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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This meatloaf is outstanding. I’ve made it three times in the last month, LOL. Today I finally made the Chipotle Whiskey BBQ Sauce. It is the PERFECT accompaniment to the meatloaf – takes it to a whole new level. Thank you!
This sounds like a great recipe!
I want to know if I can make this as a freezer crock pot recipe? REALLY interested in those to make ahead low carb. Not much out there – need more like this. Don’t want to do all the cook ahead stuff.
Thanks
Do you mean prep it ahead and then freeze the loaf and then put it in the crockpot later? I can’t see why not although you will need to de-frost it.
Do you place the tin foil in the crock pot?
Yep.
Sounds like a great recipe..Can I use Parchment paper to line crockpot?
Sure, I can’t see why not.
Is there a difference in switching the almond flower for coconut flower? I would love to make this today and can’t find almond flower anywhere.
Use only about 1/3 the amount of coconut flour. It’s very powdery and absorbent.
Is there a reason you use ground beef and pork? The reason I ask, is that I’ve just received a great deal of ground moose meat, and I’d love to try it out in this recipe, but I don’t know what kind of changes that could cause. Since moose is pretty low fat, would I need to add anything for moisture, like the people who are attempting to use ground turkey? And by the way, I just adore using my crockpot any time that I can, so this recipe is amazing! I can’t wait to try it out and see how the moose does.
Just moisture and flavour. If moose meat is low fat, then you have to make that fat up somehow. I’d add some bacon fat or lard in there.
If you cut the recipe in half then would it be half the cook time as well??
No, it may take less time but certainly not cut in half. Maybe an hour or so less?
I not only use BBQ sauce IN the meatloaf but we like sliced green olives in it too. Somehow, it just tastes really good. And sliced thin the next day it’s like olive loaf.
Sounds delicious!
Do you think I could substitute hemp hearts for the almond flour? I have a lot of it and not many ways to use it.
Um…maybe? I’ve never tried it. Might be best to grind them first.
I substitute cooked quinoa with ancient grains for the almond flour. I have also added small amounts of very finely chopped green pepper. Lastly, some chopped mushrooms are nice in this. I cooked them in the oven in muffin pans (pregreased). They are then in small servings that freeze well. I call them meat muffins.
Has anyone tried making this in the oven yet? I’d really rather do it in the oven than in a slow cooker.
Follow the basic instructions for doing this one in the oven: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2016/03/low-carb-taco-meatloaf.html
I’d like to make your low-carb barbecue sauce, but I don’t have any chipotle powder. Do you think the recipe will turn out if I sub in a canned chipotle pepper or two? I’ve never used ground chipotle, so I don’t know how the ground/canned versions compare taste/texture-wise. Thanks for your help.
Okay, here’s an update for anyone who might want to know this – I made the sauce with two very small canned chipotle peppers (they were about 1×1.5 inches) instead of the chipotle powder. I added them when I pureed the tomato mixture in the food processor and followed the rest of the recipe as written. The sauce turned out good, but was spicier than I expected for only adding those two little chipotles, lol. I may adjust that next time I make it, but overall the sweetness and other flavors of the bbq sauce were just right.
The BBQ sauce is a keeper. I thought the meatloaf could have been more moist. I have read the comments. Adding the sauce to the meat I’m sure would help. We used a high fat ground beef. We kept removing the grease from the cooker. Maybe we should have left it in the pot?
Yes, I left the grease in the pot. I would have stated it in the instructions otherwise.
If you made this in the crock pot, it’s possible that the moisture lost while opening the lid to remove the grease (as you described) may have caused the meat to be more “dry.”
Hi,
My slow cooker doesn’t turn off automatically. I leave for work at 7:20 am and don’t get home until 4:15 pm. I’m afraid it will dry out cooking for that long – anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Cindy
Best suggestion is to not raise it up on foil or anything and then let it sit in its own juices and make sure you only cook it on low. I bet it will end up okay.
This recipe looks great! Quick question – how would long and what temp would I cook this at in an oven? We don’t have a slow cooker. Thank you!
Not entirely sure but I think you could follow the directions for any meatloaf of about the same size for oven baking.
I tried to find the post on Facebook so I could comment but I can’t locate it. I just wanted to let you know that I made this tonight and it was delicious! Such a great way to make meatloaf, especially in the summer. Thank you for the recipe!
Glad you liked it!
Hi Carolyn, love the meatloaf recipe, but I have a question, Is the carbs too high, I love the fact that there is no sugar (being diabetic), this is exactly what I need. Also the flour would flaxseed be okay for a sub?
Carbs too high? At 3.51 g per serving? No, I wouldn’t say so. And yes, flax would make a fine sub.
Eileen – you could also use crushed pork rinds with a little grated parmesan and seasonings as a breading instead of the almond flour. I also season my meat with a little BBQ sauce while mixing, salt, pepper, seasonings of choice, gives a nice flavor. You could do “italian style” with a bit of tomato sauce and italian seasonings, with some tomato sauce on top and melt a little mozzarella on top at the end, or do the BBQ and melt some cheddar on it.
Thanks for the suggestion Barbara. Definitely something to think about! 🙂
Had this for dinner tonight and it was PERFECT! I did not have ground pork so I used half of a roll of sausage (with no MSG or sugar!) Everything else I left alone! We will make this again and again! Thank you! Your BBQ sauce is a keeper, too… no alcohol added but it was still great!
Would you use the same amount of ground up chia seeds as the almond flour?
Yes, that would be fine.