GRAIN-FREE, NUT-FREE, EGG-FREE, DAIRY-FREE
Growing up, I was a lover of TV dinners and a hater of meatloaf. I don’t eat TV dinners anymore, but this sheet tray bake reminds me of them a lot because you get a full entrée in one pan (minus the little fruit crumble dessert). Sheet tray bakes rock because there are no pots and pans to clean up afterward. The meatloaf has a bit of a kick from some ground chipotle peppers and smoked paprika, and the sweet potatoes and broccoli get perfectly roasted alongside. It turns out perfectly without bread crumbs or eggs as binders.
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 50 MINUTES
SERVES 4
For the vegetables
3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch semicircles
Olive oil or melted ghee for cooking
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 pound broccoli florets
For the meatloaves
1 small red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded
½ small yellow onion
1½ pounds grass-fed ground beef
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the sweet potato semicircles on the sheet. Drizzle them with about a tablespoon of oil or melted ghee, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sweet potatoes with your hands until everything is well coated. Bake them for 10 minutes, then add the broccoli to the sheet, stirring it in with the sweet potatoes before returning the sheet to the oven for another 10 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the meatloaves. In a food processor, pulse the red bell pepper and onion until they’re finely chopped but not a paste. You want the pieces to melt into the meatloaf. If you don’t have a food processor, chop the red bell pepper and onion very finely with a knife.
In a large bowl, combine the red bell pepper and onion with the ground beef, parsley, garlic powder, chipotle pepper, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Mix everything well with your hands, but don’t overmix or the meat will become tough. Shape the mixture into four even mini loaves that are tapered at the edges.
After the broccoli has been roasting for its 10 minutes, move the veggies on the baking sheet to one side and add the meatloaves to the tray. Bake everything for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the mini meatloaves are cooked through.
Change It Up
− Use half ground beef and half pork for a lighter-tasting loaf.