Looking for a family-friendly ground beef freezer meal? These moist meatloaf muffins are sure to be a hit with the whole family. There’s a little parenting trick that I learned many years ago. Kids are more likely to eat anything that looks like a muffin! Thus the muffin tin meatloaf!

This cute way of serving mini meatloaf also serves another purpose as well. It allows you to take out only as many as needed. Kids can take out their own and reheat as a lunch or snacks like the make-ahead burritos, English muffin pizzas, or ham and cheese roll-ups. This also makes them good when cooking for yourself or cooking for two.

How long to cook muffin tin meatloaf:

Cook meatloaves in a regular-sized muffin tin at 425° for 23-25 minutes. If using a mini muffin tray, you’ll need to reduce the cooking time. I don’t recommend using a mini muffin tray though as it’s too easy for them to be dry or hard.

How do you freeze meatloaf?

When I make meatloaf whether it’s full-sized or muffin-sized, I generally cook it before freezing and then reheat it, but meatloaf can also be frozen raw and then thawed and cooked.

For meatloaf, wrap it in plastic wrap before placing it in a resealable freezer bag. For meatloaf muffins, allow them to cool before removing them from the pan and placing them in a resealable freezer bag. Be sure to thaw before cooking or reheating.

Meatloaf Muffins Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 onion, minced
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. chili sauce
1 egg
salt, pepper
1 Tbsp. parsley

Assembly instructions:

Mix everything together in a bowl. I find using my hands works best. This is a great step to have the kids help out with.
Grease muffin cups.
Put the meat mixture into the muffin tin tray.
Bake at 425° for 23-25 minutes.
Cool the mini meatloaves completely before placing them in a freezer bag.
Remove excess air. Seal and freeze.

Reheating instructions:

Thaw. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven.
You can serve it with ketchup if you want.

Meatloaf Muffins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef, meatloaf

Servings: 12

Calories: 138 kcal

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 onion minced
1/2 green pepper finely chopped
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. chili sauce
1 egg lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. parsley
salt
pepper

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Mix everything together in a bowl.
Grease muffin tin.
Put into muffin tin tray.
Bake 23-25 minutes in a 425° oven.
Cool muffins completely before placing them in a freezer bag. Remove excess air. Seal and freeze.

Reheating instructions:

Thaw. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven.

Recipe Notes

Suggestions for hiding extra veggies in this meatloaf:

grated carrots
grated zucchini
vegetables such as broccoli, red pepper, and/or spinach blended in the food processor

So let’s chat about kids who will eat meatloaf (especially in muffin tin form!), but won’t eat them if they can see the vegetables in them. This recipe is great for picky eaters because it allows you to hide all those veggies. Your kids won’t even have to know how healthy they’re eating!

Suggestions for hiding extra veggies in this meatloaf:

grated carrots
grated zucchini
vegetables such as broccoli, onion, green pepper, red pepper, and/or spinach blended in the food processor

What to serve with your mini meatloaves:

raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, orange or yellow pepper slices, broccoli, cucumber, radishes
french fries
mashed potatoes
wilted spinach
sautéed mushrooms
green salad
peas
cooked broccoli

You may also be interested in these family-friendly freezer meals:

Easy Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole