Paleo Meatloaf Muffins

I have never been a meatloaf person. I love meatballs and can make an obscenely tasty paleo shepherd's pie topped off with whipped garlic cauliflower. Something about meat baked into the shape of a loaf puts me off.

Perhaps that's why to date I've only shared one meatloaf recipe on this site. Tonight I tried again, but this time whipped up my muffin tin to make individual mini loaves. My kids really took a shine to them, and as an added bonus dinner took less time to cook. Even better? Health-Bent's seriously tasty (their words, not mind) recipe that was easy yet delicious.

I served tonight's dinner with some roasted vegetables tossed in fresh herbs and olive oil alongside.  The only change I made to the original recipe was to grind pork tenderloin in my food processor, as I couldn't find ground pork. We all really liked the meat; a definite keeper though I think next time I'll make my own barbecue sauce to add a little tang and sweetness.

My kids actually preferred their meatloaf "dry" as shown in the photos, and I have to say it was plenty moist and flavorful on its own.

Grain-Free Meatloaf Muffins
adapted from Health-Bent

1 lb ground pork
2 lb ground beef
1 c almond flour
2 eggs
1 cup of tomato sauce (recipe below)
10 slices of nitrite-free bacon, cut into thirds
salt & pepper

tomato sauce:
1 15 oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 roasted red pepper (I used jarred)
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
salt & pepper

Place your oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 350ºF.

Make tomato sauce by combining all ingredients in a food processor, and run until smooth.

In a large bowl use your hands to mix together the ground meats, eggs, almond flour, tomato sauce and salt & pepper. Fill greased muffin cups to the brim with meat mixture, and then criss-cross 2 slices of bacon on top. I wound up with 12 very full muffin cups, so I did cook these with a baking sheet underneath to keep any fat/grease from dripping in the oven (and I'd recommend this step - it helped!)

Bake for 45 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and get the bacon crispy, about 10 minutes.

While the meatloaf is baking, pour the rest of the tomato sauce into a small saucepot and simmer over medium heat.

Serve meatloaf muffins with a little sauce drizzled on top.