Our incredible meatloaf muffins are the answer to your dinnertime dilemma! This recipe is packed with tips to ensure your mini-meatloaves are moist and delicious every single time. Plus, we’ve got a secret weapon: a zesty brown sugar glaze that adds a burst of flavor you won’t find in other recipes. Skip the mess, not the flavor!
Thousands of readers have loved this recipe over the last ten years. Reasons—it’s foolproof, delicious, and EASY. We’ve included step-by-step photos to guide you through the process, ensuring tender and flavorful mini-meatloaves every time.
These easy meatloaf muffins are baked in just 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights when you don’t even have time to think! And the individual meatloaves freeze beautifully for meal prep. Forget dry, boring meatloaf—make weeknights delicious!
My two young boys LOVE this and ask for seconds! Very easy to have leftovers to send to grandparents! So easy and very yummy. It’s now one of our staples!
kristen
Simple and easy meatloaf in muffin tins
As a Southern cook for more than 40 years, I’ve made these meatloaf muffins many, many times. My husband and grandkids request this recipe frequently because they love how the sides of the muffins get a little browner and crispier.
You’ll love how the mini-meatloaves are perfect for individual portions or calorie-conscious diets since you can easily control the serving size. They also freeze beautifully in freezer-safe containers or bags, making them a great option for meal prep.
The best part is that this recipe is based on my Classic Meatloaf Recipe. Just like that recipe, this one uses no fancy ingredients and has a terrific flavor that’s reminiscent of your favorite diner.
Muffin tin meatloaf ingredients
- Ground chuck or turkey
- Onion
- Green pepper
- Eggs
- Plain breadcrumbs
- Worcestershire sauce
- Ketchup
- Salt and pepper
Sauce
- Ketchup
- Brown Sugar
- Yellow Mustard
Meatloaf Muffin recipe variations
- You can easily play around with this recipe and come up with variations that suit your family. Lots of folks like using ground turkey or ground chicken in place of beef. That will work fine in this recipe, although I find that baked recipes with ground turkey have a tendency to be dry. If I were going to substitute, I would probably add some additional liquid to the recipe with an extra egg yolk or about a quarter cup of milk.
- Another meat substitute would be ground pork with some sausage mixed in.
- For the plain bread crumbs, you could substitute crushed saltine crackers.
- You could also use tomato sauce in lieu of the ketchup in the brown sugar glaze.
- For a veggie boost, sneak some chopped mushrooms or grated carrots into the meat mixture.
Helpful tools for this meatloaf muffins recipe
If you have a silicone muffin pan, it will work great for this recipe!
How to make meatloaf muffins
Step 1. Mix up the meatloaf as you normally would: meat, onion, pepper, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup all in a large bowl.
**Cook’s Tip: Don’t mix too much, or the meatloaf will be tough, but mix well enough to blend everything.
Step 2. Scoop mixture into muffin pans. My muffin pans are non-stick, but I still spray the pan and then slightly overfill each muffin cup.
**Cook’s Tip: I use an ice cream scoop and put a heaping scoop in each muffin cup.
The meatloaf mixture will shrink down just a bit so you don’t want to underfill. I can usually get 18-24 meatloaf muffins out of one recipe batch.
Step 3. Bake!
Step 4. Remove and brush with sauce using a silicone pastry brush. Then bake a few more minutes before taking the meatloaf muffins out of the oven.
Serving meatloaf muffins
If you’re making this recipe for a busy weeknight dinner, then you’re going to want equally easy sides to serve with it. My favorite side dishes would include green beans, Southern butter beans, and of course, you can never go wrong with creamy mashed potatoes. My Quick Weeknight Mashed Potatoes would be perfect.
You’ll have all the makings for a perfect comfort food dinner the whole family will love, with half the time and none of the fuss!
How to store leftover muffin tin meatloaf
Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
How to freeze muffin pan meatloaf
- Place the muffins on a baking sheet overnight in the freezer.
- The next day, put the frozen muffins in a bag and store in the freezer. This method keeps most of the sauce on the meatloaf. You’ll lose a little bit to the bag but not much.
- And it’s easy to make a little more sauce when you thaw out your meatloaf muffins anyway!
Meatloaf muffins recipe FAQs
What is the secret to moist meatloaf?
To make sure your meatloaf muffins are moist and tasty, you’ll want to be sure that you’re not using only lean ground beef. The ground chuck has more fat, which will result in a more tender meatloaf. Some people will also soak the breadcrumbs in milk, like we do for our meatballs recipes.
What ingredient keeps meatloaf from falling apart?
The eggs and bread crumbs serve as binders in this recipe and will keep the muffin tin meatloaves from falling apart.
Should you bake meatloaf covered or uncovered?
Bake your meatloaf muffins uncovered.
Why do you put eggs in meatloaf?
The eggs serve as a binder and help to keep the meat from falling apart.
Why do you put baking powder in meatloaf?
Some people like to use a baking powder slurry mixed into the ground beef to give it extra moistness. We have not found that to be needed for this recipe.
Join Southern Food and Fun Community group
and Southern Potluck group!
And please follow us on social media:
Muffin Pan Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chuck
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup finely chopped green pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Sauce:
- ½ cup ketchup
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray two 12-cup muffin pans with cooking oil.
