Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Muffins

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf muffins are a fun twist on traditional meatloaf. They are stuffed with cheese and topped with a tangy ketchup sauce that keeps you coming back for more!

I’m already kind of a sucker for meatloaf, but these meatloaf muffins might be my favorite way to prepare it. This meatloaf is mixed just like regular meatloaf and then tucked into a muffin tin for baking.

Breaking the meatloaf mix into individual portions reduces the cooking time substantially, putting dinner on your table a lot quicker and gives you time to whip up a side or two like this Roasted Broccoli of Insanity or Super Creamy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes.

The part of this recipe that I think really puts these mini meatloaves over the top, is the addition of a tangy ketchup sauce and french fried onions. The sauce is similar to your traditional ketchup-based meatloaf sauce and includes brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. The french fried onions add crunch and excellent flavor.

Helpful Tips for Making your best Meatloaf Muffins

• Spray your muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray WELL! Doing this will ensure that your muffins will release from the pan easily and make washing the pan easy, too!
• Use a medium-lean ground beef. Look for meatloaf that is right around 10% fat. This will give the meat enough fat to stay moist but isn't so fatty it will be swimming in grease while cooking.
• Don't over-fill your muffin cups. Place about 1 ½ tablespoons of meatloaf mixture into the bottom of each cup, top with a slice of cheese and cover with an additional 1 ½ tablespoons.
• When done cooking, remove your cheeseburger meatloaf muffins from the muffin tin after cooling for 5 minutes. Take them out too soon and they may fall apart, wait too long and the cheese will cool, making it harder to remove them from the pan.

Can I freeze meatloaf muffins before cooking?

Yes! I've frozen prepared meatloaf mix many times and had it turn out great. To make meatloaf muffins for the freezer, prepare the recipe through putting the sauce on top and omit the french fried onions.

Place the muffin tin in the freezer and freeze until firm. If you'd like to free up your muffin tin, you can pop the frozen meatloaf muffins out of the pan and place in a Ziplock bag until ready to bake. When ready, place the frozen muffins back into the muffin tin, allow to defrost, top with french fried onions and bake as directed in the recipe.

Please note that freezing raw onion can intensify its flavor. I've never noticed it being too overbearing when freezing meatloaf mix, but if you are particularly sensitive to onion flavor, you may want to reduce the amount of onion in the recipe.

Tools I Recommend for Making Meatloaf Muffins

• A Sturdy Muffin Tin – A good quality non-stick muffin tin will help the muffins cook more evenly and allow for easier removal. I love these Wilton Brand pans.
• Small Silicone Spatulas – These small silicone spatulas are perfect for running around the edges of your muffin tin to ease the meatloaf out. They are also perfect for icing cakes, cupcakes and have lots of other uses!
• 1 ½ Tablespoon Cookie Scoop - This cookie scoop will make portioning out the meatloaf muffins a breeze and also makes  perfectly-sized cookies!

Want More Meatloaf Recipes?

If you like these Cheeseburger Meatloaf Muffins, give my Classic Meatloaf a try or try this one-pot Slow Cooker Version and make some garlic butter potatoes right alongside your meatloaf!

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Muffins

Savory mini meatloaves stuffed with cheese and topped with a tangy ketchup sauce and crunchy french fried onions!

By Heather Cheney

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• ▢ 6 strips bacon finely chopped
• ▢ 1 ½ pounds ground beef 10% fat
• ▢ 2 whole eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup milk
• ▢ ½ cup white onion finely chopped
• ▢ ⅔ cup saltine crackers crushed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon rubbed sage
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• ▢ 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese cut into small squares
• ▢ ½ cup french fried onions

Sauce

• ▢ ½ cup ketchup
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
• Combine ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
• Combine bacon, ground beef, eggs, milk, onion, saltines, salt, sage and dill in a mixing bowl. Mix until just combined-- do not overmix. 
• Place 1 ½ tablespoons of meatloaf mix into the bottom of each muffin well. Gently press meat into the tin and top with a slice of cheese. Cover cheese with an additional 1 ½ tablespoons of meat. 
• Spoon about 1-2 teaspoons of sauce over each muffin and sprinkle with french fried onions.
•  Bake meatloaves for 20 minutes or until onions are browned and sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin. 
  

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1 muffin | Calories: 319 kcal | Carbohydrates: 12 g | Protein: 15 g | Fat: 22 g | Saturated Fat: 9 g | Cholesterol: 64 mg | Sodium: 553 mg | Potassium: 262 mg | Sugar: 7 g | Vitamin A: 225 IU | Vitamin C: 0.9 mg | Calcium: 138 mg | Iron: 1.5 mg

Nutrition and Food Safety Disclosure

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