Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Muffins

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.

These Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Muffins will be making it in our regular meal rotation plan. I love the fact that they are so high in protein per serving (37 grams!). Definitely give these a try, even if you don't use venison, I'm sure you will love them too!

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Muffins

By Shelby Law Ruttan

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.

Ingredients

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, and egg 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.

Yield: 3 servings

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 20 mins.