This is the ultimate keto meatloaf recipe! Super juicy and flavorful, it comes out perfectly every time. And making it in your crockpot means clean up is a snap.
Have you ever made keto meatloaf in a slow cooker? Trust me, once you try it, you may never make it any other way again. It’s so tender and juicy, it almost melts in your mouth.
Paired with some creamy mashed cauliflower, it’s a hearty and healthy comfort food meal. And slathering it in a little Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce doesn’t hurt either.
My family adores this keto meatloaf recipe, so I turn to it frequently. It’s nice to have one of those sure-fire hits in your dinner repertoire. Happy tummies and no complaining make it one of our favorite easy keto dinners.
Fans love it too! I first published this recipe in 2015, and decided it needed a bit of an update. I didn’t change the fantastic flavor, but now it’s even lower in carbs.
Why you must try this recipe
Cooking meatloaf in a slow cooker has several distinct advantages. Slow cookers produce a gentle, moist heat, ensuring that your keto meatloaf doesn’t dry out.
You can also time your meal to be ready when you are. Simply program your crockpot for a delayed start, or let the finished meatloaf stay warm in the pot after cooking. Either way, it’s ready when you get home from work.
And clean up is easy too! Just pour out the juices and soak your crockpot insert in soapy water.
Reader Testimonials
“This was the best keto meatloaf we’ve tried. The texture was excellent, very flavorful and you couldn’t tell it was low carb. EXCELLENT!!!” — Jill
“Super love this meatloaf! This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!” — Allyssa
“This is one of my favorite weeknight meals. Not too dry, but very moist. My family loves this!” — Sandy
Ingredients you need
- Ground meat: I like to use a combination of ground beef and ground pork for more moisture and flavor, but you can use ground beef alone.
- Onion: Finely chop or grate your onions so the meatloaf holds its shape better and the flavor will be mixed in evenly.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic adds more flavor, but you can also use garlic powder.
- Cracker crumbs: The keto-friendly cracker crumbs from RealPhat Foods make the perfect filler for recipes like keto meatloaf. I also use them in my keto meatball recipe. But you can also substitute with regular almond flour or crushed pork rinds.
- Eggs: Meatloaf holds together best when you use eggs as the binder.
- BBQ Sauce: I always use my easy Keto BBQ Sauce for this meatloaf. You can use store-bought sugar free bbq sauce, but many are made with aspartame or sucralose, which I find unpalatable. A few good choices are Yo Mama’s No Sugar Added BBQ Sauce and Keto Primo.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Step by Step Directions
This recipe is so easy and results in perfectly juicy keto meatloaf every time!
1. Mix the ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, onion, cracker crumbs, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper. Add in the eggs and mix well with your hands until fully combined.
2. Prepare the slow cooker: Set a trivet into the bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker. Take a large piece of tinfoil and poke a few holes in it with a kitchen skewer (this allows the fat and liquids to drain away from the meatloaf).
3. Form the loaf: Shape the mixture into a loaf roughly 5 x 9 inches on the foil. Lift the foil by edges and place on the trivet, then place the lid on the slow cooker.
4. Cook: Cook the meatloaf on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. In the last half hour of cooking, brush the top and sides with about 1/3 cup barbecue sauce. Use two serving forks to lift the meatloaf out of the slow cooker and onto a serving platter. Slice and serve with remaining barbecue sauce.
Expert tips
Preparing your crockpot: Placing a trivet in the slow cooker keeps the meatloaf off the bottom so that it cooks more evenly. It also allows some of the fat and juices to drain off. Poking holes in the foil also allows the fat and juices to fall to the bottom.
Cook on low or high: Depending on when you need it, you can cook this meatloaf on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Because it contains ground pork, you want the loaf to reach at least 160ºF in the center.
Brush with sauce: I like to brush it with some sauce in the last half hour of cooking, so that it bakes on. Then I serve the rest at the table so that people can add more as they like.
Oven-baked method: Transfer meat mixture on a baking sheet with parchment paper and form into a loaf about 5 by 9 inches. Bake 40 to 50 minutes at 350F, until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cracker crumbs from Real Phat Foods work really well as a binder for keto recipes. They are harder than almond flour or crushed pork rinds, so they soak in the moisture of the meat and eggs a little more during cooking. But any of these options work well and result in juicy keto meatloaf.
This keto meatloaf recipe has 4.4g of carbs and 1g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.4g net carbs per serving.
Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the finished, cooked meatloaf. Wrap it up tightly to avoid freezer burn and freeze for up to two months.
What to serve with keto meatloaf
Besides the aforementioned mashed cauliflower, try one of these delicious sides:
Slow Cooker Keto Meatloaf Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (907.18 g) ground beef
- 1 lb (453.59 g) ground pork, (or another pound beef)
- 1/4 cup (40 g) onion, chopped fine
- 1/2 cup (30 g) keto cracker crumbs, (or almond flour)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 recipe Easy Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, onion, cracker crumbs, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper. Add in the eggs and mix well with your hands until fully combined.
