WW Recipe of the Day: Light & Healthy Homestyle Meatloaf
This healthy Weight Watchers meatloaf might just be my new favorite meat loaf! This meat loaf bakes up moist and delicious thanks to the addition of lots of finely chopped vegetables and turns out 4 very generous 2-slice servings.
I decided it was time to get back to basics last night and serve up some meat and potatoes. Rod is a good sport about everything I cook and never complains. But he's a midwest born-and-raised guy who prefers his food simple and straightforward.
Instead of going with what has become my standard meatloaf—Paula Deen's Meat Loaf recipe, I wanted to try something new. After checking out a few options, I decided to try the healthy Weight Watchers meatloaf recipe from the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (affiliate link).
How Many Calories/WW Points in this WW Homestyle Meatloaf Recipe?
According to my calculations each serving has 243 calories and:
7 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
6 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
WW Friendly Meatloaf Recipe Notes
Chopping all the vegetables requires a little extra work, but I think it was worth it. I find chopping kinda therapeutic, but you could always speed up the process by using a food chopper or food processor (affiliate link).
WW Meatloaf Variations
BBQ Cheeseburger Meat Loaf:
Add ½ cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese to the meat loaf mixture and substitute favorite BBQ sauce for the ketchup.
(9 SmartPoints)
Italian Meat Loaf with Roasted Red Peppers:
Add ¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers (not packed in oil) to the mushroom mixture in step 1. Add ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese and ¼ cup chopped fresh basil to the meatloaf mixture.
(7 SmartPoints)
Spinach-Feta Meat Loaf:
Add 10 ounces thawed frozen chopped spinach (drained and squeezed dry) and ½ cup reduced-fat crumbled feta cheese to the meat loaf mixture.
(7 SmartPoints)
Enjoy!
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If you liked this easy meatloaf recipe, you'll want to check out: Skinny Mini Meatloaf Muffins, Weight Watchers Turkey Meat Loaf with Quinoa & Zucchini, WW Homestyle Slow Cooker Meatloaf, Slim & Healthy Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole, Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew and Skinny 3-Ingredient Sloppy Joes
If you've made this Healthy Meatloaf, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Weight Watchers Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 cup finely chopped white mushrooms
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef (7% or less)
- ½ cup quick cooking or old-fashioned oats (not instant)
- 2 large egg whites (I use 1 whole egg instead)
- 3 tablespoons ketchup (plus more for brushing on top)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (not ground thyme)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 teaspoon minced fresh)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 4-½ x 8-½-inch loaf pan (affiliate link) with cooking spray.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet (affiliate link) set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the vegetables in the bowl and mix well. Press the meatloaf into the prepared loaf pan (affiliate link).
- Bake the meatloaf for 30 minutes. Brush additional ketchup on top of the loaf, if desired.
- Cook until done, an additional 30 to 45 minutes. (An instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf should read 160F degrees.)
- Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. Cut into 8 slices.
Recipe Notes
Add 10 ounces thawed frozen chopped spinach (drained and squeezed dry) and ½ cup reduced-fat crumbled feta cheese to the meat loaf mixture. (7 Freestyle SmartPoints) BBQ Cheeseburger Meatloaf:
Add ½ cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese to the meat loaf mixture and substitute favorite BBQ sauce for the ketchup. (9 Freestyle SmartPoints) Italian Meatloaf with Roasted Red Peppers:
Add ¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers (not packed in oil) to the mushroom mixture in step 1. Add ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese and ¼ cup chopped fresh basil to the meat meat loaf mixture. (7 Freestyle SmartPoints) Click here to see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site. 7 *SmartPoints (Green plan) 7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan) 7 *SmartPoints (Purple plan) 6 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
Source: Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (affiliate link)
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Easy + Healthy Low Calorie Meatloaf Recipes for Weight Watchers
- Skinny Pizza Meatloaf (SkinnyKitchen)
- Mashie-Topped Meatloaf Cupcakes (HungryGirl)
- Bacon-Topped Petite Turkey Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce (SkinnyTaste)
- Low-Calories Cheeseburger Meatloaf (SkinnyKitchen)
- Buffalo Ranch Meatloaf (HungryGirl)
For a fun variation, you could bake your meat loaf mix in muffin cups like Hungry Girl did here in this great video...
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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lisa
As far as I can tell this recipe is also simply filling. I can't wait to try it!
Nina
that was going to be my question if this was simply filling. sounds yummy!! I'm going to try it.
Martha
Yes, this would work with Simply Filling!! How great is that!!
Rhonda
Looks really good! I am going to try it this weekend.
Shawna
It's in my oven right now and smells wonderful 🙂 This is my first time to your page, and I'll be back a hundred more times!!! 😀
Mike
This dish was delicious. However, it was much too loose. It needs to be firmed up a bit. It should provide at least a little resistance when you bite into it. Any suggestions? Mike
Martha McKinnon
Hi Mike. I think it's "loose" because the vegetable to meat ratio is so high. You might try adding an extra 8 ounces or so of ground meat to the mix. That should make the texture firmer, will also increase the points plus value. Hope this helps!
Kristina
Delicious! I substituted green peppers for the mushrooms because I'm not a mushroom fan and omitted the carrots but it still turned out great! Even my husband, who's very particular about his meatloaf, liked it! Would definitely make this again.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks, Kristina. Glad you liked it!!
