This picture is a bit blown-out – apologies – I’ll retake soon. But trust me when I tell you that this is a delicious meatloaf recipe that kids in particular love. The “hidden” veggies help keep the meatloaf nice and moist and add wonderful flavor!
Time-Saving Tip: This is one of three quick-n-easy ground turkey recipes that you can prepare all at the same time and then freeze them to have ready-to-go meals for busy days. For details, check out “Turkey Times Three (T3).”
Turkey-Veggie Meatloaf (GF Option)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lb of ground turkey
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
- 1/4 cup finely chopped organic zucchini
- 1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp fresh-ground pepper
- 1 large pastured egg
- 1/4 tsp Italian herb seasoning
- 1/4 tsp dried parsley (or 1/2 tbsp fresh)
- 2 tbsp ketchup (or 1 Tbsp tomato paste if doing Whole30)
- 1/3 cup homemade GF breadcrumbs (or substitute with blanched almond flour if doing Whole30)
Turkey Burger Base Recipe
Add to the above Base Recipe:
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and add about one tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté finely chopped onion, carrot, zucchini and garlic until soft (about 3-4 minutes).
- Place ground turkey in large mixing bowl and add the veggies to the turkey and allow to cool a minute. Then add all of the remaining ingredients.
- Using your hands, combine all ingredients until well incorporated.
- Shape into a loaf and place into a well-oiled loaf pan.
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the yummy ketchup-maple topping (see note below).
- Return to oven and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes, until meatloaf is cooked through. Enjoy!
Notes
Ketchup-Maple Meatloaf Topping: In a small dish, whisk together 3/4 cup ketchup with two tablespoons of pure maple syrup. Spread on top of meatloaf as directed in recipe above.
First I want to say I LOVE your site. We are eating whole food, GF, rice free and now I am personally trying tomato free. I have been so impressed with your recipes, and Godly encouragement. It has really been so helpful on so many levels, thank you:) I would love to know if you have any ideas on what I can substitute in this recipe for ketchup? I have a pureed mix of sweet potato /carrots and was thinking of trying that. Thoughts?
Thanks so much for your kind words, Elizabeth! I’m so happy you’re enjoying my site and finding it helpful! As far as the ketchup topping, you could easily forego it altogether. And you could just add a little extra veggies (as you suggested) to replace the moisture the ketchup provides inside the meatloaf. You could also do a google-search for non-ketchup turkey meatloaf, there seems to be lots of suggestions out there as to how to make meatloaf without ketchup, so you are not alone in wanting to live tomato-free 🙂 Blessings, Kelly
Thank you for these great recipes!! Your meatloaf has been a big hit with BOTH of my kids 🙂 One of my kids is egg free so I used a teaspoon of chia seeds in about 3 tablespoons of water (to gel) and it worked out fine.
That’s a great substitution, Nancy! Thank you for sharing. So glad you and your kids are enjoying this. It’s a favorite of my boys too! Blessings, Kelly 🙂
I know this was posted almost a year ago, but I am rather new to your site so I just found this recipe. I have not had meatloaf in years because #1, beef hurts my stomach and the smell makes me nauseous, #2, it takes forever to cook and #3 it is high in calories.
Well I made this tonight with a few changes 🙂 (sorry but I like to play with my food, mom could never break me of that habit 😉 ) I used ground chicken instead of turkey because I really do not like the taste of ground turkey (I know, I am crazy). And instead of Italian herb seasoning I used dried red pepper instead. We enjoy a little kick sometimes. I also used barbeque sauce for the topping I had from one of the health food stores around here that was homemade. And finally, I made 4 small loafs and cooked them on a cookie sheet instead of in a large loaf pan to safe time and to give each person their own cute meatloaf on their plate.
It was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for the recipe. I will be making this so much more often now. Wonderful!!!! You rock is all I have to say! Next time I make it I will have to post pictures and send everyone here to get your recipe! Thanks for all you do!
aww, thanks, Carrie, for this sweet note! So glad you enjoyed this and your substitutions sound wonderful. I have also made this using ground dark chicken because sometimes it’s on sale and is more cost effective and I like it as well. I’ve never thought to top it with BBQ sauce – what a great idea. Also great idea to do the individual loaves! What a great real foodie chef you are! Appreciate you taking the time to leave this kind note and suggestions! I look forward to seeing your pictures soon! Blessings, Kelly
Thanks Kelly, I am far from a foodie chef lol! Have a wonderful day! Blessings!
Hi Kelly,
I have been telling all my friends about you. They are loving your meals too. I just wanted to let you know I blogged about my Chicken Meatloaf that I modified from your Turkey Meatloaf. I gave you credit and sent them over here to see all you have. Thanks so much for your inspiration! God Bless,
Carri
I can see that, you sweet friend you! I appreciate your thoughtfulness and kind words. What a blessing you are! I appreciate your encouragement – your words that you can see Christ shining through in my blog meant more to me than you know! It’s always a constant prayer and mission of mine! Lots of love, Kelly
Hi Kelly,
I’m wondering if you have ever tried subbing almond flour for the breadcrumbs. If not, what do you think about doing that? Should I use less than what the recipe calls for for the bread crumbs? After doing Whole30 (THANK YOU for that, by the way!) I decided to do more of a WholeLifetime with a cheat day once a week – hehe. My excema has gotten so much better and my daily “seasonal allergies” have improved SO MUCH. I was flat on my back with allergies on Saturday and was back to 100% on Tuesday (normally that would have been a two week cold/probably turned sinus infection). I’m so grateful for how God has used you to be such a great example of taking care of your body. I’ve been following your blog ever since I started my real food journey about 3 years ago. Your recipes and advice have been priceless to me and my family. I’ve actually been wanting to tell you all this for a long time now. Glad to finally give you “proper praise” as we say in our house 🙂
Thank you & God bless!
Jennie
Hi, Jennie! It’s SO funny that you posted this because I am literally making this tonight for dinner using almond flour for the same reason as you, sweet friend! So as soon as we give it a taste tonight, I’ll definitely pop back over and let you know. But I’m sure it will be just fine. And thank you so much for your kind words. I absolutely know that God has used you today – your kind words have truly blessed my heart. Thank you for being such an encourager! 🙂 Blessings to you and your family, Kelly
Does this recipe meet the whole30 plan with the ketchup and GF breadcrumbs?
Hi, Cindy. Thanks for your note! I do have a note in the recipe that you can substitute the GF breadcrumbs with blanched almond flour if you’re doing the Whole30, but I didn’t have a note about the ketchup, so thank you SO much for catching that because it’s very important to read labels. You can use 1 Tbsp of tomato paste in place of the ketchup, or make your own homemade Whole30-compliant ketchup, such as this tasty one from my friend Jessica: http://www.jaysbakingmecrazy.com/2015/04/07/paleo-whole30-ketchup/ Thanks again! Wishing you the best on your Whole30-adventure! 🙂
This meatloaf was great! My 4 year old devoured it, and hubby said it was so much better than my usual turkey loaf. So it’s definitely staying as a keeper recipe. And I love that we snuck in some extra veggies- I probably ended up using closer to 1/2 cup of each veggie. Thank you!
Wonderful to hear, Sarah! I’m so glad you’re family enjoyed this too! Appreciate you taking the time to leave a kind note! 🙂