Mini Bacon Meatloaf Balls

mini bacon meatloaf balls

This is an update to an old favorite! Growing up as a child, I was deprived of such simple and delicious meals like meatloaf. It wasn’t until my late teens that I finally had my first bite of meatloaf. And yes, it was love at first bite. Mmmmmm! Okay, what’s the point of this? Errr I don’t really know… I apologize :)

Anyways! New take on old favorite! Rather than a loaf, I shaped them into balls. Hahah, balls… Pourqoui Kat? Because every time I shape it into the most beautiful loaf you’ve ever seen in your lifetime, it always turns in a mountain of meat blob out of the oven. Not too appealing and photogenic, you know what I mean? And being my paranoid self, I am convinced that it is never cooked evenly, especially the middle.

To make these meatloaf balls, feel free to use your favorite meatloaf recipe but I am a tad impartial (and always will be) to Paula Deen’s Old Fashion Meatloaf. The key to making perfect uniform balls…a cupcake pan!

This next step actually came from a friend’s wife. He’s been raving about his wife’s meatloaf on Facebook for as long as I can remember and he and his wife were kind to give me their secret ingredient…bacon! Delicious, fatty, amazing bacon! Cover each meatloaf ball with bacon. Oh, please be generous with this step. I’m only thinking of you :)

Did I mention that my favorite part of meatloaf is the ketchup+mustard+brown sugar glaze? Sure, it doesn’t sound all too appetizing but when you mix them all together you get that delicious meatloaf sauce. I love Paula’s recipe for this sauce so much that I actually doubled it!

While the meatloaf balls were baking in the oven, I washed and peeled some veggies for roasting…

And added them into the oven with the meatloaf during the last half hour of baking.

An hour later, this is what you get… amazing perfectly portioned mini bacon meatloaf balls!

The best part about making these meatloaf balls is that they keep amazingly well in the refrigerator and taste even better the next day! Another fun way to adapt this into an appetizer for parties is to make them into bite-sized meatballs and serve with a toothpick… mini bacon meatloaf appetizer balls, how cute right!

xoxo, kat

ps. she cooks 12, he eats 3 :)

Mini Bacon Meatloaf Balls (adapted from Paula Deen)

makes 12 balls if using a cupcake pan

meatloaf:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• bacon

topping:

• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Mix all meatloaf ingredients well.
3. Brush a cupcake pan with oil. Scoop meatloaf into the cupcake pan.
4. Cover each meatloaf ball with bacon. Feel free to cut the bacon slices.
5. Mix ingredients for topping and spread onto each meatloaf ball.
6. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.