Breakfast Egg Muffins are the perfect easy, grab-and-go breakfast! Loosely inspired by the popular Starbuck's egg bites, these egg muffins have a fluffy, velvety texture and endless customizable filling options, like bacon, bell peppers, spinach, and more! Packed with flavor and protein, an egg breakfast muffin is the ideal way to start your day. (Vegetarian option, plus they store great in the fridge and freezer for meal preps!)
Preheat Oven and Prep Pans: Preheat your oven to 325-degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a standard 12-count silicone muffin pan with oil, butter, or nonstick cooking spray and then place the prepared silicone muffin pan inside a casserole dish, baking pan, or roasting pan large enough to hold the silicone molds. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil using a microwave, electric kettle, or stove top.
Add Fillings to Muffin Tins: Divide the filling evenly among the muffin tins, filling each cavity with about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling; then set aside.
Blend Eggs, Cottage Cheese, and Flour: In a blender or a large 5+ cup measure (you’ll need an immersion blender), add the eggs, cottage cheese, tapioca flour, Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cover the blender with the lid or use an immersion blender to blend the eggs on HIGH speed until the mixture is just creamy and combined. (Tip: While you want the egg mixture to be creamy and frothy, you do NOT want to over-blend the mixture. Stop blending when the eggs are frothy.)
Fill Muffin Tins with Egg Mixture: Carefully and evenly fill the muffin tins all the way up with the egg white mixture or egg mixture. Optional - Use the tins of a fork or a chopstick to gently stir the ingredients in each egg cup.
Add Boiling Water Bath to Pan: Pour the boiling water into the large pan, adding enough water to fill almost halfway up the sides of the muffin cups. (Tip: Don't add too much water or you will have a hard time moving the pan into the oven!)
Bake Egg Muffins in Preheated Oven: Transfer baking pan filled with water and egg muffins into the 325-degree oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the eggs are just set.
Cool Slightly, Then Remove Egg Muffins from Mold: Transfer the muffin tin of egg bites from the oven to a wire rack. Let the egg bites cool in the muffin tins for 3-5 minutes. While cooling, loosen the egg bites from the sides of the muffin pan using a thin knife. After 5 minutes and once the breakfast egg muffins are cool enough to handle, remove the egg bites from the molds and transfer to a serving plate.
Serve: Serve breakfast egg muffins warm with hot sauce, ketchup, or your favorite breakfast toppings and sauces. Enjoy immediately!
Notes
Eggs: If you are using whole eggs (versus just egg whites), I recommend using slightly more egg whites than yolks for the best results. WHY? An egg white is made up of 90% water, while the yolk is made up of 50% water. The extra moisture in the egg whites lend more velvety, moist texture to the egg muffins. While you CAN use just whole eggs in this recipe, I’ve found the egg muffins turn out best when you use about 2/3 whole eggs and 1/3 egg whites. Or simply use all egg whites.
Tapioca Flour: If using egg whites only, use 1 ½ tablespoons of tapioca flour. If using whole eggs or whole eggs and egg whites, reduce the tapioca flour to a scant tablespoon.
Cheese: You can use cottage cheese or block-style cream cheese in this breakfast egg muffin recipe. If you are using cream cheese, make sure it’s at room temperature.
Customize It: This recipe is very easy to customize. Use egg whites or whole eggs. Make it a lux meat lover’s dream by using bacon, Canadian ham, and gouda. Or try it my favorite way, with roasted red bell peppers, bacon, scallions, white cheddar cheese, and a touch of hot sauce. Don’t forget to garnish them by sticking a small piece of candy bacon in the top!
Filling Options:
Fresh Baby Spinach – roughly chopped
Crispy Cooked Bacon – crumbled or chopped (1/4 cup of bacon is 4 slices)
Cooked Breakfast Sausage – chopped or crumbled
Canadian Ham or Cold Cut Deli Meats - Chopped
Roasted Red Bell Pepper – patted completely dry and chopped
Green Onions – thinly sliced
Brown or White Mushrooms – cleaned and thinly sliced or chopped
Fridge Storage: Allow leftover muffin eggs to cool completely to room temperature before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Freezer Storage: Allow leftover egg white muffins and egg muffins to cool completely to room temperature before storing in an airtight, freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 1-2 months. Defrost the egg muffin cups in the fridge overnight before reheating according to the instructions below.
Reheating: You can simply enjoy breakfast egg muffins cold from the fridge if you like. However, I like to at least let them sit out on the counter at room temp for 20 minutes to remove the unpleasant chill.
Microwave: Wrap the egg bite in a damp paper towel and microwave in short 30 second bursts until warm throughout.
Steamer: A small amount of simmering water, a steamer basket, and the stove top will produce the best results for reheating. Simply bring water to a simmer, add egg bites to a steamer basket, cover the pot, and steam the egg muffins until they’re warm throughout, about 5 minutes.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and the nutrition facts are an estimate based upon 12 servings. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.(Please note, since this is a highly customizable recipe, the nutritional facts are an estimate based on the egg muffin WITHOUT any fillings. For the most accurate information, I recommend taking your personalized egg bites ingredients and running them through an online nutritional calculator.)