Sunday, January 4, 2015

Mexican Style Meatloaf - Easy Low Carb

This evening I made my Mexican Style Meatloaf for dinner since my younger son, who doesn't care for beef, wasn't eating with us. My older son who likes beef was eating with us and we haven't had it for a while. We had torrential rain and wind last night and I was up most of the night, so I felt like I needed a little comfort food. Meatloaf is definitely comfort food. 

One of the dilemmas I had early on in my low carb journey was what to use in place of bread crumbs in my meatloaf. I tried a variety of things like ground flax, almond flour, etc. Then one day I decided to see if I might be able to get the same or similar results using shredded cheese instead of breading. Well...it didn't only give me similar results...it gave me AMAZING results! I have made Mexican style meatloaf for many, many years and used to use taco seasoning. Even though I have a delicious taco seasoning mix, I decided to simplify this meatloaf even further. It uses just a few spices, fresh salsa and shredded pepper-jack cheese. How easy is that? The fresh salsa serves two purposes; it adds moisture to keep it moist as well as contains onions and peppers so I don't have to chop those up separately to add. The cheese not only adds flavor and a spicy little kick, but it serves as the binder to help keep the loaf together. I can literally mix it together in the time that it takes my oven to preheat. I made roasted asparagus to go along with my meatloaf (tossed in olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and black pepper). For the "guys" who aren't low carb, I made mashed red potatoes and steamed peas to add to their plates. The meatloaf turned out delicious and flavorful as usual and I had plenty of food leftover so I could send my son home with a couple more meals, too! For dessert, I had a few fresh strawberries that I picked up at the store this afternoon. They were unusually beautiful (from Florida). My easy peasy meatloaf recipe is below as well as a few photos. Enjoy!


Before baking
The few ingredients that go into the meatloaf (along with cheese)
Drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper...ready to be roasted

Dessert

Mexican Style Meatloaf - Low Carb

Ingredients:

2-1/2 pounds ground beef (I used ground sirloin)
1 cup fresh salsa (found in the refrigerated section)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Black pepper, to taste
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon roasted ground cumin
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, or to taste
1 cup shredded pepper-jack cheese (I used Cabot)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Transfer to a 2-1/2 to 3 quart baking dish. Bake for approximately 1 hour 10 minutes or until done. Let meatloaf sit for about 10 minutes for cheese to set. Slice and serve.

      

8 comments:

Candace @ Cabot said...

That is a gorgeous meatloaf! I can't wait to try your recipe.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks Candace...hope you enjoy it! :-)

Anonymous said...

Looks Great - how many serving and do you have the nutrient values (protein, carbs) etc.

Anaktty said...

I can't wait to try this. Is there a problem with it being "runny" from the moisture of the cooked beef with no breadcrumbs to absorb?

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Anaktty,

I hope you enjoy it. No, I have never had my meatloaf turn out runny. It just stays nice, moist and flavorful. Honestly, it's one of the best that I've had. :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Anonymous,

It serves 6-8 nice sized servings. The nutritional information will vary based on the type of meat you use (percentage of fat, etc.) and the size serving you eat. I tend to eat smaller portions for lunch than I do at dinner time. :-)

Unknown said...

I actually made a large one of these several years ago for a couple's anniversary that were low carbing instead of a cake. I made it thinner and spelled out "Happy Birthday" in bell pepper strips. Needless to say it was quite a hit and no one complained about not having a cake at the party!

Anonymous said...

This recipe has become my go to recipe for meatloaf. Everyone in my family loves it! It's pretty much the only low carb recipe that I have found that the whole family loves. The only thing I change is that I use the meatloaf mix ( combo of ground pork,beef and veal).