The reigning queen of all sheet pan recipes, what could be more homey – more nostalgic – than a meatloaf, green beans, and potatoes recipe? This Sheet Pan Meatloaves with Green Beans and Potatoes brings all the flavor and familiarity of this classic combination, but in very little time. Less than 30 minutes, to be exact. I suppose this is so tasty you could skip the gravy, making a true one-pan meal, but it’s so fast and easy, it’d be a real shame to miss it. Anyway, read on for sheet pan mini meatloaf tips or skip ahead to the recipe itself!

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Mini Meatloaf Tips and Tricks

Don’t overwork the mix! As with any ground meat recipe, these mini meatloaves require a gentle hand and a conservative approach when it comes to mixing it all together. It’s basically the opposite of kneading a dough, where you want to work it to death to develop the texture/crumb you’re looking for. Meatloaves, just like meatballs, are at their best when they are tender, moist, and nearly falling apart their so juicy. When you overwork the meat, it tends to get packed and the resulting meatloaves will be pretty dense and more cafeteria-like. We are definitely not going for that vibe today.
A meatloaf by any other name, is a meatball. We’re just rocking a different shape, really. Like meatballs, we need to add both flavor-boosting elements as well as binding elements. This way, our mini sheet pan meatloaves will taste good AND hold their loafy shape. So, for flavor and moisture, we’re using minced shallot along with garlic and fresh parsley. A good amount of salt and pepper are necessary here as well. Breadcrumbs are essential as they help hold on to the juices in these mini meatloaves.
This recipe is a sheet pan meal, yes, but it’s not a “drop everything on the pan and bake it all at once” kind of sheet pan meal. No we’re staggering the order in which we introduce the ingredients to the oven. The potatoes will get a head start, about 5 minutes. Then, on go the meatloaves for 5 minutes in heaven with those roasting potatoes. Lastly, the tender, more fragile green beans will join this sheet pan party and continue cooking for about 12 to 15 minutes.
If one aspect of the sheet pan seems to be finished before the others, you can absolutely take the pan out of the oven and transfer that part – be it potatoes or beans – to a serving platter while the other parts finish up. No problem.

Why do you use breadcrumbs in meatloaf?

This is food science at it’s most delicious guys. Okay, so – it may seem funny and counterintuitive to add dry, sand-like breadcrumbs to a meatloaf mixture. This is especially true when one of our primary goals is to create moist, juicy meatloaves (this is what makes them so incredibly delicious).

The reason we add breadcrumbs into a meatloaf mixture is to give those juicy, fatty lipids something to grab onto as they’re dancing around in the hot oven. Otherwise, they’d spill out and you’d be left with some pretty dry meatloaves, and a rather sad dinnertime scene.

Furthermore, the breadcrumbs act as a binder, helping the loaves hold together as well. It makes it easier to slice them before serving and to transfer them as you need to. So, the addition of those seemingly boring breadcrumbs is absolutely essential to the creation of some killer meatloaves. That said, what you use as your breadcrumbs can vary:

Cracker crumbs: I love using Ritz crackers – so buttery!
Panko breadcrumbs: Japanese style white breadcrumbs with a more coarse texture than standard breadcrumbs or Italian style breadcrumbs.
Fresh breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs made from fresh bread that has been staled, toasted, and torn or processed into much smaller bits/crumbs.
Fried onions: This is one of my favorite tricks. You can blitz up some store-bought fried onions and use them as a binder in meatballs and meatloaves for a MASSIVE flavor boost.

How to make these Sheet Pan Mini Meatloaves

This easy, cozy meal will make meatloaf lovers rejoice, as it’s super simple to prepare and the flavor is off-the-charts good. Don’t skip the gravy – it makes the whole thing.

Don’t be fooled by the length of the ingredients list here, y’all. I always list salt, pepper and olive oil which makes things look longer than they really feel when you’re actually cooking. Also, this recipe is built on several pantry staples as well: ketchup, mustard, stock concentrate (a true MKL must have ingredient), butter, garlic, breadcrumbs, and flour. Add in a couple of fresh herbs, ground beef, and a couple of shallots and you’ve got a very un-fussy list of ingredients, most of which I’ll bet you already have on hand.

INGREDIENTS

24-ounces yukon gold potatoes, cut into ½-inch thick wedges or petals

Olive oil, as needed

1 pound ground beef

1.5 teaspoons salt

Lots of freshly cracked black pepper

½ cup panko or Italian breadcrumbs

½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley, divided

2 shallots, peeled and minced

2 garlic cloves, minced or grated

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon dijon or spicy brown mustard

12 ounces green beans

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons beef stock concentrate

How to make these Sheet Pan Meatloaves

Get the potatoes going first, they take the longer to roast. While that happens, whip up the meatloaf mix, form that into little loaves and slather them with a delightful combo of ketchup (classic!) and mustard (my fun twist!). Add those to the baking sheet and then, after the loaves and potatoes have had their head start, on go the beans to finish up. Easy. While all that happens, we’ll make an utterly simple gravy that takes all of 6 minutes to make. WE LOVE THAT.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position. Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and spray with nonstick cooking spray (this helps SO much with cleanup).

Place the potatoes on the baking sheet, toss with the olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes (they get a head start, but will go back in the oven).

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, gently toss together the beef, half of the minced shallots, the garlic, panko, half of the parsley, 1.5 teaspoons of salt, a big pinch of pepper, and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Form into 4 equal portions and shape into 1-inch tall loaves.

After the potatoes have cooked for 10 minutes, remove the baking pan from the oven, scoot the potatoes over so you can add the meatloaves. Combine the ketchup and mustard in a bowl and brush all but 1 teaspoon of the mixture on the tops of the meatloaves. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Toss the beans with a little olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and, after the meatloaves have baked for 5 minutes, scatter the green beans over top and around the potatoes (if you have to use two pans, no worries). Put the pan back in the oven and bake until the meatloaves are done, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a couple of minutes to tenderize. Next, in goes the flour and thyme and cook for one minute. Add the stock concentrate, 1 cup of water, and about a teaspoon of the ketchup.mustard mixture. Bring to a gently boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened and ready to serve; should happen almost right away. Season as needed and serve with the meatloaves, beans, and potatoes.