This plant paradox meatloaf that is also paleo and Whole30 approved is the perfect way to hide many vegetables for the pickiest of eaters. You will still love this meatloaf if you are not a vegetable fan.
A healthy meatloaf that is perfect for meal prep, school, and work lunches. Made with grass-fed and grass-finished ground beef and loaded with vegetables.
Finding ways to hack classic comfort food and re-create healthier alternatives is my mission. This plant paradox meatloaf might sound like a heavy meal. But what if I told you more than half of it is made of vegetables?
Hacking a classic comfort food: the meatloaf
My inspiration for this dish was actually not a meatloaf, but the way bolognese sauce is made (of course, without the tomatoes). This mixture could be shaped as patties or meatballs. I wanted something easier and less messy and meatloaf sounded like the right way to go.
I used grass-fed ground beef (80/20) from a local store and ranch in the Dallas-Fort Worth area – Burgundy’s Local – and the following veggies: yellow onion, celery, spinach, sweet potato, and carrot.
It also has one egg, cassava flour, and dry herbs (or you can use fresh instead). The quantity was enough for 3 mini loaf pans like these (I got mine from William Sonoma). I used parchment paper for easy release.
The plant paradox meatloaf, a healthy idea for the lunch box
If you follow my Instagram page, you know I started a lunch box feature. I’m having so much fun with it. There will be a separate section for lunch boxes on the website once I have enough to make a post (I’m looking at probably a minimum of five for one post).
Today’s lunchbox was meatloaf, swiss chard, and tahini dip (find the recipe on my Instagram), grain-free tortilla chips from The Real Coconut (only the ones with Himalayan pink salt are plant paradox compliant), fermented okra from The Barrel Provisions, some crispy radishes and seasonal fruits.
And because I got so many questions already, the lunch box is Bento Cinco from LunchBots.
Whole30 and paleo meatloaf recipe
If you are looking for a paleo meatloaf recipe or a whole30-approved meatloaf recipe, this is the one. The ingredients are fresh vegetables, fresh and dry aromatics, herbs and spices, grass-fed & grass-finished meat, and cassava flour.
You can use dry or fresh herbs, depending on what you have available. You can even use a mix like Italian seasoning, just make sure you read the label and the mix is made of pure herbs and spices with no fillers or sugar.
Cassava flour is great for this kind of recipe, and I would not recommend tapioca flour as it is too fine. Also, please don’t use coconut flour. It has a very strong coconut flavor which is not great for a meatloaf.
Here is the complete list of ingredients:
- onion
- celery
- carrot
- sweet potato
- spinach
- 100% grass-fed ground beef
- pastured egg
- cassava flour
- parsley
- oregano
- thyme
- salt
- pepper
- avocado or olive oil
How to make the plant paradox meatloaf
Since we have so many vegetables in this meatloaf, they must be sauteed first. Don’t skip this step, it’s essential for both texture and taste.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare 3 small loaf pans with parchment paper (or a big one). I prefer to make it in small mini loaf pans because it’s easier to handle, it will cook faster, and it’s easier to store or even freeze.
- In a large skillet on the stove, heat the avocado or olive oil on medium heat and add the chopped onion and celery, stir and sauté for about 5-7 minutes, until the onion and celery are soft and translucent. Add the spinach and sauté until wilted (about 4 minutes). Add the grated carrot or parsnip and the sweet potato. Stir and make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan; if there is not enough moisture, you can add about one tablespoon of water. Mix everything for 2 more minutes, then add to a mixing bowl and let it cool.
- When the mixture has cooled down, add the meat, the herbs, salt and pepper, one egg, and cassava flour and combine well.
- Add the mixture to the loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes. Take out and let cool for about 10 minutes. You can serve immediately, refrigerate or freeze.
*This post contains affiliated links, which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, at no extra cost to you.
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The Ultimate Plant Paradox Meatloaf
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12
Description
A lectin-free meatloaf loaded with veggies, perfect for meal prep, school and work lunches.
