Glazed Mini Meatloaves
These glazed mini meatloaves are sure to please! The loaves are incredibly tender and juicy; the glaze on top is perfectly sweet and tart.
At busy times in my life, I have always been on the search for quicker weeknight meals.
This recipe definitely fits the bill.
My family happens to love meatloaf but I struggle making the large pans of meatloaf turn out without being tough and greasy.
When I happened upon this recipe, I knew I had to try it.
I like the concept of mini meatloaves and my kids thought it was “way cool” that they got their own little meatloaf.
The meatloaf itself was incredibly tender and juicy – not tough and greasy like so many times before when I’ve made it. The glaze topping was perfect parts sweet and tart.
For me, the key to the juiciness of the meatloaf was using both ground chuck and ground pork (if you can get true “meatloaf mix” from your butcher, go for it!), which I’ve never done before.
This was a hit with my family and is definitely going in the tried-and-true pile.
FAQs for Glazed Mini Meatloaves
These freeze great after they’ve baked. I warm them in the oven on about 300 degrees wrapped in foil so they don’t dry out.
Of course- you can maek them any size you want, just be aware of the bake time and watch accordingly.
You can subsitute it for ground beef, although I do think you lose a little bit of flavor (probably due to the fat). It may not be quite as moist, but you would definitely save on fat.
What To Serve With This:
Herb Roasted Potatoes or these Salt Crusted Potatoes
A steamed veggie or this Vegetable Saute with Simple Cream Sauce
A really, good artisan bread like this Herb Focaccia Bread
Glazed Mini Meatloaves
Ingredients
Meatloaves:
- 17-20 saltine crackers, crushed fine (about 2/3 cup)
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ⅓ cup minced fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ pounds ground meat, I use a combination of lean ground chuck, lean ground pork, or lean ground turkey
- 2 teaspoons oil, I used canola oil
Glaze:
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons cider vinegar
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Stir cracker crumbs, milk, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, egg, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl. Add ground meat and combine until uniform. Shape mixture into oval loaves (I doubled the recipe and got 10 mini loaves, so when I make the recipe without doubling it, I plan to shape into at least 5 loaves – they were definitely big enough to be perfectly filling!).
- Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil is rippling. Add meatloaves (without letting them touch sides) and brown well on one side, 3-5 minutes. Carefully flip loaves over and tidy up edges using a spatula (I didn’t need to do this – my meatloaves managed to hold their shape really well). Brown on this side for another 2-3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix glaze ingredients together until smooth. Transfer mini meatloaves to a foil-lined baking pan and spoon the glaze over the top of each meatloaf. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the center of the loaf registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer (or do like I do and cut one of the little babies open and if it looks done – pull ‘em out of the oven!).
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Recipe Source: adapted from The Best 30-Minute Recipe
124 Comments on “Glazed Mini Meatloaves”
Made these tonight in muffin tins. Doubled the recipe, used only turkey, Panko instead of saltines. They were perfect baked in 20 minutes. I’m sure they would be even more delicious with the browning step, but this worked well for super fast and easy meatloaf!
This has been a family favorite for many years! Just thought I’d pop on here again to tell you how much I appreciate all the wonderful recipes you’ve shared. We’ve enjoyed many delicious family meals together.
Thank you so much!
I have made this several times over the years, thanks to Mel’s Kitchen!! The kids love it. I love it. Husband lives it. Perfect. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans. Perfect!
We have made this as written and it undid years of bad oniony meatloaf memories from my childhood. 😉 Even the bowl of raw mixed meat smells good (!), so we started using this mix for grilled burgers too. SO delicious! It makes phenomenal and flavorful burgers. So versatile and delicious!
I make these often. They are one of our favorites! Now that I have a few kids who have flown the nest, I’m having a hard time adjusting to cooking for a smaller family. Can these be frozen? If so, would you freeze before or after frying and/or baking? Thanks for your help and awesome recipes. Most of our favorite recipes are from your site!
Oop! These are definitely 5-star! I didn’t realize you could do 1/2 stars. I didn’t hit that fifth star all the way.
Yes, they can definitely be frozen! I think I would probably either freeze completely uncooked (then you could thaw, fry and bake) or freeze them after they have baked all the way.