Karen Smidt
I made this meatloaf to tonight. I loved it and so did my husband. Thank you for the receipe. I started Weight Watchers 6 weeks ago and lost 30 lbs so far. Tonight was the first night I didn't eat one of the WW Smart Ones entrees. It is nice to know I can cook nutritional food that tastes great.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Karen,
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment! And congratulations on your tremendous weight loss!! You are a WW Rock Star!! Smart Ones can be great for transitioning onto the WW plan and/or when you are short on time. But, you are right, it's so nice to know that you can eat delicious homemade food and succeed with WW too!!
Steven Gorman
You can cut 240 calories by skipping the sauteeing of vegetables. They cook just fine in the oven for an hour. If you still want to soften the onion, carrot, celery, mushroom, you can do this without oil in the microwave, and it's faster and easier. I also substituted quinoa instead of oats. Another substitution: tomato paste instead of ketchup. Ketchup has sugar or corn syrup, tomato paste consists only of tomatoes. I increased the amount of tomato paste, since I saved 240 calories without the canola oil. Yum!
Martha McKinnon
Thanks, Steven
Love all your suggestions. I too have begun softening my vegetables in the microwave without oil instead of sauteeing them. Will try tomato paste instead of ketchup next time.
NEW TO WW
LOVED THIS MEATLOAF!!! Skipped the celery because my husband isn't a fan. So moist and delicious. Very filling!
Martha McKinnon
Glad you loved it Jodi!
Mary Ann Knowles
I have only 5 minute oats, will that mess up the recipe?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Mary Ann, 5 minute oats will be fine.
Brenda Bonadies
This was the best meatloaf I have ever had . My husband and I were fighting over the leftovers. I was wondering if you have ever made burgers from this recipe? I didn't feel like the mixture was firm enough so next time I will add more oats. I will also try adding more meat to see if that helps, esp if I make into burgers.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Brenda, Thanks for taking the time to let us know! We really appreciate it. No, I've never tried to make burgers from it. But, I think it would work to make mini meatloaf muffins in muffin tins which are great because they cook faster and are portion controlled.
Julia
This was really delicious; my son loved it too! I just added cumin and dashes of Worcestershire and Tabasco to the ketchup topping (credit to Alton Brown for that).
Martha McKinnon
Thanks, Julia. Love the idea of adding cumin, Worcestershire and Tabasco to the ketchup topping!
Brenda
Hello,
I'm making this recipe today and just off to the grocery store, have you made this recipe with ground turkey/chicken?.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Brenda, No I haven't made it with ground turkey or chicken but think it should work well.
Monica
I made this and it was absolutely amazing! I used extra-lean ground beef and it was super moist and delicious. I love that there's lots of veggies too. I grated my carrots and instead of mushrooms - because I don't like them - I substituted zucchini! And I left out the 3 tablespoons of ketchup in the recipe because I forgot it! lol And I used a separate glaze recipe for the top (probably not WW friendly).
Martha McKinnon
Hi Monica, Glad you liked and and love your changes. Zucchini is a brilliant substitute for the mushrooms! Thanks for taking the time to share your comments.
Ree
I'm trying to get into prepping meals on Sunday to make for the week. Mixed this in a zip lock bag to cook tomorrow. (If life gets in the way, I can freeze it.) Love all the veggies in this. Didn't precook the veggies & used whole eggs instead. I expect it will be fabulous! 🙂
Martha McKinnon
Thanks, Ree. Thanks for sharing your prep ahead idea!
Sophia
Made this meatloaf tonight for dinner. It's amazing. My husband couldn't believe how 'light' it was. I'm sure its due to all the veggies in it. Thank you for posting - so appreciated! Now I'm off to look at all your other recipes 🙂
Martha McKinnon
Hi Sophia, Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment. I'm so happy to hear that you and your husband liked the meatloaf!
Elaine
Made for dinner tonight. My husband loved it and so did I. I like things a little spicy so on my serving I used Jalapeño ketchup. Delish! Thanks for the recipe and the Smart Points calculation. With recipes like this that are do tasty, I feel better about the new SP program on Weight Watchers.
,
Martha McKinnon
Hi Elaine! Thanks for your kind comment! Love the idea of jalapeño ketchup to spice things up! Though the new SP program will take a little while to get used to, I'm feeling really good about it because I know it's best for my overall health and wellness 🙂
Jackie
This meatloaf was DELICIOUS!!! No problems at all with the consistency - mine cooked up fabulously. All 3 kiddos loved it, as did hubby (of course). My only concern was it was a touch on the salty side; no problem, will just reduce it a bit next time... Definitely making this one again! Thanks for such a fantastic recipe!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Jackie, Thanks for stopping by to let us know!
Mona T
I used 1 tsp. of ground thyme and it was overwhelming. I think I was meant to use the dried leaves...Not ground. Other than that it turned out super.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Mona, yes definitely dried thyme leaves!!
Flavie
I made the cheeseburger variation today and used silicon muffin cups for baking. The result was fantastic, and with the new 2018 WW SP, each little meat cake is only 1 SP (3 SP for 2 pièces). Thanks for sharing this great recipe, Martha!
Martha McKinnon
Glad it worked for you Flavie!