Meatloaf Muffins

Meatloaf Muffins

This is a handy way to meal-prep your protein portions for an On-Protocol week on The Balanced Burn, or for everyday eating! They taste equally good both reheated or cold, so they are a really low-fuss option for taking to work for lunch.

Made with a mixture of meat and fat-free cottage cheese without breadcrumbs or eggs, each portion contains around 30 grams of high quality protein, with less than 7 grams of fat and 5 grams of net carbohydrate. They are great with a salad or cut up veggies using my guilt-free Caesar or Ranch style dressings, ratatouille, or with sheet-pan roasted vegetables and mashed cauliflower for a hearty and satisfying but calorie-conscious meal.

I prefer this particular recipe using extra lean ground beef, but I have put instructions for a variation using ground chicken or turkey in the notes if you prefer that instead. 😉

If you’re looking for a more traditional take on meatloaf, with breadcrumbs and eggs in the mixture for a slightly lighter texture at the cost of additional calorie content, check out our recipe for Traditional Meatloaf instead.

Equipment

Ingredients (makes 12 portions)

  • 3 pounds / 1,5 kg extra lean ground beef

  • 1 pound / 500 g fat-free cottage cheese

  • 3 tsp sea salt

  • 2 tsp paprika

  • 2 tsp dry mustard

  • 1 tsp garlic powder / 4 cloves of garlic (minced)

  • 1 tsp onion powder / 1 TBSP dried onion flakes / 1/2 a medium onion (finely diced)

  • 2 tsp dried oregano

  • 1 tsp dried parsley / 1 TBSP fresh parsley (finely chopped)

  • 1 tsp dried thyme / 1 TBSP fresh thyme leaves

  • 1-1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

  • 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 177 degrees C.

  2. If using fresh onion and/or garlic, sauté the onion over medium heat with a teaspoon of olive oil until it begins to brown, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute. If using onion powder / onion flakes / garlic powder, skip this step.

  3. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mixing thoroughly by hand to ensure even distribution of the seasoning and cottage cheese throughout the meat

  4. Use a slightly-rounded, packed 1/2 cup measure to divide the mixture into 12 equal portions, placing each portion into one cup of an XL silicone muffin pan (be sure to support the muffin pan(s) with a metal baking sheet for safety and to catch any liquid spill-over). If you use the same pans I do, I’ve found there’s no need to use cooking spray or anything to grease the muffin pans - they release no problem, and if you wash them right away, the pans clean up easily with just a dishcloth in soapy water.

  5. Bake the meatloaf muffins until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F / 74 degrees C is reached, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan.

  6. Discard the liquid left behind in the cups, and wash the muffin pan(s) immediately for best results.

Nutritional Info

Total for the Full Recipe:

  • Calories: 3,200 kcal

  • Protein: 400 g (1,600 kcal, 50% of total calories)

  • Fat: 80 g (720 kcal, 22.5% of total calories)

  • Total Carbohydrates: 80 g

    • Fiber: 20 g

    • Net Carbohydrates: 60 g (240 kcal, 7.5% of total calories)

Per Serving:

  • Calories: 267 kcal

  • Protein: 33.3 g (133 kcal, 50% of total calories)

    • Estimated Palm-Size Portions: 1 to 1.5

  • Fat: 6.7 g (60 kcal, 22.5% of total calories)

    • Estimated Thumb-Size Portions: 0.5 to 1

  • Total Carbohydrates: 6.7 g

    • Fiber: 1.7 g

      • Percentage of Recommended Daily Intake:

        • Women under 50: 6–7%

        • Men under 50: 5–5.5%

        • Women over 50: 8%

        • Men over 50: 6%

    • Net Carbohydrates: 5 g (20 kcal, 7.5% of total calories)

      • Estimated Cupped-Palm Portions: 0.5

  • Fist-Sized Portions of Non-Starchy Vegetables:

    • This recipe does not contain significant amounts of non-starchy vegetables.

This nutritional analysis is an estimate only, based on available knowledge regarding the nutritional content of the individual ingredients. Nutritional content of foods is HIGHLY variable, so you should always base your dietary intake on whether it meets your needs and progresses you towards your goals rather than any theoretical numbers on paper.

Notes and Options

  • This recipe can also be prepared as a traditional meatloaf in a loaf pan, but will take longer to cook. Again, be sure to cook to medium well (an internal temperature of 165 degrees F / 74 degrees C). For what it’s worth, the “meat muffins” option gives you more precise portion control, so is what I use most often.

  • You can also make this recipe with extra-lean ground chicken or turkey instead of beef, though I find a 2:1 ratio of meat to fat-free cottage cheese works best with those options (rather than the 3:1 of this recipe) for better texture and moisture. If you opt to go that route:

    • Use 2 pounds / 1 kg of meat and 1 pound / 500 g of fat-free cottage cheese

    • Reduce sea salt to 1-1/2 tsp

    • Cut all the other seasonings by about 1/3. The closest you’ll get to 2/3 tsp using standard measuring spoons is 5/8 tsp, so:

      • 1-1/4 tsp for anything that says 2 tsp - I.E. paprika, dry mustard, dried oregano

      • 5/8 tsp (or 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp) for anything that says 1 tsp - I.E. garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley and dried thyme

      • 1 tsp of black pepper

      • 4 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

    • Use a level, packed 1/2 cup measure to divide the mixture into 11 equal portions, and fill the extra (empty) cup in the muffin pan half full with water when baking.

    • This variant still gives you about 30 grams of protein per serving, with less than 6 grams each of fat and carbs.