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Healthy Egg Muffin Cups

Name: Healthy Egg Muffin Cups
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 cup diced red pepper; 1 cup diced green pepper; 1 cup diced yellow onion; 2 cups packed baby spinach (roughly chopped); 1 cup mushrooms (diced); 2 cloves garlic (minced); salt (to taste); 4 large eggs (*); 4 large egg whites (*); hot sauce (optional for drizzling on top!)

by Jennifer Debth January 3, 2022

1,201 Comments

4.94 from 684 votes

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Start your day right with Healthy Egg Muffin Cups. Only 50 calories per muffin, LOADED with vegetables, and can be made in advance!

General
Ingredients
How to make
Get the recipe
Step-by-step video
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are they spongy?
Why are they soggy?
Why are they flat?
Tips & tricks
Variations
How to store
Nutrition information

Healthy breakfasts ensure I make healthier choices throughout the day, that’s why I also love these other nutritious recipes: crockpot steel cut oats, instant pot egg bites, avocado toast, and acai bowls.

Starting the year right by taking better care of yourself is one of the most common New Year’s Resolutions. To get a better sense on how to do that, we read The Miracle Morning.

The main idea is to become more productive, happier, etc. and that starts with a great morning routine! For our morning routine, Trevor and I have been waking up earlier, reading for thirty minutes, then having breakfast together.

Although we now have more time in the morning, I still don’t want to spend my mornings whipping up an elaborate, healthy breakfast before work. Enter: Healthy Egg Muffin Cups!

Ingredients

This simple ingredient list makes an ultra nutritious and delicious low-carb, gluten-free, vegetarian breakfast!

Oil – the recipe calls for olive oil, but feel free to use extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, canola oil, safflower oil, or even coconut oil — for sautéing, use a flavorful oil with a lower smoke point. Oil provides healthy fats to the egg muffins which keeps us full longer. It also brings out the flavor of the vegetables while reducing their bitterness.
Bell Peppers – red bell pepper and green bell pepper are listed in the recipe, but any color of bell pepper will work. Green peppers are the most bitter, orange and yellow bell peppers are slightly sweeter, and red bell peppers are the sweetest.
Onion – yellow onion is used in the recipe, but feel free to substitute white or red onion. Yellow and red onions will yield a sweeter flavor whereas white onion will have more of a “bite” to it.
Spinach – roughly chopped. Chopping the spinach is personal preference, because I don’t like the stringiness of un-chopped spinach. Chopping gets you a bit of spinach in every bite! Spinach is rich in vitamins and minerals and has a mild taste. Feel free to replace with roughly chopped kale, if preferred.
Mushrooms – provide a “meaty” texture and mild flavor to the egg muffins. Mushrooms are a great low calorie source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants. They release a lot of moisture, so cook until the liquid has evaporated or drain excess water to avoid watery muffin cups!
Garlic – provides a subtle, nutty flavor and *bonus* is loaded with good-for-you vitamins and minerals. The recipe calls for 2 cloves and can be replaced with 1/2 tablespoon jarred minced garlic to save on prep time.
Salt – enhances the flavor of the other ingredients. Be sure to taste and re-season the vegetables until the desired flavor has been reached. Add additional seasonings such as pepper, red pepper flakes, etc. if you’d like.
Eggs and Egg Whites – the base for our healthy egg muffin cups! Eggs are a great source of lean protein and other nutrients. They come in all different sizes, but large eggs are called for in this recipe. If you have smaller or larger eggs, that’s ok! Simply crack eggs/egg whites into a measuring cup until you have 1 1/2 cups of eggs.

Pro tip

Want to increase the protein? Omit the egg whites and use 8 large eggs instead! Want to reduce the calories? Omit the egg yolks and use only egg whites — you’ll need 1 1/2 cups.

How to make

Once the vegetables are chopped, this healthy breakfast comes together very quickly!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and generously grease a standard non stick 12-slot muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large non-stick cooking pan, cook red pepper, green pepper, and onion in oil until the peppers have softened, then add in spinach, mushrooms, and garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Season with salt, then set aside.
Whisk together eggs until smooth, then stir in the cooked vegetables.
Pour the egg/veggie mixture evenly into the prepared muffin pan, then bake until the eggs have cooked through.

Pro tip

Prep the veggies in advance to save on prep time! Store washed, dried, and chopped vegetables in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

Why are they spongy?

If made as directed, your muffin cups shouldn’t be spongy. If they are, you likely used all egg whites instead of equal parts whole eggs and egg whites. The lack of fat when using all egg whites may result in a spongy texture.

They may also be spongy from excess liquid from the vegetables. Be sure to drain any leftover liquid from the sautéed veggies.

How do you keep egg muffins from getting soggy?

When reheating, wrap each egg cup in a paper towel to soak up excess liquid before placing in the microwave. This should prevent the muffins from getting soggy.

Why are they flat?

Immediately after cooking, the egg muffins will look very fluffy, but they will start to deflate within a few minutes — that’s ok! The muffin cups don’t have enough structure to hold them up.

If you’re looking for a sturdier egg muffin, check out my instant pot egg bites.

Tips & tricks

Prevent sticking. Use a good quality non-stick muffin pan and generously grease it with cooking spray!
Cool. Let the muffins cool for 5-10 minutes before removing them from the pan. Run a knife around the outside of the cup if you’re having trouble getting them out.
Prep ahead. Chop the vegetables a day in advance to save on prep time.
Make a double batch. One to enjoy for the week and one to freeze!

Variations

If you’re like me, you’ll start to make these regularly and it’s nice to mix things up occasionally. Try some of these ideas and get creative coming up with your own!

Add protein. Stir in your favorite cooked protein like bacon or breakfast sausage to the vegetable mixture.
Make them cheesy. Shredded pepper-jack, cheddar, or even crumbled feta or goat cheese would provide additional flavor and creaminess.
Add seasonings. Mix it up with fresh herbs like basil or dried spices like red pepper flakes.
Use different vegetables. Not a fan of peppers? Replace with equal parts diced broccoli. Hate mushrooms? Try chopped zucchini instead!
Add toppings. Serve warm egg muffins with hot sauce, greek yogurt, diced tomato, avocado, chives, salsa, etc.

Pro tip

See instant pot egg bites for more flavor inspiration!

How to store, freeze, and reheat

Store cooked and cooled egg muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months.

To reheat, wrap egg muffins in a paper towel and microwave for 30-60 seconds until warm. You can also reheat these in the oven at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes.

Pro tip

You may see extra liquid in the bottom of your storage container, this is from the vegetables. Don’t worry, it’s totally normal. If the excess liquid bothers you, blot the muffin before you warm them up in the microwave.

– Jennifer

This post was originally published January 22, 2015 and has been updated to provide more detailed content.