This easy Mini Meatloaf Muffin Recipe is made with lean ground beef and a homemade BBQ sauce. It’s quick, easy, cheap, and (most importantly) delicious. Yum!
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Meatloaf is a hearty and inexpensive dinner. Made in muffin form, it’s easy to serve (and portion).
Ingredients, Substitutions, & Budget
This total recipe costs $6.66 to make. It makes 8 muffins at $0.83 each. Most people will eat 2 mini meatloafs per serving (for a total of $1.66 per person).
Your grocery costs are probably different than mine. Location, shopping habits, seasonal availability, and other things can all have a major impact on the cost of food. Find out how I calculate what a recipe costs.
Mini Meatloaf Ingredients
There are 16 ingredients in this dish.
Ground Beef ($3.19)
Buy the leanest ground beef you can find/afford.
When your meatloaf is cooking, all the fat from the ground beef is going to drain to the bottom. Less fatty beef means less grease pooled at the bottom of your muffins.
(Don’t worry, the mini meatloafs stay moist and the grease stays outside the muffin liners. It all works out beautifully!)
Bread Crumbs ($0.39)
I buy plain basic breadcrumbs and they work. Panko or seasoned bread crumbs would also be fine.
You can also try making your own breadcrumbs with nothing but bread. I’ve never done it but if I was going to, I’d try this simple-looking Bread Crumbs Recipe from Jessica Gavin.
BBQ Sauce ($0.20 + $0.70)
You can use any BBQ sauce that you want. I usually use a smoky one in the meatloaf and a spicy one in the sauce.
BBQ sauce is a personal taste preference and whatever you prefer will work.
You could with the same amount of ketchup. This will be sweeter and add a more tomato-y flavor.
13 More Ingredients
- Onion ($0.28): whatever onion you like to use. I’ve used both yellow and red and both were delicious. I usually go with a small onion but if you’re a big onion fan you can use more!
Use caramelized onions for extra deliciousness. It’s not necessary (and really increases the time) but if you have some on hand, they’re a definite YES! - Hot Pepper ($0.44): choose a hot pepper about the size of a jalapeno (or use a jalapeno). If you like things spicy, choose a spicier pepper. You can skip the pepper if you don’t want the heat.
- Worcestershire Sauce ($0.26): the easiest substitutes for Worcestershire are soy sauce (same amount) or fish sauce (same amount).
- Mustard, Yellow Prepared ($0.10): you can substitute with Dijon mustard.
- Garlic, fresh ($0.20)
- Chili Powder ($0.06)
- Salt ($0.04)
- Pepper ($0.06)
- Egg ($0.31): egg is used as a binder to help keep your muffins from crumbling apart. I’ve heard (but never tried) that chia seeds soaked in water are a great egg substitute.
- Brown Sugar, light ($0.10)
- Ketchup ($0.23): you could substitute the ketchup with your favorite BBQ sauce. Alternatively, you can double the ketchup and skip the BBQ sauce.
- Mustard, Dijon ($0.07): you can substitute with any type of prepared mustard.
- Nutmeg, ground ($0.03)
How Can You Reduce the Cost?
Mini Meatloaf Muffins are already a pretty inexpensive protein source. But, if you’re looking to reduce the cost further, try one of these:
- Ground Turkey: ground turkey in my area would cost $2.04 for this recipe. That’s a savings of $1.15 (14 cents per muffin / 29 cents per serving).
- Less Meat and/or More Breadcrumbs: breadcrumbs work as both a binder and a filler. They help stretch the meal further. You can increase the breadcrumbs in order to get more muffins from the same recipe. You could also decrease the meat and increase the breadcrumbs to keep the same number of muffins. You’ll have to experiment with your perfect ratio.