I have made this recipe a zillion times exactly as written. It is SO good, my whole family will eat it without complaints… which is pretty rare. The last time I made it, I learned that the recipe is also very adaptable. This time, i was stuck at home and couldn’t get to the store so I had to use what I had on hand. I didn’t have enough meat so I added 1 cooked quinoa and approximately 1 cup chopped broccoli (trying to get my toddler to eat more veggies!) from my fridge to bulk up the beef. No crackers so I substituted instant oatmeal (a trick I got from Mel’s Saucy Meatballs recipe). All the seasoning I kept the same except I was out of Worcestershire sauce so I poured in a few packets of soy sauce. The resulting Meatloaves we’re just as good, if not better because I was somehow able to achieve a very hard sear on the outside. The meat was the crunchiest on the bottom and top that I’ve ever gotten it and very tender in the middle. I was so surprised how well my substitutions were I thought I would share for others who are also trying to use up random pantry items! Thanks again Mel!
This looks amazing, and since this is one of your recipes, I know it will rock w/o even trying it yet. You are a well known name in our house now. You’re my go-to source for new recipes (even well loved recips can eventually get a little old, so having a source for tried and true new recipes that we can trust not to waste any food on our budget is utterly amazing! You, my friend, are utterly amazing!), as soon as the words “I got it from Mel’s blog” leave my mouth, everyone is excited. I know if it goes wrong, that I did something wrong and I usually figure it out in the end!
So, my question here is; about how big do you make the mini loaves? You don’t give any kind of dimensions and unfortunately there’s no video for this! I plan to make this tomorrow, doubled (1 pound each of your recommended meats) so I don’t expect an answer in time to help this time, but it would be great for future reference! Thanks and thanks again for this awesomely tasty blog! Sometimes your recipes sound and look so good, that I am tempted to lick the screen but I manage to control myself…just!
Thank you so much, Jean! You are the sweetest and totally made my day. Sorry I didn’t see this in time for you to make them with the info, but the answer is probably not that helpful. I don’t really precisely measure the mini meatloaves…I just combine the meatloaf ingredients and separate into about 5 pretty equal mini meatloaves. I’ve never really measured them. If I had to guess, I’d say they are about 3-4 inches long and a couple inches wide.
Best. Meatloaf. Ever! Easy to make substitutions if you don’t have an ingredient or two on hand. I only make meatloaf this way ever since I discovered this recipe.
This is pretty much the best thing ever. I make it all the time! Yum.
I doubled this recipe and made heart shaped mini meatloaves for Valentine’s Day dinner! My son, who had never had meatloaf – was so excited for “giant heart shaped meatballs!” I didn’t have saltines, so I used roasted vegetable Ritz crackers that I found in the pantry. Super simple to make/shape the day ahead and pop into the oven when I got home from work. I also used a small heart shaped cookie cutter and made heart shaped roasted potatoes! Thank you for a delicious and adaptable recipe!
Such a cute idea to make these into hearts, Anna! I might steal that idea next year!
I love meatloaf sandwiches. I sliced these for great sandwiches,
I’m making these again for the umpeenth time! I used to think meatloaf wasn’t very good, until I had this recipe. I put them in cupcake liners and glaze them. Half go in the oven and the other half go in the freezer (unbaked) for another time. I serve with your IP mashed potatoes. Pure comfort food!
Great idea to put these in muffin liners!
I would love to try these in cupcake liners to make them even easier! Did you cook them at the same temp and for the same amount of time?
I actually love meatloaf, but finding a good recipe is not so easy or I lose interest in the version of the current recipe I am using. Since trying this recipe, this is the ONLY one I use now and have been using for the last couple of years.
Hi Mel! I’m making these today (doubling the recipe). I want to freeze them. Seeing a previous post you said you freeze them after they’ve baked and cooled. Then you wrap them in foil and bake at 300 degrees to warm them up. How long do you warm them up for? Thanks!
About 20 minutes.
Stumbled upon this recipe one night last week when I got home late from work, the only thing in the fridge was hamburger but no bread or buns, my brain was too tired to come up with anything more creative than meatloaf, but didn’t want to wait the time it takes to cook a big meatloaf. This was the first recipe that popped up in my search and I was thrilled that I had all the ingredients on hand. The only dinner chat that night was “this is so yummy” between bites and the kids begged me to cook it again the next night and double the recipe! Thank you for making me a dinner hero on an exhausting day where I was about to give up and hand them a box of cereal and jug of milk!! Plus no leftovers to clean up was an added bonus!!
