This keto meatloaf recipe is the perfect low carb comfort food made with easy ingredients and perfect for a family dinner. So enjoy it with all your non-keto family members, and they will hardly know the difference!
❤️ Why You'll Love It
This delicious keto meatloaf recipe is as tasty as regular meatloaf, so it does not sacrifice taste at all. It's so healthy and nutritious, and it contains just a few net carbs!
This meatloaf recipe is easy to prepare and contains no added sugar. I'm just so happy I can make just one meatloaf recipe my whole family enjoys. My kids eat this all the time, and they literally have no idea this recipe is low-carb.
It's great for meal prep as it freezes really well. So if you need the best keto meatloaf recipe out there, you've come to the right place!
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why You'll Love It
- 💭 What is meatloaf?
- 💭 Is meatloaf keto-friendly?
- 💭 What type of ground beef do I use?
- 🥘 Equipment used
- 🧾 Ingredients Used
- 🔪 How To Make This Recipe
- 🥫Storing and Reheating
- 🍽️ What Can I Eat It With?
- 💭Tips and Recipe Variations
- 👩🍳 Frequently asked questions
- 📚 Related Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
💭 What is meatloaf?
Meatloaf is classic comfort food made of minced or ground beef, herbs, and spices. These are often mixed together by hand and either baked or smoked in the form of a loaf.
It is a delicious and popular low-carb comfort food here in the United States.
💭 Is meatloaf keto-friendly?
It depends. The ingredients in classic meatloaf recipes aren't exactly keto-friendly. They contain breadcrumbs, regular ketchup, and other carbs, which you should avoid while on a ketogenic diet.
To make a keto-friendly meatloaf, you can substitute a few of the ingredients for keto-friendly ones. For example, instead of breadcrumbs and regular ketchup, try replacing them with eggs, almond flour, and sugar-free ketchup.
💭 What type of ground beef do I use?
To make juicy and tender meatloaf, I recommend ground chuck beef with about 78% lean meat.
Ground chuck beef has enough fat content to add flavor to the dish without making it too greasy. It also isn't too lean so that the meat won't dry out, unlike extra-lean ground beef.
🥘 Equipment used
For this recipe, you'll need a loaf pan, a baking tray, parchment paper, and a meat thermometer for this tasty low-carb meatloaf recipe.
You'll also need an oven to bake the meatloaf.
🧾 Ingredients Used
This keto meatloaf recipe calls for a few everyday ingredients.
- Ground beef. You can get ground beef from the meat section of your favorite grocery store. Ground chuck beef with about 75 - 82% lean meat is ideal.
- Binders: Large eggs, crushed pork rinds, almond flour. These are the low-carb binders I use instead of bread crumbs used by traditional meatloaf recipes. The combination of ground pork rinds and almond flour gives the meatloaf a great texture and much flavor.
- Spices: Coconut aminos, garlic powder, dried oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt.
- Sugar-free ketchup: For the glaze.
- Other ingredients: onions and parsley.
🔪 How To Make This Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef and all the other ingredients. Mix them properly till they are well combined.
- Spray a loaf pan with olive oil, then line the greased loaf pan with parchment paper. The parchment paper would prevent the meatloaf from sticking to the pan. It would also ensure that the meatloaf bakes evenly.
- Pour in the meat mixture and spread it out uniformly. Be gentle while doing this. Softly spread it out without pressing it hard.
- Put it in the oven and let it bake for 40 minutes, then bring out the pan and drain the excess liquid from it.
- Remove the parchment paper, then place the loaf on a baking tray.
- Generously spread some unsweetened ketchup on the top of the meatloaf and the sides.
- Place the baking tray back in the oven and bake for 20 mins.
- Check to ensure the internal temperature reaches 160F using a meat thermometer and the insides are no longer pink.
- Bring out the meatloaf and let it rest for 10 mins before cutting.
🥫Storing and Reheating
Store leftovers in the coldest part of your refrigerator for a couple of days in plastic wrap or an airtight container. You can also freeze it for about three months this way.
To reheat, let it thaw to room temperature, then preheat your oven to 250F. Place the meatloaf on a baking dish and add one to two tablespoons of water or broth.
Cover the meatloaf with aluminum foil and place it in the lower rack of the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the center of the meatloaf is warmed through.
🍽️ What Can I Eat It With?
This easy keto meatloaf recipe goes perfectly with some mashed cauliflower and gravy. It makes a fabulous Christmas or holiday dinner!
Serve it with some veggie side dishes like cabbage, green beans, brussels sprouts, or air fryer broccoli.
💭Tips and Recipe Variations
- Mold the mixture in the pan softly before baking. Don't press on it hard. We want it to come out firm but juicy and moist, not as hard as a brick.
- If you don't have a loaf pan, you can use your hands to manually make a loaf shape and cook it on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
- You can use ground turkey to make turkey meatloaf.
- For a nice variation, add grated parmesan cheese or Worcestershire sauce, or use your favorite ingredients like onion powder or black pepper.
- Try this recipe with ground chicken or ground turkey for an exciting difference.
👩🍳 Frequently asked questions
Keto meatloaf is healthy. Since in this recipe, we have replaced the original ingredients that contained carbs with keto-friendly ones, you can go ahead and indulge guilt-free.
Keto meatloaf contains minimal carbs and loads of vitamins. In addition, it is protein-packed and contains 19 grams of protein and 22 grams of total fat. These nutritional benefits are much-needed for a keto diet.
If you don't have a loaf pan, you can bake meatloaf freeform on a baking sheet. For this, you would need to form the mixture into a loaf about 9 inches long and 4 or 5 inches wide on a baking sheet. A nice crust would be formed this way.
📚 Related Recipes
Enjoy these other holiday keto recipes!
📖 Recipe
Keto Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs ground beef
- ¼ onion
- 2 eggs large
- ½ cup pork rinds
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar-free ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Chop the parsley and finely chop the onions.
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl till well incorporated.
- Spray a loaf pan with olive oil, then line it with parchment paper.
- Pour in the meatloaf and spread out uniformly.
- Bake for 40 mins, then bring out the pan.
- Drain the excess liquid.
- Lift the parchment paper out and place it on a baking tray.
- Spread sugar-free ketchup on the top and sides.
- Place the baking tray back in the oven and bake for 20 mins.
- Check to ensure the internal temperature reaches 160F using a thermometer and the insides are no longer pink.
- Bring out the meatloaf and let it rest for 10 mins before cutting.
Notes
- Mold the mixture in the pan softly before baking. Don't press on it hard. We want it to come out firm, but juice and moist, not as hard as a brick.
- If you don't have a loaf pan, you can use your hands to manually make a loaf shape and cook it on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
- Skip the cayenne pepper altogether if you don't want the heat.
This was an easy and flavorful meatloaf. I had all the ingredients in hand. Turned out great! Thank you!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the meatloaf recipe!