The other day we had meatloaf at work in the cafeteria. Because most of my co-workers eat down there for convenience sake instead of going out, it seemed like the entire work world was eating meatloaf. It smelled heavenly, let me tell you. Unfortunately swimming in gravy does not go well with contest prep, so I passed on the delightfully scented slices of meat.
I did vow at that moment to come up with my own healthy version. One that was also cute, portable and kid friendly. How can you resist meatloaf muffins that meet all of the criteria? I love spicy foods so I added some crushed red pepper and chipotle to my version. You can add more or less of these to your taste, or even substitute other spices for a different flavor.
Why 4 saltines, you ask? The other day I got two small packs of saltines with my salad from Subway. In my mind saltines are not a salad food. They are clearly a soup food and eating them with a salad is just wrong. So I saved them for that point in time when The Kid or I had soup. When the meatloaf moment came up, I remembered them and found it to be the perfect amount to add some hold to the recipe instead of the standard breadcrumbs.
I added just a bit of barbecue on the top for flavor. I used Stubb’s BBQ Sauce because it’s low sugar and not full of chemicals like some sauces can be. Like my turkey muffins, these were incredibly easy to whip up. I ate two for dinner for a few nights and served them with different toppings and sides. One day was avocado and grilled beets, another with pico di gallo, another I topped with mustard, and so on. I even had them for breakfast one day with my eggs. Just like eggs and sausage? Close, and it was good!
Meatloaf Muffins 
- 1 lb ground beef (93/7)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 4 crumbled saltines
- 1/4 cup egg whites
- Optional, Chipotle Mrs. Dash
- 2 Tbsp barbecue sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except the barbecue sauce together in a bowl until thoroughly blended. Divide evenly amongst 12 muffin cups. Top each muffin with 1/2 tsp of barbecue sauce. I sorta drizzled it on top in a stripe. Nothing fancy. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes. Makes 12 meatloaf muffins at 61 calories each.
In case you’re curious about what I’m eating while in contest prep, I’ve been posting meal pictures and descriptions on Instagram. You can find me under AccidentalFit over there.
Looks good – I’m not a huge meatloaf fan but in this smaller size it might be good.
My daughter hates “meat in loaf form” as she calls it. I didn’t mind these and liked the smaller size for sure. It made freezing leftovers and reheating much easier than defrosting a big loaf.