Table of Contents
Description | Ingredients | Method | Nutritional Info | Notes And Options“Turkey Dinner” Meatloaf Muffins
There isn’t a nostalgic family story behind these Turkey Dinner Meatloaf Muffins, no handwritten recipe card or childhood memory tied to them. They came out of something much more practical… the desire to capture that familiar “turkey dinner” flavour without committing to a full holiday production every time you want a solid, protein-forward meal.
What I wanted was a neutral, dependable, make-ahead option. Something that feels like real food, not diet food. Something that works just as well reheated at home as it does eaten cold at a desk. And, importantly, something that doesn’t lean heavily on garlic or onion, because no one wants to be that person in a shared office after lunch. Consider this recipe an act of both nutritional planning and marital harmony.
These meatloaf muffins are designed to be an all-rounder. They are not spicy. They are not tied to any specific cuisine. There is nothing sharp or aggressive about the seasoning. Instead, they land squarely in that comforting, familiar space that makes them easy to pair with almost anything. Roasted vegetables, a salad, mashed potatoes, rice, or even just grabbed on their own when time is tight. In the picture above, they’re served over my Ratatouille.
From a nutrition standpoint, they do exactly what a good staple recipe should do. Each muffin delivers roughly 23 grams of protein, using extra-lean ground turkey paired with fat-free or 1 percent cottage cheese. That combination keeps the protein high while maintaining a lean overall profile, and it also solves one of the most common problems with turkey based recipes… dryness. The cottage cheese blends in seamlessly, giving the finished muffins a softer texture and better mouthfeel than you would get from turkey alone.
They are also built for batch cooking. One run of the recipe yields twelve portions at around 150 grams each, which makes it easy to portion, store, and use throughout the week. Two or three muffins alongside vegetables quickly turns into a proper meal without any extra thinking required.
Flavour wise, these hit that “comfort food without regret” sweet spot. They are satisfying hot or cold, never crumbly or chalky, and they eat like something you would actually choose, not something you tolerate for the sake of macros. As a bonus, the mixture works just as well shaped into patties, making excellent turkey burgers if you want to change things up with a bun or a lettuce wrap.
As for the cooking vibe, there really isn’t one. These usually get made under mild time pressure, slid into the oven while other things are happening, no playlist required. And honestly, that’s kind of the point. This is calm, efficient, no-nonsense food that quietly makes your week easier.
Let’s get into the recipe!
Equipment
XL silicone muffin tins (like these from Amazon.ca that I use)
Food processor (a mini one is even better)
Ingredients (makes 12 portions)
3 pounds / 1,5 kg extra lean ground turkey
1/2 pound / 250 g fat-free cottage cheese
150 grams onion, cut into chunks (about 1 medium onion)
6 cloves of garlic
15 grams Italian parsley (leaves and stems)
1 TBSP sea salt
1-1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
4-1/2 tsp ground poultry seasoning
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 177 degrees C.
Place the parsley, onion and garlic in the food processor and pulse until evenly chopped. It’s totally fine if this ends up as almost a homogenous puree, because these are for flavour more than texture.
Combine with all the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mixing thoroughly by hand to ensure even distribution of the seasoning and cottage cheese throughout the meat
Use a slightly-rounded, packed 1/2 cup measure to divide the mixture into 12 equal portions (or scale it out to 150 grams per portion), placing each portion into one cup of an XL silicone muffin pan (be sure to support the muffin pan(s) with a metal baking sheet for safety and to catch any liquid spill-over). If you use the same pans I do, I’ve found there’s no need to use cooking spray or anything to grease the muffin pans - they release no problem, and if you wash them right away, the pans clean up easily with just a dishcloth in soapy water.
Bake the meatloaf muffins until an internal temperature of 160 degrees F / 71 degrees C (medium doneness) is reached, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan. They will continue to increase in temp to somewhere between 165 and 170 degrees F (medium-well to well-done) for the first couple of minutes as they sit before they begin to cool.
Discard the liquid left behind in the cups, and wash the muffin pan(s) immediately for best results.
Nutritional Info
Total for the Full Recipe:
Calories: 2,059 kcal
Protein: 275 g (1,100 kcal, 53% of total calories)
Fat: 95.3 g (858 kcal, 22.5% of total calories)
Total Carbohydrates: 30 g
Fiber: 5 g
Net Carbohydrates: 25.2 g (101 kcal, 5% of total calories)
Per Serving:
Calories: 172 kcal
Protein: 23 g (92 kcal, 53% of total calories)
Estimated Palm-Size Portions: 1
Fat: 7.9 g (72 kcal, 42% of total calories)
Estimated Thumb-Size Portions: 0.5
Total Carbohydrates: 2.5 g
Fiber: 0.4 g
Net Carbohydrates: 2.1 g (8 kcal, 5% of total calories)
Estimated Cupped-Palm Portions: 0.1
Fist-Sized Portions of Non-Starchy Vegetables:
This recipe does not contain significant amounts of non-starchy vegetables.
This nutritional analysis is an estimate only, based on available knowledge regarding the nutritional content of the individual ingredients. Nutritional content of foods is HIGHLY variable, so you should always base your dietary intake on whether it meets your needs and progresses you towards your goals rather than any theoretical numbers on paper.
Notes and Options
This recipe is also great as turkey burger patties, eaten either on a bun or in a lettuce wrap.