Meatloaf is THE ultimate all American food. My Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf Bites are perfect for the whole family because it’s fast, easy and packed with vegetables!
I pulled up a favorite recipe of mine to see if these Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf Bites are as good today as they were several years ago. I hadn’t made them for about a year, so last week I whipped up a batch hoping to freeze a few. Nice try! Chloe and her two friends, ate an entire batch in less than 15 minutes. It was fun watching them down the full recipe even though it left hubby and I eating leftovers. Next time I’m doubling to make sure I have plenty to go around!
My Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf Bites are perfect for the whole family, but especially for your little one. The best part is they’re cooked in mini muffin pans, so they only take 20 minutes to bake. I pack mine with vegetables, and since there’s very little salt and no sugary ketchup, I add some cheese which makes every bite taste heavenly. Kenya had such a grin on his face when I gave him his first Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf Bite when he was a little one (and before he was vegetarian). He tried to shove the entire thing in his mouth at once. Luckily I cajoled him into letting me cut it up!
I always think of meatloaf as the dish that you either love or absolutely hate. I’ve also seen hundreds of recipes for it, and people are extremely passionate about what they think does and doesn’t belong inside. My mother must have used an entire bottle of ketchup on hers. I’ll refrain from commenting on that 😉 Whatever line of the meatloaf debate you fall on, I think you’ll love this recipe!
Are you making Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf Bites tonight?! Tag me @weelicious on social media so I can see!
Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf Bites
Ingredients
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup baby carrots (about 8), chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon worsteshire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (whole wheat preferably)
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray a nonstick mini muffin tin with vegetable oil cooking spray or grease with oil.
- Place the zucchini, onions, bell peppers, carrots, and garlic clove into the food processor and pulse until everything is in tiny pieces.
- Add the egg, worchestershire sauce, herbs, bread crumbs, cheese, and turkey. Pulse until everything is combined.
- Place about a tablespoon of the meatloaf mixture in the muffin pans and pack down with a spoon.
- Bake until the mini turkey loaves are cooked through or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 165 degrees F, about 20 minutes.
Video
Notes
- * This recipe can also be baked in a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and baked for 50 minutes.
- To Freeze: After baking, let bites come to room temperature, place in a ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 3 months. When ready, defrost over night in the fridge and place in a 300 degree oven for 5 minutes to reheat.
Best recipe! Freezes well and the whole family loves it for dinner and a quick lunch.
This was absolutely delicious!!! My 1 year old loved it and couldn’t get enough. It was so easy, yet packed with so many good nutrients and protein for young ones. So glad we were able to freeze a bunch for easy, delicious lunches or dinners. A must try for sure!
You can leave the zucchini out. It adds moisture to the meatloaf so it will have a slightly different texture without the zucchini, but the recipe will still hold up without it.
What could I use to substitute the zucchini? anything? Lol
I cook and bake everyday for my family and am usually pretty good at following recipes but for some reason have issues with the turkey not baking all the way and it ends up burnt. They were too mushy and still cold inside until they were too burnt to eat. Wish this recipe worked for us. We seem to need to cook any of your turkey recipes twice as long as recommended.
Hi Steph,
I read your post and had to reply- the same thing recently happened to me when baking with ground turkey. For us, the issue was the brand of ground turkey; our grocery store stopped carrying our regular brand so we switched, and that really changed the cooking time and also the taste. We liked our original brand better (Plainville organic), so we go to two grocery stores now. Hope this might help.
Thank you so much for this recipe. My one year old LOVES them.
If you cut it up like you would dice the turkey, then you should be able to use the same amount!
These look so yummy but how much TVP would I have to use instead of turkey ?
Just made these tonight and they are absolutely delish! I like that the veggies are pureed because I have a husband who is picky about onions and he had no idea that they were even in there! Thank you!
That might work as long as you make sure to tap it all down so that it gets evenly mixed and chopped. Otherwise you might end up with half mush and half chunky ingredients.