These on-the-go breakfast muffins are a quick and easy way to get your eggs in the morning. Loaded with bacon bits, cheddar cheese and spinach and baked in a muffin pan for a quick grab-and-go bite on busy mornings!
A couple of months back I made some egg nests which were really popular. People seemed to like having muffin-sized breakfast bites or the idea of breakfast on the go. But for those watching their calories, hash browns aren’t too forgiving and some folks just don’t like runny eggs.
So today I’ll be making a scrambled egg variation of this sans hash browns and with a little spinach and smoked paprika. Think of these muffins as a healthy variation of my nests. For an even healthier version using only egg whites, try out these healthy egg white breakfast muffins instead.
ON-THE-GO BREAKFAST MUFFINS RECIPE TIPS
- Muffin pan – I used a regular-sized, non-stick muffin pan but you can use jumbo, square, or mini muffin pans – just adjust the recipe measurements accordingly. If you don’t own a non-stick muffin pan, you might be able to use cupcake liners. Let me know how that works out if you do!
- Greasing the pan – Make sure to grease the muffin wells before starting so you have an easy time popping the muffins out later. I like spraying the muffin wells and using a paper towel to spread it evenly on the bottom and edges.
- Eggs – This recipe uses large eggs so if you only have regular-size eggs, add an egg or two.
- Cheddar – I used sharp cheddar but feel free to substitute it with mild cheddar, extra sharp cheddar, cheddar Jack, Mexican cheddar Jack, triple cheddar, or creamy melt cheddar. There are so many cheese options to choose from. Check out the ‘Customize It’ section below if you want to substitute cheddar and experiment with other cheese.
- Spinach – Use baby spinach or chop up regular spinach so there’s more to go around in the muffins. You can also use frozen spinach, just cook it beforehand and squeeze out any excess water so your muffins don’t wind up soggy.
- Bacon – Make sure to pre-cook your bacon to get all the bacon grease out. Chop or crumble them and add them to the mix. If you’re short on time, you can also use real bacon bits.
- Filling – All the stuff that would work in an omelet can go into these breakfast muffins. Use this recipe as a base to build on and experiment with your fillings! There are a ton of options to pick and choose from in the ‘Customize It’ section below.
Recipe Notes:
This recipe is very versatile and you can use almost every kind of filling imaginable. Just make sure your fillings are cooked off of their water content so your muffins aren’t soggy and cook your proteins beforehand so they taste better and all the grease is rendered from them before adding to the muffin mix.
- Sectioning – Fill the muffin wells 3/4 of the way full. The muffins will puff up in the oven as you can see from the photos, so they need that extra space to grow. They will shrink in size once cool though so don’t worry if this happens to you. It should make it easier for you to pry the muffins loose from the muffin pan.
- Baking – Bake the muffins for 20-23 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Leftovers and reheating – Leftovers can keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Customize It!
- Add more veggies – Try other veggies like cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, onions, kale, or broccoli.
- Substitute cheddar – Experiment with other cheese like mozzarella, gruyere, swiss cheese, feta, blue cheese, goat cheese, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, or Parmesan.
- Add more protein – Substitute bacon with chorizo, cooked breakfast sausage or cooked crumbled sausage, cooked ground beef, chicken or turkey, or cooked ham.
- Add some bite – Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the mix for some bite.
- Add more flavor – Throw in more seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, or crushed pepper flakes.
Serve these breakfast muffins as is or with your favorite toppings like sour cream or hot sauce.
And that’s about it. Let me know how you liked them, what substitutions you made or what you paired them with in the comments below.
MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES TO TRY
- Healthy Egg White Muffin Breakfast Cups
- Hash Brown Egg Nests
- Hash Brown Breakfast Quiche
- Easy Hamburger Quiche
- Cheesy Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
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On-The-Go Breakfast Muffins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Description
These on-the-go breakfast muffins are a quick and easy way to get your eggs in the morning. Loaded with bacon bits, cheddar cheese and spinach and baked in a muffin pan for a quick grab-and-go bite on busy mornings!
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped / 1/2 cup bacon bits
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Grease a regular size muffin tin and fill each cup to about 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-23 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes before prying the muffins loose.
