Low Carb Meatloaf that the whole family will devour! Wrapped in bacon, topped with the simplest little sauce, and baked to juicy meatloaf perfection. This is sure to be a family favorite.
I’m a total sucker for meatloaf and meatballs.
My mom never made either one when I was a kid, so when I grew up and discovered how tasty they both are, I started making up for lost time.
We went through a period where we were eating meatloaf every few nights there for awhile. I’m sure the husband loved it. 😉
Anyway, we still have this low carb meatloaf at least once a month. It’s easy to prepare, hearty, comforting, and it’s just plain delicious.
I can never get enough of the sweet tangy sauce on top! It’s the best part of meatloaf, if you ask me.
Ingredient Notes:
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Beef – We prefer lean ground beef in our meatloaf. You could do a combo of beef and ground pork, if you like.
Keto Meatloaf Binder – You have two options in this recipe for a low carb meatloaf binder: crushed pork rinds or almond flour. The pork rinds end up being a bit more light and they don’t add carbs to the meatloaf. The almond flour seems to hold together a bit better, but produces a heavier meatloaf with a few more carbs. We like both, but usually go for the almond flour in my house.
Bacon – This is a keto meatloaf, so we’re going all out and wrapping our meatloaf in bacon.
Meatloaf Topping – This low carb meatloaf sauce consists of just 2 ingredients: sugar free ketchup and bottled Italian salad dressing. We like no sugar added Heinz ketchup or Primal Kitchen Ketchup. They add the perfect sweet and tangy flavor to this low carb meatloaf recipe.
Cheese – I’ve added Parmesan and cheddar cheeses to this low carb meatloaf so they’ll help bind the pork rinds or almond flour together and add some cheesy flavor!
“This is a very delicious dish and will replace my usual recipe. Even better than any non-keto meatloaf I have made. I was skeptical about the Italian dressing being added to the glaze, but it is perfect. Thanks for this great new family favorite.” – Erica
How To:
- Meatloaf Mix – Mix together your beef with some minced bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Stir in eggs, crushed pork rinds or almond flour, cheddar, Parmesan, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix that up real good with your hands to combine and then pat it out into a loaf shape on your baking sheet. This low carb meatloaf binder is what will help the loaf keep its shape!
- Bacon – This is such a simple but easy way to add even more flavor to the meatloaf and help keep it moist. Lay slices of bacon over the top of the shaped meatloaf mixture and pop it all in the oven. The sauce will come in after the meatloaf has baked a bit.
- Meatloaf Topping – Once the meatloaf has baked for about 30 minutes, whisk together the meatloaf sauce and spoon it over the top. It’s just a simple mix of sugar free ketchup and Italian dressing! I know Italian dressing seems like an odd choice but trust me, it works really well! I add a second layer of meatloaf sauce about 10 minutes before it’s done. We like it saucy in our house! Serve it hot and see below for some suggestions on what to serve with meatloaf!
FAQs:
Every kid has asked this question at some point in their life. My parents never made it, so I was always kind of skeptical about how it might taste. A loaf of meat? It just sounds weird. And then there was the stuff they served at our school that was called meatloaf but may or may not have contained actual meat of some origin.
A meatloaf is exactly what it sounds like, a mixture of meat and breading (low carb in this case!) and other good stuff in the shape of a loaf and covered in a savory sauce.
Leave the meatloaf uncovered during baking. The bacon will provide a layer of fat that keeps the meatloaf from drying out, and you’ll want the bacon to crisp up a bit as it cooks.
I think it helps keep the meatloaf moist and it adds plenty of flavor, but it is not required. A few readers have commented that this low carb meatloaf recipe works just as well without the bacon!
What to serve with this keto meatloaf:
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese: The perfect side for meatloaf!
Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts: Roasted to perfection.
Cauliflower Potato Salad: The texture isn’t quite the same as regular potato salad, but the flavor is spot on!
Keto Mashed Cauliflower: The creamiest!
Keto Coleslaw: My mom’s famous recipe.
Ranch Dressing: A side salad with my homemade ranch is always a win!
Low Carb Meatloaf
Total comfort food and it's low carb! That saucy topping is the perfect combo of sweet and tangy.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1/2 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup almond flour *see note
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
- 1/4 cup powdered Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 slices thin-cut bacon
- 3 tablespoons sugar free ketchup
- 1 tablespoon bottled Italian salad dressing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mince the green pepper, onion, and garlic.
- Add to a large bowl with the ground beef, eggs, almond flour, cheddar, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to combine.
- Shape mixture into a loaf, about 7x4 inches, and place in a 9x13 baking dish.
- Cut the bacon slices in half and drape over the meatloaf.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Whisk together the ketchup and Italian dressing. Spoon half of the mixture over the meatloaf.
- Increase heat to 425 and bake an additional 10 minutes and then spread the remaining sauce over the meatloaf.
- Continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- Let rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
You may substitute crush pork rinds for the almond flour, though the meatloaf won't hold together quite as well. The carb count will reduce a bit if you use pork rinds - enter the ingredients into a nutrition calculator to see the total with your changes.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 356Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 798mgCarbohydrates: 5gNet Carbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 31g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information is accurate.
Ivy says
Would the cooking time change if I cook this in a loaf pan rather than a 9×13 baking dish?
Karly Campbell says
It probably will take a bit longer, but I’m not sure.
John B says
I know it says 6 servings but what is the serving size of the finished loaf in ounces if you know. Thanks
Karly Campbell says
I don’t know. We just cut it into 6 pieces.
Lisa says
Sooo many ads that I can’t even see the full recipe!
Too bad because it looks like it would be yummy
Karly Campbell says
While there are ads on the screen, there shouldn’t be any that are covering the content or hiding the recipe from view. If that’s happening, I apologize. Please let me know what device and browser you’re using so I can let our ad network know there is an issue. 🙂
Laura Emond says
I know this is low carb and I should use almond flour. I cant get almond flour here so will need to use a website to get it. Can I try it with ordinary plain flour until I can get some almond flour
Karly Campbell says
I would just use a regular meatloaf recipe with breadcrumbs or crackers since the plain flour won’t be low carb anyway and it won’t make a great binder.
Mary Jo Kohlhoff says
The recipe doesn’t show some of the ingredients. Almond flour, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and Italian dressing are in the directions but not in the ingredients list.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Mary Jo! The ingredients are all there. My guess is that you have an ad blocker turned on within your browser, which is blocking the ingredients from showing since they’re linked to the sales pages of the products that I use. If you turn off your ad blocker, you’ll be able to see the ingredients just fine. 🙂
Kim says
On iMac computer those ingredients are all there, all underlined in green
Mary says
When I made this a lot of substance, like a kind of thick bubbly fluid, leaked out. Is that supposed to happen?
Karly Campbell says
Hi Mary! You’ll definitely get some fat from the bacon and beef coming out of the meatloaf, totally normal.
Josh says
Thats just ask the fluids from the meat and the capsicum. You could try baking it on baking paper that is placed on a rack so the excess fluid drips away
Shelia Shepherd says
If using crushed pork rinds in lieu of almond flour, how much pork rinds to use?
Karly Campbell says
I use the same amount.
Nadia says
Omg so far the best recipe! This one is going to my favorites!
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Nadia!
Erica says
This is a very delicious dish and will replace my usual recipe. Even better than any non-keto meatloaf I have made. I was skeptical about the Italian dressing being added to the glaze, but it is perfect.
Thanks for this great new family favorite.
Karly Campbell says
So glad you gave it a try, Erica!
IRVA NEFF says
I USE WEIGHT MEASUREMENT FOR SIZE OF SERVING ANY IDEAS TO HELP
WOULD ANY OF YOUR BOOKS BE HELPFUL FOR ME
Karly Campbell says
Hi Irva! You could weight the entire meatloaf after baking and calculate your serving size this way.
We have a few ebooks that you an check out, if you’re interested. You can find them here: https://thatlowcarblife.com/store/
Payton says
Can you sub in fresh parmesan cheese?
Karly Campbell says
I’ve never tried. The powdery stuff works well as a binder, but I think freshly shredded would as well.
Kate Taylor says
So delicious! Thank you so much for this recipe. It was a big hit tonight.
Jo says
I found the meatloaf extremely greasy because of the bacon. Made it second time without
the bacon, and it was delicious.
Terri says
I just made this for dinner and it was delicious! Hubby went back for seconds. Very juicy. I used 1/2 almond flour and 1/2 pork rinds. Definitely a keeper!
Shabrina says
Simply delicious. I crumbled the bacon into bits and scattered the bits across the top of the uncooked meatloaf instead of cutting the bacon slices in half and I used a loaf pan to bake the meatloaf in. Mmm mmm good!!
Marianne says
Does anyone have an estimated cook time if I doubled the amount of beef?
Shabrina says
I double the amount of everything (but I used a loaf pan to bake the meatloaf in) and I did not have to add more time. Loaf pans are smaller than a 9″x 13″ pan so I cooked 1 pan at a time but again I did not have to add more time because I split the mixture into two separate pans.
Ellen Salvaggio says
OMG ! The best meatloaf. I doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers. Now my go to meatloaf. Thanks.
Karly Campbell says
Love to hear that! Thanks, Ellen!
Stoltzfus Marianne says
Ellen do you know how long it took to cook then? I’m doubling mine also!
Ellen Salvaggio says
I added 15 minutes to the cook time and then stuck a thermometer in the middle and it was done.
Beatrice Barrera says
Making this right now…smells sooooo delicious!
Karly Campbell says
Hope you loved it!