You know those barbecue bacon cheeseburgers that you can order at all those greasy hamburger restaurants, and then you smother ranch all over it and it’s even more delicious? This is like that. Only healthy 😉
When I was in NYC, we ate at a restaurant called Chelsea Grill per Mac’s suggestion. On the menu they had “Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf”. Now, I am not the type of person that orders that at a restaurant. Lots of healthy eating folks could, but knowing I could make it so much healthier at home would stress me out. So instead, I did just that and oh my gosh, it was so amazing. I would make it again and again and again. The cheese on top got the perfect amount of melty and the bacon on top got perfectly crispy. It was just like the type of cowboy burger you’d order at a restaurant. In fact, if you made it as a burger, it would also be healthy and delicious!
I made 2 meatloaves for 5 peoples plus roasted sweet potatoes and there wasn’t a single bite left at the end of the night. I was totally looking forward to leftovers this week, but I’ll take the lack thereof as a compliment about my awesome cooking!
Barbecue Ranch Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf
yield 4-6 servings
- 1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef/turkey (at least 93% lean)
- 1/2 cup egg substitute
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2/3 cup raw oats
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- generous pinch each of salt, garlic pepper, and your favorite burger seasoning
- dash ranch reasoning
- 1/4-1/3 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 slices center cut or turkey bacon
For the sauce:
- 3/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 3-4 tbs barbecue sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp ranch seasoning
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg substitute, almond milk, and seasonings. Mix in onion and oats.
- Add meat **this is the fun part!!** and use your hands to thoroughly combine. (Note: you may add the cheese at this time if you wish. I didn’t, but I imagine it would be especially delicious if you mixed it in and put it on top 🙂 )
- Using your hands, remove meat mixture from bowl and make a loaf shape on your prepared cookie sheet.
- Top with cheese, then bacon slices.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until cooked throughout.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients. Heat in microwave for 45-60 seconds when meat if ready.
- Serve meatloaf and top with barbecue ranch sauce.
To be fair, I made 2 different kinds of meatloaf. Obviously, this is the one on the right 😉
I discovered through the picture process that meatloaf is, in fact, kind of an ugly food. Sorry about that. But I promise you it tastes delicious!
I’m not the biggest meatloaf fan usually, but this looks delicious!
I never used to be, and then I started trying variations and now I can’t get enough! I think the name sounds gross more than anything–I mean a loaf of meat? So unappetizing haha.