A keto meatloaf packed with flavor is tender and juicy down to the very last drop. A simple easy to make glaze that compliments every flavor from the onion, garlic to the herbs in every bite. This dinner recipe is a healthy option and reminds you of what grandma use to make!
This was a fun recipe because I was able to tap into my heritage of the south and really experiment with this thing. Breadcrumbs are typically used in meatloaf or bread in general for moisture and to help it stay solid. Contrary to what may be said it isn’t for binding, mostly. Don’t get me wrong the science of gluten says of course it helps with binding but there’s a bit more to it than that.
Is Meatloaf Keto
This recipe is made perfectly for anyone on the keto diet. Traditional meatloaf using breadcrumbs or bread adding to the total carbs in the recipe. When going low carb these are things you may want to stay away from. So if we aren’t using bread or breadcrumbs will this be one big hamburger? No, but good question. You’ll notice when making meatballs, meatloaf or anything with hamburger there is a fluffed there. This is because the meat will go flat and those things help it with volume!
How To Replace Breadcrumbs
I have seen options from almond flour, coconut flour, flaxseed meal and pork rinds. They all work in their own way but it’s difficult to say what is best. In this recipe, I used almond flour but I didn’t use it how’d you think! I took the idea of soaking bread in milk and adding it to the meatloaf. What does this do? It spreads each crumb across the meatloaf while being separating and pushing moisture into every inch of the dish. What happened? Does that meatloaf look dry to you?
How To Make Keto Meatloaf
To start, you’ll need fresh onion and garlic. Do not just chop them up. Leaving those whole pieces only takes away from the entire dish. I have seen several chefs grind the ingredients up and place them in. For this keto meatloaf I did exactly that!
Add diced onion to a food processor. This will have them minced along with your garlic. Sauté the onion and garlic in butter until fragrant. Pour all the contents into a pan including the leftover drippings of the butter.
On the side, create a slurry of almond flour, heavy cream and chicken or beef stock. What is this? It won’t look appealing, it’ll smell great but will look very similar to glue. Let those marinate together.
Now, add all of your ground beef into the bowl with the onion and garlic. Season your ground beef and pour the almond flour slurry on top. Get you hands in and mix everything well and evenly.
Then, add meatloaf in a loaf pan. Pat down and bake for 40-50 minutes. Do not overcook! If you have a meat thermometer it’ll be perfect here.
You’ll add the glaze last right before serving, Trust me you and the family will enjoy this one!
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Do not overcook, use a meat thermometer and cook meatloaf to the temperature of 150ºF. This will allow the carry over temperature to hit well done and will leave you with a juicy meatloaf.
- Mince ingredients, I can’t stress how important it is to grind your onions and any other ingredients such as bell peppers up in a food processor. Having big chunks make the meatloaf not hold well together.
- Can I use something other than almond flour, yes you can there are a host of things that could work. They are debatable what is best but here I used what I felt would yield the best results with the best moisture and flavor.
- How to cut meatloaf, use a serrated bread knife. Using a chefs knife is a disaster even if it’s sharp.
Keto Dinner Recipes You’ll Love
Keto Meatloaf
Equipment
- Loaf pan
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef (or 85/15)
- 4 ounce yellow onion minced
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 large egg
Seasonings
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 2 teaspoon italian seasoning
Glaze
- 1/2 cup keto friendly ketchup (I used Alterna Sweets)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoon Besti brown sugar (Swerve brown sugar will work as well)
Almond flour slurry
- 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Create a slurry with the almond flour, heavy cream and the chicken stock. Stir everything together then set aside in a bowl.
- Mince onion in a food processor or something that will finely chop it. In a sauce pan on medium high heat add 1 TB of butter then the minced onion and garlic. Cook about 3 minutes until it is very fragrant. Turn off heat then transfer all contents to a mixing bowl including the excess butter.
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Add all ground beef to the same mixing bowl as onion and garlic. Toss in all seasonings from the above list and measurements. Also add in 2 beaten eggs and the almond flour slurry from earlier. Using your hand combine everything together well and even. Mix about 3-5 minutes.
- When done transfer to a loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. Bringing to a temperature of 150°F in using a meat themometer. While cooking prepare glaze.
- After you pull the meat from the oven top with half the glaze and place back in at 400°F for 15 minutes. Remove allow to cool and serve. Use the excess glaze for topping the meatloaf off or just discard it.
- Tip, before placing into the oven take a small spoonful of the meatloaf and cook it on the stove top to do a taste test. This will let you know if you need more salt or anything else you'd like to add.
Notes
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Do not overcook, use a meat thermometer and cook meatloaf to the temperature of 150ºF. This will allow the carry over temperature to hit well done and will leave you with a juicy meatloaf.
- Mince ingredients, I can't stress how important it is to grind your onions and any other ingredients such as bell peppers up in a food processor. Having big chunks make the meatloaf not hold well together.
- Can I use something other than almond flour, yes you can there are a host of things that could work. They are debatable what is best but here I used what I felt would yield the best results with the best moisture and flavor.
- How to cut meatloaf, use a serrated bread knife. Using a chefs knife is a disaster even if it's sharp.
Ingredients are missing from your meatloaf recipe. There are instructions listed for making a slurry out of almond flour, cream and chicken broth, but they’re not on the ingredient list. 🙂
Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention!