To be clear here, these aren’t actual cupcakes; they look like cupcakes after the ketchup glaze is put on these mini meatloaves made in a cupcake pan. The best part about these turkey meatloaf cupcakes is that they trick you, and anyone else you serve them to, into eating a ton of veggies. All my husband and I had was three of these and raw carrots for dinner. I had enough for my husband and me to have lunch the next day.
These turkey meatloaf cupcakes look adorable, are good for you, taste amazing and leave you with leftovers. I don’t know what more you could ask for from food. Oh, and they’re easy to make! Just throw everything into a food processor or a blender. I took my inspiration from delicious cheesy turkey meatloaf bites but added the ketchup glaze to make them look like cupcakes. If you want to go for the gold, feel free to make mashed potatoes and put them on top like a frosting. I wasn’t that ambitious on Monday, but no one is stopping you!
Enjoyable Turkey Meatloaf Cupcakes
Ingredients
Meatloaf Ingredients
1 medium zucchini - washed with both ends cut off and then cut into chunks
½ medium yellow onion
1 medium green pepper (green capsicum) - washed and cut into chunks
8 baby carrots
1 medium egg
1 teaspoon (affiliate link)garlic powder
1 tablespoon (affiliate link)Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon (affiliate link)salt
1 teaspoon (affiliate link)Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme, and sometimes basil and parsley)
½ cup (affiliate link)breadcrumbs
1 pound ground turkey (minced turkey)
½ cup cheddar cheese
Ketchup Glaze Ingredients
½ cup (affiliate link)ketchup (tomato sauce Australia and UK)
1 tablespoon (affiliate link)brown sugar- ½ teaspoon (affiliate link)salt
1 teaspoon (affiliate link)chili powder (chilli powder in British English)
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, spray 1 muffin tin with pam, or use a paper towel and olive oil to cover the whole pan with olive oil. To start with, prepare all your vegetables. Then add the zucchini, 1/2 an onion, bell pepper, and baby carrots into a food processor. Turn it on until it looks like applesauce.
- Then add 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of Italian herb mix, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, 1 pound of ground turkey, and 1/2 cup of cheese to the food processor and turn on until it looks like applesauce.
- I know there isn’t much difference between the two photos, and that’s because it doesn’t change much when all the non-veggies are added, so I wanted to show you that. Once it looks like nothing has changed, use a 1/4 cup measure to pour the meatloaf into the muffin tin. Then place in the oven for 25 minutes. Adjust up or down based on your range. To be clear, turkey is very bad for you if it is undercooked, so use a thermometer and ensure it is over 160 degrees Fahrenheit! If you don’t have a thermometer, I recommend cooking it for 27 to 28 minutes to ensure it’s cooked through. Just trying to keep you safe.
- Now you can make the glaze while you wait for the mini meatloaves to be ready. Just take a bowl and whisk together 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of chili powder (more or less based on your preference, my husband loves it, so that I would add more than a teaspoon).
- Once the timer has gone off, and the mini meatloaves measure 160 degrees, take a cooling rack and place it on top, then flip it over the sink. I did this because they were super juicy, and I didn’t want turkey juice everywhere.
- Once it cools for a few minutes, take your glaze and put it on top of the meatloaves.
- Once you’re done, they look like mini cupcakes and are fun little food for everyone.
- Although I made these for dinner, they could also be suitable for entertaining because you can put them in a freezer for up to 3 months and then heat them in a 300-degree Fahrenheit oven for 5 minutes, especially if you have a finger food dinner. They would be super cute appetizers. For lunch the next day, I just put them in a sealable container with the glaze on and microwaved them at work for 2 minutes; adjust this based on your microwave. I hope you found this recipe fun, easy to make, and easy to follow. If you have any questions or make them and like them or not, let me know! Remember to live, and let’s create.
