Yes, You Can Eat Martha’s Stewart’s Butternut Squash Meatloaf On Weight Watchers

I LOVE Martha Stewart’s Butternut Squash Meatloaf.

So I decided to make a few small touches to make it more Weight Watchers friendly.

My recipe is a variation of the classic meatloaf like Martha’s, but unlike her, I add a bit of smoked turkey sausage to give it that subtle smoky touch, which I enhance with a bit of sugar-free barbecue sauce; instead of traditional bread crumbs, I opted for panko, which I recently discovered gives a smoother result to meatloaf.

For the rest, I added butternut squash, which you can’t imagine how creamy and beautiful it looks on the final plate. The steps are simple: first, I sautéed the onions with garlic, butternut squash and of course, my chopped sausage. Then I mixed this sauté with the ground pork, an egg, the panko, the barbecue sauce, and the seasonings of my preference.

Of course, I followed Martha’s advice and added some crushed red pepper flakes, but not too many… I put all this in the appropriate mold and cooked it over low heat for almost an hour, and the result was a tender, very juicy meatloaf with a subtle smoky flavor.

Weight Watchers Butternut Squash Meatloaf Overview

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1.10 hours.

Yield: This recipe makes about 4-6 servings.

Serving Size: One serving is approximately a 1-inch slice of meatloaf (200 g. approx).

4 WW Points Per Serving

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• ½ cup (50 g) diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup (75 g) diced smoked turkey sausage
• 2 cups (180 g) diced butternut squash
• 1 pound (450 g) ground pork
• 1 egg
• ½ cup (50 g) Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
• ¼ cup (60 ml) light sugar-free barbecue sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a loaf pan with cooking oil and set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, heat the cooking oil. Add the diced onion and crushed garlic. Sauté until the onion is translucent and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the diced butternut squash and diced smoked turkey sausage to the skillet with the sautéed onion and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are softened and the sausage is browned, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, salt, egg, Japanese breadcrumbs (panko),  a half sugar-free barbecue sauce, salt, pepper, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

4. Add the cooked vegetable and sausage mixture to the pork mixture. Use your hands to mix everything together until well combined.

5. Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the prepared loaf pan, pressing it down evenly into the pan. Brush with the rest of the barbecue sauce.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the meatloaf is cooked through and the top is golden brown.

7. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Serve the pork meatloaf with butternut squash slices and enjoy!

Variations and substitutions:

1. Although I didn’t try it this time, I would like to add some red bell peppers to the recipe; as well as a handful of aromatic herbs (parsley and cilantro).

2. I added a bit of sausage, but you can also add chopped smoked ham.

3. If you wish, you can add some ground chicken, or even replace it with chicken. If so, add some powdered paprika, which will automatically improve the pale appearance of the chicken.

Tips and Tricks for making Pork Meatloaf with Butternut Squash:

1. Mix the ingredients of the meatloaf very well to ensure they are well blended, and make sure you have the right amount of salt; a flavorless meatloaf is hard to fix.

2. Cook the first 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil, then remove it, so you’ll get a super juicy meatloaf.

3. Before putting the meatloaf in the oven, brush it with sugar-free barbecue sauce. If possible, after the first 30 minutes, add a second layer, and finally, before serving, add another one. The caramelized result is incredible.

WW Points

Uncooked 96% lean ground pork 12 points
Olive oil 1 point
Dried oregano 0 points
Garlic 0 points
Red pepper flakes 0 points
Onion 0 points
Cooked butternut 0 points
Egg 0 points
Panko breadcrumbs 6 points
Eckrich Skinless smoked turkey sausage 6 points
Sticky Fingers Smokehouse Sugar free original barbe-cue sauce 1 point