Never mind! I just saw a post from another reader who has frozen them. I’ll take her advice!
Mel – Have you ever made these ahead and froze them? Just wondering if it would be best to freeze them cooked or uncooked? I’m thinking they might fall apart once they thaw if I freeze them before they are browned/baked.
These freeze great (I’ve only ever tried it after they’ve baked and cooled). I warm them in the oven on about 300 degrees wrapped in foil so they don’t dry out.
As a kid, I hated meatloaf – I always dreaded dinner when Mom said that’s what we were having. Not with the recipe. It’s actually one of my family’s favorite and most requested meals. Delicious!! I’ve actually started tripling the recipe to make sure we have plenty of leftovers. They’re THAT good!
These were super yummy! I served them with mashed potatoes and your skillet green beans. For next time, I have this strange desire to make them in muffin tins and to pipe the mashed potatoes on like frosting. Meatcakes! Yum.
I’m sure all of your smart readers have figured this out already, but i quadruple or more this recipe. I make them up thru the browning point them lay them out in a baking sheet and freeze them. Once frozen i them out into Ziploc bags and have a awesome quick freezer meal.
I am making this now but am using some quinoa in place of all the saltines. Can wait!
I have been using your recipe for a couple of years now. It is the best meatloaf that I have had. My husband and our three boys devour it!
Hi Mel:
I use my cup cake pans and use the liners and they come out perfect and are very delicious , everyone tells me they love them. GERRY
Thanks so much for the receipe.
So, I hated meatloaf as a kid and just recently decided I’d like to give it a try, my kids have never had it either,mid like to make these in cupcake pans, how many minutes do you recommend I start off with?
Kathy – I haven’t tried it in cupcake pans but I’d suggest baking for the same amount of time in the recipe – checking often. Good luck!
What do you think about a combination of lamb and ground beef? I have a pound of ground lamb from my meat csa and I have no idea what to do with it!
Niki – I think that would be delicious – I say go for it.
I made these exactly to the recipe and they were delicious! I ate a single (incredibly delicious) mini meatloaf (without any side dishes!) and I was completely full. Thank you so much!
Hi Mel,
I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have made this recipe. My husband and I, who are empty nesters, love it! I usually double the recipe, flash freeze the baked mini loaves, and then have a stash that I can pull from on those nights that I don’t want to cook. My changes are using all ground beef, and adding some diced green pepper, ketchup, and red pepper flakes to the meat mixture. This is such a great recipe and the mini loaves reheat wonderfully in the microwave. Meatloaf, fried okra, black-eyed peas and cornbread—what more could a southern gal ask for!
I signed up to make these for a Toastmasters (pubic speaking group) holiday potluck. I think it would be better to make them more meatball sized, but I’m wondering how long I would cook them for if they are much smaller. What do you all think?
Sherry – decreasing the cooking time by half to start with (and then adding more time on as needed) should work. Good luck!
also what can you sub for the milk that would work instead of dairy? I cant drink milk.
Hi Gina – you’ll have to experiment with your changes since I haven’t tried them but my inclination is that yes, you could make this without pork. You could easily use a non-dairy milk substitute also.
can you make this without pork?
My family loves this delicious, moist meatloaf. I have made it several times now and we have only changed a few things. First, I fry up some bacon. Then I dice and sweat a small onion and a bit of green pepper. While everything is frying, I prep the meatloaf mix. The peppers and onions go into the mix and before I fry up the loaves, some get bacon and Colby jack. For the glaze, we cut the sugar back by half and we make a double batch. I love how fast they cook and everyone can personalize their loaf. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
Tried the recipe tonight for dinner it was SO great! My family loved it. I did make a few changes as well. I added paprika and real onion. Other than that stuck with the recipe. The sauce was seriously the amazing!! Thank you! I will definitely be checking out other recipes!
Mel – I’m so glad I found you! So is my husband. I’m a newb when it comes to both cooking and cooking blogs. I’ve dabbled in both but had a hard time “connecting.” There is something about how genuine and down-to-earth you are that immediately made me realize that I was going to love your recipes. I’ve tried these meatloaves – and I’m already making them again; they are simply The Best!
I have also tried a couple others and have been equally as happy. Thank you! You’ve inspired me and given me confidence. I’m a busy wife with two boys still in diapers and a full-time student, but I’ve found a way to actually make meals – and plan them ahead of time. You have helped me be a better wife and mother; I truly appreciate you!
