Meatloaf Meatballs
These easy and delicious meatballs make your grandma’s meatloaf recipe into the best weeknight dinner your family could eat! Tender, flavorful meatballs with a classic meatloaf sauce on top and baked in the oven – these meatloaf meatballs are ready in 30 minutes!
These meatloaf meatballs take everything people love about classic meatloaf and turn it into a weeknight-friendly dinner.
They’re tender, flavorful, topped with that familiar sweet-and-tangy glaze — and because they’re baked as individual meatballs instead of one big loaf, they cook quickly and evenly. You get all the comfort of a traditional meatloaf dinner without committing to an hour in the oven.
This is the kind of recipe that feels nostalgic and dependable, but actually works on a busy night.
Why this recipe works for real life:
Meatloaf flavors are familiar for a reason! They’re comforting, balanced, and widely loved. Turning them into meatballs makes them easier to cook and easier to serve.
- Ready in about 30 minutes
- Baked in the oven with minimal hands-on time
- Familiar flavors kids recognize and enjoy
- Easier to portion than a traditional loaf
They’re a great option when you want something cozy without a long prep or cook time.
How to make the best meatloaf meatballs
For the full set of directions, please make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below:
- Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet
- Mix the dry ingredients and seasonings
- Stir in the egg, then gently mix in the ground meat
- Form into evenly sized meatballs and arrange on the baking sheet
- Spoon the glaze over each meatball
- Bake until cooked through and lightly caramelized
Keeping the mixing gentle helps the meatballs stay tender.
Tips for tender meatballs
A few small details make a big difference here:
- Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the egg, then the meat
- Avoid overmixing — stop as soon as everything is combined
- Using a scoop helps keep the meatballs uniform so they cook evenly
- Pull them from the oven right when they’re done to avoid dryness
These little choices help keep the texture just right.
Serving these to your family
These meatloaf meatballs are easy to pair with classic sides:
- mashed potatoes (or colcannon mash)
- green beans almandine or roasted vegetables
- salad or creamed corn
For younger kids, serving the meatballs plain with sauce on the side often works well.
Leftovers reheat nicely and make an easy next-day lunch.
This recipe is a great example of how familiar meals can be adjusted to better fit real life. Same flavors, less time, and fewer steps — without losing what makes the dish comforting in the first place.
If you’re looking for more dinners like this — reliable, flexible, and built for busy families — you’ll find plenty of ideas and occasional fun freebies inside the free community.
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Meatloaf Meatballs
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the panko breadcrumbs, onion flakes, oregano, parsley, garlic, pepper, salt, mustard, and worcestershire sauce until well mixed.
- Mix in the egg until well combined.
- Using your hands, add in the ground beef and the ground pork and gently mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Using a medium sized cookie scoop, form about 18-20 meatballs and place 2" apart on the baking sheet.
- Wash your hands!
- In a small-medium sized bowl, mix together the ketchup, mustard and brown sugar until combined.
- Spoon over the meatballs so that each meatball has a generous topping.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until an internal thermometer reads 165.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a general estimate and may vary based on ingredients, brands, and substitutions. For specific dietary needs, we recommend calculating nutrition using your preferred tool.
There is so much useless information on this page, the amount of scrolling and hunting for the actual recipe is insane. I’m searching for a recipe, just post the recipe, if you wanna drone on and on about who cares put that waste of text below where it can be properly ignored as it should be
Hi Zak, I’m sorry to hear that the information on the page was more than you were looking for. I try to provide helpful context and tips for those who enjoy a bit of background with their recipes. If scrolling is hard for you, I recommend using the “jump to recipe” button that’s conveniently placed at the top of the page. It’s designed for those who want to skip the extras and get straight to the recipe.
My kids would absolutely love these! (And me toooooo!) I can’t wait to serve them up for Meatloaf Monday!
That looks and sounds like a great recipe for a weeknight meal, but also a weekend activity where everybody can help, have fun in the kitchen, and the best part, eat delicious homemade food!