Mini Turkey and Veggie Meatloaves
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I could eat these super healthy Mini Turkey and Veggie Meatloaves hot or cold, I tell ya. They really aren’t just for kids, although my three children gobbled them up with a side of ketchup tonight. I’m glad I doubled the recipe, so I can freeze half of them for another night.
Here’s the other thing: If you have a hard time getting enough vegetables into your family, these mini meatloaves are also a winning way to hide veggies in food (for picky kids). I would suggest using the food processor to chop the vegetables finely if you have some suspicious kiddos. Give your munchkins a good squirt of ketchup for dipping purposes and you’re good to go!
I served our Mini Turkey and Veggie Meatloaves with a twice-baked potato, steamed broccoli, and some strawberries. Want to really hit a homerun when it comes to the sneaky nutrition, though? Try a side of Healthy Mashed Potatoes. You’ll have just fed your kids zucchini, carrots, onion, and sweet potatoes in one delicious meal. Boom!
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Mini Turkey and Veggie Meatloaves
These Mini Turkey and Veggie Meatloaves are a kid-favorite and a great way to sneak in lots of extra nutrition!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (about one small onion)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot (about one carrot)
- 1/2 cup shredded zucchini (squeeze out excess liquid with hands)
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 1/4 lbs 99% fat free ground turkey
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs (or whole wheat panko)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup all natural ketchup, divided
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley, crushed in hand
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed in hand (or dried oregano)
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a baking rack over the sheet (baking rack keeps bottoms from burning and allows drippings to fall below.) Grease baking rack generously with cooking spray.
- In a saucepan over medium to medium-high heat, sauté vegetables in 1 tablespoon olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Lightly season vegetables with salt and pepper to taste while they sauté. Set aside to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, using your hands or a wooden spoon, combine cooled vegetable mixture, ground turkey, egg, panko, 1/4 cup ketchup, broth, garlic powder, parsley, basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Do not over mix.
- Gently scoop out a heaping, loosely packed 1/2 cup of meat mixture for each meatloaf. Gently form into a patty that’s evenly about 1 1/2 inches thick. Do not press down hard on mixture to avoid compacting it. Top each mini meatloaf with about 2 teaspoons ketchup, spreading around on top evenly.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the middle is no longer pink.
Notes/Tips
Freezer Meal Instructions:
To Freeze: Bake and let cool completely. Seal in freezer bag or container, squeezing out all the air. Freeze up to 2 months.
To Prepare: Thaw in refrigerator overnight and reheat in microwave, using a lower power setting, just until warmed through. Or if reheating from frozen, use the defrost setting on the microwave.
Margaret says
Very good recipe. Nice flavor. I loved the freezer tip. I’m a believer in cook once eat twice
Rachel Tiemeyer says
Thanks for the review, Margaret. Glad you liked it.
Lil says
I would love to make this for my grandson but he is allergic to eggs (as well as dairy). Can I leave the egg out of the recipe?
Rachel Tiemeyer says
The egg acts as a binder, but you could certainly try it without the egg. I don’t think it will be a disaster by any means. Just might need to add a little more liquid (like non-dairy, plain milk). I hope that helps!
Allyson says
Do you think I could make these in a muffin tin as well? Just taking the papers off before freezing?
Rachel says
Try following our Mini Meatloaf Muffins recipe and it should work.
Elise G says
Do you know the serving size nutrients? Eg. calories, fiber, fat etc. thanks !
Amy says
If I wanted to make these smaller into meatballs, same amount of ingredients, should I change the way I bake it?
Rachel says
Hi Amy. These would make awesome meatballs. Just follow the instructions on this meatball recipe: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2015/07/baked-italian-meatballs-freezer-meal/
Molly says
If I’m going to save as a freezer meal would I still put the teaspoons of Ketchup on top before baking? Or save that step till I’m reheating from frozen?
Rachel says
I like mine baked with the ketchup on top. So I do that, then freeze them, and reheat from there.