Clean Eating Meatloaf {The Healthy Version}

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I made this chunky, hunky family sized Clean Eating Meatloaf for dinner tonight. Went down a treat. Only two slices left and they are already fighting over the leftovers

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Clean Eating Meatloaf

PLEASE NOTE: This is a FAMILY SIZED Meatloaf. It’s a biggie. Extremely generous and serves 6 people with ease (with a couple slices for leftovers). I use this meatloaf tin, over and over and over again :)

This Clean version of a family sized Meatloaf is more than gimme-some-more delicious. It’s also Gluten free. I use quinoa to add more of a loaf texture, instead of traditional breadcrumbs, as my daughter is gluten intolerant.

Serve it up with some easy sides. Our favourite is mashed potato and green beans but last night I made these crispy roast potatoes and grilled the rest of our Zucchini. YUM!

This healthy meatloaf recipe has a pretty decent meal prep time and while there is some prep to do to make the meat mixture, for the deliciousness you get at the end, it’s well worth it!

Ingredients

Ground beef is such a versatile ingredient, I use it a lot. It’s pretty reasonably priced and a little goes a long way when you turn it into something delicious like this meatloaf.

I’ve also snuck a little zucchini in the mix, just because I could. You can easily replace the zucchini for carrot, squash or any other chopped up leftover vegetables. Even try sweet potato for a bigger loaf.

Not much skill required for this family dinner recipe either. It’s not going to flop no matter how many cooks are in the kitchen. It really is a great meal to know how to whip up quickly.

Meatloaf For Kids

Having a meatloaf recipe I know the kids will eat means this versatile can always be on hand as a last minute dinner if there’s leftovers.

It tastes just as good the following day as it does the day you made it. It’s seriously delicious and when there’s a slice or two of this in the fridge, I know I’m covered.

If your kids are anything like mine, they can pick out flavors I’m not even aware of but this is a simple, inoffensive to little taste palettes recipe that I make pretty often.

It’s just so more-ish. Most of the time there’s never quite enough!

More Clean Eating Dinner Recipes For Dinner

• Healthy dump and bake recipes
• Baked meatballs in tomato sauce
• Shrimp fajita recipe
• Honey ginger chicken
• Clean eating chicken piccata

Recipe Notes

• This is a hand shaped loaf. It keeps it shape really well in the oven
• Use UNCOOKED Quinoa when mixing the meatloaf. As the quinoa cooks it absorbs some of the liquid in the meatloaf. This gives it a more loaf-y texture and structure.
• I only apply about 2/3 of the glaze before I put the meatloaf in the oven. The remaining glaze gets spread over the meatloaf about 10 minutes before taking it out the oven. I honestly have no idea if this makes any difference to the recipe. It’s just the way I’ve always done it :)
• Leftover Meatloaf is just as good the next day. 

Healthy Meatloaf Glaze

The meatloaf glaze I use for this couldn’t be simpler. Three ingredients and it’s done: Tomato paste, Vinegar and Maple Syrup.

You get a sweet, sticky Clean and healthy glaze the kids love and you’re happy about them eating. We also have some BBQ sauce (yes and sometimes ketchup!) at the ready when I make this which is always popular. Meatloaf and BBQ sauce? They’re made for each other :)

Meatloaf Substitutions

While use ground beef you can try this using ground turkey for turkey meatloaf or even ground chicken for it’s chicken equivalent. 

Be aware if you use turkey or chicken the end meatloaf will not have as much moisture and therefore a bit dryer, as the meat has less fat in it. Throwing a handful of grated cheddar cheese into the mixture would help add some moisture back in if you’re using a dryer meat as well as adding a little extra protein.

How To Make Clean Eating Meatloaf

Ingredients

Meatloaf

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Onion finely diced, medium sized, 140g
• 2 cloves garlic crushed, about 1 teaspoon
• 2 lb Beef Mince
• 3 eggs free range
• 1 zucchini grated, approx 120g
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard or dijon
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp Oregano dried or fresh
• 1/2 tsp Ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder leave this out if the kids are small

Glaze Topping

• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190C
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Heat a pan on the stovetop and heat up olive oil. Fry onions and garlic until soft. This adds to the flavour and results in no crunchy bits in the meatloaf. Which always seems to please my fussy kids.
• In a large bowl: Add all Meatloaf ingredients (not the glaze ingredients).
• Mix together (best way is to use your hands) until well combined.
• Tip your meatloaf mix onto the baking tray and use your hands to shape into a loaf.
• In a bowl: Mix together apple cider vinegar, tomato paste and maple syrup.
• Spoon the sauce onto your meatloaf and spread it over the top. Keep about a third of it in the bowl and spread it over the meatloaf about 10 minutes before removing it from the oven.
• Bake your glazed meatloaf for 1hr at 375F / 190’C.
• Allow your cooked Meatloaf to rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into slices. It gets easier to cut when it’s a bit cooler.

Clean Eating Meatloaf Recipe