Flavorful, juicy Chicken Meatloaf with a delicious glaze. This is a light and lean meatloaf made in the air fryer with only 200 calories per serving. You can make it with lean ground turkey too. Serve with my low calorie mashed potatoes and air fryer squash and zucchini or roasted cabbage steaks for a complete dinner!
I also include instructions for oven-baked chicken meatloaf if you prefer to bake yours instead of air frying it. Tip: air frying is faster!
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Low calorie chicken meatloaf
This recipe uses lean chicken breast to make a low calorie meatloaf. Chicken breast can come out dry when cooked, so I add a few ingredients to make this meatloaf flavorful, juicy, and tasty: it has ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and the most delicious glaze on top.
Air frying chicken meatloaf only takes about 23 minutes total, shaving off about 15 minutes of cook time when compared to traditional oven-baked meatloaf. If I can get a delicious kid-friendly dinner on the table quicker, that's always a win!
More dinners with ground chicken to try: Ground Chicken Thai Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
For the meatloaf:
- 1 pound ground chicken breast (or use 98-99% lean ground turkey)
- 1 small onion, very finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, grated, pressed, or very finely minced
- ¼ cup plain panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons finely diced parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
For the glaze:
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or use brown sugar substitute)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar or white wine vinegar)
Special Equipment
- Air fryer
- Parchment paper, cut to the size of the air fryer basket or tray
- Aluminum foil (optional, to make a tent over your meatloaf if it browns too quickly)
- Large bowl
- Zester (for grating garlic)
- Silicone basting brush (or use a spoon)
- Meat thermometer
More family-friendly dinner ideas: Air Fryer Turkey Burgers
Instructions
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatloaf. Mix well to incorporate the seasonings throughout the chicken.
Preheat your air fryer to 350F.
Shape the chicken mixture into a meatloaf on your parchment paper-lined air fryer basket or tray. Make sure to form the meatloaf more flat rather than tall so that it cooks through faster without burning.
Air fryer at 350F for 18-20 minutes or until it is almost cooked through. If the meatloaf starts to brown too quickly, carefully remove it, form a tent over it with aluminum foil.
While the meatloaf is cooking, combine all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl.
After 18-20 minutes of cooking, remove the meatloaf and brush it with glaze. Place it back in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through to 165F. Keep an eye on it so the glaze doesn't burn.
Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then slice to serve.
More dinner ideas for the whole family: Cajun Mac and Cheese
Oven baking instructions
Preheat oven to 375F. Bake the meatloaf for 20 minutes, then brush with glaze and bake for another 20 minutes, or until cooked through to 165F.
More easy dinner ideas: Sausage and Potato Casserole
Storage and reheating
Leftover meatloaf keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in the air fryer.
More easy dinner ideas: Low Calorie Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Kate's cooking tips
- All air fryers cook differently so please check on the meatloaf about 8-10 minutes in and every 5 minutes after. If it is turning brown, make an aluminum foil tent. The tent doesn't have to touch the meatloaf, just tuck it under the parchment paper.
- Same tip for the glaze. Keep an eye on the meatloaf in the air fryer so the glaze doesn't burn.
- Make sure you wait for the meatloaf to cool down so it slices neatly, otherwise it will crumble.
- If you don't want lots of onion, use ½ of an onion. Make sure to dice it as teeny tiny as possible so there are no onion chunks.
- For a lower calorie meatloaf, use sugar-free ketchup, BBQ sauce, and brown sugar substitute. Or skip the glaze altogether, but it really does make the meatloaf SO good!
- To double the recipe, I recommend forming two separate meatloaves, or forming one wide flat one so that the cook time is not increased.
- Leftover meatloaf makes great sandwiches, or can be crumbled into a chicken Bolognese or on pizza (use my homemade low calorie pizza sauce and my cauliflower crust recipe!)
More family-friendly dinner ideas: Instant Pot Pork Loin with Apples and Onions
Air Fryer Chicken Meatloaf
Special Equipment
- Air fryer
- Parchment Paper cut to the size of the air fryer basket or tray
- Aluminum Foil (optional, to make a tent over your meatloaf if it browns too quickly)
- Zester to grate garlic
- Large bowl
- Silicone basting brush (or use a spoon)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken breast or use 98-99% lean ground turkey
- 1 small onion very finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic grated, pressed, or very finely minced
- ¼ cup plain panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons finely diced parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
For the glaze:
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or use brown sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar or white wine vinegar
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatloaf. Mix well to incorporate the seasonings throughout the chicken.
- Preheat your air fryer to 350F.
- Shape the chicken mixture into a meatloaf on your parchment paper-lined air fryer basket or tray. Make sure to form the meatloaf more flat rather than tall so that it cooks through faster.
- Air fryer at 350F for 18-20 minutes or until it is almost cooked through. If the meatloaf starts to brown too quickly, carefully remove it, form a tent over it with aluminum foil.
- While the meatloaf is cooking, combine all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl.
- After 18-20 minutes of cooking, remove the meatloaf and brush it with the glaze. Place it back in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through to 165F. Keep an eye on it so the glaze doesn't burn.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then slice to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Kate
This one is always a winner for us, the whole family loves it, it is very easy to make, and makes great leftovers! I hope you give this chicken meatloaf a try and like it as much as we do.