This easy homemade egg muffin recipe literally whips up in a few minutes and the result is a whole batch of homemade freezer egg bites for breakfasts or snacks for busy days.
On a whim one Tuesday morning, I decided I wanted to do something with the fresh mushrooms and spinach we picked up on our Sam’s Club run the previous weekend. It was morning, so eggs were on my mind, but I wanted these for later, and I remembered egg muffins were a thing. (One of our friends was on an egg bites kick for a while. She served them as snacks at Bible fellowship a few times, and they were super.) And I haven’t used my muffin pan in a while, so that was another good excuse to try homemade egg muffins.
I didn’t feel like looking up a recipe, and I’ve made enough scrambled eggs and quiches in my lifetime that I felt I could wing this. They turned out great, and they’re going to be perfect for freezing and reheating for high-protein snacks or breakfast on the go.
One thing I can tell you is that you can go in many different directions with the add-ins. I used what I had on hand, and it would have been even better with a little pre-cooked bacon, sausage crumbles, or ham (but I didn’t have any).
The whole recipe takes maybe 15 minutes of hands-on time. It’s really quick. But don’t go so quickly you forget to oil your muffin tin like I did! (My egg bites stuck to the cups a little bit, but I was using a nonstick pan so they still came out okay.)
Egg muffins are basically individual baked eggs with whatever fillings you like. The fun part is how you can customize them depending on what flavor profile you’re in the mood for or what you have in the refrigerator. They are much easier and quicker than quiche, and they freeze and reheat well.
Equipment You’ll Need
This recipe makes the perfect amount for a standard 12-cup muffin pan.
Oil or grease your pan to prevent sticking, or you can try using silicone muffin pans to pop them out easily. Then add the egg bite ingredients.
Ingredients You Can Try to Customize Your Egg Muffins
I had fresh spinach, onion, and mushrooms, plus a few jalapeño slices from a jar, some grated cheddar and parmesan, so that’s what I used. (See below for a list of ingredients that are great for egg muffins.)
- Crumbled, cooked meats like bacon bits, sausage crumbles, or small dices of ham
- Sautéed veggies like spinach, finely diced mushrooms, onions, sweet bell pepper, hot peppers, olives, etc.
- Grated or crumbled cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, Swiss, feta, or Pepper Jack
- To the egg mixture you can add cream cheese, heavy cream, whole milk, 2%, almond milk, or even water
- Seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, ground mustard, marjoram, thyme, chives, or parsley
Filling the Cups
When you use fresh spinach, you’ll start out with what looks like an alarming amount of spinach, but it cooks down to next to nothing. The amounts I used were just right to give me about 1 tablespoon of veggies per muffin cup.
After the veggies are evenly distributed across all 12 of the muffin cavities, give each a shake of salt and pepper and a pinch of cheddar. Then pour your egg mixture into the cups evenly so they all cook to the same doneness. Tip: To help get even amounts into the cups, I pour each one about half-full, then pour again until the egg mixture has been evenly distributed.
The muffins will puff up in the oven, then deflate as they cool, so only fill the cups about 3/4 full.
Oven Baking Method and How to Know They Are Done
Once your muffin pan is filled and ready, you’ll bake them in a preheated 350-degree oven until they are just set. This will look different from regular muffins. If you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean, you’ve overcooked them. So here’s how to tell the egg muffins are done: just before the end of the cooking time, peek into the oven and observe the muffins. If they’re slightly risen and the edges are beginning to look firm and lightly brown, and the tops are set but still moist, they’re probably done. Give the pan a slight wiggle with a hot pad, and if they don’t slosh, you’re good. If the tops of the muffins are still liquid-y and sloshy, let them hang out in the oven a bit more.
The term many baked-egg recipes use is “just until set.” That’s a great way to describe it. They aren’t dry; they aren’t liquid. They’re set. You can see how these have puffed up and set, but they don’t look fully “done.” That’s when you take them out of the oven.
Cooling, Serving, and Storage
When the egg muffins first come out of the oven, they need to sit at least 10 minutes until the pan has cooled enough to handle. After that, you can pop them out. If they stick on the sides or the bottom, I like to slip a plastic spoon around the edges and lightly pry them up from the bottom. (I use plastic because I have a nonstick muffin pan, which would be scratched by regular metal flatware.)
Once cooled, you can serve them or chill them in the refrigerator. They’ll keep in the fridge for three to four days. Cover them with wrap or put them in an airtight container so they don’t absorb any untoward flavors or start to dry up.
If you want to freeze the egg muffins, just chill them for 20 to 30 minutes in the fridge, then place them in a single layer on a tray that will fit in your freezer and flash-freeze for a couple of hours. Once frozen solid, you can store them in an airtight freezer container for up to three months, and just take out one at a time to reheat.
To reheat an egg muffin from the freezer, microwave it in 30-second increments until it is warmed through (about one minute).
Savory Egg Muffin Recipe
These Savory Egg Muffins with Sautéed Vegetables are delicious and so quick and easy to make ahead and pop into the freezer for a quick breakfast or protein snack.
Prep Time: about 15 minutes
Total Time: 45-50 minutes
Yield: 12 egg muffins
Equipment
- Standard 12-cup muffin pan
- Skillet
Ingredients
- Butter or olive oil for sautéing
- 1/4 cup diced sweet, white, or yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon diced jarred jalapeños
- 1/2 cup diced white mushrooms
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 eggs
- Milk or cream (enough to bring the egg mixture to 2 cups total)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place a skillet on the burner over medium to medium-low heat. Add a small amount of butter or olive oil and allow it to warm.
- Add the diced onion to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened.
- Add the diced jalapeños and mushrooms to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Add the baby spinach and stir often until the spinach has wilted and reduced, about 10 minutes total. (It will look like a large amount going in — that is normal. It cooks down significantly.)
- While the vegetables cook, grease your muffin pan, and prepare the egg mixture: crack the eggs into a large liquid measuring cup, beat with a fork until scrambled, then pour in enough milk to bring the total to 2 cups and stir to combine.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of the sautéed vegetable mixture into each muffin cup.
- Sprinkle a small pinch of salt and pepper over the vegetables in each muffin cup, then add a small pinch each of cheddar and Parmesan.
- Carefully pour the egg mixture into each muffin cup. Tip: Pour each cup about halfway full first, then go back and distribute the remainder evenly. Cups should be about 3/4 full.
- Place the muffin pan in the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until just set. To check doneness, gently move the pan — tops should look matte rather than shiny or wet, and should not slosh or jiggle.
- Remove the muffin pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack or folded kitchen towel. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before handling the pan.
- To remove the egg muffins from the pan, run a plastic spoon or silicone spatula gently around the edges of each cup to loosen them, then lift each muffin out from the bottom.