Hi there – I’m planning on trying this recipe out tonight. Can you tell me how large the mini loaves should be? Perhaps about a cup or so?
Kathryn – I don’t know the exact size – just depends on how many people you need to serve and how big you make them. You can really make them any size you want.
These mini loaves were incredible. The glaze is just delicious–perfect! My kids gobbled them up. I ended up making 6 loaves and used 1 pound of white ground turkey and .5 pound of dark ground turkey instead of the 1.5 ground beef/pork. So moist and flavorful. Thank you for a great keeper!!!
These were amazing!! Just like every other recipe I have tried from this website.. I have to eat gluten free, so I used gluten free bread crumbs and they were delicious! Every recipe I have made from here ,even converted to gluten free, turns out wonderful. Thanks for another great dinner!
Just made these, some with the sauce recipe you provided (used balsamic vinegar instead of the cider vinegar that I didn’t have on hand), some with BBQ sauce, and one plain. They were all good, and the whole family enjoyed them.
Hi Mel, would I brown the loaves prior to freezing?
Hi Lori, I’ve always frozen these before browning.
WOW! Thank you for this recipe, my children (grown up kids) always hated meatloaf but they loved these! Followed the recipe exactly except used panko breadcrumbs and dried parsley.
Absolutely wonderful!! So nice and quick! Thank you!!
Just made these & wanted to come back and say how much we loved them!! I like the whole mini loaf idea. Next time I will just make 3 and freeze the other two since its just hubby and I and a 2 year old 🙂 My hubby doesnt usually love meatloaf but he said “You need to keep this recipe”. I did substitute honey for the brown sugar in the glaze because I realized I was out! Still very good!!
These are sooo good!
You have lots of comments, but here’s another 🙂 I made these for my Irish husband who has never had meatloaf. I rarely had it myself, so it doesn’t really enter my mind to make it. I’m glad I tried this recipe though! It was a hit with everyone, even my increasingly picky 2 year old. Love the glaze. So much nicer than plain ketchup. I added finely chopped onion and garlic (about 1/3 c & 2 cloves) because I love both. Other than that, I kept it as is. About halfway through eating my husband says, “so what IS meatloaf?” Um, what you’re eating? “So, basically a hamburger without a bun?” Yeah, kind of. But at least he liked it!
These little gems were so good! I ‘ahem’ automatically assumed the recipe was calling for italian sausage, only because I haven’t ever used just lean ground pork before. I also had to skip the egg since I was out which didn’t seem to affect the final product in my case. I think the sausage was a bit much (now I see why!) But, paired with mashed potatoes, this meal was nothing like your ordinary meatloaf and is certainly worth repeating. All the flavors went very well together, and the glaze was delicious. Thumbs up, since my husband is not a meatloaf fan and he too loved it.
Katie – sorry I didn’t get back with you sooner on your first comment – I’ve been without internet for a week. I’m so glad you reported back and that prepping them beforehand worked out. Thanks!
I am not normally a meatloaf fan…far from it. These were sooooo good! I ate a whole piece and kept stealing bites from the pan while doing dishes. The whole family loved them, including my 3 year old who had 3 helpings! She told me it was delicious and asked if I would make it again! Thanks so much! I prepped it all in advance including browning the loaves and just refrigerating them in the pan. Topped it with the sauce right before throwing it in the oven and added about 5-7 minutes baking time. Worked great!
These look delicious. If I were to make them ahead do you think I could brown the individual loaves a few hours before, place in the fridge and then pop in the oven before serving? Adding on a few minutes baking time perhaps?
Made this for my hubby tonight and he LOVED it. He did say to cut back on the sugar since there is already some in the ketchup…other than that, it was two thumbs up! I was so happy cause he’s a very picky eater:)
Made this again tonight! Actually had all the ingredients! I again only used a little over a lb since grocery stores don’t sell lb & 1/2. And used tomato sauce instead of ketchup. I added more sugar to it to make it sweeter to make up for the sweetness in ketchup. It was AMAZING!! Thank you again for such a great recipe! I really could taste the fresh parsley! Ate too much it was that good! Oh, I cooked it in one big lump in the oven! It turned out great!
Found this recipe on Pinterest and followed the link here. Made these mini meatloaves tonight and they were delicious! My sister loved them and she hates when I experiment with new recipes!
Jess – I’ve only ever used this glaze with these mini meatloaves. Glad you liked the recipe!
