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Chicken, Bacon and Vegetable Meatloaf

August 19, 2015 | Chicken, Make-ahead Meals

Chicken bacon meatloaf

This Chicken, Bacon and Vegetable Meatloaf came about when I was was looking to make a tasty no fuss meal that I could bake ahead and reheat later for dinner. I was planning meatballs, but wasn’t in the mood for rolling them, so decided to make meatloaf. This was the delicious result. I hope you like it too?

Health benefits

This a lovely balance of protein, carbohydrates (vegetables) and dietary fibre in one very tasty meatloaf.

Chicken, Bacon and Vegetable Meatloaf

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Total 45 minutes
Serves: 4
Chicken bacon meatloaf
ADD TO FAVORITESADDED TO FAVORITES
4.5 from 14 votes
I adore this Chicken, Bacon and Vegetable Meatloaf recipe - it's so easy to make, delicious and a really nourishing meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 red onion/s -peeled, halved
  • 2 clove/s garlic -peeled
  • 1 stick/s celery -roughly chopped
  • 1 carrot/s (large) roughly chopped
  • 1 red capsicum/s (small) roughly chopped
  • 30 g baby spinach (handful approx.)
  • 1 tsp dried thyme (or 2 teaspoons of fresh)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 60 g rolled / flaked quinoa (½ cup) can substitute fresh breadcrumbs also)
  • 1 free-range or organic egg/s
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper -to taste
  • 500 g chicken mince
  • 4 rasher/s bacon
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Method

  • Preheat your oven to 180℃/350℉ (fan-forced).
  • In a food processor, chop the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, capsicum and spinach finely. Place in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the thyme, paprika, rolled quinoa, egg and salt/pepper and mix to combine. Add the chicken mince and squeeze together to combine the ingredients well.
  • Now line a loaf tin with your bacon rashers so they cover the base and sides of the tin.
  • Press the minced mixture in the tin (so it's firmly packed) and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked through.
  • Once cooked, drain the delicious juices from the tin into a little jug and invert the loaf onto a tray. Place it under a moderate grill for 5 minutes or so to crisp the bacon.
  • Slice with a serrated knife and serve with the reserved pan juices.

Thermomix method

  • Preheat your oven to 180℃.
  • In the TMX, chop the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, capsicum and spinach 10 seconds, speed 5.
  • Add the thyme, paprika, rolled quinoa and egg and mix to combine, 10 seconds, speed 2. Add the chicken mince and mix, reverse, 20 seconds, speed 2 (you will need to scrape down the sides to help it combine fully).
  • Now line a loaf tin with your bacon rashers so they cover the base and sides of the tin.
  • Press the minced mixture in the tin and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked through.
  • Once cooked, drain the delicious juices from the pan into a little jug and invert the loaf onto a tray. Place it under a moderate grill for 5 minutes or so to crisp the bacon.
  • Slice with a serrated knife and serve with the reserved pan juices.

Note - it can also be steamed in the Varoma for 45 minutes (then bacon crisped as above).

    Serve

    • With steamed vegetables or a big salad.
    • I also love meatloaf with mashed potato or sweet potato. To make a simple mashed sweet potato, place washed whole sweet potatoes in the oven to bake alongside the meatloaf. Once they are cooked, simply scoop the flesh out of the skin and mash with a dollop of butter and sea salt.

    Make-ahead

    • Re-heat in a low oven, covered until just hot.

    Store

    • Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
    • Can also be frozen (either raw or after cooking). Fully defrost before cooking/ re-heating.

    Variations

    Egg-free

    Just omit it. It won't be quite as firm, but still delicious.
     

    I love to receive comments and questions about my recipes. It really helps me to shape what I share with you in the future. Share you comment below.

    Course: Main Course

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    Category: Chicken, Make-ahead Meals Tags: chicken, coconutfree, cornfree, dairyfree, eggfree, familyfood, garlicfree, glutenfree, grainfree, legumefree, lowfructose, lowsugar, meatloaf, nutfree, onionfree, quinoaflakes, seafoodfree, sesamefree, soyfree, thermomix, vegetables, wheatfree, yeastfree

    Reader Interactions

    54 Comments

    Post a comment
    1. Elisa James says

      Made this tonight. I thought it was delicious and it was a total hit with my son but unfortunately it wasn’t a winner for my 2 girls. So easy to make and looks really great when you slice it. Thanks Georgia.

