This post about mini cheese stuffed meatloaves recipe was updated 1/6/2017 with new photos and using ground turkey instead of ground beef. The results were just as delicious and after 5 years still well received by my family.

I now need to figure how to make these in advance and freeze them for overnight sitters to have on hand. Any suggestions if I should bake them first or freeze them raw?

Not sure how the Cheese will react to the freezing process. Needless to say, I hope you enjoy this recipe 5 years later or for the first time today. (This post may contain affiliate links to help support this blog!)

Mini Cheese Stuffed Meatloaves Recipe

Cheese Stuffed Mini Meatloaves Recipe is a kid friendly meal that you can make ahead or even freeze for later use. Coming home from my Costco trip this week I found myself with 4 1/2 lbs of Organic Beef. Fortunately, these are packaged in 1 1/3 lbs so I can just plop them in the freezer.

What Type of Meat For Mini Meatloves?

My family is not a big red meat family but I crave it once in a while. This seems humorous to me as I was a vegetarian throughout college and until I met my husband in my mid 20’s.  You can use Ground beef or Ground Turkey or a mixture of both.

Although tacos are an easy route I found this recipe for Mini Cheese Stuffed Meatloaves in my coupon flyer that came from Kroger. They are kid-friendly and remind me of big meatballs.

What the heck I will give it a try. I found that using a large ice cream scoop kept my hands from having to roll up the raw meat and you could easily push in your cheese square.

Meatloaf cupcakes

What Do You Top Meatloaves With?

What can I stuff a Meatball or Mini Meatloaf With?

 

The kids said they did not like the sauce. Hard to believe it was just sugared-up ketchup. I thought it was nice and sweet but I would decrease or eliminate the amount of sugar in this next time.

(UPDATE: We decreased Ketchup to 1/3 cup and 2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar)

Can I sneak veggies into meatloaf?

Add some parsley or grated veggies to sneak in some more goodness into these Mini Cheese Stuffed Meatloaves. (UPDATE 2017: Added 1/4 cup chopped parsley to the recipe)

The adults gobbled up two at dinner, the kids ate one. I served it with noodles with olive oil and cheese only because they were requesting pasta that night. Maybe so mac and cheese would be tasty on the side too. (The kids gobbled up two each and my youngest ate the third one. Served with a side of mashed potatoes)

Use any of your favorite meatloaf recipes and make these kid sized treats that take only 30 minutes to bake. You might even want to try mini muffin tins for a kids buffet. Just decrease cooking time.

photo from 2012

How TO MAKE meatloaf AHEAD of Time: 

Prepare the meatloaves without the sauce in the pan and cover with saran wrap the night before or morning of. Take the meatloaf filled pan out while preheating the oven and prepare the sauce and proceed with the recipe. 

Other Kid Friendly Meals you Might like: 

Italian Meatballs and Spaghetti sauce recipes

Walking Tacos

Another Fun Kid Friendly Meatloaf Idea!

Nothing says comfort food more than mashed potatoes and meatloaf. So how do we get our kids to be excited about eating more complicated meals than hot dogs and chicken nuggets?

How about serving them their dinner disguised as a cupcake? No worries, we are going to replace the cake and frosting with the meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Making dinner fun is the key to feeding those fussy eaters. 

You might be surprised as to how many different foods besides cupcakes and muffins can be cooked in Reynolds baking cups. For example, the mini meatloaves described above, individual macaroni and cheese cupcakes or mini potpies all work great.

Not only are meals baked in baking cups perfectly proportioned for those little stomachs, but you can also freeze them in these single-serving sizes. Pull some out of the freezer to feed the kids when you are going out to dinner with your husband for an instant comfort food meal. 

TIPS FOR USING BAKING CUPS:

EASY SERVE ICE CREAM

Another great tip for using baking cups is to serve ice cream in them. Having a party and want to avoid the mad dash for ice cream while watching your ice cream pint melt away. Check out our Ice Cream Cupcakes.

I love to scoop ice cream into individual baking cups and then freeze them until ready to serve. Not only do you have perfectly sized portions to instantly serve 20 overly excited kids, but also the kids can eat right out of the baking cups. Best of all, the cups will catch all the sprinkles too. (At least most of them!)

SERVE SNACKS

Baking cups are great for class parties for serving loose snacks such as crackers or party mixes and they come in so many fun themes you can find a reason for any day of the year to celebrate the comforts of food and family.

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes Cupcakes Recipe
Adapted from Betty Crocker
Potatoes

• 1 pouch Betty Crocker® roasted garlic mashed potatoes (from 6.6-oz box)
• Water, butter and milk called for on potato box for 1 pouch
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

Meat Loaf Mixture

• 1 lb extra-lean (at least 90%) ground beef or turkey
• 1/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1egg

Sauce

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Chopped fresh parsley, if desired
Heat oven to 375°F. Place foil baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups.
In 2-quart saucepan, make 1 pouch potatoes as directed on box. Stir in cheese. Set aside.
In large bowl, mix meat loaf mixture ingredients. Press about 3 tablespoons meat mixture in each muffin cup.
In small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients except parsley. Spread about 2 teaspoons sauce over meat loaf mixture in each muffin cup. Place potato mixture in decorating bag fitted with #847 or desired tip. Pipe potatoes on cupcakes.
Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in center of cupcake reads 160°F. Sprinkle with parsley; serve immediately.
Makes 12 servings

NOTE: (We used boxed potatoes to make a quick and easy weeknight meal)  Make homemade ones to suit your tastes and dietary needs.

Mini Cheese stuffed Meatloaves Recipe–adapted from Kroger

Continue to Content

Cheese stuffed mini meat loves

Yield: 6 people

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Cheese stuffed mini meat loves are the perfect kid friendly dinner .

Print

Ingredients

• 1 egg beaten
• 3/4 cup milk, I used 1 percent
• 1/2 cup Quick cook Oats-uncooked
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 lb ground beef or Turkey, my pkg was closer to 1 1/3
• 12 cubes mild cheddar cheese cubes, 3/4inch cubes
• 2/3 cup tomato ketchup
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, may want to decrease this to 1-1 1/2 tablespoons

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray 12 muffin tins with cooking spray
3. Combine the egg, milk, oats and salt in a large bowl. Add the meat and mix well. Will be a little runny so keep mixing to well distributed.
4. Divide mixture into 12 equal portions (using a large ice cream scoop if available)
5. Insert one cheese cube into center of meat and either roll into ball around cheese in your hands or just scoop it into the muffin tin.
6. Combine ketchup and brown sugar in a separate bowl. Stir thoroughly and spread over each mini meatloaf.
7. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Solula Professional 18/8 Stainless Steel Small Cookie Scoop, 2-YEAR Warranty
• 
  Wilton Perfect Results Non-Stick Mini Muffin and Cupcake Pan

Nutrition Information

Yield 12 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 211Saturated Fat 1gCholesterol 74mgSodium 706mgCarbohydrates 22gSugar 16gProtein 21g