Healthy Turkey Apple Meatloaf with Sage recipe. A delicious ground turkey meatloaf made with diced warm apples, sautéed onion, and rubbed sage. Since this recipe is made with almond flour instead of bread crumbs, it is a naturally Paleo, Whole30, Gluten-free, and Dairy-free recipe.

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Apple meatloaf in a pan freshly cooked.

This apple meatloaf is easily my favorite meatloaf of all time. The flavor combination of warm apples, sautéed onion, and rubbed sage when cooked into the ground turkey is meatloaf magic!

There is so much flavor, that you’d never know that this recipe is made with healthier ingredients. And the way this meatloaf smells while baking is mouth watering!

If you love unique apple recipes, try my Apple Pie Energy Bites or my Roast Whole Chicken with Potatoes and Apples.

Table of Contents

A slice of turkey apple meatloaf on a plate.

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It is moist and full of flavor.
  • The ground turkey is seasoned well. Between the diced apples, sautéed onion, parsley, sage, mustard, and tomato paste… there is no lack of flavor here!
  • This recipe makes your house smell amazing while it cooks.
  • It is allergy friendly. It’s dairy-free and gluten-free.
  • It is Paleo and Whole30 compliant.
  • Almond flour is used in the place of bread crumbs.
  • You only need 10 ingredients!
  • It tastes amazing with mashed potatoes and a side of brussels sprouts.

Recipe Ingredients

Healthy Turkey Apple Meatloaf ingredients.
Eggs for the meatloaf.
  • Ground turkey– I like to use regular fat turkey here so that it stays moist.
  • Apples– any type of apple that is diced will do.
  • Onion– shallots or onions work well here.
  • Almond flour– almond meal or blanched almond flour both work for this recipe.
  • Eggs– they are needed to bind everything together.
  • Parsley– dried or fresh, though I use dried here.
  • Rubbed sage– this adds a really great flavor to the ground turkey and apple recipe.
  • Onion powder– adds a boost of onion flavor.
  • Tomato paste– helps season the turkey.
  • Mustard– also helps to season the turkey.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Additions/ Substitutions

  • Instead of fresh onion, you can use onion powder. Replace the fresh onion in this recipe with 1 teaspoon of onion powder.
  • Instead of almond flour, you can use rolled oats.
  • Instead of tomato paste, you can use tomato sauce.

Step by step instructions

All ingredients in a bowl.
Step 1

Step 1: Sautée the onion. Then, add all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Meatloaf ingredients in a bowl.
Step 2

Step 2: Mix everything together.

Meatloaf in a tin before baking.
Step 3

Step 3: Put meatloaf into a baking tin.

Meatloaf after cooking/ baking.
Step 4

Step 4: Bake the meatloaf in the oven, then let it sit for 15 minutes before slicing.

Expert tips

  • Don’t use 99% fat free ground turkey. You need a bit of fat for texture and flavor.
    • I always like using the 93% or 94% lean ground turkey that I find at the grocery store.
  • Leave an overhang of parchment paper when you line the loaf tin.
    • This makes it so much easier to lift the meatloaf out of the pan to slice and serve, once it has rested.
  • Let the meatloaf rest for 15 minutes when it comes out of the oven!
    • this lets the fat that has melted while cooking get reabsorbed into the meatloaf resulting in a juicy flavorful meatloaf.
    • I have skipped this step in the past and I can tell you, it isn’t worth it.
  • You can use onion powder instead of raw onions.
    • If you are short on time or dislike raw onions, just skip the step where you sauté the onions and add an extra 1 teaspoon of onion powder to the bowl instead.
  • You can turn this meatloaf into mini meatloaves.
    • Put these into a 12 muffin tin and cook for 35 minutes. Make sure to let them still sit for 10-15 minutes before removing from the muffin tins.

Recipe FAQs

What makes this a Whole30 turkey meatloaf recipe?

It is Whole30 compliant because it doesn’t have any refined flours or sugars inside. It also doesn’t have any legumes, grains or dairy inside. Almond flour is used in the place of bread crumbs in this meat loaf recipe to make it this way.

What makes this a Paleo turkey meatloaf recipe?

This recipe is also Paleo because it is made without any legumes, grains or dairy and there are no processed foods in the ingredient list.

Can you substitute ground turkey for ground beef in meatloaf?

Yes! You just have to season it right.

What is the secret to moist meatloaf?

Letting it rest after it cooks.

A slice of paleo meatloaf with apples in it on a plate.

How to serve:

How to store:

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.

Meatloaf that is a ground turkey and apple recipe.

Other healthy meatloaf recipes you may enjoy:

This Easy Low Carb Paleo Meatloaf by Food Faith Fitness; it looks amazing and is a great low carb option!

This Paleo Honey Sesame Turkey Meatloaf. The honey, sesame and coconut aminos flavors make this meatloaf pretty irresistible.

This Healthy Buffalo Turkey Meatloaf has great buffalo hot sauce flavor but in meatloaf form.

Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!

Apple and Sage Turkey Meatloaf ( Paleo, Whole30) | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

Healthy Turkey Apple Meatloaf with Sage (Paleo, Whole30)

Dominique
A delicious Paleo, Whole30, Gluten-free, Dairy-free meatloaf made with ground turkey, diced warm apples, sautéed onion, and rubbed sage. It smells amazing while cooking!
4.87 from 23 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
resting time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings
Calories 311 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • ½ onion finely chopped ( you can use 1 tsp of onion powder instead of raw onions)
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 lbs ground turkey ( I used 94% lean ground turkey)
  • 1/3 cup almond flour
  • 2 cups diced apples
  • 3 eggs beaten
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • 2 tsp rubbed sage
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • 1 Tbs mustard
  • 3 Tbs tomato paste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Add olive oil and chopped onion to a pan and sauté over medium-high heat until soft, about 3 minutes.
  • Put the sautéed onion into a large bowl. Add the ground turkey, almond flour, diced apples, eggs, dried parsley, rubbed sage, black pepper, salt, onion powder, mustard, and tomato paste to the bowl. Combine all ingredients, mixing thoroughly.
  • Line a 9 in x 5 in loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two opposite sides so you can easily lift the meatloaf out of the pan when it has cooled.
  • Put the meatloaf mixture into the parchment lined loaf tin and evenly pat it down. Optional- add a few apple slices on top to make it pretty.
  • Bake at 350 degrees, for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
  • Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing.

Notes

Note: if you don’t want to use fresh onions, you can use 1 tsp of onion powder instead. (You’ll end up using 1.5 tsp total). Then you can skip the step of cooking the onions.
Note: you can put these into a 12 muffin tin and cook for 35 minutes. Make sure to let it still sit for 10-15 minutes before removing from the muffin tins.

Nutrition

Calories: 311kcalCarbohydrates: 10.6gProtein: 34.3gFat: 17g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!