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 big stalks of celery, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot or parsnip (don’t eat cooked carrot if insulin resistant), grated
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and grated (raw)
- 1 bunch mature spinach (you can use baby spinach instead, about 3 cups)
- 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
- 1 pastured egg
- 6 tablespoons cassava flour
- 2 tablespoons dry parsley (or use one fresh bunch, finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon dry oregano (you can also use fresh herbs if you have)
- 1/2 tablespoon dry thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- avocado or olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare 3 small loaf pans with parchment paper (or a big one). I prefer to make it in small mini loaf pans because it’s easier to handle, it will cook faster and it’s easier to store or even freeze.
- In a large skillet on the stove heat the avocado or olive oil on medium heat and add the chopped onion and celery, stir and sauté for about 5-7 minutes, until the onion and celery are soft and translucent. Add the spinach and sauté until wilted (about 4 minutes). Add the grated carrot or parsnip and the sweet potato. Stir and make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan, if not enough moisture, you can add about one tablespoon of water. Mix everything for 2 more minutes, then add to a mixing bowl and let it cool.
- When the mixture is cooled down, add the meat, the herbs, salt and pepper, one egg, and cassava flour and combine well.
- Add the mixture to the loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes. Take out and let cool for about 10 minutes. You can serve immediately, refrigerate or freeze.
Notes
Because of the many veggies, the texture is rather fluffy and it has to be sliced carefully, otherwise will break. Store in an air-tight, glass container or freeze.
44 Comments
Christie
January 13, 2020 at 8:25 amI just started the Plant Paradox lifestyle and made this meatloaf to ease me into things. I added mushrooms and spring mix, and eliminated the sweet potato (carbs). It was fantastic. My boyfriend doesn’t like anything green, but he tried this and was actually a fan! My question to PP family, none of the recipes have nutrition facts/label. I would like to continue using my food/nutrition journal as I am also trying to loose weight. I am using Dr. Grundy’s cookbook and all that is missing is the nutrition Facts/label. Can this be found on any site?
Claudia
January 13, 2020 at 1:08 pmHi Christie! Thank you for getting in touch, and happy you loved the meatloaf. Great idea with replacing the sweet potato. I am personally not a fan of counting anything when it comes to food, I believe eating should be a social time, enjoyed naturally, intuitively. And I think most of the people in the PP community think the same, including Dr. Gundry. So, as far as I know, I don’t think you will find that kind of information anywhere in this community. For losing weight there are specific guidelines, but they need to be adapted to specific situations. Some of these are: limiting carbohydrates, limiting animal protein, eliminating dairy, limiting sweeteners of any kind (reeducating the palate to not crave sweet anymore), eliminating fruits, practicing intermittent fasting.
Karelys
September 12, 2019 at 8:36 pmHi,
I’m a PP follower since August, after the 3 days detox plan I started to dig in meals that are PP approved. I’ll do this recipe again because so far is a hit, let’s see how the meat loaf does the day after. Thanks for your clear instructions in the recipe, The only thing I added out of the recipe was Trader Joe’s coconut aminos.
Claudia
September 13, 2019 at 2:09 pmHi Karelys, I’m happy this is a hit with your family, coconut aminos is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Nancy
September 2, 2019 at 10:52 pmLooks great! I’ll do it thaïs week-end for sure!
Pamela Manuel
July 14, 2019 at 8:39 amHi Claudia,
I thought all meats contained lectin, but I see this has ground beef?
Claudia
July 14, 2019 at 9:39 amHi Pamela, a lot of the recipes on this website have meat. Lectins are proteins found in plants, not meat (although animal protein needs to be grass fed, pasture raised or wild). I recommend reading The Plant Paradox, by Dr. Steven Gundry, the recipes on this website and a lectin-free diet is based on his books. I hope this helps.
Mona lagan
March 1, 2019 at 7:05 amThis is delicious. It doesn’t look like meatloaf in that it is very green. But is smells like savory Thanksgiving Dressing and is absolutely not greasy – at all.
I sliced mine, added a spoonful of Organic mayo on the side, with lots of pepper, and dipped the meatloaf in the mayo. It was like having a Meatloaf sandwich without the bread.
It is one of my favorite recipes.
Thank
Claudia
March 1, 2019 at 10:19 amThank you so much Mona for this awesome feedback. I love this meatloaf and having it with mayo is a great idea, I’m thinking with a romaine lettuce leaf too :))).