Veggie Packed Meatloaf
Looking for a healthy dinner recipe the whole family will love? This Veggie-Packed Meatloaf is just the ticket. Made budget-friendly, with only a few ingredients, and packed with nutritious veggies, this easy baked meatloaf will satisfy everyone for dinner.
Do you have picky eaters too?
Here at our house most of our boys do not like vegetables. I’ve found most kids are fairly picky when it comes to veggies. We serve them with almost every meal, but they sill prefer not to eat them on their own. So I get creative in the kitchen and hide veggies in the main entree. To this healthy meatloaf, I add zucchini and carrots. I’ve found this combination to be easy to hide and the zucchini adds moisture and the carrots add a little sweetness.
The best way to hide the veggies
I’ve been hiding veggies in the kids’ food for so long I’m practically at pro-level now! Hahaha! Seriousness now, the best way I’ve found to hide vegies in meatloaf is to send them through the food processor and chop them very finely. If the kids are going to be extremely picky feel free to peel the zucchini to rid the color green. The finer the veggies are chopped, the better they are mixed into the meatloaf.
Ingredients
Ground beef – you can also use ground turkey or bison, or a combination
Zucchini – fresh zucchini sent through the food processor to be chopped very finely
Carrots – peeled carrots send through the food processor to be chopped very finely
Onion powder – a full teaspoon of onion powder like this one adds great flavor
Rosemary – I use dried rosemary like this one, but feel free to use fresh for extra full flavor
Fresh Parsley – finely chopped fresh parsley, but feel free to use dried like this one
Sea salt – this sea salt is one of my favorites
Pepper – coarse ground black pepper like this one is our favorite
How to make this easy baked meatloaf
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor, place the zucchini and carrots that are chopped into large pieces. Process until the vegetables are finely chopped, scraping sides as needed.
In a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, finely chopped vegetables, and all seasonings. Mix together using your hands or a large spoon.
Transfer the meatloaf mixture into a large loaf pan (I used a 9×5 loaf pan) pressing the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and cut into thick slices to serve.
Can I meal prep this recipe?
Absolutely! You can prep the veggies ahead of time, up to 3 days ahead, and put them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to mix the meatloaf and bake it. Or, go ahead and bake the meatloaf, let it cool then cut the meatloaf into thick slices and lastly put into containers. Keep in the fridge for your packed lunches or dinners. To warm either put in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time or put in the oven at 350 degrees in an oven-safe container until warm.
Do I squeeze the water from the zucchini before using it?
No, there’s no need to squeeze the water from the zucchini before using it. Keeping the water in the zucchini actually helps in keeping the meatloaf moist.
What kind of beef do I use? And can I use turkey instead?
I personally like to use 90/10 beef with meatloaf recipes. The lower the fat percentage the better. If you use a higher fat percentage you’ll have a lot of grease in the loaf pan when the meatloaf is done baking.
A great swap to the beef is turkey or bison. Turkey is a good low-fat and high protein meat that’s budget-friendly. Bison offers great flavor, lower fat content, but is more pricey.
- 2 lbs ground beef, can use turkey or bison
- 1 small zucchini, cut into large pieces
- 2 small carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley ~ 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- bbq sauce for drizzling if desired
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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In a food processor, place the zucchini and carrots that are chopped into large pieces. Process until the vegetables are finely chopped, scraping sides as needed.
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In a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, finely chopped vegetables, finely chopped parsley, and all seasonings. Mix together using your hands or a large spoon.
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Transfer the meatloaf mixture into a large loaf pan (9×5 or similar) pressing the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and cut into thick slices and then serve. Drizzle with bbq of your choice if desired.
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