This is comfort food at its finest, only without the high carb count. A bacon “wrapping”’ adds flavor and helps the meatloaf stay moist during cooking, while an easy glaze adds a layer of tangy-sweet complexity. Sound fancy? Don’t worry! It’s easy to make and humble enough for Sunday supper, and it provides leftovers for the week. What’s not to love?
Ingredients List
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 2 tsp dry mustard, divided
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste, divided
- 1½ lbs ground beef
- 1/3 cup fine almond flour
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp tamari or gluten-free soy sauce, divided
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 6 strips bacon
- 2 Tbsp granulated brown erythritol-based sweetener (like Swerve)
Some emerging research suggests that erythritol might increase the risk of blood clots, but more studies are needed to confirm this potential link. Whether you decide to use erythritol or not, remember that all sweeteners should be consumed in moderation, and your keto diet should primarily focus on nutritious whole foods. Learn more: Erythritol Explored: Weighing the Pros and Cons.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Position a rack to the lowest part of the oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the celery and cook. stirring, 4 minutes. Stir in the onion powder, Italian herbs, and 1½ teaspoons of the dry mustard and cook, 1 minute. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, almond flour, Parmesan cheese, eggs, 1 tablespoon of the tamari, and the celery mixture. Season with 1½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper.
- With clean hands, transfer the beef mixture to the prepared baking sheet and shape into a loaf 5-inches wide, 8-inches long, and 2-inches tall. Arrange the bacon slices in one layer on top, widthwise, tucking the ends underneath the loaf.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 teaspoon mustard, the remaining 2 tablespoons tomato paste, and the remaining 1 tablespoon tamari. Add the sweetener and 2 tablespoons water. Whisk to combine. Brush or drizzle the glaze over the bacon-wrapped loaf.
- Bake until the bacon is crispy and beef is cooked through with an internal temperature of 160°F (70°C), 45 to 50 minutes; if the bacon browns too quickly during cooking, loosely cover the meatloaf. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
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Credits
RecipeEric Lundy
PhotographyErin Ng
This is such a family favorite and left overs are great!
The carb and calories are waaaayyy off.
Diane! Thank you so much for your comment. We are very careful about providing accurate macros. We find that there are sometimes significant macro variations depending on the macros calculator used and the brands/ingredients selected within each macro calculator. Still, we revisited the macros for this dish and updated them because when we recalculated them, we too found different results than our original results. Again, thank you so much! We greatly appreciate it.
What a yummy – super easy recipe! I subbed pork rind crumbs (which you can find on Amazon) for the almond flour as a binder – and it added some complexity. The bacon on top is sublime! There are two of us, but I upped it to 8 servings (2lbs beef). I split into two loaves, made one and froze the other -without the bacon. Just defrost, add bacon, and you’re golden!