If you’ve been reading along for long, you probably know how much I love individual serving presentations. However, in many cases those types of dishes are fussier than I have time for when trying to get everything ready for a dinner party on an after work night. That’s why I often lean into foods that can be prepped in advance and / or cooked in a “set it and forget it” fashion. This Personal-Size Low Carb Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf recipe combines a bit of both by taking an easy recipe and giving it a little presentation “oomph”.
Most of this recipe follows my Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf. However, I wanted to give you a more detailed version of how to dress it up for a dinner party. While it removes the crockpot convenience element, these little loaves can still be prepped in advance, stored in the fridge, and then just baked right before serving.
What You Need to Make Personal-Size Low Carb Bacon Cheddar Meatloaves
Equipment
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups – I like the plunger-style ones for liquids or sauces.
- Cutting Board
- Chef’s Knife
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- Rimmed Baking Sheet
- Wire Rack Insert for Rimmed Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- Spices
- Ground Mustard
- Paprika
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Chipotle Powder
- Cumin
- Onion
- Bacon – You can use either thick or thin sliced bacon for the bacon that goes into the meatloaf mixture. However, I strongly suggest using thin-sliced bacon for wrapping around the personal-size meatloaves.
- Ground Beef
- Ground Pork
- Garlic – I used the pre-minced garlic and buy it in bulk from Sam’s Club.
- Eggs
- Keto Bread Crumbs – See below for how to make your own. If you don’t have keto bread crumbs, you can use crushed pork rinds instead. This will just make the meatloaf a little bit denser.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – I use the pre-shredded kind. However, because of the anti-caking agent used in many pre-shredded cheeses, this adds about 1 gram of carbs per quarter cup.
- No Sugar Ketchup
- Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
- Cheddar Cheese Sticks
Getting Started with Making Personal-Size Low Carb Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf
Most of these instructions follow along the lines of my Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf.
Chop the onion and bacon (separately).
Mix the wet ingredients and spices.
Combine everything together in a large mixing bowl. You can check out the more in depth version of my process here.
Creating Personal-Size Low Carb Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf
Divide the mixture into 16 individual balls. If you want to be precise, you can use a kitchen scale. This comes to about 150 grams or 5.25 ounces per loaf.
Then shape each ball into a loaf. Wrap each loaf around 1 cheddar cheese stick. I used a steak knife to make a depression long-ways in the center of the loaf, pressed in the cheese stick, and then sealed the loaf around the cheese. You’ll want to make sure you fully enclose the cheese stick. Otherwise, the cheese will all melt and run out of the loaf which kind of defeats the purpose.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and place a wire rack insert inside of it.
Lay out the mini loaves and brush each with some sugar free BBQ sauce. Then wrap each little loaf in a slice of thin-cut bacon. You really do want to use thin-cut for the wrapping so that the bacon can get crisp during baking.
Alternative Presentation / Serving Option
For a fun alternative presentation if you are planning something more picnic-like, you can also put these loaves “on a stick”. However, if going that route, skip the cheese stick in the middle and just wrap the meat around the skewer instead. If you put the cheese in the middle and then try to use a skewer, the loaf is just going to slide right off of the skewer. (Believe me, I tried it.)
Also, you’ll want to soak your skewers in water for around 30 minutes before forming the loaves around them and baking them.
In this presentation, you can still wrap your personal loaf with bacon but you will likely need to secure the bacon with a toothpick.
Cooking the Personal-Size Low Carb Bacon Cheddar Meatloaves
Bake the Personal-Size Low Carb Bacon Cheddar Meatloaves at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Serve warm, perhaps with a side of extra sugar free BBQ if desired.
If you need to keep these meatloaves warm while you finish up other items or until it’s time for dinner, cover them with foil and stick them in the oven on Warm (180°F). Just make sure you cool down the oven from 350°F to 180°F before putting them back in the oven.
Related Recipes
Looking for some ideas of what to serve with these Personal-Size Low Carb Bacon Cheddar Meatloaves?
You might like to serve it with some Leek and Cauliflower Soup or some Bacon Cheddar Biscuits.
Check out my Fall Kickoff Dinner Party for menu suggestions.
Personal-Size Low Carb Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1.5 teaspoons Ground Dry Mustard
- 1.5 teaspoons Paprika
- 1.5 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 0.5 teaspoons Chipotle Powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Cumin
- ⅓ cup Onion Diced
- ½ pound Bacon Chopped. Can be either thick or thin sliced.
- 2 pounds Ground Beef
- 1 pound Ground Pork
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Minced. Or 2 cloves minced.
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ounce No Sugar Added Ketchup
- 1 cup Sugar Free BBQ Sauce Divided: ½ cup into the meatloaf mixture, ½ cup for glazing the mini meatloafs, plus more for serving if desired
- ¾ cup Keto Bread Crumbs I cubed and dried keto bread and then crushed it with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.
- 1.5 cups Cheddar Cheese Shredded
- 16 Cheddar Cheese Sticks
- 16 slices Thin Sliced Bacon Optional. This is in addition to the bacon you will be putting into the meatloaf mixture.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine your spices–1.5 teaspoons Ground Dry Mustard, 1.5 teaspoons Paprika, 1.5 teaspoon Cumin, 1.5 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, and 0.5 teaspoons Chipotle Powder. Set them aside.1.5 teaspoons Ground Dry Mustard, 1.5 teaspoons Paprika, 1.5 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, 0.5 teaspoons Chipotle Powder, 1.5 teaspoon Cumin
- Dice ⅓ cup Onion and set it aside.⅓ cup Onion
- Chop ½ pound Bacon into approximately ½ inch pieces.½ pound Bacon
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 pounds Ground Beef, 1 pound Ground Pork, ½ pound Bacon (chopped), ⅓ cup Onion (diced), the spices listed above, 1 teaspoon Garlic (1 teaspoon = 2 cloves, minced), 2 Eggs, 1 ounce No Sugar Added Ketchup, 1 cup Sugar Free BBQ Sauce, ¾ cup Keto Bread Crumbs, and 1.5 cups Cheddar Cheese (shredded). Mix to combine. (I’d suggest using your hands.)1.5 teaspoons Ground Dry Mustard, 1.5 teaspoons Paprika, 1.5 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, 0.5 teaspoons Chipotle Powder, 1.5 teaspoon Cumin, ⅓ cup Onion, ½ pound Bacon, 2 pounds Ground Beef, 1 pound Ground Pork, 1 teaspoon Garlic, 2 Eggs, ¾ cup Keto Bread Crumbs, 1.5 cups Cheddar Cheese, 1 ounce No Sugar Added Ketchup, 1 cup Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
- Line the rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place a wire rack insert into the rimmed baking sheet. Divide the meat mixture into 16 equal pieces and form them into little loaves. Each meatloaf will weigh approximately 150 grams or 5.25 ounces.
- Wrap each portion of the meatloaf around 1 of the 16 Cheddar Cheese Sticks. Lay each little loaf on the wire rack in the baking sheet.16 Cheddar Cheese Sticks
- Brush the top of each loaf with Sugar Free BBQ Sauce. Then wrap 1 of the 16 slices Thin Sliced Bacon around each personal meatloaf.16 slices Thin Sliced Bacon
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
- Serve warm. If you need to keep these warm while finishing other dishes, cover them with foil and place them in the oven on Warm (180°F). Make sure to let the oven cool from 350°F down to 180°F before putting them back in.
Equipment
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
Leave a Reply