Loved these tonight, especially the crispy coating due to frying it beforehand. Is it possible you can recommend any more glazes?
I make these all the time and we LOVE them. We are going out of town while my mother and mother-in-law are taking turns watching our children for us (!!!!!). So I am going to put some in the freezer for them!
Tried these tonight. They were DELICIOUS! Loved the ease of doing individual loaves that cook quicker and more evenly. My 8 year old asked me to leave a comment about how much we enjoyed them:)
I made this last night for dinner because of all of the good reviews it got. I am totally not a meatloaf person and this was “melt in your mouth” amazing. no joke. I especially hate the ketchup sticky glaze stuff on meatloaf and I usually just make a full loaf and lay raw bacon on the top instead of the glaze but i decided to make the recipe as is and it was not all that bad! The frying definitely added a whole other dimension. I used a pork and beef mix which was perfect and i didn’t have any saltines so I used my panko bread crumbs. All in all it was perfect. This dish gives a GOOD name to the mystery meat dish.
I just found your website and absolutely love it. I have already made several recipes and they are all fabulous! I recently made the glazed mini meat loaves and they are delicious – moist and tasty. I doubled the recipe – didn’t realize it would make so much (or underestimated our appetites) so gave my sister some. Her husband and son loved it! Do you think it would taste a lot different if I used bread crumbs? I’ll try it and see what happens.
OMG!! Made this last night with some minor changes!! If I ever learned to read the directions prior to going to the grocery store than maybe I wouldn’t have had to make these changes. But instead of fresh parsley I used dried. Getting the measurement right was TRICKY! So I eyeballed it, I would say a little over a teaspoon. And I didn’t use ketchup for the sauce, I’ve always been scared to since it’s in a bottle. Instead I used just a can of tomato sauce. Didn’t pick up any brown sugar b/c I thought I had some but turns out it wasn’t good anymore. So I had to use just sauce but I added a ton of cheese on top, like I normally do with my own recipe. I also only used a 1lb of meat and toned down the salt & Worcestershire sauce b/c I knew that it could potentially get too salty. But OVERALL it turned out AMAZING!! MY BOYFRIEND WAS IN HEAVEN!! Definitely better than mine!! Thank you so much for another GREAT recipe!! 🙂
I’m making these for Halloween and forming them as graves or coffins. I think I’ll to coffins and make little paper headstones on a toothpick! So excited! I have tried a lot of recipes since your sister Emily referred me to your blog. I have loved every one of them! This is one of my go to sites for recipes now. Thanks!!
I made these and I really liked them. The mustard gives them a twang. First couple of bites I wasn’t sure about the amount of mustard, but with the glaze it was really good. Glaze was much better than using just ketchup. The timing was perfect, they were very moist. As I live alone now, (my son is off and married :)), I am trying to make recipes I can put in portions and freeze the extras. Otherwise I end up eating the same thing all week, twice for dinner, one for lunch and by the fourth time I look at I am throwing it in the trash. I tried making a mini meatloaf recipe in the muffin cups, but it came out dry. Thanks for a great recipe.
AMAZING! I found my new meatloaf recipe! Thank you for being such an amazing cook n sharing your talents n skills w us! I’m on your site almost daily looking for new recipes! Thanks for the tutorials also! I’ve never made rolls before because I was nervous they wouldn’t turn out! Watched your tutorial on yeast n shaping rolls n had the best rolls ever!! I constantly am sending ppl to your site when they ask where I got the recipe! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! Keep it up!!
Just made this meatloaf a few days ago and eating leftovers right now – this is DEFINITELY the best meatloaf! After making a flop of a meatloaf a month ago and eating a flop of a meatloaf at a catered lunch, I am so glad I found this recipe!
Another fabulous recipe from you! Whenever I am stumped for dinner I just check out your site to find something to make – this meatloaf was so good – I did use ground turkey though but it was so good! Thanks again for another wonderful dinner!
My husband has serious issues with meatloaf and ate every bite, and my 15 month-old toddler ate almost half a loaf chunked up saying, “Mmm!” the whole time. I used equal parts beef/pork as suggested = so tasty! While browning, I got a little worried because mine started to break apart a little. But I think I may have had a little too much meat in my mixture. Still they held together well through baking. I found this to be one of your quicker recipes to make, so thank you for the time savings! I admit I had my doubts about the glaze since it was so simple, but it gels nicely and was delicious!
