook comfort food in a fraction of the time..
Move over big block of ground beef because I have the best mini Muffin Pan Meatloaf recipe for people who hate meatloaf! While many meat loaf meals get a bad rap, I’ve converted the pickiest of eaters to mini meatloaf lovers!
If you already love the larger loaf, you’ll like baking mini meatloaf muffins even better! When prepared in muffin cups, they cook much faster and makes a very moist meatloaf.
When meatloaf requires a fun makeover, why not make this a meatloaf cupcake recipe? Feel free to “frost” your personal pan meat mounds with mashed potatoes and sprinkle them with chives. It’s a cute and creative way to get kids excited about homemade meals and a great way for care-takers to hide extra veggies in the meat mixture.
Ingredients Notes
- Lean ground beef: I use lean ground beef (80/20) for this meatloaf muffin recipe, which has the right amount of fat to be flavorful. You can also use ground turkey or ground chicken or replace ⅓ of the ground beef with ground pork.
- Sweet yellow onion: Adds moisture, sweetness, and a subtle depth of flavor.
- Panko bread crumbs: Helps to lighten the texture of the meatloaf muffin cups, making them less dense.
- Bread crumbs: Absorbs moisture and helps bind the meatloaf mini muffins together.
- Tomato sauce: Adds moisture, tanginess, and enhances the flavor of the meat.
- Eggs: Acts as a binder to hold all the ingredients together.
- Worcestershire sauce: Adds a savory, umami flavor that deepens the overall taste.
- Fresh minced garlic: Adds a robust and aromatic flavor.
- Dried parsley flakes: Adds a mild herb flavor and a touch of color.
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper: Adds a bit of heat and depth of flavor.
- Ground mustard seed: Adds a subtle tang and a slight sharpness that complements the beef.
- Ketchup: Ketchup helps keep the surface of the meatloaf moist during baking, preventing it from drying out.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Muffin Pan Meatloaf
- Make The Meat Mixture: In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion, bread crumbs, tomato sauce, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, parsley flakes, salt, pepper and mustard seed.
- Fill: Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray and fill each muffin cup with the meat mixture and glaze with ketchup.
- Bake: Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
- Serve: Serve with extra sauce on the side or top with potato frosting.
How To Frost Meatloaf Muffins
For a fun and creative twist, you can frost your meatloaf muffins with my mashed potato topping. Use either a decorator’s icing piping bag and a large #8 icing tip a quart (or gallon) size ziplock bag to
If using the piping bag and tip: Place the coupler and tip into the bag. Fill the piping bag half full. Be sure to twist the bag above the potatoes to help keep even pressure and ensure no air pockets in the piping bag. Starting on the outside edge and following around toward the center, hold the tip just above the muffin and evenly squeeze out the potato frosting in a swirl pattern. Allow the “frosting” to spread out just a bit as you go, until you reach the center.
If using a ziploc bag: Fill the bag ½ full. Zip the baggie closed, making sure to remove any extra air. Using scissors, snip off a small corner tip of the ziploc. The size of the snip depends on how large you want your “frosting” to be. Follow the same directions as described if you were using a piping bag.
You can also sprinkle minced chives on top of your potato frosting.
Serving Suggestions
Mini meatloaf muffins make the ultimate grab-n-go meal when you’re in a hurry to get out the door. But if you are sitting down for dinner, meatloaf muffins pair perfectly with french fries or mashed potatoes and garlic green beans or your favorite veggie on the side.
Tips & Variations
- Bind Without Breadcrumbs: You can use dried stuffing mix or crushed crackers instead of breadcrumbs if you prefer.
- Keep The Veggies Out Of View: You can sneak some veggies into the mix to boost the nutrients in each bite. Finely diced mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers and spinach will all stay hidden!
- Make Cheesy Muffins: Feel free to add freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to the mixture. Or stuff a small cube of mozzarella or cheddar cheese inside the center of each muffin before baking.
- Grab A Glaze: Instead of ketchup, glaze the top of the muffins with chili sauce or bbq sauce.
Proper Storage
- To Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- To Freeze: Let the muffins cool completely and place them in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag. When you are ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- To Reheat: Reheat in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. (You can put them back in the muffin tin to help them keep their shape in the oven.)
More Easy Dinner REcipes
If you tried this Muffin Pan Meatloaf Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
Muffin Pan Meatloaf
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ cup finely diced sweet yellow onion
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs plain
- ½ cup bread crumbs plain
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 large eggs slightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard seed
- ¼ cup ketchup for the meatloaf glaze
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray the muffin pan with nonstick spray, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, onion, bread crumbs, tomato sauce, eggs, worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, dried parsley flakes, kosher salt, black pepper and ground mustard seed.1 pound lean ground beef, ½ cup finely diced sweet yellow onion, ½ cup panko bread crumbs, ½ cup bread crumbs, 8 ounce can tomato sauce, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic, 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes, 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground mustard seed
- Using either a large wooden spoon, or gloved hands (I usually choose this option), mix together all the ingredients until they are completely incorporated.
- Spoon the ground beef mixture into a standard size muffin pan. Completely fill each muffin cup to the top line of the cup. (I used a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop).
- Using a teaspoon, top each muffin with ketchup for the glaze.¼ cup ketchup for the meatloaf glaze
- Bake for 30 minutes.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- To Freeze: Let the muffins cool completely and place them in a freezer bag. When you are ready to cook, defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
- To Reheat: Reheat in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. (You can put them back in the muffin tin to help them keep their shape in the oven.)
- You can use dried stuffing mix or crushed crackers instead of breadcrumbs if you prefer.
- You can sneak some veggies into the mix to boost the nutrients in each bite. Finely diced mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, and spinach will all stay hidden!
- Feel free to add freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to the mixture. Or stuff a small cube of mozzarella or cheddar cheese inside the center of each muffin before baking.
- Instead of ketchup, glaze the top of the muffins with chili sauce or bbq sauce.
It’s a 3 thumbs up in my family ! Didn’t do the mashed potatoes on top but did scalloped potatoes with it!
Could you freeze these?
Anyone make these in a Texas mega muffin size and know how long to bake them?
What do you do with the grease on top?
So glad I stumbled upon this right before my spouse’s birthday. Turned out great!