I am on a constant mission to find foods that Finn will enthusiastically eat that are not crackers, cheese, bagels and puffs. And for the record…I never thought I’d be that mom trying to sneak veggies into recipes but here I am, making a veggie packed turkey meatloaf.
Finn aside, I am in LOVE with this veggie packed turkey meatloaf recipe that I created. I ate three slices of it the night that I made it and I can’t wait to enjoy the leftovers. Meatloaf has a special place in my heart because it was one of my favorite things that my grandmother cooked for us. Her meatloaf was a very traditional/old school beef version with canned mushrooms and ketchup on top. While I loved that version and would happily eat it today, I’ve had so much fun experimenting with other meatloaf recipes.
This one is a delicious mix of turkey with sauteed carrots, zucchini and onions. It’s the craziest thing how you don’t even taste the zucchini or carrots once they are baked into the meatloaf. I’m in the camp of the more veggies the merrier in all meals (thus the reason I am always adding cauli rice and spinach to my smoothies) but it’s extra great if you are trying to get a toddler to eat veggies.
While this recipe is a bit time consuming from a baking perspective, the prep is simple and easy.
My favorite part of meatloaf is probably the glaze on top and I made a delicious one for this recipe. It’s a mix of ketchup, brown sugar and balsamic.
I really can’t say enough how pleased I am with how this recipe turned out. This veggie packed turkey meatloaf is both flavorful and super moist and juicy.
VEGGIE PACKED TURKEY MEATLOAF RECIPE
Here’s the recipe and I can’t wait to hear what you guys think about it! Please come back and leave a comment if you try it, or tag me on Instagram.
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Veggie Packed Turkey Meatloaf
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
A family-friendly veggie packed turkey meatloaf recipe that’s full of zucchini, carrots and onions.
Ingredients
FOR THE MEATLOAF
Olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and grated or chopped in a food processor
1 zucchini, grated or chopped in a food processor
1 sweet onion, small diced or chopped in a food processor
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko (or gluten-free breadcrumbs)
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond for the record)
Fresh herbs (as available), I used a few tablespoons of chopped basil. Parsley would also be great. You can omit the fresh herbs.
FOR THE GLAZE
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Saute carrots, zucchini, onions and garlic over medium heat for 7-10 minutes or until softened and lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.
- While veggie mix is sauteing, stir together glaze ingredients.
- Remove veggie mix from heat and place in a bowl with turkey and remaining ingredients. Stir until well-combined.
- Place meatloaf mixture on greased baking sheet and shape into a rectangular loaf, about 9×5 inches.
- Top with glaze.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 165-170 degrees.
- Let rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
This recipe can easily be made dairy and gluten-free by substituting non-dairy milk and gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Thanks for sharing this! Looks so yummy, cannot wait to try.
-Kate
https://daysofkate.com/
Dumb question – but what is the 1/3 cup of? You wrote unsweetened almond…it’s early, so maybe I’m missing something? 🙂
This looks so good! I can’t wait to try it!
Not a dumb question! It was supposed to say milk but the word got cut out. I’ve updated it!
I love sneaking veggies in to my kids foods! I had shredded carrots and or zucchini to banana bread, Blend shredded carrots, zucchini, drained canned white beans and diced tomatoes to make a creamy pasta sauce. I have a girl eats clued me in to adding finally minced mushrooms to my ground beef to stretch it and add nutrition a few years ago and I love to blend shredded carrots, zucchini, drained canned white beans and diced tomatoes to make a “creamy” pasta sauce. Iowa girl eats clued me in to adding finely minced mushrooms to my ground beef to stretch it and add nutrition a few years ago and both my boys love it.
Could you recommend a cooking time if I tried to make these in a mini muffin tin / meatballs? Thanks for the recipe, excited to try it!
I can’t wait to try this!! I will definitely report back!
Similar to what Whalin said above, one of our favorite dishes is the Iowa Girl Eats shortcut veggie ragu with minced carrots, celery, onion, and mushroom added to the meat. So delicious and you can’t even really tell they’re in there (which is good because I HATE mushrooms….this is the only way I can eat them!).
I came back to this post and saw my old comment and realize I never reported back! This has become one of our faves (I”ve even saved it as such so I can find it easily on my Pinterest board!). Made it again last night and served it over a parmesan cauliflower mash. Such a good meal on a cold night (which it definitely was in Boston last night)!
Just got the ingredients to make this! ❤️
Have this in the oven right now and it smells so good! Perfect timing, as I have an overload of zucchini to use from our garden! Thank you so much.
Do you think I could sub ground beef for the ground turkey ?
I have never tried but I think that you can. My friend Julie just did with good results: pbfingers.com/week-of-weeknight-meals-april-2020.
I hardly ever comment on blogs but just wanted to say I made this last night and it was so good!! The whole family ate it. I’m going to add it to our regular rotation.
I am so happy to hear this Amy! Thank you for taking a moment to comment and share. It makes my day! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! I use ground chicken instead of ground turkey, eliminated the milk and added oats instead of breadcrumbs, delicious!
You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing your modifications!
This is a real winner with the 4 and under crowd at my house! Always so nice to have a wholesome and balanced meal that my children happily eat. Thank you for sharing!!
Love to hear this!
Did you squeeze out the excess liquid from the veggies before sautéing them? Thanks, can’t wait to try!
I’ve made this a million times (not really) and it’s great each time. I double the eggs and the sauce and don’t need the milk. It’s great for meal prepping and seems to taste better the next day! So good for meatloaf sandwiches too!
I loved this meatloaf so much! The glaze is delicious and it’s such a great fridge clean out meal because you can toss in leftover herbs and veggie scraps! I also loved how the veggies keep it moist. I thought I overcooked it, but I don’t think it could ever be dry!
Love, love hearing this Ella! Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts!
I’ve tried a number of turkey & veg meatloaf recipes and just made this one. It’s most definitely my favorite! And I feel like it actually has a good amount of veg. Moist, easy and really really yummy. I didn’t have fresh herbs on hand but added a bit of oregano, some red pepper flakes and a little bit of garlic powder.
Hi Beth – this makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave this feedback! 🙂
I am absolutely in love with this recipe! I have now made it a few times and cannot get enough of it! I did the x2 and did 1lb of ground turkey and 1lb of ground pork sausage. Soooo good! Even my little kids like it!
I want to try it next time maybe adding broccoli to it… we shall see.
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
PS: I would have added a picture but couldn’t figure out how to do it lol
Absolutely delicious! Will be making again for sure!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I could only find 97% fat free turkey. Shouls I add additional liquid??
I came upon your recipe when doing a Google search for turkey meatloaf with veggies. I absolutely love it! I don’t know if it’s the carrots or the glaze but it has a kind of sweetness to it. My husband is not taking lunchmeat for sandwiches anymore so this was a perfect
alternative. He enjoyed it also! I will def make this again as well as visit your site to try more of your recipes. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!