I’ve always been a fan of meatloaf. A large slab of ground beef mixed with great flavor – so moist and delicious. Topped with a slightly tangy tomato accent.
In cooking AIP however, a traditional meatloaf recipe isn’t an option. This recipe however leaves behind the non-AIP friendly ingredients and yet has all the same great properties of a traditional meatloaf. The meatloaf muffins are super moist, carry the same flavor benefits of a typical meatloaf, even including the tangy meatloaf accent.
An additional perk is the muffin size. If you’ve followed an AIP diet for any amount of time, you know just how valuable it is to have some grab and go food options for lunches through out the week, visiting with family, etc. The small sized portions allow you to take as much or as little as you need whenever and wherever.
Enjoy some traditional comfort foods while still sticking to the beneficial AIP diet – try these AIP meatloaf muffins today! I’d love to hear your feedback, feel free to comment below.
Meatloaf Muffins Topped with Cauliflower Mash (AIP)
Ingredients
- 1 head Cauliflower chopped
- 2 cups Chicken Broth or water
- 4 cloves Garlic whole
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Coconut Oil
- 2 medium Carrots finely chopped
- 1 medium Zuchinni peeled and grated
- 1 Apple peeled, cored and chopped
- 1/2 cup Red Onion minced
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 3/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 tbsp Arrowroot Starch/Flour
- 1 Egg(s) beaten (optional - omit for AIP)
- 1 tbsp Coconut Aminos
- 1/2 cup NOmato Sauce See recipe notes below
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil.
- Add the salt and cauliflower. Bring back to a boil.
- Cover and reduce the heat to low to simmer for 30-40 minutes until cauliflower is soft.
- Add the garlic cloves to the pot and simmer for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Drain the liquid from the cauliflower, but reserve the liquid.
- Transfer the cauliflower and garlic to the food processor. Process until you have a thick puree. Add in the reserved liquid and continue to process until the desired consistency is reached.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Use a paper towel to coat the cups of a muffin tin with coconut oil.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt the coconut oil in the pan.
- Add carrot, zucchini, apple, onion, and garlic. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender and cooked through. Remove from the pan and put in a large bowl.
- Add to the the bowl with the veggies the ground beef, oregano, sea salt, arrowroot starch, egg, and coconut aminos. With your hands, mix the ingredients together until well combined.
- Evenly distribute the meat mixture into the muffin cups, packing it into the tins.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and turn the oven to broil. Grease may well up on top of the meat - use a spoon to remove as much as you can.
- Evenly spread the NOmato sauce over the top of each muffin.
- Add a dollop of the cauliflower puree on top of each of the muffins.
- Place the muffin tin back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the edges start to brown.
- Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- There should be about 2 servings of left over pureed cauliflower to eat as a side dish or for later meals.
- NOmato sauce is an AIP friendly, tomato free variation of a tomato sauce. Make your own NOmato sauce using this recipe from The Primordial Table.
- Once you begin boiling the cauliflower you can get started working on the meatloaf muffins. This keeps the recipe moving along and all should time out pretty well.
- It's advised to allow the vegetables to cool prior to mixing with the ground beef so as to ensure you don't burn/hurt your hands.