What do you get when dinner and dessert have a baby? You get BBQ Meatloaf Muffins with Sweet Potato Topping that are almost too cute to eat.
Small in size but mighty in flavor
Meatloaf regularly finds its way on my weekly meal plan for several reasons, not only because it’s delicious and one of my favorite comfort foods, but it’s also easy to make ahead, freezes well (both raw and fully cooked) and it’s a more economical way to get grass-fed beef into our diet because ground meat is way less expensive than steak, but you already knew that.
The only downside is that it takes a while to a bake an entire 2-lb. loaf of meat. That and my kids don’t think it’s the prettiest meal. So for those two reasons alone I’ve started making these mini-meatloaves using a muffin pan. Aren’t they cute?
They’re also great because they’re pre-portioned making them an easy addition to my hubby’s lunchbox as well.
Because saving time in the kitchen is of the utmost importance here at The Real Food Dietitians, we’ve kept this recipe simple with just five ingredients in the meatloaf (not including salt and pepper) and two ingredients in the topping. Just seven ingredients total!
This is just a taste of how simple these BBQ Meatloaf Muffins with Sweet Potato Topping are… Now see for yourself how easy they are to make in this video.
Sweet potatoes make the perfect topping for savory meatloaf.
Don’t be intimidated by the pretty sweet potato topping swirls in the picture. Keep in mind, we’re food bloggers and piping pureed root vegetables onto small discs of meat is what we do.
Feel free to dollop, scoop or spread your topping on if that’s easiest for you. It’s still going to be ridiculously mouth-watering delicious, especially with a little drizzle of your favorite barbecue or hot sauce. We like Tessemae’s and The New Primal when we’re Whole 30-ing because it doesn’t have any added refined sugar, but you can use any good-quality store-bought sauce without high-fructose corn syrup. Heck, you can even use this easy Homemade BBQ Sauce that you can whip up in just minutes (it’s even Whole30 and super budget-friendly).
If you do want to get all fancy-schmancy with the topping, just scoop your pureed sweet potatoes into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Or you can use a quart-sized zip-top bag in which case you’ll want to gently press the mixture to the bottom of the bag and seal it. Then snip off a small bit of one corner of the bag to create a piping bag. Now you can squeeze and swirl your way to fancy BBQ meatloaf muffins with sweet potato topping. Just like the pros do.
Wondering if you should purchase grass-fed beef? Learn how to choose quality red meat in this post!
Ready, Set, Garnish!
An extra drizzle of smoky barbecue sauce and a sprinkle of thyme or chopped parsley elevates these cute little BBQ meatloaf muffins to glorious, savory dinner cupcake status almost instantly. Garnish is always optional, of course.
You can see why these are so kid-friendly. They don’t even look like meatloaf – and they’re easy to freeze once baked, cooled and topped. Just return them to the muffin pan and place in the freezer until frozen before transferring to a freezer-safe container with lid or a large zip-top bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a covered skillet with a few drops of water until heated through or reheat in a toaster oven or microwave. You’ll just need to add a vegetable side dish or two and dinner will be on the table in no time.
Alternatively, you can bake the meatloaf muffins, cool and freeze them. Then, thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat as directed above and top with freshly made sweet potato topping just before serving if you want to keep them looking fancy.
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BBQ Meatloaf Muffins with Sweet Potato Topping
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Paleo | Whole 30 | Main-Entree

Ingredients
Meatloaf:
- 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 2 tsp. cooking oil or ghee (avocado oil, coconut oil or olive oil)
- 1 small onion, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1/2 cup Whole30-compliant barbecue sauce (such as Tessemae’s or The New Primal)
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Topping:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or ghee (may use butter if you don’t need them to be Whole30)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place ground beef in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften.
- Add garlic, cook 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add onion-garlic mixture to ground beef. Add barbecue sauce, sea salt, pepper and dried thyme. Using your hands or a spoon, mix well to combine.
- Divide meat mixture evenly among 12 wells of a muffin pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink in the center.
- While meatloaves are baking, steam sweet potatoes until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Drain and puree sweet potatoes and coconut oil or butter in a food processor, or mash well with a fork.
- Scoop topping onto meatloaves or fill a plastic zip-top with topping, trim the corner of the bag with a scissors and pipe topping onto meatloaves. Or use a spoon to top.
- Drizzle with additional barbecue sauce, if desired.
Notes
All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on Simply Nourished Recipes so credit is given where credit is due. Thank you!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 'muffins' with topping
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 25 g
Pin now & Make later!
Photo Credit: Photos for this post were taken by Jess of Plays Well With Butter
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen says
These are TOO cute. My husband would love these. And I love what you’ve done with the sweet potato topping, super creative! These would be perfect for a little house party 🙂
Stacie Hassing says
Thanks Ashley! You could even make them into mini-muffins for a uber cute appetizer!
Shelly says
These are adorable and they look delicious!
This is one I have to try!!
Jessica Beacom says
Thanks! They’re definitely worth the try – especially if you have kids!
Krystal says
You have outdone yourself here Jessica! I have everything I need to make this, will make a batch tonight!
★★★★★
Jessica Beacom says
Awwww! Thanks, Krystal! I can’t wait to hear what you think of them. xoxo
Jen38 says
Have you done this with ground turkey?
Jessica Beacom says
Yes, we have. Our best successes came from using dark meat ground turkey (all white meat or very lean turkey tends to be quite dry).
Tammy Fleig says
Jessica, I made these for my husband and son the other night. My husband is very picky and we all loved them. This was a recipe I will make again. Thank you!
Tammy Fleig
★★★★★
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Tammy,
That’s incredible! I love hearing when
picky eater“selective palate” husbands fall in love with one of our recipes. This one is always a huge hit at my house as well.Jennifer says
I made these on the weekend and we all loved them!! We are in the middle of our first round of Whole30, so this really worked for us. I followed the recipe exactly except I had some cooked mushrooms that I really needed to use up, so chopped them and mixed them in with the meat before putting it in the muffin tins. Will def make these again, even after we are done our Whole30!!
Jessica Beacom says
Hey Jennifer!
I’m so glad you loved these. They’re a huge hit with my family too – and great idea to add cooked mushrooms. I think I’ll be adding those to the next batch I make. Good luck with your Whole30 – don’t forget to check out all of our Whole30-friendly recipes in the drop down menu under “recipes”.
Alicia says
It sounds like this is a regular sized muffin tin. How long would these cook for mini muffins? I’m looking to make them as an appetizer for a pot luck.
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Alicia,
I haven’t tried making them as minis yet (though I LOVE that idea) but I’m guessing the baking time would be about half that fit regular sized muffins.
Kendrick says
Great recipe,
It looks so delicious and so easy to make.
I think I will try to cook it tomorrow.
Thank You!
★★★★★
Jessica Beacom says
We think you’ll love ’em!!
katy says
what kind of BBQ sauce did you use?
Stacie Hassing says
Hi Katy! If you’re looking for a Whole30 Friendly Bbq sauce we recommend Tessemae’s. If you’re just looking for a good Organic one, Annie’s is a great option! Hope that helps 🙂
Chloe says
Love love love this recipe. It’s made its way into our regulars. I hide shredded carrots in there and the kids don’t know the wiser!
★★★★★
Jessica Beacom says
Awesome! Hiding veggies is the best 🙂
Bethany says
Hi! These look so good! What’s your favorite bbq sauce?
Bethany says
JUST saw your response to a previous question… never mind 🙂
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Bethany,
I like Tessemae’s when I’m doing a Whole30 and don’t have time to make my homemade Peach BBQ Sauce (which you can find here: https://therealfoodrds.com/slow-cooker-peach-bbq-chicken/)
I also like a few brands that are local to me in Boulder – Rat’s Woodshack and Schultz’s – both are really good but contain sugar or honey making them a no-go for Whole30.
For a less-local brand, I’ve also tried the Annie’s BBQ sauces and they’re good too!
Jill says
I made these and they were so delicious but they totally crumbled apart and were swimming in oil from the beef. Do you think I just need to mix everything together better, or am I doing something else wrong?
