Be sure to serve this with creamy mashed potatoes and roasted green beans!
Mini Meatloaf
Who needs to bake an entire meatloaf when you can make perfect portion sizes with half the baking time?! A few keys to this process is to make sure you don’t overwork the meat (as that will make the meatloaf tough), you want to cook it at the right temperature, and you want a really flavorful panade.
What is a Panade
A panade is a combination of a starch and a liquid and it keeps the meat moist as it’s cooking. The starch in the panade turns to a gel when cooked and lubricates the fibers in the meat as it cooks. In this case, the starch is crushed Ritz crackers (or breadcrumbs) and the liquid is milk with a hint of ketchup, yellow mustard, BBQ Sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. An egg is added as a binder and shredded cheddar cheese just takes this over the edge.
Adding Sautéed Vegetables
Sautéed vegetables such a onions and bell peppers add flavor, texture, and moisture to the meat. Softening them in butter first is one of the keys to a perfectly tender meatloaf. (And picky eaters won’t even notice the onions. 😉) Be sure to add freshly minced garlic to the mix as well.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Sautee onions, bell peppers, and garlic in butter until softened. Set aside and let cool. Whisk together wet ingredients: Milk, egg, mustard, ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cheese, salt/pepper. Add crushed Ritz Crackers (or breadcrumbs) and cooled vegetables. Add the ground beef.
Mix meat mixture until just combined and form into 4 5-inch loaves of equal size. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Brush meatloaf with half of the glaze mixture (ketchup + BBQ sauce). Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Use a spatula to carefully transfer the meatloaf to a clean baking sheet (to remove grease). Brush with remaining glaze and bake for 15 more minutes. The internal temperature should be 160° prior to serving. Serve with any of the following: Mashed potatoes, brown gravy, twice baked potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn casserole, Copycat TX Roadhouse Rolls, buttermilk biscuits, roasted green beans or carrots. See all side dish recipes here.
Make-Ahead Method
Mold meatloaf as instructed, cover with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, then bake as outlined. You can also freeze the uncooked meatloaf. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and when ready to serve bake as outlined.
The Best Meat to Use
80% lean ground beef is a good choice. Leaner meats tend to dry out. A combination of ground beef, pork, and veal will also give you very tender and flavorful results. Some grocery stores have this meat combination already packaged up in the meat section, specifically for making meatloaf and/or meatballs.
Muffin Tin Method
If preferred, the meat mixture can be added to 8 muffin tins. Bake for a total of 25 minutes. Let them rest for 5 minutes in the muffin tins prior to serving.
Pro Tips
Don’t overwork the meat. This can ruin the tender consistency of the meat and cause it to become tough. There is grease that we will be draining halfway through. An alternative is to place the meatloaf over a few slices of fresh bread before baking. The bread will act as a sponge and soak up excess grease.
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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Tried This Recipe?
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It’s easy enough to make this recipe without loaf pans but this loaf pan does have 4 separate loaf compartments in one pan which is handy. Meat Thermometer– to ensure a proper 160° temperature prior to serving. Baking Sheets -with raised edges to catch grease. Parchment Paper Pastry Brush– to brush on the glaze.