These little beauties just made it on my top 5 favorite meals at home list. My little 16 month old who will hardly eat a thing ate an entire loaf by herself. I was shocked.
Natalie – that’s huge news about your 16-month old. I’d be doing a dance around the kitchen for sure!
Oh, PS: didn’t have fresh parsley, so I used about 1/8 cup dried (maybe a bit less); didn’t have cider vinegar so I used about 1 teaspoon water, 1 teaspoon apple juice and 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, and it seemed to work well.
Made this tonight, everyone loved it including my 17 month old (REALLY love that!) Thanks again!
Nicole – thanks for including your substitutions. So glad this was a hit!
Do you think these would freeze well? If so, how would you reheat them?
Thanks!!
Rebecca – yes, they would probably freeze fine. If you can, I’d freeze them unbaked. Then bake them from frozen and add 5-10 minutes (or more, you’ll have to check them as they bake) onto the baking time.
I’ve never loved meatloaf as much as I love it now! I think I could eat this every day for a week and not be sick of them. I’ve always made little personal sized loaves because they cook so much faster. So when I saw this version, I thought I’d give it a try. Wow, am I glad I did. They are so flavorful and delicious, and the glaze is to die for. My family loved it too, they all said it was the best meatloaf I’d ever made. You’re in my favorites now, I’ll be looking for more. Thanks!
Krissy – thank you! I’m glad this meatloaf converted you to REALLY love it.
Made these tonight with a few alterations based on what I had–breadcrumbs instead of saltines (seriously, who doesn’t have saltines in their pantry?! Me apparently) and ground turkey/ground beef mix. I was really worried about the ground turkey because of how dry it can be–but it was all I had, and WOW! It was still the most moist and delicious meatloaf I’ve ever had. You definitely know how to pick ’em!
Reyna – seriously, who doesn’t have saltines in their pantry? (I couldn’t resist teasing, I’m sorry…because, really, who doesn’t have saltines in their pantry??) I’m glad these meatloaves worked out with all your healthified changes of using ground turkey. That’s awesome!
I love your recipes! This is the first review I have done on a recipe of yours I have made. I made the mini meatloaves on Sunday and I think they are the best I have ever had! I would have never thought to fry them first. My family loved them because they didn’t have onions in them. You are awesome and keep up the good work!
Thanks, Krista! I’m thrilled the mini meatloaves were a hit and that your family loved them. Thanks for letting me know!
So glad I doubled the recipe on this one. These little babies were devoured by even my pickiest eater! The glaze was awesome and really made it complete. Great recipe!
Thanks, Alicia – so glad you all liked this meal!
bipplo – sorry it has taken me a few days to get back with you. I think these would be fine with pasta. A little different, but I’m sure fine.
is it alright if i serve them w/ pasta??
or do the two not get along wif each other?? if im gona serve the meatball wif pasta,w/ the same meatball, wt sauce shd i make? thz
AngelaMarie – I’m so glad you liked these minimeatloaves! Thanks for weighing in on your changes.
I’ve already tried you basil chicken in curried coconut sauce (still LOVE it, gonna make it soon, already got the stuff for it again…) & tried this meatloaf recipe, although I must say I never did like meatloaf- til i made this recipe. Also my SO couldnt resist second helpings when i made this & had me make it again! Delicious. I only had regular mustard so that’s what I used & only regular hamburger, still soooo good, thank you!!
The Station Master – thanks so much for your comment! I appreciate that you have confidence in the recipes here and I hope they continue to please. I’m so glad this meatloaf was a hit – be sure to pass that recipe along to your son!
To quote my oldest married son, ” Wow, this is the best meatloaf I have EVER had!!!” It tastes like our holiday meatballs that are on our Christmas Eve buffet. He loves to cook and he asked for the recipe- twice. He wanted to make sure I remembered. 🙂 So hats off to you. I did make a couple of changes since I had no choice! I ground up some oats in my bullet since I didn’t have any crackers. I had only dark brown sugar and red wine vinegar. The latter chnages made for a darker sauce, but that we okay. Mine did not look like yours though. It seems that my suace soaked in more. I tried one with just ketchup to please a child and snitched a bite of it. I much preferred your sauce. I thought that the flavors would be too strong as I was mixing the meat, but it was pretty much perfect! I can’t wait to try more of your yummy reicpes. 🙂 When I want to try something new, I head here first! Thanks again!!!
