These mini turkey apple meatloaf muffins make the perfect protein and iron-rich snack for both little ones and adults. Great for school lunches, snacks and as a finger food for babies! Can also be prepped ahead of time and stored in the freezer for a quick and easy snack on the go! {Paleo & Gluten-free}
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been busy testing tons of recipes out for our little guy, who has been downing them all like a champ.
I’m seriously impressed with this kid.
Before starting him on solids, I was quite nervous because I really didn’t know how he would react to all of the textures. But as I said, he truly is a rockstar.
It’s gotten to the point where I love giving him something new to try just to watch him carefully try to pick it up with his tiny fingers and sometimes drop it numerous times on his tray (or on the floor) before actually getting it into his mouth.
He will repeat this exercise over and over again.
Definitely one determined little guy.
Once he finally gets the food into his mouth, he does a little happy dance and squawks like a monkey, and that’s generally followed by a big grin.
Clearly the kid likes to eat…just like his mama ;)
One of the latest recipes I’ve been giving him for lunch are these Turkey Apple Meatloaf Muffins.
And the best part is, I’ve been eating them right along with him!
When I initially prepared these mini muffins, it made a batch of 24, so I stuck them in the freezer in a large ziploc bag.
We’ve been crazy busy these days, so it’s been SO handy to simply grab a few for myself and baby, warm them up and serve them along with some vegetables, which I’ve also prepped in advance.
I’ll usually have them with some brown rice or homemade sweet potato fries and a salad or roasted veggies and baby will have them with one of his broccoli cheddar quinoa cups or sweet potato lentil tater tots, both of which are also currently residing in the freezer.
Let’s just say our freezer is getting rather full.
Of yummy food, of course ;)
At first, my husband and I were a little bit hesitant about giving him meat with no teeth, but these little meatloaf muffins are the perfect texture for him because they’re soft, moist and easy to chew and swallow.
Not to mention, these little babies are bursting with nutrients!
Let’s do a breakdown of these mini turkey apple meatloaf muffins:
The turkey provides the protein and iron, which is needed for growth and development. It’s especially important that babies over 6 months of age get sufficient amounts of iron in their diet since their iron stores are depleted after 6 months of age.
If you’re not a fan of turkey, you can always sub in ground chicken.
One of my favourite elements of this recipe is the addition of the shredded apple. It not only provides some extra moisture for the muffins, the apple also lends a flavour that compliments the turkey so nicely.
Not to mention, apples are a great source of vitamin C, which helps to better absorb that iron. You can even put a couple of extra thinly sliced apple pieces on top of each muffin.
The sweetness brings out such a great flavour, so this step is highly recommended for older adults and children (you might want to skip this step for babies).
Plus, it makes them look so pretty, don’t you think?
Last but not least, there are also plenty of healthy fats coming from the ground flaxseed and almond flour, which can help to promote a healthy heart, skin, eyes and hair!
As mentioned, I highly recommend making a batch of these turkey muffins and storing them in the freezer for a quick grab and go meal or snack.
Their versatility is hard to beat.
How to Make these Meatloaf Muffins
These meatloaf muffins are a cinch to prepare!
First you’ll want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the turkey, apple, garlic, onion, almond flour, flaxseed, egg, tomato paste, Dijon mustard (and salt and thyme if using).
Divide mixture evenly among approximately 24 cups. The cups will be slightly heaping with the meat mixture.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted inside registers an internal temperature of 175 degrees F.
If you prefer to make this meatloaf as a loaf rather than mini muffins, pack the meat mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake for 45-60 minutes.
Binder for these Turkey Apple Meatloaf Muffins:
You may notice in the recipe that there are two unique binding agents used in the recipe to avoid the use of bread crumbs.
Ground flaxseed and almond flour. This also happens to make the recipe a lower carb option and pumps up the content of heart-healthy fats.
Not everyone loves the texture of flaxseed, so if you prefer, you can sub in all almond flour for a total of 2/3 cup and skip the flaxseed altogether.
Or alternatively, you can use quinoa flakes or quick oats as a binder instead of the almond flour and flaxseed. Totally up to you!