- Mix meats and other ingredients (except for the sauce ingredients) gently in a large bowl. You can saute the onions and green pepper in a little olive oil first if you want them to be completely tender. Place meatloaf mixture in muffin cups, mounding slightly above each cup. This recipe should fill about 18 muffin cups.
- Place meatloaf in oven and bake for 25 minutes. While meatloaf is cooking, mix the sauce ingredients. After 25 minutes, remove muffin pans from oven and spread sauce on the top of each meatloaf muffin.
- Bake for another 10 minutes and then remove from oven and let rest for fifteen minutes.
Video
Notes
- Don’t mix too much or the meatloaf will be tough, but do mix well enough to blend everything.
- Use an ice-cream scoop and put a heaping scoop in each muffin cup.
- Place the meatloaf muffins on a baking sheet overnight in the freezer.
- The next day, put the frozen muffins in a bag and store in the freezer. This method keeps most of the sauce on the meatloaf. You’ll lose a little bit to the bag but not much.
- And it’s easy to make a little more sauce when you thaw out your meatloaf muffins anyway!
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published October 6, 2014, and on March 13, 2024, was updated with one or more of the following: step-by-step photos, video, updated recipe, new tips.
I have to admit I was nervous about them being dry and boy was I wrong! They held together perfectly and were so moist. That is by far the best meatloaf recipe I’ve ever made. Now everyone is spoiled and they’re never going to want plain meatloaf again. I used grass fed 85/15 ground beef which I buy at Aldi. If you’ve never tried it and you have an Aldi in your town be sure to check it out.
Great recipe! Made the meatloaf muffins today and they are a delicious and easy to prepare.
Used Quaker Oats and red bell pepper and these were the best mini meatloafs we have ever had! Making them tonight again 😉
I made this tonight but didn’t have all the Ingredients..I am cooking for two and always cut the recipe down. I only had 1 /2 lb of ground chuck,no Worcestershire sauce, yellow pepper not green. Used what I had and made two mini meatloafs in a pan with four loaf spaces. It turned out great and we loved the sauce on top! Don be afraid to substitute ingredients, a good recipe will handle it as long as you don’t get too crazy.
This sounds great!
@Erica, I just made the recipe with ground turkey and halved it, it made 8 mini meat loaves and was perfect! I baked it for less time and temperature checked them to make sure they just got to 165°. So good!
When I make meat loaf i put bread in the bottom of the pan to soak up grease. Is there a way to do that when using a muffin tin?
If you use the recipe as specified, the meatloaf muffins are not that greasy.
This is just like my recipe. But I also add some milk with egg mixture. It adds moisture. And cooking the onions & bell pepper first helps if you indigestion. It’s so good. Even my Mother would ask me to make it for her.
My two young boys LOVE this and ask for seconds! Very easy to have leftovers to send to grandparents! So easy and very yummy. It’s now one of our staples!
My two young boys LOVE this and ask for seconds! Very easy to have leftovers to send to grandparents! So easy and very yummy. It’s now one of our staples!
This works very well for my elderly sister and brother in law, he can pop a few in the microwave for a quick meal, I also bake a few sweet potatoes and potatoes, split those in half and freeze them also. Easy peasy?
This works very well for my elderly sister and brother in law, he can pop a few in the microwave for a quick meal, I also bake a few sweet potatoes and potatoes, split those in half and freeze them also. Easy peasy?
This recipe looks awesome! I’ve never made my own meatloaf before- what would happen if I cut the recipe in half and just use one pound of ground beef or turkey, omitting the ground chuck? Do you think that could work?
This recipe looks awesome! I’ve never made my own meatloaf before- what would happen if I cut the recipe in half and just use one pound of ground beef or turkey, omitting the ground chuck? Do you think that could work?
Will adding additional veggies (trying to sneak more in for my picky 2.5 year old) affect the cooking time? And how long do the cooked muffins keep in the freezer? Thanks!
Hi Hilary,
I don’t think adding vegetables will add much to the cooking time. I would just pull one out and look at it after about 30 minutes.
I usually keep these meatloaf muffins in the freezer for 2-3 months. They don’t last longer than that because we EAT them! 🙂
Meatloaf muffins quickly replaced my usual meatloaf recipe. It is full of flavor, freezes great, ( tastes like you just made it). This is one to try!
Meatloaf muffins quickly replaced my usual meatloaf recipe. It is full of flavor, freezes great, ( tastes like you just made it). This is one to try!
Do you find baking them with the sauce on top makes a mess in the freezer bags? I have been looking to do something similar but wasn’t sure how the freezing part would work.
Hi Angela,
I freeze the muffins on a baking sheet before placing them in the freezer bags so it’s not too much mess but you will lose a little sauce to the bags. You could certainly leave off the sauce and just make it up before reheating them, but I’ve not found it to be that big of a deal.
We make something very similar…a pound of ground beef, a tube of crackers (crushed), one egg, S/P, some chopped onion or onion flakes, and a can of vegetable beef soup…in a sprayed muffin tin with ketchup on top. My favorite as a kid and now my kids’ favorite!
How do you reheat the frozen meatloaf muffins?
Hi Jennifer,
I just thaw them out and reheat for about a minute in the microwave. You could also probably just take them straight from the freezer and heat in the oven for about 30 mins but I haven’t tried that.
How do you reheat the frozen meatloaf muffins?