This really has to be one of the fastest, easiest dinners EVER. I have been craving my classic meatloaf lately, but decided to switch it up and make mini BBQ meatloaf loaves, then cook all my vegetable sides along the loaves to make my whole dinner in one swoop. This Barbecue Meatloaf Dinner is seriously so easy and customizable, I can see myself making at least ten variations on this simple meal!
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“My whole family loves these little meatloaves, and they’re so easy to make. We make a whole bunch of the meatloaves, and then cook whatever veggies we have on hand on the same sheet pans. One of our favorite weeknight meals!”
Bobbie
The Easiest Sheet pan BBQ Meatloaf Dinner
This one-pan BBQ meatloaf recipe makes dinner for two, and if you know me and my style of eating, then you know that I like things heavy on vegetables (in this case, frozen broccoli and sweet potato) and light on the meat. This meal is super easy to switch up if you want different portions, though. To avoid overcrowding the sheet pan, use two sheet pans to double this dinner and feed four. Or double the meat mixture and keep the vegetables the same (using one pan) to do four portions that are heavier on the meat and lighter on the vegetables. It’s up to you.
Sheet Pan BBQ Meatloaf Dinner
Servings 2Ingredients
Vegetables
- 1 sweet potato (about 1 lb., $1.86)
- 12 oz. frozen broccoli ($1.16*)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.44)
- ½ tsp seasoning salt ($0.05**)
- salt (to taste, $0.02)
- black pepper (to taste, $0.03)
BBQ Meatloaf
- ½ lb. ground beef (80/20, $2.49)
- 1 large egg ($0.37)
- 2 Tbsp bread crumbs (plain, $0.12)
- 3 Tbsp BBQ sauce (divided, $0.26)
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika ($0.03)
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- ¼ tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1/2 to 3/4″ cubes. Place the sweet potatoes and frozen broccoli florets (no need to thaw) on a large baking sheet.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the sweet potatoes and broccoli florets. Sprinkle the seasoning salt over the sweet potatoes and then season the broccoli florets with a pinch of salt and pepper. Use your hands to toss the vegetables until they are coated in oil and spices, keeping the sweet potatoes on one side of the baking sheet and the broccoli on the other.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the preheated oven and roast the vegetables for 15 minutes.
- While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the meatloaves. In a medium bowl combine the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, 1 Tbsp of the BBQ sauce, the smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Work the ingredients together with your hands or a fork until they are well combined. Divide the meatloaf mixture in two and shape each half into a flattened oval.
- After the vegetables have roasted for 15 minutes, remove the baking sheet and stir each of the vegetables. Push each off to the side a bit to make room for the meatloaves. Place the shaped meatloaves in the center and then spread 1 Tbsp of BBQ sauce over each loaf.
- Return the baking sheet to the oven and roast for an additional 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meatloaves has reached 160ºF. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, plate up the meatloaves and vegetables, and serve immediately.
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Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- Baking Sheet
- Meat Thermometer
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Sheet Pan BBQ Meatloaf Dinner Step-by-Step Photos
Roast the veggies: Begin by preheating the oven to 400ºF. Peel and dice one sweet potato (about 1 pound) into ½ to ¾-inch cubes. Place the cubes on a baking sheet along with 12 oz. frozen broccoli florets (no need to thaw first).
Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over each, then season the sweet potatoes with ½ tsp of your favorite seasoning salt and the broccoli with a pinch of salt and pepper. Use your hands to toss the vegetables (keeping each on its own side) until they are coated in oil and spices. Pop the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
Make the BBQ meatloaf: While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the meatloaf. Combine ½ lb. ground beef with 1 large egg, 2 Tbsp bread crumbs, 1 Tbsp BBQ sauce, ¼ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp salt, and ⅛ tsp garlic powder.
Mix the meatloaf ingredients together until evenly combined. Divide the mixture in half and then shape each half into a flattened oval. Just make sure they are the same thickness all the way through so they cook evenly.
After the vegetables have roasted for 15 minutes, take the baking sheet out of the oven, stir the vegetables, and push them to each side a bit to make room for the meatloaves. Place the meatloaves in the center and spread about 1 Tbsp BBQ sauce over top of each.
Roast the meatloaf: Now put it back into the hot oven for another 20 minutes or until the internal temp of the meatloaves reaches 160ºF. As I mentioned in the intro to this blog post, roasting time can vary depending on an almost endless number of factors, so keep an eye on the contents and use your senses to take them out early or add more time as needed.
And this is what it looks like when finished. The sweet potatoes should be soft and with some browning on the edges. The broccoli should also have some browning on the very edges.
Serve: Plate it up and enjoy!!
Recipe Success Tips & Suggestions
- Roasting time varies on many factors, including the size and shape of your food, the temperament of your oven, and even the material and color of your baking sheet. So, take my roasting time with a grain of salt. If the vegetables finish before the meatloaves, take them out and let the loaves keep cooking. If the loaves are done first, plate them and return the vegetables to the oven. Use your senses and watch for doneness. And please use a thermometer to make sure your meatloaves are cooked to a safe temperature, 160ºF.
