These mini meatloaves have a delicious smoky, barbeque flavor twist: and best of all, they’re bite sized! Take the intimidation out of cooking an entire meatloaf for your family, and instead try these easy-to-prepare meatloaf-inspired meatballs. These meatballs have all of the flavor components of a meatloaf, except made into smaller portions, making this recipe also super family-friendly. The meatballs cook quickly in the oven, and with no fuss or mess. Serve these healthy BBQ meatloaf meatballs alongside your favorite starch and vegetable for a well-rounded meal, or serve them sandwich style for a fun twist. 
Why not just make meatloaf?
Well, I guess you really could make this into a meatloaf if you really wanted to! But there is just something so cute about meatballs like this. You can serve them in different ways, on a sandwich or in a bowl, and I think kids might be more inclined to eat them in this format as well. They also make for an easy to portion meal prep.
To make this recipe into a full meatloaf, you might have to adjust the cook time to ensure it is cooked through.
What you will need to make these healthy BBQ meatloaf meatballs
- 96/4 extra lean ground beef
- I like using this beef in recipes because it is real ground beef, but just extra lean.
- It can be tricky to find depending on where you live; however, some supermarkets carry it in addition to Target, Aldi and Trader Joe’s.
- Using this ground beef is a great way to hit your point and macro goals, while not having to substitute ground beef for chicken or turkey.
- seasoned breadcrumbs
- I use seasoned breadcrumbs from 4C Foods
- egg
- paprika
- garlic powder
- kosher salt
- Worcestershire
- grated onion
- I like using a cheese grater to grate the onion for this recipe; it helps the onion disappear into the meat mixture, rather than having big chunks of onion running through the meatballs
- barbeque sauce
- My favorite barbeque sauce that is naturally lower in sugar is this one: Stubb’s Sweet Heat
- You can use any barbeque sauce you prefer, just make sure to adjust the macros and points accordingly.
How to make these meatloaf-inspired meatballs
To make these meatballs, start out by preheating the oven to 350F.
Combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, spices, Worcestershire, and grated onion thoroughly. Form into 12 equal-sized meatballs. They should be about 1.75 ounces in weight each, or the size of a heaping small cookie scoop.
Place the meatballs in a sprayed muffin pan, and brush 2 tbsp of the barbeque sauce on top of each meatball. Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked through. Drizzle with the reaming sauce.
How-To Video
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How to serve these meatloaf meatballs
You can serve these meatballs in so many ways to suit your family! The most classic way to serve these meatloaf meatballs is with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans, just like you would with meatloaf. However, another great option is on a sandwich, with cheese and all the fixin’s. These meatballs also make a great topping for homemade pizza.
Other lightened-up meatball recipes
Let’s face it, meatballs are just fun! Here are some other lightened-up, healthy versions of meatball recipes you can try out if you like this recipe:
Skinny Florentine Chicken Meatballs in Pan Sauce: these are a great, elevated version of a meatball; think: chicken piccata becomes a meatball! Perfect for a weeknight dinner that feels a little fancy.
Buffalo Ranch Chicken Meatballs: these make an excellent meal prep on top of a salad, or the perfect game day appetizer when dipped in ranch.
Italian Beef Meatballs: these are a classic staple. Italian meatballs served in marinara sauce, with pasta or on a meatball sub.
Asian Glazed Turkey Meatballs: these make another great meal prep option or light dinner option, with some brown rice or cauliflower rice and a side veggie. You won’t believe these are made with ground turkey!
Healthy BBQ Meatloaf Meatballs
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- muffin pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb 96/4 extra lean ground beef
- 1/4 cup onion, grated
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 cup barbeque sauce, used: Stubb's sticky sweet
- non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, grated onion, egg, Worcestershire, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, salt, and paprika.
- Form into 12 equal-sized meatballs (about the size of a small cookie scoop, appx. 1.75 ounces each).
- Spray the muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, and add a meatball to each opening.
- Take 2 tbsp of the barbeque sauce, and brush it on the top of the meatballs. Reserve the remaining barbeque sauce for later.
- Bake the meatballs for 35 minutes.
- Once cooked, drizzle with the reserved barbeque sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Not everything has to be turkey or chicken in order to be “healthy!” Check out these other ground beef recipes that are delicious and family-friendly!
Asian-Inspired Healthy Ground Beef Tacos
Lightened Up Asian-Inspired Beef Lettuce Wraps
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Could not wait to try these and they did not disappoint! Added mashed potato’s on the side and it was perfect. Another staple going into the routine.
I made these last night for my lunches this week. They use minimal Ingredients, the prep was fast and easy and turned out great. Highly recommend!
And you have nailed it again!! These are DELICIOUS. So easy. Leftovers can be used for lunch meal prep. I love this recipe, you are the best!
Absolutely amazing!!
I have made these meatballs 2 weeks in a row. They are great for meal prep. My husband loves them also. Next time I need to make a double batch! I love them!
This was excellent!! Everyone, including the kids loved this!! We will be making this regularly in our home.
This was an exceptionally easy and delicious recipe! Served with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans, it was a perfect healthy meal! Thank you!
These were great! Do you think they would freeze well?
Loved this and as an added bonus, all 3 of my kids enjoyed it too!
So easy and so delicious. My husband never had meatloaf and I grew up on it. These were easy to put together and delicious.
I only had 93/7 and they ended up being 6points for 3. So delicious and will definitely make them again!
Delicious! I must have made them small and ended up with 16 meatballs. My son had 10. I’d say they were a hit!
I just want to say that these were absolutely incredible! I have never left a food review before but these truly deserved it. Thank you for another great recipe!
Amazing and kid friendly!! I’ve made these a few weeks in a row and so delicious! Due to allergies, I subbed a flax egg for the egg and still tastes incredible. Thanks for creating such yummy stuff! 🙂
Delicious!! So many great recipes!
i love traditional italian meatballs, but i hate meatloaf. but these being in meatball form drew me in and they DID NOT disappoint. soooo flavorful and delicious and quick and easy to make. they are definitely going to be a staple!
Easy to make and very good flavor! I have a 8-loaf mini-loaf pan and used that to make 5 mini-loaves. Cook time was the same. I loved the idea of the grated onion – worked out great! 🙂 Growing up my mom always served buttered noodles with meatloaf, so I did the same.
Next time I will double or triple and put these in the freezer.
Delicious! I actually made this with venison chop meat and it came out so good. I had to cut down the time but I really liked it.
Perfect easy weeknight meal. My husband now requests these once a week!