Inside: An easy and quick weeknight recipe for Meatloaf Meatballs.
I have a little one. And she can be a bit finicky with the shapes of her food. Especially meat. She doesn’t like things on the bone (just like her daddy) and she’s not a huge fan of sliced meat or even large pieces of meat. Which means I haven’t made my husband’s favorite dish of pork loin in a sour cream gravy in forever.
But meatballs?
She’s all about the meatballs.
Something about grinding up the meat and adding a sauce just works for her. I’m hoping she grows out this phase, but in the meantime? I’m just happy to know the secret to getting her to eat.
But, one can only have so many meatballs. And tonight I was craving meatloaf. Old fashioned, All-American, classic meatloaf.
I know meatloaf can be controversial – you either hate it or you love it. And you’re either on #TeamKetchupGlaze or #TeamBbqSauce. Or maybe you’re more into a brown gravy or tomato sauce.
In my kitchen, we’re solidly into the ketchup glaze.
So I thought I’d bake up some meatloaf, but you know, shaped into tiny meatballs so my kid would actually eat it. And then something magical happened – I realized that by shaping the mixture into meatloaf meatballs it cooked in half the time AND each bite was coated in that delicious glaze.
And true story – I snapped up a quick picture on my phone to share with my friends on Facebook and within 15 minutes SIX people asked me to write a blog post and share the recipe.
I posted the image partially to make fun of myself at the lengths I’m willing to go to get my kid to eat things, but also, I was really excited about how these meatloaf meatballs turned out – so I guess I should probably share the recipe.
I only have one picture, and it’s taken with my phone and I’m too lazy to make it again tonight and I know this mama brain is totally going to forget to photograph it properly next time and my family hates repeats for dinner so it’ll probably be months before it’s on rotation again, so you’re just going to have to squint and pretend my photo is good enough.
We can all practice using our imagination, right?
Meatloaf Meatballs Recipe
There it is. My one picture. And it’s kinda crappy.
Sorry, friends!
But what I lack in my lazy photography, I promise to make up in this easy-peasy DELICIOUS meatloaf meatball recipe. Ready to get started?
Meatloaf Meatballs Recipe
This quick and easy weeknight recipe has all the delicious flavors of classic meatloaf, but cooks up in half the time. The glaze also coats the meatballs as they cook so you get extra flavor in every bite!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup minced mushrooms, optional
- 1 tsp oil (I like to use olive)
- 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
- 3 tbl parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1 lb ground beef (I used 85% lean)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 tsp prepared mustard
- splash Worcestershire
- 2 tsp ketchup
Glaze Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tbl brown sugar
- splash Worcestershire
- 1 tbl water
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-
In a small pan over medium heat, saute finely chopped onion and mushroom (if using) until soft and cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool while you mix together the rest of the ingredients.
-
In a medium bowl, place salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, chopped parsley, oatmeal and mix well.
-
Add beaten egg, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mustard, and beef. Dump in the cooled onion/mushroom mixture. Mix until well combined.
-
Shape into 1.5" meatballs. I like to use a small cookie scoop to portion the meat so they are roughly the same size and cook evenly. Place meatloaf meatballs in a baking dish, ensuring that the meatballs are closely packed.
-
To make the glaze, mix together ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire and water. Pour over meatloaf meatballs.
-
Bake for 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and glaze has thickened. Enjoy! I served with mashed potatoes and green beans.
I highly recommend using these to make the shaping of the meatloaf meatballs uniform, quick, and easy!
If you try this recipe – let me know what you think.
pin me!
I love this idea! Especially the “cooks in half the time” part… oh and we’re team ketchup. Thanks for making the post!
I’m with you! Ketchup glaze is amazing! Thanks for the encouragement, friend!
1. Your picture is beautiful.
2. Meatloaf is my favorite home cooked meal.
3. Team ketchup all the way. (plus, mustard, brown sugar, and vinegar)
Haha thank you! Hm…I’ve never done vinegar in the glaze before – must try it out! Thanks for the tip. I love meatloaf, too. It’s pure comfort!