- You can prep the mini meatloaves the night before and store (covered) in the fridge. You’ll likely need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time since they’ll be cold going into the oven.
- Want to use a different ground meat? Some of our readers have had success swapping the ground beef for chicken or turkey…so use what you have!
Serving Suggestions
This sheet pan BBQ meatloaf dinner is pretty filling as it is. It’s got roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli built right in, but if you’re craving something extra cozy, it’s fantastic with a side of creamy mashed potatoes. You could also round it out with some sweet corn fritters or sauteed green beans. And if you’ve got leftovers, the mini meatloaves make fantastic sandwiches the next day!
Storage & Reheating
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, pop the meatloaves and veggies on a baking sheet and warm in a 350ºF oven until heated through. Keep an eye on the veggies during reheating so they don’t overcook. You can also use the microwave for a quicker option (although the veggies will turn out much softer). If you want to freeze the mini meatloaves, let them cool completely, then wrap them tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
This recipe is a delicious lifesaver. My super picky kids love it (one loves the loaves plus broccoli, one loves the loaves plus sweet potato). It truly is easy to throw together, I follow the directions for a 4-person serving and have made this frequently for years now as a weeknight dinner after getting the kids from aftercare/camp/etc and arriving home and needing to have dinner on the table ASAP.
My whole family loves these little meatloaves, and they’re so easy to make. We make a whole bunch of the meatloaves, and then cook whatever veggies we have on hand on the same sheet pans. One of our favorite weeknight meals!
Used for school.
Wanted to love it, but didn’t. I don’t see the point of making this on one sheet. The sweet potatoes really need to cook for 45 minutes to get a nice caramelization so might as well cook them separately. I didn’t enjoy fiddling with the raw meat patties on a hot tray so they should also have their own sheet/pan. And the end product? Ground beef patties tarted up with sugary sauce? Might as well make smash burgers instead.
This was a great recipe to fix a quick and easy dinner that’s also delicious! Thank you for the inspiration!
No longer a one pan meal, but I would make the meatloaf following this recipe but cook them on the stove top similar to Beth’s Salisbury steaks (https://www.budgetbytes.com/salisbury-steak-with-mushroom-gravy/). If using frozen broccoli I would probably just steam it in the microwave and cook the sweet potatoes on the stove top diced smaller, like this hash (https://www.budgetbytes.com/sweet-potato-hash/).
I’ve always liked making this recipe however is there an alternative way of making this dish? In case the oven doesn’t work.
We’ve only ever tried this one in the oven!
No longer a one pan meal, but I would make the meatloaf following this recipe but cook them on the stove top similar to Beth’s Salisbury steaks (https://www.budgetbytes.com/salisbury-steak-with-mushroom-gravy/). If using frozen broccoli I would probably just steam it in the microwave and cook the sweet potatoes on the stove top diced smaller, like this hash (https://www.budgetbytes.com/sweet-potato-hash/).
I made this last night and everyone loved it. Everyone went back for seconds, and there was not a bite left uneaten! Will definitely add this to the rotation.
So quick and easy and Delicious! It’s easy to adjust for more than 2 hamburgers and veges. My husband just loves this one as we don’t eat meat as often as fish and chicken!
Thank you for an awesome recipe!!
I forgot to leave a star rating
This a regularly made recipe at our house. We use Beyond Burger instead of ground beef. If we are out of sweet potatoes, we use Yukon gold potatoes instead. It’s fast, easy, delicious, uses ingredients we always have, and is fairly inexpensive. What’s not to love.
The reason I have it two stars is basically because you include the estimated cost on the recipe. That being said, the cost estimate is for the year 2018 and it is now 2024! Much has happened in world and food prices are out of control. Please remove all price estimates from recipes as they no longer are accurate. Thank you.
Hi Linda, Unfortunately It’s not feasible for us to go back through every blog post we’ve ever done and update the cost to reflect the current year, every single year. We will not be removing them as they are a helpful guide for many people. Ingredient prices vary from location to location, store to store, and even day to day within one store, so there will never truly be a price breakdown that is accurate for everyone. The prices listed are what we paid at the time the blog post was published. While the prices may no longer be the same, it can still be helpful to see the prices and how one ingredient can impact the overall cost more than another. We encourage everyone to try doing their own price breakdown at least once because it can be so insightful. See our tutorial on how to calculate recipe costs for a detailed description of how you can calculate your own costs. https://www.budgetbytes.com/how-to-calculate-recipe-costs/
Thank you for standing your ground,….also goes to show the decline in common sense and entitlement of people in 2024 vs 2018! Also…duh….prices so so so vary seasonally, regionally and state…especially in my home CA….But tried recipe and was delicious!
Just adding a 5-star here, because this recipe is actually wonderful 🙄
This comment is so stupid that it hurt to read.
This looks like my kind of meal! I will make it this weekend!
This was fabulous!
Wonderful! I quadruple the recipe for my family of five so that there are plenty of leftovers for tomorrow!
This is delicious I made it tonight for dinner I added fresh onion (1/8 cup) and garlic (2 cloves) to the meatloaves. Very tasty and straightforward recipe. I will definitely be making this again!