If you do opt for flaxseed, keep in mind that flaxseed tends to gelatinize slightly when cooked, so make sure that you place the meatloaf muffins on some pieces of paper towel after removing them from the muffin tin to absorb some of the excess liquid from the bottom of each muffin before consuming or storing.
Here are some ways you can add these cute little turkey meatloaf muffins into your life:
- A quick and easy lunch for adults
- A finger food for babies or toddlers (great for baby-led weaning!)
- A pre or post-workout snack
- A back to school lunch
- A cute party appetizer
- Dinner for the whole family!
Feeling inspired?
How would you incorporate these mini muffins?
Turkey Apple Meatloaf Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra lean ground turkey can also use ground chicken
- 1 apple peeled and shredded (I used gala)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup shredded onion
- 1/3 cup almond flour can also sub in quick oats or quinoa flakes
- 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Optional add-ins
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- Top each muffin with a couple pieces thinly sliced apple if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine the turkey, apple, garlic, onion, almond flour, flaxseed, egg, tomato paste, Dijon mustard (and salt and thyme if using).
- Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Divide mixture evenly among approximately 24 cups.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted inside registers an internal temperature of 175 degrees F.
Notes
Nutrition
Adapted from Simply Great Recipes Cookbook
Looking for more healthy Baby-Led Weaning recipes, tips and meal ideas?
Get a copy of Healthy Baby Foodie!
If you’re looking for more fun tips, recipes and recommendations for feeding little ones, come on over and join us in our Healthy Little Munchkins Facebook Group! We’d love to have you there!
Love this recipe? Pin for later!
This post may contain affiliate links which means that I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only promote products that I love and feel will benefit my readers :)
Hi! Do you have any suggestions for an egg substitution?
You could try leaving the egg out. I don’t think it would affect the recipe too much since the apple adds that additional moisture and the ground flaxseed acts as a binding agent. Hope it works out for you!
Just wondering if you have tried other apples ? Do you think Granny Smith would work?
I usually use whichever apples we have on hand. Granny Smith would definitely work!
Have you ever tried adding some minced vegetables to the blend?
I haven’t tried adding vegetables to this particular recipe, but I have in other meatloaf muffin recipes and it usually turns out great! Let me know how it turns out if you decide to add some minced veggies!
We tried this one last night and it was lovely. We all had it for dinner (husband, myself and my 8 month old baby). I had to use regular cup cake pan as I don’t have the mini size. Thank you for this great recipe! Great hit.
Yay!! So happy you guys loved the recipe! Glad to know it worked out in the larger cupcake tin as well :)
Thanks for the great recipe idea! What do you fine is the best way to re-heat these?
My pleasure Cara! Generally, to reheat them, we just pop them in the microwave for a minute or so. Hope that helps!
Hi. Could I just use normal flour rather than almond flour with this recipe?
Thanks.
Hi Amanda, I haven’t tried subbing in normal flour for the almond flour, but I’m sure it would work just fine. You can also sub in quick oats for the almond flour instead. Keep me posted on how it turns out if you go with the regular flour!
Other than eggs do the ingredients need to be given individually first to rule out allgery? And is flax hard for them to digest ? My almost 10 month old has a sensitive digestive system .
It’s really a personal preference how you go about introducing foods to your baby. If you have a history of allergies in your family or you’re concerned about the possibility of an allergic reaction, it may be a good idea to introduce foods separately before offering them combined together in a recipe.
However, some parents choose to offer combined foods right away. In our case, we started giving our baby combined foods right off the bat, basically feeding him what we were eating with some modifications, and he didn’t experience any issues with allergies.
With regards to the flaxseed, make sure that you add ground flax meal and not the whole flaxseeds to the recipe, as whole flaxseeds are not properly digested. There is such a small quantity of flaxseed in each mini muffin that I wouldn’t foresee it causing an issue, but you could try leaving it out if it causes any type of digestive issues for your little one. Hope that helps!
How did you shred the apple, would a fine cheese grater have a similar effect? Love the recipe! Definitely trying it!
Thanks Leighanne! Yes, I just used a cheese grater to shred the apple. Hope you enjoy the recipe!