Its not too often that I want to eat baby food. The store bought or homemade purees, which I often mix with yogurt or rice cereal, do not give off an appealing smell or texture to me. I would much rather be eating chocolate oat bars, allspice crumb muffins, or crispy butternut squash ravioli.
I want to eat this baby meatloaf. I don’t think you understand. I want to eat all of this baby meatloaf.
While I’m breaking up pieces for my baby to eat I steal bites and think about how I could just eat it myself and feed him some of that slop from the jar.
I usually control myself. Recently I wised up and increased the quantity I made. I just planned on us all eating this meatloaf for dinner. And it was glorious.
I believe my husband’s exact words were, “You keep making things that are supposed to be gross, but they’re good!” Yeah, my husband doesn’t like meatloaf. We all like baby meatloaf.
I use this meatloaf to introduce my babies to beef. It comes out very soft and sweet. They also get vegetables and grains, so it makes a full meal for them.
Because of the limited ingredients here and with it being my precious baby’s first taste of meat, I like to use grass fed beef. It has a really superior flavor and usually comes from healthy, reputable sources.
I used to make this in a loaf pan like regular meatloaf, but started doing it in muffin cups to make it easier to portion out and freeze leftovers. If you wanted to be super fancy you could “frost” the meat muffins with mashed potatoes and top them with cute little things like peas or grated carrots.
Of course, you probably don’t have time to be fancy. You’re probably hunched over a muffin pan in the kitchen trying not to let the rest of your family see this meatloaf before you can scarf it down.
Ingredients
- 1 pound grass fed ground beef
- 2 cups grated carrot or other root vegetable
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- 4-5 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Press gently into a greased loaf pan or divide evenly amongst 12 greased muffin cups.
- Bake until no longer pink and internal temperature reaches 165ºF, about 1 hour for a loaf pan and 30 minutes for muffins.
- Freeze leftovers in ziplock bags and reheat in the oven or microwave.
jess says
What kind of breadcrumbs do you use, do you make them yourself from torn up bread or do you buy them? Also, if I’m not going to use milk can I just add water or is there something else to replace it with?
Thank you! They look easy and yummy.
Lindsay Moe says
I don’t make my own, I just buy whatever packaged breadcrumbs I can find. If not using milk I would recommend something similar like soy or almond milk, I’m not sure water would taste very good in here but it might work!
Mrs McGinnis says
Panco is the best
L min says
This looks perfect for babies, and me! Does it help hold it together better with an egg, like traditional meatloaf?
Lindsay Moe says
You’re welcome to try it with an egg, but it actually holds together pretty well as it is!
Amy says
I made this tonight and baby (plus adults) loved it! I used ground turkey instead of beef. For veggies I used a mix of carrots, zucchini and a little sweet potato – whatever I had on hand. I used water instead of milk. I baked everything in muffin cups (ended up with 18 ‘muffins’). The tops turned out a bit crispy because of how shallow the ‘muffins’ were, the rest was moist and flavourful. Thanks!
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks for sharing your adaptation, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Erica says
Made this recipe in a loaf pan. It was the most bland meal I have ever made. The baby wouldn’t eat it, nor did my husband go back for seconds (which he normally always does). Very disappointed with this dish
Lindsay Moe says
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it. It is a very bland dish intended for babies who aren’t ready for any kind of spice. Thank you for sharing your feedback!
Jessica says
This recipe is amazing! As as adult I love it and my 12 month old loves when I pull these out of the freezer for dinner. I made the muffin version and froze most no use them on weeknights for a quick dinner.
Lindsay Moe says
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you and your baby love this recipe. The muffins make it so convenient!
Stevi says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I make this with sweet potato instead of carrot and my 10 month old LOVES this meatloaf. I freeze them to use when we don’t have leftovers for her lunch, and she devours it.
Olya says
Can I use quick oats instead of breadcrumbs and will it stay moist?
Lindsay Moe says
I think quick oats would be just fine, and it should still be moist. You could always try soaking them in a little milk, almond milk, or water first to make things super moist.
Jin says
Is the meat mixture supposed to be very dry before going in the oven? I don’t know if it’s because I used wheat breadcrumbs but the meat felt very dry going in and came out dry as well. Should I add more milk???
Lindsay Moe says
Whole wheat can make things a little drier, but it should be fine with added milk or not.
Kasey says
Can I add breast milk?
Lindsay Moe says
I think so!