This meatloaf was so easy to make and smelled so amazing as it baked (it somehow smelled like BBQ chicken cooking on the grill which I'm not going to complain about). It's such a perfect meal for meal prep - mini meatloaves make it easy to control portion sizes and also makes it easier to store in the fridge. Luckily for me, I had everything I needed to make these on hand and was able to cook them quickly.
These would also be perfect for kids or even for when you have friends over - everyone gets their own little meatloaf so no one fights over the end or middle pieces. Plus, they're much more appealing as a mini loaf than a slice of cooked ground meat...
Yield: 4-6 mini meatloaves
- 2/3 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lb ground turkey (I use 93% lean)
- 1/2 cup Panko
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
- BBQ sauce for brushing
Preheat oven to 375°. In a small pan, saute onions in butter for 10-20 minutes until translucent and cooked to your liking (I don't like crunchy onions so I saute mine until almost caramelized). Once onions are nearly finished, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
While onions are cooking, whisk egg, milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add panko to wet ingredients. Allow Panko to soak in wet mixture while onions cook (this step is important - soaking the Panko helps to keep the meatloaves moist, especially when using really lean meat). Allow onions to slightly cool then add to wet ingredients along with meat and cheddar cheese. Form into mini loaves and brush tops with BBQ sauce (I used about 1/2 tbsp per loaf to start).
Place meatloaves on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. Halfway through cooking, you can brush on more BBQ sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes.
* This recipe is great for football season - you can form the loaves into football shapes and top with slices of cheese to resemble the laces after the loaves have finished cooking.