      August 25, 2015
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Sorry only half of you liked it, I have it in the oven now g x

        August 26, 2015
        Reply
    2. Sue says

      This is one of the easiest and most delicious meals I’ve cooked in a long time. My four absolutely loved it, even the fussy toddler! Thanks so much, Sue

      August 27, 2015
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Yay – so pleased and thanks for taking the time to comment, G x

        August 27, 2015
        Reply
    3. Nicole Bartlett says

      Made this the other night everyone loved it except mr 3 who just hasn’t developed the taste for different texture, but will continue to make as I loved preparing it the night before and could just pop in oven for 30 mins. Please continue with your delicious recipes I love them all. Thanks G

      August 27, 2015
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Glad you liked it Nicole, yes it is very easy and convenient, on of my go-to’s for busy afternoons G x

        September 1, 2015
        Reply
    4. Rachel Smoker says

      Hi Georgia,
      Do you think it would freeze ok?

      September 7, 2015
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        I haven’t myself, but I can’t see why not G x

        September 8, 2015
        Reply
    5. Kelly Berghella says

      Hi Georgia, I made this yesterday for the first time. So simple to prepare and it looked very appealing on the plate (my guests thought I had purchased it 🙂 )
      I didn’t find mine a little soggy though, but I think it is because when I grated my veggies I might’ve blitzed them a bit too much and they went watery (I don’t have a great food processer). Next time I think I will absorb some of the liquid a bit, so the loaf is a bit firmer (yours looks much firmer in the picture than mine).
      Will make again for sure, interested to hear how anyone goes freezing it as I always try to make double batches.

      September 30, 2015
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        That’s great Kelly – yes I have over processed vegetables before with meatballs and they went a bit soggy. Either wring it more or add extra binder (breadcrumbs / rolled quinoa). I can’t see why you couldn’t freeze it – I have with meatballs, but not this exact recipe. G x

        October 8, 2015
        Reply
    6. Sandra Schwennesen says

      Yum yum we tried this for dinner last night & it was delicious! The kids loved it too..my son (6) had a bit of sweet chilli sauce on the side & called it “Thai Meatloaf” 🙂 Thanks for the great recipes x

      November 16, 2015
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Glad you all liked it Sandra – love your sons Thai twist G x

        November 17, 2015
        Reply
    7. Trisha says

      Silly question but is ‘rolled’ quinoa just cooked quinoa?

      February 28, 2016
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Hi Trish. No it is actually rolled – like rolled oats (which you can sub with if you don’t have rolled quinoa) G x

        February 29, 2016
        Reply
        • Lisa says

          Is that the same as quinoa flakes? Thanks!

          August 20, 2018
          Reply
          • Georgia Harding says

            Yes that’s right Lisa x

            August 21, 2018
            Reply
        • Peta says

          Do you cook the flakes before adding..

          February 16, 2019
          Reply
          • Georgia Harding says

            No the quinoa flakes are just like rolled oats, very soft (they’ve been steamed and rolled) so they don’t need to be cooked at all. Enjoy Georgia x

            February 17, 2019
            Reply
    8. Sophia Lagastes says

      I am definitely going to make this. Do you think I can substitute with other mince and if I do should I alter any of the other ingredients to complement?

      February 28, 2016
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Hi Sophia. Yes you can sub with another mince for sure – all other ingredients can stay the same for sure. Enjoy G x

        February 29, 2016
        Reply
    9. Laura says

      Would this work without quinoa or bread crumbs??

      July 16, 2016
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Sorry for the delay in responding Laura- my hubby has had a bad accident this week and is in hospital so I’m just behind in everything. It will work flavour wise, It just might not hold together quite as well. Enjoy G x

        July 17, 2016
        Reply
        • Laura says

          Family comes first so Thank you so much I’m dying to try but don’t like quinoa and am doing no bread now …

          July 17, 2016
          Reply
          • Anna George says

            Can you use oats? They work great in meatloaf.

            November 18, 2016
            Reply
            • Georgia Harding says

              Absolutely, no problem Anna G x

    10. Claire Hill says

      Would this recipe work with substituting different veggies? I have some cauliflour, carrot and pumpkin in the fridge, could I use those instead?

      September 20, 2017
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Hi Claire
        You could certainly try, I personally haven’t tried that exact combo but I have played around a little with other veggie. The worst that will happen is it may not hold together as well but will still be edible. Love to hear how it goes G x

        September 20, 2017
        Reply
        • Claire Hill says

          Hi Georgia! So I tried carrot, caulifour, spinach and red onion. It was good but I think your combo with the red capsicum is yummier ????

          September 25, 2017
          Reply
    11. Kate Koger says

      5 stars
      I have just put this in the oven for one of our dinners this week!! So can’t wait. I used Quinoa flakes as that’s all I had on hand! So can’t wait to try this! I so enjoy all your posts and recipes. I still feel connected to the awesome foodies back home.

