Turkey Meatloaf Muffins are a fun and healthier twist on the classic meatloaf recipe. These individually portioned meatloaves are super flavorful and they’re packed with nutritious veggies and loads of protein. They make a great weeknight dinner because they come together easily and cook up fast! They’re also perfect for meal prep and lunches through the week.
I’ve made these mini meatloaves more times than I can count. It’s one of those go-to easy dinner recipes the whole family enjoys. They also pair well with a variety of sides dishes. In fact, my favorite way to enjoy these meatloaf muffins is crumbled on top of a crunchy kale and cabbage salad! My kids, on the other hand, LOVE when I top them with some marinara sauce and melted mozzarella (SO good!).
How Do You Make Meatloaf Muffins?
I found this recipe on BodyBuilding.com. They were created by fitness model and author, Jamie Eason. Jamie shares lots of her recipes (and videos) here and offers up lots of great tips and insights about healthy cooking. She really focuses on ‘food-for fitness’ so if your working on building a ‘buff-bod’, you definitely want to check her out.
The first time I made these muffins, I pretty much followed the recipe verbatim and they were delish. The only thing I wanted was a little more moisture. So this time around I tweaked it a bit.
- Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with some cooking spray and preheat the oven.
- Sauté onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic for about 5 minutes.
- Stir Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth in with the veggies and cook another 5 minutes and until all the veggies are tender and the mixture is heated through. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.
- In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine ground turkey, egg whites, oats, cumin, chipotle spice, garlic powder, black pepper and salt.
- Mix the cooked veggies with the turkey mixture, until everything is well incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into 12 even balls and place each one in the greased muffin cavities.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. Cool and enjoy!
You can see the original recipe here. And you’ll find my full updated version in the recipe card below (and shown in the video below).
Can Meatloaf Muffins Be Made Ahead Of Time?
I love making these ahead of time and knowing I have an easy, delicious, fuel-focused meal, prepared and in the fridge ready to go for a busy week. This recipe is exactly that. These turkey meatloaf muffins are packed with high-protein ground turkey, fiber-filled oats, lots of veggies, and some egg whites for good measure.
I think it’s fair to say that these little guys are a lean and mean kind-of-muffin (perhaps they will help me grow my muscles!).
I just packed a couple up with some veggies and hummus and I had a quick-on-the go meal ready to go. So delicious and super convenient!
Clearly, you can enjoy these turkey muffins many different ways so this is a great recipe to include in your weekly meal prep. Enjoy!
HELPFUL KITCHEN TOOLS:
- Glass Mixing Bowls
- Glass Mixing Bowls with Lids (great for storage and travel)
- Muffin Pan
More Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes:
- Zucchini Taco Boats
- One Pan Roasted Shrimp and Green Beans
- Cast Iron Salmon
- Turkey and Zucchini Skillet Recipe
Thanks so much for reading! You can watch the video down below and if you make this recipe I would love for you to give it a ★ rating below. And be sure to follow me on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and FaceBook for more healthy food inspiration!
Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 chopped cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 lbs. ground turkey I used 1.5lb. extra lean + .5 lb. dark
- 1/2 cupegg whites
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground chipotle pepper spice
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 375 and spray 12-cup muffin pan with some cooking spray (or coat with a little olive or coconut oil).
- Heat a medium saute pan over a medium high heat and add onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook for 5-6 minutes until you have the raw edge off of the veggies.
- Stir in Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth and cook another 5 minutes until all the veggies are tender and the mixture is heated through. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.
- In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine ground turkey, egg whites, oats, cumin, chipotle spice, garlic powder, black pepper and salt.
- Add in cooked veggies and mix together until everything is well incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into 12 even balls and place each one in greased muffin pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. Cool and enjoy!
Cori
I used the lean ground turkey instead of extra lean. It has 8 grams of fat per 4 ounces. They came out super moist and delicious!
Renee
Just a quick question, how come this recipe is only 121 calories but on Jamie’s site they are 182?
Delish. I ground up all dry ingredients firsts in small food processor then the same with the veggies before adding them to turkey. Added cilantro too, fresh garlic instead of powder. Super moist
Mindy
Delicious! I added a whole egg and some red yellow and orange bell peppers and a little veggie broth, I was worried about the dryness but these were so delicious. I didn’t have Chipotle seasoning but added turmeric and paprika. Soooo good.