Celia – thanks for letting me know you liked these little meatloaves. I agree that the pan frying step makes all the difference. Glad you liked them and are converted to meatloaf again.
I once confessed on my blog that meatloaf is one of those recipes I just can’t ever get right. Well I tried this one tonight and it was FABULOUS! The pan frying step made a big difference and the pork really helped the textural issues I have with meatloaf. It tasted great, they looked appealing, and I was happy. Thanks!!
Hi Jan – Happy Mother’s Day to you, too! Thanks for checking in to let me know you liked these (and that your non-meatloaf-loving husband liked them too!).
why does anything “mini” sound so much yummier?
Ginnie – another meatloaf convert! I wasn’t a huge fan of meatloaf until we had these, either. I’m glad that you liked them. And thanks for letting me know about your changes – it always helps to see others’ variations. Thanks!
Oh I love meatloaf and I never make it. I may have to try this. The dijon mustard sounds good.
Our family just started doing smaller meat loaf this year too. I make it in the large cupcake pans, which works out to being an individual sized portion (with a little less in the cups for the littlest ones, of course). Instead of having meatloaf for dinner we now joke about having ‘meat cakes’!
These look like they’re packed with flavor, mmmm!
funfam – my opinion on ground turkey is a good one. I love to use it and I sometimes substitute it for ground beef, although I do think you lose a little bit of flavor (probably due to the fat). But anyway, if you are thinking of substituting ground turkey in this recipe, it would probably work great – maybe not be quite as moist, but you would definitely save on fat.
WOW I will be definately trying these… my kids aren’t a fan of big meatloaf but love burgers…go figure!!
for me, the appeal of meatloaf lies in the glaze. glazeless meatloaf need not apply. 🙂
Cute mini loaves!
JoAnn – thanks for letting me know. I’m glad to know about the substitution of Italian sausage. I’m excited you liked the recipe!
Julianne – loved the detail-filled comment. So helpful! I’m especially glad you liked these. Sorry about the mess of splitting the egg white and yolk – if it helps, when I have to do this, I usually lightly beat the egg in a bowl and sort of pour “half” into the recipe.
I made this last week and it was TERRIFIC. I’m not a meatloaf fan normally, but the picture made me want it, and it ended up tasting great.
I halved this recipe and got 3 loaves from it. I used about .75 lb of 80/20 beef, 10 Ritz crackers, no parsley, and I attempted to actually split the egg yolk and white in half (not easy and fairly messy and ridiculous, but I suppose it worked). Everything was GREAT. Very easy. I also halved the sauce, but I should have left that as a full recipe; we were wishing for just a small smidge of sweetness extra. We served this with a green salad and corn, and it was great. Thanks for this one, it has ended up in my recipe box — woohoo!
I love mini meatloafs because they don’t take as long to cook! I’ll definitely have to try this one!
I was an adult before I really appreciated meatloaf, and now I’ll even order it in a restaurant if the mood strikes. Yours looks delish.
Mini-meatloaves are such a great idea! And they are so cute! They are little loaf-lettes! 🙂
I have these on the menu for this week! They look super tasty!
My DH loves meatloaf and I really really do not, having had it force fed to me in boarding school every Wednesday. When I have made it for him in the past, I make something else for me.
Tried this and loved it! The only substitutions I made were finely chopped onions as I don’t have any onion powder. I used ground pork and lean beef, but by mistake I added the oil to the mixture instead of the pan! ( Note to self, read AND understand a recipe before proceeding!).
I am now a convert. So glad to have come across your blog. It is great!
We had these last night…I didn’t have enough hamburger, so I threw in some Italian sausage…and it was wonderful! The glaze was so good–this recipe is a keeper.
Well, I intended to make this a couple of weeks ago, but then my son requested taco night instead, and there went my ground beef – ha! I finally made them last night, and they were super, super yummy! Even my dh who is not a meatloaf fan, said they were very good! I used 90% lean ground beef, and they were still moist and the glaze was perfection! Another one we’ll be adding to the dinner rotation! Thanks! And from one boy mom (we’re expecting our 3rd) to another – HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!
Mel – what is your opinion on ground turkey?
These were wonderful! Thanks for all of your unique yet down-to-earth new recipes!!!!!
Anonymous – I’m glad you liked these little mini-meatloaves. It reminds me I need to make them soon! Thanks for checking in to let me know.