Few things are as beautiful as a field or forest with freshly fallen snow. Wintertime in our neck of the woods is sometimes a Currier and Ives painting come to life. It is a time for Holidays, for celebrations with family and friends, for warm blankets, cozy fireplaces and of course, for feasts. Put simply, wintertime is the comfy season. So why not spend the comfy season with some delicious, comfort-foods? Meatloaf is the ultimate comfort food in my opinion. It’s not fancy but it warms you up and makes you feel satisfied.

I’m always on the lookout for a good meatloaf recipe. But the trouble is most of them contain bread crumbs, powdered soup mixes or prepared sauce ingredients that I do not want to eat. The alternative was to come up with my own recipe containing only healthful ingredients. I had some trouble making full-sized meatloaves because they never seemed to hold their shape. The solution was to make meatloaf in muffin tins.

The recipe I bring you today is for paleo mini meatloaves. You could call them paleo meatloaf cupcakes if you prefer. Whatever you call them, these little meaty muffins are sure to be a hit with your family – including finicky children.

I performed the solemn duty of meatloaf tester. It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

The little morsels definitely passed muster. They reheat well which makes them great to take to work for lunch. These paleo meatloaves are so chock full of vegetables they make a meal in and of themselves. If you have picky children this might be a mechanism for getting some veggies into them without hearing objections.

Here’s how I make them.

Paleo Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients

2 pounds ground meat – mixture of grass fed beef and/or pork and/or veal

10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach

1-2 teaspoons oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

6 ounces mushrooms, finely diced

2 carrots, grated or finely diced

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup coconut flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F Thaw the spinach, squeeze out the excess water and set aside. Heat a pan on medium heat, add the oil and fry the onions and mushrooms until the onions are translucent and some of the liquid has cooked out of the mushrooms. Set aside to cool. Place the ground meat in a large bowl, add the spinach, carrots, mushroom/onion mixture, beaten eggs, coconut flour and all the spices. Use your hands to combine it well but do not overmix. Fill 18 regular size muffin tins to the top with the meatloaf mixture. (Greasing the tins may be a good idea if the meat you’re using is fairly lean) Cook for 20-25 -30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Allow to cool and use a knife to loosen meatloaves from sides of the pan before removing.

I like to serve the paleo mini meatloaves with marinara sauce – either homemade or a good jarred sauce with natural ingredients and no sugar. We used Rao’s.

The coconut flour means my son who has nut allergies and gluten intolerance can eat these meatloaves but it does not impart a coconut flavor. The mixture of beef, pork and veal gave the meatloaves a rich and delicious flavor, tender texture and lighter color which meant the colors of the veggies shone through. You could substitute the beef/pork/veal mixture with other meats like ground turkey or chicken. etc… But be mindful of the fat content. If the meat you use is very lean you may need to adjust the recipe so they don’t dry out. Let us know in the comments how it goes if you do use a different meat or meat mixture.

I recommend serving these little paleo mini meatloaves with some mashed cauliflower.

Let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by!

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