- No BBQ Sauce: BBQ sauce is nearly three times the price of ketchup. Ketchup would cost $0.08 in the meatloaf and $0.23 in the sauce instead of the $0.23 + $0.70 BBQ sauce costs. This is a savings of $0.62 (8 cents per muffin / 15 cents per serving)
Equipment & Plating/Glassware
You don’t need anything fancy to make mini meatloafs.
Muffin Tin/Pan
A muffin tin/pan is needed to shape your meatloaf muffins.
You could use silicon muffin holders and place them on a baking sheet instead.
Mixing Bowls
A big mixing bowl is needed to mix everything together for the meatloaf.
A small mixing bowl is needed to mix together your sauce. Sometimes, I use a saucepan and cook the sauce so I can use it like a gravy on potatoes.
Small Tools
To make this recipe, you’re going to want the following small tools:
- Chef’s Knife: for chopping
- Cutting Board: for chopping on
- Food Scale (or Measuring Cups & Spoons)
- Spatual, Wooden Spoon, or Hand
- Muffin Liners: to line your muffin tin (helps keep the grease out of your muffins)
Looking to stock your kitchen with the best equipment? Learn about the best kitchen tools you should own!
Serving
Mini Meatloaf Muffins can be served on a plate with whatever side dishes you want.
Got Leftovers?
Eat them! Either reheat them and eat them as is or repurpose your leftovers into a completely new meal.
- Reheat: leftover mini meatloafs can be reheated in the microwave or in the oven.
- Refrigerate: you can store leftover meatloaf muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: You can freeze extra meatloafs for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely and store in an airtight container with room at the top.
Note: - Repurpose: Use your leftover meatloaf in a different way ( for example, top them with veg and mashed potatoes and serve like a Sheppard’s pie). The sky is the limit. Have fun and enjoy.
Mini Meatloaf Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf
- 365 g Ground Beef, extra-lean ($3.19)
- 50 g Bread Crumbs ($0.39)
- 1 Onion, diced ($0.28)
- 1 Hot Pepper, diced ($0.44)
- 20 g Worcestershire Sauce ($0.26)
- 20 g BBQ Sauce ($0.20)
- 15 g Mustard, Yellow Prepared ($0.10)
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced ($0.20)
- 1 tsp Chili Powder ($0.06)
- 1 tsp Salt ($0.04)
- 1 tsp Black Pepper ($0.06)
- 1 Egg ($0.31)
For the Sauce:
- 55 g Brown Sugar, Light ($0.10)
- 60 g Ketchup ($0.23)
- 70 g BBQ Sauce ($0.70)
- 10 g Dijon Mustard ($0.07)
- 3 g Nutmeg, ground ($0.03)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*F. Line 8 cups of a muffin tin.
- Dice onion and hot pepper. Mince garlic.1 Onion, diced, 1 Hot Pepper, diced, 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, hot pepper, Worcestershire, BBQ sauce (1 tbsp), mustard, chili powder, salt, pepper, and egg.365 g Ground Beef, extra-lean, 50 g Bread Crumbs, 1 Onion, diced, 1 Hot Pepper, diced, 20 g Worcestershire Sauce, 20 g BBQ Sauce, 15 g Mustard, Yellow Prepared, 1 tsp Chili Powder, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Black Pepper, 1 Egg, 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- Divide mixture among 8 cups of a standard muffin tin. Press the mixture down to fill the cup.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- While baking meatloaf, mix together sauce ingredients in a small bowl.55 g Brown Sugar, Light, 60 g Ketchup, 70 g BBQ Sauce, 10 g Dijon Mustard, 3 g Nutmeg, ground
- Remove meatloaf from oven and generously spoon sauce over each mini meatloaf.
- Optional: use paper towels to soak up any grease on the tops of the meatloaf muffins.
- Return to oven for 10-15 minutes (until internal temperature of 160*F is reached).
- Serve & Enjoy!
Nutrition
Enjoy Your Mini Meatloafs!
Did you make this Mini Meatloaf Muffin Recipe? How did it turn out? What changes did you make? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Until next time. Xoxo