This Spanakopita Stuffed Meatloaf is slightly more work than your traditional meatloaf, for a huge flavour payoff! It’s a great way to get a lot of veggies in, too!
Anyway, today I’m finally sharing the recipe for a meatloaf we’ve now made a bunch of times - it’s low carb, gluten free, and packed wuth nutrients.
... and it’s also themed around one of my favourite dishes of all time, Spanakopita.
I’ve designed a few recipes inspired by this Greek spinach filled classic - Spanakopita Triangles, and my Spanakopita Spinach Tortellini... but both are full of gluten and carbs, and therefore off the menu for me 🙁
What’s a girl to do? Stuff a meatloaf with a savoury spinach filling, and consider the craving itch scratched!
You just spread the mix out on parchment paper, then roll it up like a cinnamon roll! It’s a fun presentation for any stuffed meatloaf, and really makes this dish feel special.
I’ll usually approach it as a meal prep thing, making a meatloaf and then living off it for a few days. It’s just a really convenient way to have an easy weeknight dinner option that’s also really nutritious.
On the nutrition front, a serving of this homemade meatloaf comes in at 255 calories, 25 grams of protein, and only 5 carbs. (4 grams of net carbs, when you count the 1 gram of fiber!)
It also has 2 mg of iron, as well!
Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need to have on hand, to make this meatloaf for yourself!
Ingredients
This recipe uses very simple ingredients, you won’t have any trouble finding what you need in any larger grocery store.
As always, I have a few notes for you:
Ground Chicken
This meatloaf has a LOT going on in it - flavour AND nutrient wise - so I like to use ground chicken as a nice, relatively neutral base.
You can use ground turkey, if you’d prefer.
Lean ground beef would also work, but would definitely give the meatloaf a completely different texture, flavour, and character.
Fresh Spinach
I definitely recommend using fresh spinach, rather than frozen. You don’t want to add a ton of extra moisture to the meatloaf, and thawed, previously frozen spinach definitely carries that risk!
If you absolutely have to use frozen spinach, be sure to take the time to really cook all the excess liquid off it, before proceeding.
Fresh Dill Weed
Fresh dill goes a long way to building the Spanakopita flavour in this meatloaf recipe, so I don’t recommend leaving it out or changing.
That said, if it really isn’t an option, I recommend one of two solutions:
1. Swap it out for parsley. It’ll taste a bit different, but still good.
2. Swap it out for 1 ½ Tablespoons of dried dill weed. Again, not as good as fresh, but will still be tasty!
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
1 Fresh Lemon
Feta Cheese
Green Onions
Garlic Cloves
Red Onion
1 Large egg
Olive Oil
Ground Black Pepper
Ground Nutmeg
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt
.... I just don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go!
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How to Make Spanakopita Stuffed Meatloaf
The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:
Preheat oven to 350 F, generously grease a loaf pan, set aside. (I’ll usually spray it with cooking spray).
Spinach Filling:
In a large pan, saute onion, green onion, garlic, and olive oil together over medium heat until soft and translucent.
Add spinach, continue to cook until spinach is wilted down to almost nothing.
Squeeze out any excess water, transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add dill, feta, lemon zest, and nutmeg, stir until everything is well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Spread chicken meatloaf mix out onto a sheet of parchment paper. I like to aim for the length of my loaf pan (8"), by however long it ends up, when spread to about ¾" thick.
Spread the spinach mixture across the top of the meat, leaving 1" uncovered, across each of the short sides.
Be sure to pick up the paper on the end you’re rolling, going kind of up and over, rather than a straight roll. You want to keep the filling in, not push it.
Transfer meatloaf to the prepared pan, seam side down.
Carefully drain excess water from the pan, before removing the meatloaf and serving.
Leftover Spanakopita Meatloaf
Once cooled to almost room temperature, leftover meatloaf can be wrapped in plastic wrap or transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Best served reheated.
More Meatballs - and Meatloaf! - Recipes
Meatballs and meatloaf can be really great comfort food. Here are a few low carb variations I’ve come up with:
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
Breakfast Meatloaf
Scotch Egg Meatloaf Recipe
Chicken Cordon Bleu Meatloaf
Jalapeno Popper Meatloaf
Stromboli Meatloaf
Easy Keto Swedish Meatballs
Reuben Stuffed Meatloaf
Muffaletta Stuffed Meatloaf
Chicken Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce
Keto Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Glaze
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf
Spanakopita Stuffed Chicken Meatloaf
Equipment
- 1 Loaf pan
Ingredients
Spinach Filling:
- ½ cup Finely Chopped Red Onion
- ¼ cup Finely Chopped Green Onions
- 4 Garlic Cloves Pressed or minced
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 312 grams Fresh Spinach 11-12 oz
- ⅓ cup Chopped Fresh Dill Weed
- 1 cup Shredded Feta
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- Pinch Ground Nutmeg
- Salt and Ground Black Pepper
Chicken Meatloaf:
- 2 lbs Ground Chicken
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- ¾ teaspoon Pepper
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Large egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F, generously grease a meatloaf pan, set aside.
Spinach Filling:
- In a large pan, saute onion, green onion, garlic, and olive oil together over medium heat until soft and translucent.
- Add spinach, continue to cook until spinach is wilted down to almost nothing.
- Drain well, cool to room temperature.
- Squeeze out any remaining liquid, transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add dill, feta, lemon zest, and nutmeg, stir until everything is well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Stuffed Chicken Meatloaf
- In a large bowl, mix together chicken, seasonings, and egg.
- Spread chicken out onto a sheet of parchment paper. I like to aim for the length of my loaf pan (8"), by however long it ends up, when spread to about ¾" thick.
- Spread the spinach mixture across the chicken, leaving 1" uncovered, across each of the short sides.
- Starting with one of the short ends, roll up the meatloaf along the length of it - the parchment paper will help with this.
- Be sure to pick up the paper on the end you’re rolling, going kind of up and over, rather than a straight roll. You want to keep the filling in, not push it.
- Transfer meatloaf to the prepared pan, seam side down.
- Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer measures the internal temperature at 165 F.
- Carefully drain excess water from the pan, before removing the meatloaf and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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We love this spinach stuffed meatloaf, and hope you will too! If you make this recipe, be sure to let us know what you think!