Mini Meatloaves are such a great and easy dinner to throw together. The mini versions cook faster than making one large loaf and they serve up real easy with about 2 making a serving.
I really like to use the leftover cherry ketchup I’ll have from making my Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce. It pairsvery well with beef and makes these mini meatloaves a nightshade free sweet and savory treat.
These simple mini meatloaves are also gluten, egg, and dairy free which makes them a great phase one recipe for any elimination diet! Serve them up with any of your favorite side dishes for a filling dinner.
Is Meatloaf Greasy?
I love making all sorts of meatloaves so I have quite a bit of experience in this arena. One of the things I never see people mention in their meatloaf recipes though is the grease.
If you’re making meatloaf with beef you are definitely going to experience some grease. Even turkey has excess liquid to battle. I don’t know what other people are doing about it but I like to drain mine off about halfway through the bake.
For these Cherry Ketchup Mini Meatloaves I drained the muffin tin when I took them out to put on the cherry ketchup. This requires some caution, balance, and good oven mitts. Remove the meatloaf baking dish from the oven and very carefully tilt until the grease drips off of one corner into a heat safe dish or container. You want to tilt it just enough that the grease runs off but not so much that the meatloaves fall out!
Removing the grease before topping and then baking for a few minutes longer will help avoid unappetizing soggy edges. Just please be so so careful to avoid burns!
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 3 tbsp cool water
- 1/8 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup oat milk
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp brown mustard
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 6 tbsp cherry ketchup
Instructions
- preheat oven to 350 F
- combine the ground flaxseed and cool water in a medium mixing bowl and set aside for 10-15 minutes
- add the remaining ingredients except the cherrry ketchup to the bowl and thoroughly mix
- grease a muffin tin, about 10 cups
- press the beef mixture into the greased muffin cups
- place the muffin tin on a larger baking tray just in case any grease drips
- bake mini meat loaves for 20 minutes
- remove from oven and top each mini meatloaf with cherry ketchup
- return to oven for 5-10 minutes until internal temperature reaches 160 F
- serve hot

Mini Meatloaves with Cherry Ketchup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 3 tbsp cool water
- 1/8 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup oat milk
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp brown mustard
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 6 tbsp cherry ketchup
Instructions
- preheat oven to 350 F
- combine the ground flaxseed and cool water in a medium mixing bowl and set aside for 10-15 minutes
- add the remaining ingredients except the cherrry ketchup to the bowl and thoroughly mix
- grease a muffin tin, about 10 cups
- press the beef mixture into the greased muffin cups
- place the muffin tin on a larger baking tray just in case any grease drips
- bake mini meat loaves for 20 minutes
- remove from oven and top each mini meatloaf with cherry ketchup
- return to oven for 5-10 minutes until internal temperature reaches 160 F
- serve hot