This post is all about making a delicious Turkey Meatloaf that is High Protein and Low Carb

Searching for the perfect high protein and low carb meatloaf? Trying to figure out what you can do with your ground turkey stash?  You’ve found the perfect recipe!

Meatloaf doesn’t have to be boring, and meatloaf using ground turkey doesn’t have to be dry and flavorless. I’d like to show you just how tasty your ground turkey meatloaf can be.

Being a wife and a mother, I completely understand that it takes a lot of work to create a meal plan, make dinner, and make sure everyone we love is eating healthy. It really is super hard work. But I want to be there for you and help you feed you and your people.

Ground Turkey Meatloaf-High Protein and Low Carb 

Prepping Your Turkey Meatloaf

I’m sure you have read many meatloaf recipes that call for a ton of veggies. Guess what? This one isn’t different. However, that is where the similarity ends. In this recipes you will sauté your vegetables prior to adding to your meat mixture. Why you ask? Sautéing vegetables prior adds much more flavor and in the end you wind up with a tastier meatloaf. Yes, it does require an extra step, but it’s totally worth it. 

First wash all of your vegetables. I ALWAYS use my OXO salad spinner to wash all my produce. Add cold water and a splash of vinegar. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes and rinse.

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You will want to dice all your vegetables at about the same size. What this will do is ensure even cook time. Dice the onion, celery, orange, red and yellow peppers. 

Now that all our veggies are cleaned, prepped and diced up, we’re going to sauté them. 

Go ahead and grab your favorite sauté pan and turn heat to medium.  Add avocado oil and then all your vegetables. Sauté until vegetables are soft and caramelized this should take about 5-8 minutes. Remove pan from heat. You’ll want the vegetables to cool down a bit before adding to our meat. You don’t want to burn your fingers off ☺

Mixing Your Ground Turkey

Once you have all the ingredients in the bowl you will incorporate all those flavors by lightly mixing. Try not to “squish” your ground turkey through your fingers because you can over work and over mix the meat.  If you over mix your turkey, it can turn out mealy and unappetizing. 

We’ll be using a pretty large mixing bowl. I have found that this helps me get everything incorporated and I just have more space to work.

We’ve always made our own “bread crumbs” by grinding a bunch of pork rinds in a food processor (which is totally okay), but ever since we stumbled upon the Pork Panko brand, we’ve never gone back to making our own. Our Costco has a two pack, but if yours doesn’t or you don’t have a Costco membership you can purchase on Pork Panko’s site. 

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To your mixing bowl add the ground turkey and pork rinds and sautéed vegetables. 

Spices and herbs are next:

• Garlic Powder
• Parsley
• Black Pepper
• Salt
• Worcestershire Sauce

Once we’ve added our spices and herbs we’ll move onto adding our egg and then finally mixing everything together. Remember to lightly toss and not “squish”.

So now that all ingredients are incorporated, we’ll form it into a log or rectangle (whichever shape you want) and for this I suggest using a rimmed sheet pan. I always put down aluminum foil or parchment as well to keep it from sticking. 

Now you will take half of the meat mixture and lay it out on your baking sheet. This will be the foundation of your meatloaf. Within the foundation you will create a well for all that delicious cheese to hang out, kind of like a cozy little bed. The cheese you choose is totally up to you, your taste or simply what you have on hand.  I have found that slicing your cheese in very thick chunks works best as it doesn’t “melt” or disappear into your meatloaf and using a cheese that melts well is preferable (I wouldn’t recommend Halloumi haha).

After adding the cheese take the second half of the turkey mixture and just cap it. Make sure there aren’t any gaps or holes on the sides of your meatloaf or all your cheese will just ooze out onto your pan and not in your mouth. Cover your meatloaf with aluminum foil and place on the middle rack of your oven  at 375°F for 30-40 minutes. Cooking times will vary from oven to oven.  I suggest checking the meatloaf with a meat thermometer at the 25 minute mark and adjust your cook time around that. 

Saucy Topping 

Take your meatloaf out and bump your heat up to 400°F or turn on broiler.  Remove the top foil and brush on your BBQ sauce. We used Alterna Sweets (our most beloved BBQ sauce EVER!)

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However, there are quite a few low carb BBQ sauces and ketchups out there that can be purchased at your local grocery store.  Your choice of saucy topping really depends on what you enjoy and/or can afford. If you don’t want to top your meatloaf with anything, that’s fine too. You could even make your own.

Pop your meatloaf back into the oven (or broiler) uncovered until BBQ sauce is a bit darker and has caramelized.

Allow meatloaf to rest for 5-8 minutes and then dig in! You can even add more BBQ once plated. 

Meatloaf Sides

We chose cauliflower mash and asparagus as our sides, but you can chose whatever you like.  There are a ton of low carb and keto options and some that I’ve listed below:

Low/Lower carb side options–

• Broccoli/Cheesy broccoli
• Cauliflower: riced/mashed/cheesy
• Zucchini
• Squash
• Green beans
• Asparagus
• Side salad
• Peas
• Carrots

We really hope you enjoy our Ground Turkey Meatloaf. I’d love to know if you incorporated different veggies and what your sides were.  Enjoy!

Turkey Meatloaf- High Protein and Low Carb

Yield: 8 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

This Turkey Meatloaf is juicy and has a ton of flavor. Quick, easy, delicious and kid friendly make this high protein meal a weekday winner!

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1.5 oz red bell pepper
• 1.5 oz yellow bell pepper
• 1.5 oz orange bell pepper
• 3.5 oz yellow onion
• 7 oz celery
• 4.5 oz carrots
• 3 oz pork rinds
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp avocado oil (or fat of choice)
• Salt and Pepper
• 3.5 oz of favorite cheese (we used garlic cheese)
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce or sauce of choice + more to taste

Instructions

1. Prep all vegetables by washing and dicing. Try to make sure all cuts are about the same size and then pre-heat your oven to 375°F.
2. Once all your vegetables are all prepped, then pre-heat sauté pan. When your pan is hot enough go ahead and add whichever cooking fat you've decided on. Bacon fat would be super tasty too! Then add the veggies. You'll want to sauté everything until they're tender and caramelized. This can take anywhere from 8-10 minutes. Turn off heat immediately.
3. To a large mixing bowl add the ground turkey, caramelized vegetables, seasonings, pork rinds and egg.
4. Gently mix all ingredients.
5. Line a baking sheet with foil and place half of the meat mixture on the baking sheet and form into a log, or rectangle. Create a well within and add all that super delicious cheese. Then place the remaining meat mixture on top of that. Be sure that there are zero openings otherwise the cheese will melt outside the meatloaf and not within.
6. Cover meatloaf with aluminum foil. Place in middle rack of oven and cook anywhere between 30-40 minutes. Be sure to check the temperature of the meatloaf with a meat thermometer. I usually do this around the 25 minute mark.
7. Remove meatloaf from oven once temperature reaches 165°F, remove the top foil cover and bump the temperature of your oven up to 400°F or turn on broiler.
8. Brush on BBQ sauce and place back into oven and cook uncovered for 8 minutes. If you're using your broiler do NOT cook it for that long.
9. Take out of oven and let rest for 5-8 minutes
10. Serve with favorite sides

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 304Total Fat: 17.6gSaturated Fat: 5.3gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 357mgCarbohydrates: 5.4gNet Carbohydrates: 4.37gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 32.6g