Mini Lamb Meatloaves with Beets & Tahini (Toddler Approved!)
This is a real “mom win” meal for me. I don’t know why I’ve never thought to make meatloaf in a muffin pan before but three cheers for a faster cook time, easy to pack leftovers for lunches, and delicious flavors to boot! My daughter loves individual portions of food (which is why she’s such a fan of our savory muffins!) and regular meatloaf hasn’t always been a hit for us when we make it for her and slice it up. However, these little mini loaves are awesome because she just picks up the whole thing and takes bites out of it. I love that she’s getting so much nutrition from the lamb and we serve her’s with a side of beets and a little container of tahini so she can dip or drizzle it on her food if she wants. This is a great meal to serve your kids if you want to expose them to beets. We’ve had an on-and-off again relationship with beets when it comes to Pepper. She loved them when she was a baby and would eat them any way I served them up. However, as of a few months ago she has become particular about them and hasn’t been eating them when they’re served in a salad or side (like this). But she’ll happily eat them when I add them to muffins, crackers, or even stirred into savory oatmeal. Feeding a toddler doesn’t ever really make sense and one day she’ll love something and the next she’s totally moved on. This girl keeps me on my toes! However, she really loved the beets in this recipe because she was able to dip them in the tahini. If your kid isn’t into tahini you can also serve this with a side of plain yogurt. And hey, if they don’t touch the beets don’t give up. It’s been proven that a child may need up to 30 exposures (yes 30!!!) to the same food before they try it. So keep offering up the foods you wan’t your children to eventually enjoy (for me beets are one of my favorite veggies so I really want to expose my girl to them as much as possible). Even if they don’t eat them right away, seeing them on their plate (and your plate) over and over again is a great way to familiarize them with a particular food. And if possible, have them come with you to the store, farmers market or garden to pick out the beets themselves!
Okay, enough about the beets. This meal isn’t just for toddlers, it’s a great meal for the whole family. Taylor and I loved this so much and it was an easy meal to have all week as leftovers. I served my mini meatloafs over grain salads for the rest of the week and it was divine!
I hope you and your family love this recipe as much as we do! Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm!
Mini Lamb Meatloafs with Beets & Tahini
Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 30-35 minutes Serves: 12 mini meatloaves
Meatloaf:- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1/2 of a medium sized red onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 finely chopped parsley
- 1 large clove of garlic, minced
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- hefty pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup well stirred tahini
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- pinch of salt
- 4-5 tablespoons water
- 2 medium sized beets, quartered
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 scallions, diced
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an standard size muffin tin and set it aside.
- In a large bowl mix together the lamb, onion, parsley, garlic, egg, tomato paste, spices and salt until well combined. Transfer the mixture to your prepared muffin pan and fill/press the meat mixture into each muffin tin. You should get about 10-12 total. Bake in the oven until cooked through. About 30-35 minutes.
- While the meatloaf is cooking prepare your tahini sauce. Combine the tahini, vinegar, honey, garlic, parsley, salt and water. Whisk vigorously until smooth (this works great with an immersion blender). Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
- Prepare the bees by covering the quartered beets in a saucepan with enough water to cover them by 3 inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until tender. About 20 minutes. Drain the beets and when cool enough to handle roughly chop them into small pieces. Add the beets to a bowl and toss with the vinegar, oil, scallions, parsley, salt and pepper.
- Serve the mini meatloaves with a drizzle of the tahini sauce and top with the beets. If serving this to a baby or young toddler you can slice the meatloaf in half or dice it up into small pieces and serve the beets and tahini on the side.
Notes
*Use this recipe as a guide and adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary. Cooking times will vary from kitchen to kitchen.
I loved this dish–only swaps I made were Impossible meat (1/2 burger and 1/2 sausage-savory because my son is a vegetarian), and cilantro instead of parsley. Also, I doubled the beets because mine were fairly small. Each element was delicious on its own and together they were sensational! My whole family enjoyed. My son ate his on a toasted English muffin — not a bad idea! And my husband ate 5 (yes, F-I-V-E) in one sitting. I think I’ll have to double it next time! The tahini sauce is really good. I’m going to use that this week to dip veggies.
I WANT TO MAKE LAMB IN MINI MUFFIN TIN