Don’t you just love these cute Mini Meatloaves? I love cooking things in muffin tins. It makes everything so tiny and cute to eat. Remember these Pop Up Pancakes? Yum! Well, these Mini Meatloaves in a Muffin Tin are perfect for dinner served with little mini carrots and baby asparagus!
Mini Meatloaves in a Muffin Tin
Ingredients:
- Favorite Meatloaf recipe
- bbq sauce
- salt & pepper
- cheese
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 375°. Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.
Place in a handful of prepared meatloaf into each muffin tin. Press your thumb into each meatloaf ball, making a space for toppings.
Squirt a dollop of bbq sauce into the space and salt and pepper.
Bake meatloaves for 30 minutes or until cooked through (160F).
Sprinkle on your favorite cheese and bake for another 5 or so minutes until the cheese has melted.
Now they are ready for dinner. Maybe you could have a whole “mini” dinner! Serve these on a mini plate on a tiny table in your smallest room with your cutest kids and enjoy!
More muffin tin recipes:
Mini Brownies in a Muffin Tin – These are the perfect little bite-sized treat. I’m not a fan of cutting out brownies from a large pan, so I decided to put them in a muffin tin. With the liners, they pop out easy and are ready to peel and eat. You also get more of an edge, which I love.
Bake Up Muffin Tin Pumpkin Pies – They make for perfect individual portions. These would be a great way to prepare your pie for dessert this Thanksgiving.
Pop Up Pancakes in a Muffin Tin – These mini pop-up pancakes cook up as little puff balls and are easy for the kids to eat! They love adding yummy fruit and syrup to these little cups of goodness!
Added a little piece of apple ontop instead of cheese and cooked it with the meat the entire time tastes delicious!
Made these last night & the whole family LOVED em! & believe me I have some critics here! lol 5 kids & a husband & NO complaints! Deliciuos! Thank you :)
DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Lish US!
Oh and I love Glee!!!!! :D :D
These look delicious! I’m having them for supper tonight! Can’t wait! :)
I have been making mini meatloaves for years!! Every time I made a meatloaf it never turned out right..(as the actual cooking of them) I got disappointed one way or another so I said..”Hmm..I think I will just put them in muffin pans.” “Well as a matter of fact..I am making them right now :) My children loved them that way too.Now they are grown teenagers and make them themselves.. I do the same with brownies..never could cut them nice and straight and neat! :)
Where can I find a good meatloaf recipe?? My husband loves meatloaf but I have never made it for him because I dont have a recipe. Suggestions??
I never liked meatloaf before trying this recipe.
Alright, I gotta try these :)
i’m still a kid but i’m cooking dinnier to night so me and my mom got the idea of sliders but instead of grilling them i put feta, bacon, and chives in it and then put it in the muffin pan when there ready i’ll pull them out and serve them on french rolls with avicado and carmelized onions! and for my side dishes fried mushrooms and ceasar salad. =p yum hope i’ve inspired some one like you have Marie thanks for the cooking time! ;)
OMG!!! I love this idea! You. Have. Inspired. Me…. THANK YOU!!!
I’m looking for the mini muffin meatloafs made with whole wheat bread crumbs. I’ve trying to find it. sounds so good. For dieting.
My wife makes these for party, & They are great, we tried making a double batch, half with 90/20 ground beef & half ground buffalo. The buffalo is colesteral & fat free. Man they are GREAT!!!!
I’m making these for a friend of mine who just had a baby. They are perfect because they can freeze them and use them for multiple meals with out defrosting and entire meatloaf.
Just about any quiche recipe will make a create muffin meal….
Bill
Is there anything as healthy, tasty and nourishing as meat with cheese? Don’t ask me, I’m American.
How long so you bake the meatloaf with mashed potato on it?
Iwant to make these foe a ski trip next week. If I cook them and then freeze, how should I reheat them? Or is it better to freeze uncooked? If so, do I de-frost, then cook? Thanks!
Add some mashed potatoes to the top with cheese. Mini cupcakes. delish
To all those people who make their mini meatloaf in a muffin tin, isnt it a fabulous idea, however, I have a suggestion. When making portions to go into the muffin tin, just use an icecream scooper and scoop it from the bowl and fill the skoop full and rounded, then deposit in the muffin tin and I make a small hole in center to add two tablespoon Nancy’s Chili Sauce, its so delicious when you eat it.
Put a lil sliced deli ham and swiss or mozzarella cheese in the center…omit the bbq sauce…
I think it would be yummy with a lil spinach and mozzarella cheese in the middle :)
would someone please email me what quartly mag that recipe is in. (the muffin meatloaf) I have subscribed to that mag for years..I would surely appreciate it. Thanks Lisa in WV
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Donna – I’ve never tried it, but I’m sure the foil tins would work. Just make sure to grease them up, so the meat doesn’t stick.
Will disposable aluminum foil muffin tins work as well for mini meat loaf muffins as non-disposable?
