These Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Muffins are low in fat and calories, high in lean protein (venison), and super tasty! An easy recipe to add to your dinner rotation and the leftovers are great for sandwiches the next day (provided you have any)!
This recipe makes 9 meatloaf muffins. I use ground venison so the nutrition facts are for venison, however, if you prefer to use beef or turkey that would work with this recipe however the nutrition facts would change. We always have a good supply of venison in our freezer, thanks to Grumpy and his awesome hunting skills!
Venison is usually my first choice for a red meat and I choose it over beef any day! That’s saying a lot considering when I was a little girl I did not like the ground venison that my mom would use in recipes. My dad was a hunter too and I remember many Thanksgivings where dad, my uncle and all the boys (my brothers and cousins) would go out hunting on Thanksgiving mornings.
I found out once I married Grumpy that the reason I like his venison is because he has his mixed with a ratio of pork, adding another layer of flavor and a little added fat to all that lean venison meat! Because my mom did not eat pork, my dad did not have it added to his ground venison.
Grumpy loved this recipe. He even commented that he liked it better than my regular meatloaf recipe in my loaf pan! However, he did not admit this until he came out to the kitchen, picked one of the meatloaf muffins up, looked at me and said “these were terrible,” then shoved a big bite into his mouth and continued with bad manners to talk with his mouth full stating “never make these again!” Ha ha! Gotta love his way of telling me he loves something.
Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Muffins
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
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Serves: 3 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground venison
- 2 pickle slices, diced
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
- 2 slices light bread (90 calories for 2 slices)
- 1 egg, large
- 3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 slices pre-cooked thick cut bacon (such as Oscar Meyer), cut into 18 pieces
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prep muffin tin by spraying 9 cups with cooking spray.
- Mix together ground meat, pickle slices, pickle juice, onion, bread, egg and cheese until well combined.
- Fill muffin cup with approximately 1/2 cup of meatloaf mixture and press down to pack well.
- Place 1 teaspoon ketchup atop of each meatloaf muffin and top with each muffin with 2 pieces of bacon.
- Bake 30-40 minutes or until internal temperature of meat is 160 degrees.
Notes
If you do not like game meat or have access to it, feel free to substitute lean ground beef or turkey. Nutrition counts will vary with substitution.
Does the shredded cheese go into the meat mixture or on top?
my husband would go nuts for this. It sounds really good.
Yes, the shredded cheese goes into the meat mixture. Thanks for letting me know it wasn't clear and I am fixing that issue 🙂
My boys would LOVE this recipe!! Saving. 🙂
These look really delicious Shelby, and I think I'll be making them for dinner tonight! I know my boys will love this. I'll be using ground turkey though, since I don't have venison. My brother is a hunter too, and he always adds pork to his ground venison as well.
I love that you used venison!! Sounds and looks wonderful!
These look so delicious! My boys would love these.
This is the perfect meal! Nice and filling and muffin size so they'll cook quicker than a loaf!
I've never thought to put pickle juice in my meatloaf. You just inspired me to buy a mini loaf pan!
oh wow these are venison? they look so juicy tasty seriously Shelby!
I like the idea of making sandwiches with the leftovers!
I love the addition of bacon and cheese and the mini size loaves. This is great.
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