Meatloaf Cupcakes

 

Since the official cupcake for the month of April actually posted the last day of March since I wanted to get it to you in time for Easter I thought I should post an extra cupcake this month. No this is not a sweet dessert cupcake it's a savory main-dish cupcake. I've been planning to share this for a while and now seemed like a good time. 

 

These are really and cute. The meatloaf forms the “cupcake” base, then mashed potatoes are used in place of the frosting and they are topped off with some cheese sprinkles.

I love a good meatloaf and I made some last minute tweaks to this recipe and it turned out even better than normal. One of the benefits of meatloaf is it is a great vehicle to add a few extra veggies to your meal. This time I only have onion and some pepper but another fantastic addition is grated carrots.

For the peppers I used some of the small sweet peppers that you can get in the produce department. I love the flavor of these both in recipes and just to eat, they are so much better than typical bell peppers. A small bag of them is just a few dollars and the perfect choice for the small family since they are so versatile.

I really think the panko bread crumbs are one of the secrets to a really good meatloaf, they always make my meatloaf turn out the perfect texture. 

 

 

You can find the downloadable/printable PDF of this recipe here. 

 

 

Meatloaf Cupcakes

½ pound ground beef

¼ cup Panko bread crumbs

¼ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup finely chopped sweet pepper

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 Tablespoons ketchup

salt and pepper to taste

You will also need:

About 2 cups of mashed potatoes (I used 2 medium potatoes)

¼ cup shredded cheese of you choice (I used a Mexican 4 cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 350°F

In a medium bowl combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, pepper, garlic, and ketchup along with salt and pepper to taste. 

 

 

 

 Divide the mixture among 4 muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F.

Meanwhile make your mashed potatoes the way you normally would. You could even use instant ones if you would like to . 

 

When the meatloaf cupcakes are cooked through top them with the mashed potatoes. You want them to look like frosting that is heaped up.

 

 

 

 

 Then sprinkle with shredded cheese. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place back in the oven just until the cheese melts. 

Makes 2 servings