This mini meatloaf recipe delivers all the flavours of classic meatloaf in a fraction of the cooking time so you can get dinner on the table, stat.
Most of us have fond memories of meatloaf on our childhood dinner tables, but it rarely appears on weekday menus these days because a full-sized meatloaf typically requires a long baking time. This mini meatloaf recipe utilizes a muffin tin, allowing each individual loaf to cook in a fraction of the time. Kids love that they’re like a cross between meatloaf and burgers and they get their own. Leftovers can go in a school lunchbox as a slider or be broken up with leftover sauce and pasta and a kind-of deconstructed spaghetti and meatballs.
Ingredients for Mini Meatloaf
1 large onion, peeled
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3–4 lb. ground beef, or a mix of beef and pork
1 cup bread crumbs or 1/2 cup crushed crackers or quick oats
1 cup tomato sauce or ketchup plus extra for brushing
2 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste
Directions for Mini Meatloaf
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grate onion on the coarse side of a box grater. Put beef (or beef and pork) in a bowl and add onion, garlic, bread crumbs, tomato sauce or ketchup, eggs, salt and pepper and mix with your hands just until combined. Don’t overwork it, or your meatloaves will wind up tough.
Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cups and brush the tops with ketchup. Bake for 20 min, until just cooked through. Serve immediately. Cool extras and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or wrap well and freeze for up to 6 months.
Makes about 12 mini meatloaves.
Originally published in April 2011. Updated August 2026.
