I am on a huge Mexican cuisine kick at the moment! Once in a while I find myself just craving certain flavors and lately thats been Spanish and Mexican flavors! These Mexican Meatloaf Muffins are certainly not a traditional Mexican meal by any means but there are many ingredients that scream Mexican. Ground chicken is is mixed with a roasted chili sauce {same sauce we used in the Arepas dish I posted yesterday}, some shredded cheddar, breadcrumb and egg. Instead of a traditional loaf, I love making these fun individual sized muffins!
I guess another not so traditional component of this dish is that I use ground chicken rather then beef or a mix of beef/veal/pork. Theres actually a good reason for it too! First off, I try to use leaner meats for health reasons but more importantly in this case, its because the ground chicken is very mild in flavor. Why is that important? The ground chicken easily takes on whatever seasoning or favors you add. So in the case, the roasted chili sauce doesn’t get lost in an intense beef flavor.
These Mexican Meatloaf Muffins are baked in the oven for about 20-22 minutes, topped with some extra cheddar in the last couple minutes to melt right overtop. I served these with some more of that amazing roasted chili sauce, a dollop of sour cream, a garnish of fresh cilantro and of course some guacamole on the side {because I can’t get enough avocado!}. I really really enjoyed these meatloaf muffins and that sauce, yea I think i’ll be doubling the batch next time just to have on hand!
NOTE: The recipe included here for the sauce is enough to make these meatloaf muffins as well as the Arepas Pulled Pork recipe. Any extra can be used on grilled chicken, eggs, a dipping sauce for a quesadilla… its awesome!
Ingredients
- For the meatloaf muffins:
- 2 lbs lean ground chicken
- 2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 cup roasted chili sauce {below}
- 1 cup shredded cheddar, plus extra for garnish
- 2 eggs
- For the sauce:
- 1 poblano, stem removed
- 2 jalapeno, stem removed
- 2 tomatoes, halved
- 2 cans mild green chili enchilada sauce
- 3 garlic cloves
- salt & pepper
- cilantro
- For the guacamole:
- 4 ripe avocados
- 1 lime
- 1 red onion, fine dice
- 1 large tomato, small dice {optional}
- salt, pepper, garlic powder
Instructions
- Lets start with the sauce. In a large frying pan, over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. place the poblano and jalapeños into the pan. Roast on each side, set aside.
- Add the tomatoes and garlic to the same pan and again roast on each side.
- Place the chilis, tomatoes and garlic into a food processor {to remove some heat just take the seeds and ribs out of the chilis first}. Pulse a few times to begin breaking down. Add in the green chili enchilada sauce, and a couple handfuls of cilantro leaves. Mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl mix together the ground chicken, breadcrumb, roasted chili sauce, cheddar and eggs. Season with 1 tsp salt and a 1/4 tsp black pepper.
- Using a large scoop, portion out the meat mixture into a greased muffin pan. I got 9 large meatloaf muffins.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Top each with a little shredded cheddar and cook another 2-4 minutes.
- For the guacamole, mash the avocados in a bowl. Stir in the tomatoes, red onion, lime juice, some salt, garlic powder and chopped cilantro to taste.
- Serve with additional roasted chili sauce, a dollop of sour cream and a garnish of fresh chopped cilantro. I served the guacamole on the side.
Michelle@natural chow
I am so looking forward to trying this recipe. Looks fantastic! It will be my first time using the green enchilada sauce.
Angela LeMoine
Thanks so much Michelle! I hope you enjoy it as well! The enchilada sauce is a great base to start with, the roasted tomatoes, chilis and garlic really amp it up! So good!
Christine
This sounds like a great way to encourage portion control as well! It sounds delicious! Thanks for linking up at #FoodieFridays!
Angela LeMoine
Thats a great point! Didn’t think of it like that!
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life
We definitely will be trying this as I love the muffin idea and we love both Mexican food and meatloaf! Thanks for sharing it with us at #FoodieFridays…pinning and sharing this! Hope to see you again tonight Angela – love your recipes! 🙂