BBQ Meatloaf Muffins with Sweet Potato Topping

What do you get when dinner and dessert have a baby? You get BBQ Meatloaf Muffins with Sweet Potato Topping that are almost too cute to eat.

Small in size but mighty in flavor

Meatloaf regularly finds its way on my weekly meal plan for several reasons, not only because it’s delicious and one of my favorite comfort foods, but it’s also easy to make ahead, freezes well (both raw and fully cooked) and it’s a more economical way to get grass-fed beef into our diet because ground meat is way less expensive than steak, but you already knew that.

The only downside is that it takes a while to a bake an entire 2-lb. loaf of meat. That and my kids don’t think it’s the prettiest meal. So for those two reasons alone I’ve started making these mini-meatloaves using a muffin pan. Aren’t they cute?

They’re also great because they’re pre-portioned making them an easy addition to my hubby’s lunchbox as well.

Because saving time in the kitchen is of the utmost importance here at The Real Food Dietitians, we’ve kept this recipe simple with just five ingredients in the meatloaf (not including salt and pepper) and two ingredients in the topping. Just seven ingredients total!

 

Sweet potatoes make the perfect topping for savory meatloaf.

Don’t be intimidated by the pretty sweet potato topping swirls in the picture. Keep in mind, we’re food bloggers and piping pureed root vegetables onto small discs of meat is what we do.

Feel free to dollop, scoop or spread your topping on if that’s easiest for you. It’s still going to be ridiculously mouth-watering delicious, especially with a little drizzle of your favorite barbecue or hot sauce. We like Tessemae’s and The New Primal when we’re Whole 30-ing because it doesn’t have any added refined sugar, but you can use any good-quality store-bought sauce without high-fructose corn syrup. Heck, you can even use this easy Homemade BBQ Sauce that you can whip up in just minutes (it’s even Whole30 and super budget-friendly).

For more easy ground beef recipes, try these 20 Healthy Ground Beef Recipes

If you do want to get all fancy-schmancy with the topping, just scoop your pureed sweet potatoes into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Or you can use a quart-sized zip-top bag in which case you’ll want to gently press the mixture to the bottom of the bag and seal it. Then snip off a small bit of one corner of the bag to create a piping bag. Now you can squeeze and swirl your way to fancy BBQ meatloaf muffins with sweet potato topping. Just like the pros do. 

Wondering if you should purchase grass-fed beef? Learn how to choose quality red meat in this post!

Ready, Set, Garnish!

An extra drizzle of smoky barbecue sauce and a sprinkle of thyme or chopped parsley elevates these cute little BBQ meatloaf muffins to glorious, savory dinner cupcake status almost instantly. Garnish is always optional, of course.

You can see why these are so kid-friendly. They don’t even look like meatloaf – and they’re easy to freeze once baked, cooled and topped. Just return them to the muffin pan and place in the freezer until frozen before transferring to a freezer-safe container with lid or a large zip-top bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a covered skillet with a few drops of water until heated through or reheat in a toaster oven or microwave. You’ll just need to add a vegetable side dish or two and dinner will be on the table in no time.

Alternatively, you can bake the meatloaf muffins, cool and freeze them. Then, thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat as directed above and top with freshly made sweet potato topping just before serving if you want to keep them looking fancy.

Video: How to make BBQ Meatloaf Muffins

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Photo Credit: Photos for this post were taken by Jess of Plays Well With Butter

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