Kim
Mine were excellent and not dry at all. Thanks for the recipe.
Kelly
Please do not cook a full 40 mins. Mine were done in 22 mins with the internal temperature reaching 180+. They should not be dry. Also, play around with the ingredients. I added real mustard, Worcestershire sauce, celery seed (not a fan of chopped celery), red and yellow bell pepper, hot sauce, and some other spices. Turned out great. If you aren’t a fan of chopped onion, liquefy it in the food processor, first. This will also help to make them more moist. I halved the recipe and still got 9 meatball/muffins @ 105 calories each! Yum. Thank you!
Lenora
I think I will try them with dried cranberries and use poultry seasoning for the spice. Should taste like Thanksgiving!
sally
Hi can anyone help me out?!
I really want to make these on sunday and keep for the whole week as snacks. Will that be ok? How long will they keep for? Thanks
Dani
Yes! I usually make them on a Sunday and then eat them all week long.
Amy and Ben
Add green chile! For a tasty New Mexico version. My husband and I are playing the game on diet and these are great for that
Dani
Yum! Thanks for the tip:)
Carol
We make these every other week and love them.
We dice (using a food chopper) and add to the recipe above:
1 whole red bell pepper (seeded)
2 whole zucchini
A handful of spinach. Usually about 1/2 cup chopped.
Dani
Love the addition of all the extra veggies! I’m going to do this myself next time:)
carly
These are SO good. I replace the chili powder with 2-3 table spoons of siracha and its delicious. great with roasted veggies or cauliflower mash.
Gabby
these are so good. try adding cilantro. gives it so much flavor.
Angie
I make these all the time! Tonight we added red, yellow and orange peppers, an extra sweet onion, handful of chopped baby carrots… basically whatever I have in the fridge and garden get chopped up small and added. I like to use Mrs. Dash Original Blend too – it has a great combo of spices all in one!
Grace
Could I make these into patties and cook them on the stovetop?
Nancy
I make these a lot, freeze them and eat them many ways. Easy on-the-go healthy protein. Ground turkey is best- ground chicken is too dry. I use whatever veg. I have on hand. Today’s version was the best- no celery so added 1 medium zucchini and 3 small carrots grated fine added to onion. Super moist! Agree on the spiciness- take it down by at _least_ half. Have ruined more muffin tins than I’d like to admit though with them in spite of a lot of spray. Will try cookie sheet version next time.
Jennie
Love these! I make them all the time! But you spelled her name wrong.. 😉
cynthia
These turned out delicious. I did adjust the recipe for what I had … substituted Panko Bread Crumbs for Oats, Turmeric for mustard and cut back on the garlic. They’re delicious. Sharing with my friends at the office so they can make healthy choices too.
Dani
So glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing…
Cynthia B
Add a bit of fat (TBS of olive oil) or use ground turkey that’s not 100% breast – still healthy. Adding shredded veggies is also a great idea, but I make something similar every week and I typically add a bit of fat or use the other turkey.
Dani
great tips!
Nadine
Loved reading through the comments. I used higher fat turkey, pulverized the onion, used spicy mustard, celery seed, added shredded carrots, halved the garlic and pepper and left out the chipotle spice. Very tasty and still quite flavorful. 375 for 30 minutes was perfect. Mine were very moist. So much so that i immediately took them out of the muffin pan and put them on a plate with paper towels underneath because there was liquid at the bottom of the muffin pan. My 11 month old loved them. My extremely picky 4 year old would only eat 3 bites after bribing her with a treat. Someday I will find a healthy recipe we all like!
Dani
Feeding the little ones is always a processes, isn’t it?! Your muffins sound delicious!
Jenn
After the meatballs are cook in the oven, I’m going to cover them in low fat cream of mushroom soup (combined with water) & serve over brown rice.
Fingers crossed 🙂
Dani
Good luck!
cecille
Hi Dani,
I love watching your videos and thanks for sharing your recipes. Im just curious though what specific pan are you using in sautéing the veggies in this video?
thanks,
C
Dani
It is a calphalon ceramic saute pan!