      Thank you xxx

      November 19, 2017
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Hi Kate, thrilled you are enjoying my recipes and thanks so much for taking the time to comment/rate this one G x

        November 19, 2017
        Reply
    12. katie says

      4 stars
      This was easy to make. Bit like a massive sausage roll in taste. I have never made a meatloaf because the sound of it has put me off but his was enjoyed by fussy eaters and has lots of veg….. winning
      Katie

      March 9, 2018
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Hi Katie, that’s a great explanation for sure – big sausage roll, love it G x

        March 12, 2018
        Reply
    13. Sarah says

      3 stars
      Thanks for another yummy one! I loved this dish but it was a bit too ‘vegatabley’ (my son’s word!) for my smallest children. Hard to judge how much salt to put in – I went for a level tsp and it was pretty tasty with the flavour of the bacon as well. I like salt though ?
      Always keen to find recipes the whole family will eat together. Will try it as meatballs next time.
      Love your recipes

      August 24, 2018
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Thanks Sarah – you can always reduce the veggies next time if that will make it more enjoyable for him G x

        August 27, 2018
        Reply
    14. Aneta says

      I had a bit of a trouble telling if it’s done or not, so I baked it longer but it turned out ok, not dry at all. It was first time making meatloaf or even eating one. I was pretty happy with the result but will need to add more salt next time?

      August 25, 2018
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Hi Aneta, I find the best way to tell it’s done is it gets a very slight rise and feels as firm in the middle as the edges. Glad you enjoyed it al the same G x

        August 27, 2018
        Reply
    15. Cheryl Riding says

      5 stars
      Loved this meatloaf.. Super easy to make.. Used the Thermomix method. It smelt divine while cooking. Will be making again….

      August 29, 2018
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        So glad you enjoyed it Cheryl – thanks for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe G x

        August 30, 2018
        Reply
    16. Karen says

      5 stars
      Thank you for a great recipe! My fussy 5 year old devoured this tonight and I agree that it is delicious!!!!

      February 13, 2019
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Whoo hoo! It’s very tasty, I’m glad he loved it Karen. You’ve motivated me to make it again myself next week, it’s been a while. Thanks for the 5? too) Georgia x

        February 14, 2019
        Reply
    17. Deborah A says

      3 stars
      The method doesn’t add the ingredients salt & pepper. This might seem obvious to some, but when trying a new recipe, and being a busy mum, it’s easy to overlook.

      It definitely needs the salt. I probably won’t make this one again as it wasn’t a hit (my father didn’t even eat it), but it tasted a lot better with salt. It’s quite “vegetabley” which I didn’t mind, but some kids might.

      Also the bacon didn’t crisp up for me, just dried out.

      February 23, 2019
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Thanks for pointing out that Deborah, I’ve just corrected the method, Georgia x

        February 24, 2019
        Reply
    18. Paula says

      5 stars
      Best meatloaf I’ve ever made, certainly ticks every box. Easy to make, so delicious, nutritious and all three fussy kids loved it. Your recipes are the best, thanks so much.

      February 23, 2019
      Reply
    19. Kaye says

      5 stars
      Made it last week, so delicious, whole family loved it. I loved how easy it was. ? K

      February 24, 2019
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        So glad you and your family loved it Kaye, Georgia x

        February 24, 2019
        Reply
    20. Eleni says

      5 stars
      Easy Healthy and delicious! This was a great family meal.

      February 26, 2019
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        So glad you enjoyed it Eleni, cheers for the 5 ?’s, Georgia x

        March 4, 2019
        Reply
    21. Kristy B says

      4 stars
      Nice recipe. I changed it up a bit with the veggies I had on hand. Added some tmx chicken stock paste also, and used a combo of almond meal and rice flour instead of rolled quinoa. I made a nice glaze that I basted it with also.

      March 27, 2019
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Sounds fabulous, glad you enjoyed it Kristy G x

        April 3, 2019
        Reply
    22. Catherine Charlton says

      Hi Georgia, what can I substitute the quinoa flakes and breadcrumbs for? I need it to be grain free. Would almond flour work?
      Thanks in advance for your advice ?

      July 15, 2020
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        I haven’t tested it but I’m fairly sure it will be just fine G x

        July 18, 2020
        Reply
    23. Tanya Sholl says

      5 stars
      More of your alchemy that works on my fussy 9 year old! Thanks Georgia :). I subbed the quinoa for breadcrumbs, and over cooked it a bit as I was worried about under cooking (insert eye roll)…. but it was very forgiving and very tasty.

      September 18, 2020
      Reply
      • Georgia Harding says

        Oh yay, so glad it was enjoyed Tanya ☺️ G x

        September 18, 2020
        Reply

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