I have to confess, I’ve never been much of meatloaf fan. In my head it’s always reminded me of something you’d see on Kevin Arnold’s plate (in case you’re too young, that’s a Wonder Years reference :)). But I know it can be an easy dish to make and I figured I could make it delicious and paleo. Not just your average pile ‘o meat.

And I did! First off, it’s super easy to make paleo as it was easy remove the grain from I just swapped in some almond flour. I’m leaning towards thinking that the almond flour lends itself to keeping this meatloaf moist and prevents it from drying out. And second, I have to say that the tomato glaze I came up with for the top is better than any sort of store bought ketchup you could add.

I feel like I need to write a lot about the meatloaf. Telling you how juicy it stays, how much flavor sautéing the veggies ahead of time adds, etc. etc. Maybe even dig in to the history of it. But I’m not so into writing mode this morning, apologies. Most days I have it in me but some days I’m at a loss. Rather than sot here for the next hour wondering what you want to know about meatloaf I’ve decided to just let it be and get you the important part. The recipe. With that being said, you’re just going to have to take my word on this… It is SO easy and really delicious.

And guess what? It’s Whole30 compliant. In fact, I recently posted it to the Whole30Recipes feed on Instagram and it was a hit. I’ve already had people making it and loving it. 🙂

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

paleo meatloaf

A paleo meatloaf

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Main

Cuisine: Paleo

Servings: 4 -6

Author: the whole smiths

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 TBSP ghee or avocado oil
• 1/2 C. baby carrots chopped
• 3 sprigs of thyme leaves removed
• 1/2 to mato
• 1/4 C. almond flour or meal
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 egg
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1/4 C. apple sauce
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp coconut aminos
• 1 tsp ghee

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375*
• Heat a saucepan on medium heat and add ghee
• Add onions and cook until tender and lightly browned
• Add carrots and thyme and cook until tender
• Add garlic and cook about two minutes
• Add onions, garlic, carrots and half of a tomato to a food processor or blender and pulse until minced
• In a large bowl combine onion mix, ground beef, almond meal, salt, lemon pepper, smoked paprika and egg
• Mix and combine thoroughly
• Line a baking loaf dish with parchment paper and press meatloaf mixture into it
• Lightly grease a glass baking pan with olive oil and flip meatloaf mold into it
• Meanwhile in a saucepan heat tomato paste, apple sauce, apple cider vinegar, coconut amino and ghee
• Heat and stir until combined
• Add glaze to top of meat loaf
• Cook until internal temp reaches 155* aprox 30-35 minutes
• Let rest 10 minutes, slice and serve