- Set a trivet into the bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker. Take a large piece of tinfoil and poke a few holes in it with a kitchen skewer (this allows the fat and liquids to drain away from the meatloaf).
- Shape the mixture into a loaf roughly 5 x 9 inches on the foil. Lift the foil by edges and place on the trivet, then place the lid on the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. In the last half hour of cooking, brush the top and sides with about 1/3 cup barbecue sauce.
- Use two serving forks to lift the meatloaf out of the slow cooker and onto a serving platter. Slice and serve with remaining barbecue sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
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Thanks so much. Even my father-in-law who doesn’t like meat loaf really liked it!
Awesome! Love to hear that.
I know this changes the recipe, but do you think it will work with ground turkey? I’m not sure if it will fall apart.
Turkey is definitely drier so I might add a few tbsp a ground chia seed and a bit of broth to make it more moist.
I’m usually not one for Meatloaf but this looks fab, FAB!
I just made this tonight; I’m a vegetarian, but my 15 year old son loves it and gives it a double thumbs up! Thanks so much for sharing it with us 🙂
This might sound like a silly question, but when you use the foil to lower the loaf into the crock pot, do you leave it in there? Thanks for all the great recipes, sweet and otherwise they are always great!
Yes, leave it in there. It will make for much easier clean up!
Is the tin foil just for clean up purposes or cooking elevation?
I usually use slow cooker liners for clean up.
Please advise
Clean up, mostly.
In regards to the crockpot BBQ meatloaf recipe. What could I use as a substitute for the almond flour? My son and I both have allergies to almonds (actually most nuts). Could I possibly use something like flaxseed meal or possibly coconut flour?
Coconut flour would make it too dense. Try ground up chia seed or even ground sunflower seeds.
Okay thank you. I didn’t even think of chia seeds! I will give it a whirl. Thanks again.
If I’m wanting to make this recipe but not worried about the low carbs, could I use regular flour instead of almond flour?
No, use bread crumbs, not flour.
How about pork rinds instead of almond flour? And same amount?
Yes, try it in the same amount.
I’ve been missing meatloaf since I’ve started avoiding sugar – thank you!
Just remove “LEAN” meat. make sure the fat ration is at least 20% saturated fat!!!! You will be blown away with the taste and how the meat melt in the mount. And it do not raise blood sugar. And thx for the receipt.
If you make it with higher fat meat, your meatloaf will be swimming in grease at the end. The fat does not stay in it much as you cook. But the choice is yours.
I can’t wait to whip up this delicious recipe in my crockpot!
Looks delish – will definitely be making this one! Thanks for all your hard work and doing all the experimenting for us, Carolyn!
Sounds good. My slow cooker is small for meatloaf. Wonder if I can slow cook it in the oven with a covered baking pan?
I bet you can. Not sure of the time and I might put it on a rack with a little water in the bottom of the pan for extra moisture.
This looks amazing! Thank you for sharing these recipes on your blog!
This is just what I have been looking for. Just me, so I can have left overs to freeze. Yummm……Thanks, Carolyn.
Sounds amazing; bookmarking to feature in my round-up!
Thanks, Kalyn!
I think many of your readers are like me, we have been able to make lower carb main entrees and side dishes, but are stumped by dessert. That is why I keep coming back, you have such great ideas for desserts!
That is not to say your entree and side dishes are not appreciated but keep the sweets coming, please!
Haha, never fear. There will never be a shortage of desserts on this blog!
Love the idea of more non-sweet recipes! Thanks, Carolyn!
Me too! I don’t eat many sweets and would love to see more main dishes.
Yum! I can’t wait to mke your BBQ Sauce, as well!
In my house, prepared food ready to warm up is like money in the bank.
I am going to make your BBQ sauce without the whiskey…do you have the nutritional analysis for the sauce alone? I expect that the carbs from the alcohol won’t change the count much, would it?
Many thanks for these recipes. They will be valued both for dinner and next day for sandwiches!
Carb count won’t really change without the whiskey (it’s not enough and clear spirits don’t have a lot of calories and negligible carbs) but here’s the info for the sauce:
BBQ Sauce Nutritional Analysis: Serves about 12 (2 tbsp per serving). Each serving has 3.16 g of carbs and 0.76 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 2.4 g.
Food energy: 29kcal; Saturated fatty acids: 0.02g Total fat: 0.10g; Calories from fat: 0; Cholesterol: 0 Carbohydrate: 3.16g; Total dietary fiber: 0.76g; Protein: 0.64g; Sodium: 258mg
Thank you!
Sounds good and will absolutely put it on my menu – one thing inexperienced cooks might not be aware of is that I assume you’ll need to use very low-fat 90/10 ground beef (or else elevate the loaf somehow in the slow cooker – either on a rack or some balled up aluminum foil) – otherwise it’s going to be swimming in grease.
I can add that in, that’s a good tip.
ooh and MINE does not mind the warm up either!!!