Sounds like a fun recipe but Kristi would still not have eaten it.
so I guess Adriana would say no to the meat, unless blended.
i have made mini meatloaves for years… but the best trick i found to prevent ruining the pan, is to use a silicone muffin pan. when it is done cooking, you can just flip it over and litterally POP them out onto a plate!
Great idea! We’re making your recipe tonight. We look forward to dinner!
We just ate meatloaf on Monday and eating the leftovers tonight. This will be a great way to change it up from the other night! Oh and I use ground turkey for mine!
Thanks for the tip on meat loaf in a muffin tin. Who knew? Also great suggestions from the comments as well. I can’t wait to try this with a turkey meatloaf recipe.
These look awesome! Can’t wait to try and I am going to use Country Bob’s sauce!
Thank you for the recipe. I just found your pancake one also. I just started my new blog and making things in muffin tins are one of my main obsessions. Love your site and glad to find it.
These look really tasty! Cute post.
Taraleigh – This is a good question. I think both ways should taste just fine. But probably portioning them out first and freezing the raw is a little more fresh. The cooked kind may get a little more rubbery if frozen for too long. I suggest freezing before. But if you make some and have left overs, then freezing after should be fine too.
Can someone tell me if it would be better to freeze after I bake them?
The first time my husband (then boyfriend) made meatloaf he filled a 9×9 square dish as full as he could. It took over 2 hours to cook his ‘meat cake’ as we have so lovingly coined it. From that day on I showed him my trick of cooking meatloaf in a muffin tin! For the past 5 years my husband and now my daughter are always asking for meatloaf muffins. I love that they cook up so quickly and they are great for portion control. Hubby’s favorite part is that one leftover muffin is the perfect size for a meatloaf sandwich the next day!
My husband’s not a huge fan of meatloaf, but I’m definitely going to try this anyway. I’m going to say that he will like it…that’s my prediction! :)
Great idea using muffin tins. I always just made them smaller but cooked them on a cookie sheet, this look so much more fun!
Thanks for the cute idea! I wish I had some thawed beef right now- I’d go to town.
Perfect for kids! I want to try this recipe.
Those look really good! Thanks for sharing.
What a great idea! I’m totally going to do this.
genius. my kids are gonna love these!
Those are fun! Another way my kids like them is to put them in bread pans and put polly-o string cheeses right in the middle and marinara sauce on top. Yummo!
Hubby and I do this quite often. It cuts the cooking time tremendously and often that is why we make them this way. We have done other things in the muffin tins as well for the same reason. Besides it is also easier to do portion control, too!
I do my meat loaf like this too, the really great plus to this is that I usually double or triple the recipe and freeze the rest. It makes a perfect freezer meal and you can take out only as many as you need.
These are great! I have made these several times. I love that it cooks much faster than traditional meatloaf.
Funny–I just made these last night–I have an actual recipe if you are interested. I needed to use up some ground turkey so I mixed it with ground beef and made a double batch. Froze one for down the road. They are great with some string cheese hiding in the middle.
i made these on monday night…and the best part is that the kids ate without even complaining….mommy heaven
Wow, my mom used to do these when I was a kid and we were short on time. Instead of making a huge meatloaf that took forever to bake (8 kids in my house) she made these. We loved them, felt special getting a ‘personal’ meatloaf.
What a fantastic idea. I love it. I’m bookmarking it right now.
Monkiesmom – LOVE that idea, dressing them up like real cupcakes with mash potatoes and cherry tomato! I’m doing that next time, thanks!
Jen – Also a great idea for a sandwich. Yum!
oh forgot to add that I put dough in the bottom – either homemade or Pillsbury and then make a little “sandwich.” Those are great for lunches as well. :)
oh yes – I make these all the time. Love them – so great for making in bulk and freezing. I think I blogged about it or maybe I just took the pictures. LOL :)
I have made these before and it is great for kids. However, mine was in response to a dilema I had. I wanted to do something funny for April Fools Day three years ago and I had an article that talked about making a meat loaf cake. So I sent her off to school that morning with promises of “cake” for dinner that night! Since it was just the 3 of us and my daughter was only 6, I knew the recipe was too much food. So instead of a cake, I made meatloaf cupcakes. Same thing as above, but you “frost” them with mashed potatoes and then use half a cherry tomato for the “cherry” on top! My daughter loved them and still asks for them! And if you really want to, you can add a little food coloring to the potatoes to color the “frosting”
Great idea, and a cute post.
Patricia – YES, they’re great portion sizes for me and my kids.
Mary – Too true!
And I’m just thinking how these would probably freeze up nicely to eat for lunch later on for me and the kids.
I make these for my daughter – they’re the perfect size for her, and a nice break from chicken nuggets!
Thank you for dinner tonight!
-Jill
I love that the mini meatloaves are so fast to cook! We actually enjoy the original recipe that calls for using a box of stuffing in the meat. Good eats.
I’m a big fan of Kraft Food & Family too and these mini-meatloaves are one of my go-to meals when I don’t know what to make. So darn easy and perfect portion sizes.
We have made the mini meatloaves from the Kraft magazine for a while. It tastes good and it looks great!
I love it!! Thanks for planning my dinner for tomorrow! I can’t wait! :)