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Jill,
I’m sorry to hear they fell apart on you. You may have better luck using a lower fat grind (say, 90% lean). Also, the grind size could make a difference as well if yours was a coarser grind. Hope that helps!
Jill says
Thanks! I’ll try them again with a leaner and finer grind beef!
Nadia says
mine turned out that way too 🙁 and I used a 93% lean. I will try adding an egg and bread crumbs next time. We are not doing the whole30. Great recipe though, we absolutely loved it!!
Christie says
Nadia – I also used a very lean meat and had lots of oil. Have you tried this since, with the egg and bread crumbs? Did it make a difference?
..... says
Did you use a regular size muffin pan or one of those jumbo pan? Either way, is a serving two muffins?
Stacie Hassing says
We used a regular size muffin pan and two muffins is one serving. Enjoy!
Miranda H says
Beyond delicious!!
Another great recipe!!!
Stacie Hassing says
YASSS! So great to hear you loved this recipe!
Jennifer says
Can you use ground turkey or chicken? White meat ok? Or too dry?
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Jennifer,
Yes, you can use ground poultry for this recipe however, you’ll want to use dark meat ground turkey or chicken and watch them carefully so they don’t overcook and dry out.
Nicole Broccoli says
I made this recipe and it tasted amazing!! BUT all my meatloaf cups broke apart. They did not stick together well. Any suggestions on what could’ve gone wrong?
Stacie Hassing says
Hmmmm…we have not had this issue. You could try adding an egg next time you make them.
Katelyn Owen says
I made these for my husband’s birthday and put candles in them instead of making cake! They were so simple and quick to make for a weekday dinner and so delicious ! I also subbed 93% ground turkey instead of beef and they were still pretty juicy
Jessica Beacom says
This is incredible! What a fun (and hearty) way to celebrate your husband’s birthday.
Allison Dunford says
These are extremely delicious!!! But once the meatloaf has been cooked and I try to take it out of the tin, my little beef muffins fall apart, so I’m not sure If its because I am not packing enough beef in each section of the tin, or if it’s just too greasy, mine seem to be full of lots of liquid around it. So was just curious if this happens for you or anyone else.
Stacie Hassing says
Hmmmmm, we have not experienced this so it’s hard to give you a reason why that happened. It’s definitely helpful to use a non-stick pan and pack the meat nice and firmly into the pan so it sticks together.
Isabelle says
Just made this, super super delicious! Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Nancy Olansen says
How do you personally reheat these meatloaf muffins? Do you freeze with the sweet potato topping?
Jessica Beacom says
You can reheat them in a microwave though I prefer to reheat them in a toaster oven. And yes, they can be frozen with the sweet potato topping. Just allow them to thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Jess says
Do you grease the muffin tin?
Stacie Hassing says
No need to grease the muffin tin unless you’re using extra lean beef.
Lorraine D. says
My daughter is not crazy about sweet potatoes but loves meatloaf. So, I was just thinking that you can also make these with mashed potatoes and gravy for the topping.
Stacie Hassing says
Absolutely! Mashed potatoes work, too!
Mary Ann says
Love this recipe! It’s my go-to for meatloaf. I do adjust and only put in 1/2 the thyme, and because my muffin tins are in storage, I make 2 mini-loafs instead of the cups and they come out great with just a little extra time in the oven.
Stacie Hassing says
Wahoo! Love hearing this!
Mindy says
Ingredient list needs to be reviewed for clarity but the recipe seems to be basic enough to handle whatever I did because it was great .
★★★★
Patty P says
Those look outstanding!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 But a question.. if you pipe sweet potato on top won’t it be lukewarm or room temp? My Hubbs is a pain in the rear and likes HOT food..I was thinking of putting them in baking dish and pop in oven and broil tops a bit before bbq sauce served with parsley etc.. input?
Jessica Beacom says
Thanks, Patty!
The topping will cool off a bit after piping it so if you need them to be really hot, broiling them or placing them back into the hot oven, would be a good solution.
SmoQ says
The BBQ Meatloaf Muffins with Sweet Potato Topping was great! I just finished it last night and the result was unexpected, my wife and daughter both liked it, which made me happy. Thanks for your recipe
Alex Jordan says
Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.