Not your mother’s meatloaf—these little Rat Loaves are creepy enough to make your guests squeal, but tasty enough that they’ll come back for seconds! Shaped into rat-like forms with garlic “teeth” and “claws,” then finished with a drizzle of bloody ketchup, they’re the perfect blend of gross-out fun and comfort food flavor. A Halloween dinner that dares you to dig in!
Ingredients (makes 4): • 1 lb. ground beef • 1 packet no-sodium meatloaf seasoning (ex: Mrs. Dash) • 1 egg • 1 onion, diced • 1 cup plain or Italian breadcrumbs • 1 (4–6 oz.) jar no-salt-added tomato sauce or 1 Tbsp tomato paste • ½ Tbsp sugar • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce • Ketchup (for topping) • 3–5 garlic cloves, separated (for teeth and nails)
Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare an 11x9 casserole dish. 2. In a bowl, mix ground beef, seasoning, egg, onion, breadcrumbs, tomato sauce/paste, sugar, and Worcestershire. 3. Shape into rat forms: spear-shaped nose on one end, rounded back on the other. 4. Roll small pieces of meat mixture into tails and attach to rounded ends. 5. Insert garlic slivers for teeth and nails. 6. Bake 30 minutes, until cooked through. 7. Top with ketchup for “blood” before serving.
🎃 Halloween Fact: Rats have long been tied to spooky folklore because they thrive in the shadows and were thought to spread the plague in medieval Europe. Their reputation for lurking in graveyards made them a natural fit for Halloween’s creepy cast of characters.
👻 Spooky Serving Idea: Place the rat loaves on a platter lined with lettuce “grass” and drizzle ketchup trails behind them to look like bloody footprints. For extra shock value, tuck thin carrot sticks or spaghetti noodles at the back as creepy tails.
