I intended just to make mini meatloaves tonight. With a “blop” of BBQ sauce on each mini-loaf. But there was extra meat mixture left after filling the “12 muffin tin”, so I went to grab my “6 muffin tin” for the rest of the meat…but ended up pulling out the mini-muffin tin instead…to make “meatloaf bites!”
The boys LOVED the meatloaf bites!
We did NOT eat all 12 mini meatloaves and 12 meatloaf bites tonight…so I froze the leftovers for a future lunch or dinner!
BBQ Mini Meatloaves and Meatloaf Bites
Yield – 12 mini meatloaves and 12 meatloaf bites
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1.7 lb. ground beef ($2.19) On sale for $1.29/lb a few weeks back…the LOWEST price I’ve EVER seen on ground beef!
- 1 egg ($.10)
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I prefer homemade) ($.20)
- 1/4 (HUGE) red onion, finely chopped ($.20)
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped ($.20)
- “Blops” of BBQ sauce on each mini-loaf (FREE) Back when Kraft put out the high value coupons (June, I think!), I stocked up on free BBQ sauce!
- 1 lb. green beans ($.68) On sale this week! I’ve NEVER seen fresh green beans priced so low!
- 1 tsp olive oil ($.05)
- Salt/Pepper
- 6 slices bread ($.30)
- 6 Tbsp margarine ($.20) (dairy free…Smart Balance with Flax is the only dairy free margarine I’ve found…if you know of another, I’d love to know!)
- Dash of garlic salt for each toast ($.05)
Directions
- In mixing bowl, combine ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, finely chopped red onion and finely chopped garlic. Scoop into regular size (or mini size) muffin tins, filling about 2/3-3/4 full. Press your finger into each meat muffin to create a small “well” for the BBQ sauce. Add a “blop” (about 1 tsp) of BBQ sauce to each muffin…regular size and mini!
- Bake mini meatloaves and meatloaf bites at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from muffin tin and place on plate.
- Saute green beans in skillet with olive oil for 4-6 minutes, or cooked to your preferred “crunchiness” or “softness.” Stir often! Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Make garlic toast in toaster or toaster oven.
- Serve BBQ Mini Meatloaves and/or Meatloaf Bites with Sauteed Green Beans and Garlic Toast.
Cost $4.17
P.S. Another option: Use ground turkey or ground chicken in place of the ground beef!
Very kid friendly! I will have to try this next time I make meatloaf – love the mini muffin size & I think it might convince my picky 2 YO to eat them 🙂
We love these around here, but I’ve always made them with a stuffing mix rather than breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs would be much healthier, so I’ll try that next time. Thanks!
Fleishman’s Light in the tub is dairy free; Fleishman’s unsalted sticks are dairy free. Earth’s Balance makes spreadable and baking sticks as well!!! We prefer the Smart Balance variety though.
Yummy looking meal! I’m going to have to try that out–a blob of BBQ on top of the meatloaves!
Fleishman’s Unsalted Margarine is also dairy free. My daughter is allergic to milk and that is the only one we have found to be dairy free.
Meatloaf is on the menu for tomorrow (Saturday) night. I normally make mine in mini loaf pans because the boys like them that way, but I never thought of muffin tins. Definitely going to try the meatloaf bites this time.
I’ve seen Fleishmann’s margarine both with and without dairy, so read labels!
The dairy-free variety tends to be sold in stores located close to Orthodox Jewish populations, since their Kosher laws prohibit mixing meat and dairy items (within 6 hours of each other!), so they can’t serve butter with their bread at any meal where meat is served. You can ask at your local synagogue, or try googling “Kosher Store” plus whatever city you live near. There are even entire Kosher stores.
You can also contact Fleishmann’s directly, and ask where their dairy-free margarine is sold, or whether you can order it via Internet.
I’ve done meatloaves in muffin tins, never thought of mini-muffins though – neat idea! My kids love my little meatballs, but it’s got to be easier to plop into the tin than roll all of them!
Great idea. I like the mini meatloaf. If you make a lot of them, you can freeze them. Then use them as meatballs. Good with pasta, sandwich, pizza etc:) Yummy.
Thanks for sharing.
We do these a lot and freeze them also. Another good way is to use spaghetti sauce and right before they are done i sprinkle them with a little cheese.
Smart Balance Light (33% less one) is also dairy-free, and the entire Earth Balance line is – http://www.earthbalancenatural.com.
Wow – what a great idea. I had never thought of making mini meat loaves like that… I just bought ingredients for meatloaf today – good timing! Thanks!
I am also a fan of using olive oil rather than spread on garlic bread… Those mini meatloaves are too cute, and perfectly portioned! 😀
Earth Balance now has a soy free, dairy free spread which is very good. It comes in a red tub.
hmmm, the mini ones would make a wonderful hoagie sandwich for the lunch box. I’m going to try this
I am going to try this one. I sure hope my boys will eat it. it seems like something that they would enjoy but they may just stare at it. Who knows? i will eat it!