Balsamic-Glazed Mini Meatloaves and Green Beans

Makes: 4 servings

Total Carbohydrates: 17 grams per serving

Hands-on Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

This is the world’s easiest meal to put together: if your green beans are already trimmed, the pan will be ready to go into the oven before it’s even fully preheated. That’s partly because (as I’ve mentioned before) I’ve gotten so lazy with my meatloaf that I no longer even sauté an onion to add to it. I know! But it’s so good and richly flavorful you won’t miss it. (Or go ahead and add it if omitting it feels like heresy.) The balsamic vinegar does double duty here, sweetly tarting up the glaze for the meatloaf as well as glossing the beans. It’s so delicious that I can’t even recommend any substitutions.

If you’re looking to:

Lower the carbs: Swap in cauliflower or broccoli for the green beans; form the meatloaf mixture into smaller loaves to serve 6.

Lower the fat: Use lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken.

Lower the salt: Reduce the salt and/or skip the Worcestershire sauce.

Ingredients

1 pound green beans, stem ends snapped off

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (divided use)

Kosher salt (or table salt)

1 pound ground beef (ideally 80/20 or 85/15 lean to fat ratio)

1/3 cup rolled oats or uncooked plain oatmeal

1/4 cup milk (I use whole milk)

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons low- or no-sugar ketchup (plus 3 tablespoons for topping)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning blend

Black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400° F and line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. Put the beans on the lined baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 teaspoon table salt). Toss to coat the beans and push them gently to one side to make room for the meatloaves.

3. Thoroughly mix together the meat, oats, milk, egg, parmesan, 2 tablespoons ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, oregano, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt. I do this in my stand mixer with the paddle attachment, but you can also do it by hand with a wooden spoon. Once it’s well mixed, you can microwave or pan-fry a pinch of the mixture to see if it needs any more seasoning – salt, herbs, or spices – before you bake it.

4. Divide the meat mixture into four little loaves. and place them on the baking sheet next to the beans.

5. Stir together the remaining 3 tablespoons of ketchup and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, and spoon some over each of the 4 loaves.

6. Bake until the beans are tender and the meat is cooked through, around 30 minutes (the meat will be browning by this point), or until the center of a loaf reaches 160° F on an instant-read thermometer, if you’re fancy like that.