Today I bring to you a comfort food classic: meatloaf. This isn't just any regular meatloaf, however. It is wrapped in bacon and coated in BBQ sauce. Traditionally, meatloaf is made with full fat ground beef, whole eggs and bread crumbs. I've lightened this dish up AND added bacon, all while keeping the total fat lower than the original recipe but not skimping on any of the flavor. You're welcome.
My favorite way to develop recipes is to ask my family and friends what they feel like eating...and then I will create that with my own twist. That is exactly how this recipe came about. This is my idea of a fun game! I was staying with my sister, Greta, in LA last weekend and to show my thanks I offered to cook dinner for us. I asked her to think of something (anything!) that is normally unhealthy (but delicious) and I would make her a healthy version. Some may not agree with my idea of fun, but hey - we all have our thing.
She requested "comfort food" which for me means a rich, meat and potatoes type dish. I offered up meatloaf (which she gladly agreed to) and then decided to one up myself and make it (turkey) bacon wrapped meatloaf brushed with BBQ sauce instead of boring ol' ketchup. And to top it all off - make it lighter and gluten free. I came up with this recipe on the fly as I was chopping and mixing. The end result was better than I could have ever imagined. Lucky for you all I remembered to write the recipe down in my iPhone immediately following dinner.
So what makes this "lighter"? I used 93% lean ground beef instead of 80/20 ground beef, turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, egg whites instead of whole eggs and coconut flour as the binder instead of bread crumbs. The end result was juicy and moist but definitely tasted rich and full of comfort.
Thanks to Greta for requesting this meal or I may never thought of this recipe :) Enjoy!
Bacon Wrapped BBQ Meatloaf
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes (30 minutes at 400F and 20 minutes at 350F)
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef or bison (if you want to make this extra lean use 93/7 ground beef!)
- 5 strips turkey bacon
- 2 egg whites
- 4 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 c yellow onion, diced
- 1/4 c green bell peppers, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 4 tbsp BBQ sauce, divided
- Salt and pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 4000F.
- In a skillet over medium high heat, sauté onion, peppers and garlic in olive oil for 3-5 minutes or until onions become golden brown. Remove mixture from heat to a small bowl to cool.
- In a mixing bowl combine the onion and pepper mixture with the ground beef, egg whites, coconut flour, worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce plus salt and pepper to season. Using your hands, mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and form into a loaf. Wrap with strips of turkey bacon so that meatloaf is fully covered.
- Place meatloaf into oven and allow to cook at 400F for 10 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, brush the meatloaf with the remaining 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce and return to oven for an additional 20 minutes at 4000F.
- After 30 minutes total at 400F, reduce oven temperature to 350F and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes or until meatloaf is cooked through.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Slice into 4 equal pieces and serve with additional BBQ sauce if desired.
Nutritional info (1 serving = 1/4 of recipe)
310 Calories - 33.5 g Protein, 10 g Carbs, 15 g Fat