- Dish and serve hot or refrigerate later for leftovers.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Add more veggies – Try other veggies like cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, onions, kale, or broccoli.
- Substitute cheddar – Experiment with other cheese like mozzarella, gruyere, swiss cheese, feta, blue cheese, goat cheese, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, or Parmesan.
- Add more protein – Substitute bacon with chorizo, cooked breakfast sausage or cooked crumbled sausage, cooked ground beef, chicken or turkey, or cooked ham.
- Add some bite – Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the mix for some bite.
- Add more flavor – Throw in more seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, or crushed pepper flakes.
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Comments & Reviews
Tasted good but dry
Thanks for trying out the recipe and I’m sorry to hear it was a bit too dry for you. You could try adding a splash of milk to the egg mixture for some moisture before baking. That might work.
Any dish or pan that has stuck on stuff. Soak on water with some white vinegar till not stuck. I just try to stir occasionally with spoon. When floats off then wash. Even works in rice pan.
Thanks for the tips of cleaning up, Ter!
These are great love the different variations
Thank you, Judith! I know everyone has different tastes so I try to find a baseline recipe then add in as many variations as I can think of to cater to everyone and their favorite ingredients 🙂
Thank you for the recipe. I use it as the base to make a variety of egg cups and it is so easy. Our neighbors meet together every Sunday and we have a few widowers. When I make these I send leftovers (if there are any) home with them. They think I slaved in the kitchen!!
You’re very welcome, PJ. I’m glad to have helped you find a way to impress and feed your neighbors! This recipe is versatile, and anything you can throw in an omelet will also work as fillings. It’s a great way to clean up the fridge!
Hi there…can you freeze these for a few weeks? Curious if they’re reheated in an air fryer if they will taste somewhat “fresh”
You can definitely freeze them for about 2 months and they make a great grab-and-go breakfast. I would reheat them in a preheated air fryer at 350°F for 3-4 minutes. I’m not entirely sure if they will taste ‘fresh’ from the air fryer, but let me know if you do try it!
Any idea why these deflated like balloons?
Maybe I should fill the cups less and make more muffins?
After making the egg white version of this recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is just what happens normally. Fill them up to two-thirds of the way full because they will expand a little but won’t stay majestically puffed the way they are when they first come out of the oven.
This is very similar to the Keto Strata I make and cut up for breakfast on the go. I love the idea of using muffin pans! Thanks for the tip! My favorite mix is bacon, spinach, onion, mixed peppers (red, yellow and orange diced bell peppers I keep in the freezer). Great with diced Green Chile’s in the mix as well!
You’re very welcome! I love the baby sweet peppers as well. They’re a great way to add a variety of colors and freshness.
The flavor was terrific. I omitted the bacon without incident to the taste profile. However, by lowering the fat it may have affected the extraction of the cooled muffins (from a greased nonstick pan). They were unyieldingly stuck to the pan for their dear lives. Clean up of the pan after soaking in soapy hot water for a time took longer than the preparation and baking. I’ll try placing them in parchment baking cups next time and hope they will not be difficult to remove from the paper cups.
I hope you waited till they were slightly cool before trying to extract them. I hope the cupcake liner idea worked for you!
Excellent recipe. I will be making it again!!!
Thank you for trying it out, Jaunah! Feel free to get creative 🙂
Wonderful Recipe! I am diabetic and a low sodium recipe seeker. Saw this one, tried it, great results. Made a few adjustments. I used large cupcake pan (only one I have) and 6 extra large eggs. After that, it was anything I could find in fridge that could go with eggs. I pre-cooked bacon, laid on towels to dry then chopped it up. (No salt needed). In the bacon drippings I sauted frozen spinach and broccoli. (We travel a lot so frozen is what’s usually available). Spraying cups with cooking spray helped the muffins to pop out when done. Next time adding chopped roasted red peppers for more color! I’ll make these for my husband, without broccoli (he hates broccoli and mushrooms) Haha. Great recipe. Makes a great and filling lunch with a favorite beverage.
Love the variations to it! It’s always fun seeing people build off a recipe. No mushrooms? Wow, now I can imagine it with baby bella mushrooms and cheese .