Ground Chia Seeds in Meatloaf?

[Jonesy]

I just read something about using ground chia seeds in meatloaf in place of breadcrumbs or pork rinds. Has anyone tried it? I know chia seeds absorb and hold lots of moisture, so it sounds logical.

[Clare]

I have tried it in fish cakes but I may have used too much as it gave them an unpleasant jelly like consistency. If you are going to give it a go I’d recommend using a small amount and waiting for it to gel up to get the desired consistency before adding more. Think that is where I may have gone wrong.

[camtosh]

Did you make chia gel first? Try a tbsp of whole seeds in about an ounce of water, in a small jar. Shake and let sit 20 min. Then add a spoonful or 2 to your recipe. That way you don’t have to wait. I use it this way in smoothies and yogurt.

[Robert_Johnson]

I realize this thread is nearly a year old, but I had to share my experience with this.

I had 5 lbs of hamburger to make meatloaf. I don’t enjoy cooking, so better make as much at one time and get it over with🤠.

I have made it with pork rinds previously, thanks to @carl and his bacon wrapped philly meatloaf.

I made just one change to a couple of meatloaf recipes and they work out pretty well. Two tablespoons of chia seeds per pound of ground beef. Soak the chia seeds in like warm water for about 15 minutes before adding it to the ground beef. I mixed in all of my dry ingredients in with the chia seeds to let it all soak together. Stirring it in well. Then mixing it with the ground beef and egg. Stir it in really well.

So i used 5 pounds ground beef and 10 tblsp of chia seeds. It looked like a lot, but it came out great.