My daily mission is to provide action-oriented recommendations and how-to's on low-waste living, sustainable style, non-toxic beauty, responsible travel, and adventurous allergy-friendly home cooking.
Yes, I am a meal prep maniac enthusiast. This Egg Muffins Meal Prep is the second meal prep post I’ve published in seven days! Also buckle up, buttercup, because there are more coming.
What are “egg muffins”?
Egg muffins combine a variety of ingredients that are then baked into a savory “muffin” of goodness, that can be made in advance and keeps well in the refrigerator. They’re sometimes called by other names such as breakfast cups or mini frittatas (we are NOT talking about the Egg McMuffin), but they usually follow a specific formula:
The fat is typically cheese (because if ever a combo gave peanut butter and jelly a run for its money, it would be egg and cheese) and I’ll admit that sometimes folks skip the additional protein or the toppings. But the tried-and-true formula of egg plus the four inputs results in the most delicious and complete egg muffin.
The best part–as far as meal prep is concerned–is that once you’ve prepped some inputs, you can mix and match within this formula for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Maybe pair some leftover steamed veggies with bacon and top with avocado in the morning, combine wilted kale with shredded chicken for lunch, and combine slow-cooked pork with roasted sweet potato for dinner. Egg muffins, for days!
How do egg muffins solve food waste?
Obviously, egg muffins are not the ultimate solution to food waste. More like today’s solution, or this week’s solution. A solution you can implement yourself, now. If you’re wondering what recipes are particularly suited to the combination of your refrigerator’s loose ends, look no further than egg muffins. Their previously-discussed versatility makes them a winning solution for using up wilty greens, stray herbs, the last of a whole roasted chicken, even cooked grains or soaked legumes. . . more on that below. Cook once, combining what you have (or following my extra-special recipe below, ahem), and enjoy breakfast for the next week.
A few of my favorite egg muffins:
Ladies and gents, I did my research before publishing this post to make sure my egg muffin formula really will result in the ULTIMATE egg muffin. Put your hands together for some of the best egg muffins I found as I scoured the four corners of the interwebs for the secrets of egg-muffin-makin’.
Whoa! I’m not quinoa’s biggest fan, but these Quinoa Kale Egg Muffins might win me over if anything can. Get the recipe.
These Mini Egg Muffins with Bacon and Cheddar totally have bacon and cheddar, so enough said. Get the recipe.
Egg Muffins with Maple Sweet Potato Noodles, Bacon, and Almond Butter: These win the “unbridled creativity” and “seriously drool-worthy combination” awards. Get the recipe.
An egg muffin classic ingredient (sausage) gets a nutritional assist from spinach in these Sausage Egg Muffins. Get the recipe.
Grab-and-Go Egg Muffins have a basic name but not-so-basic flavor thanks to kale and CARAMELIZED ONION, people. Get the recipe.
The thick-cut bacon paired with asparagus in these Paleo Egg Cups is what breakfast dreams are made of. Get the recipe.
Now that I’ve gotten your appetite properly whetted for egg muffins, take a look at my version! As you might hve guessed from the title, my version of egg muffins is stuffed with pork. I tossed in half a serrano pepper, too, for some added heat.
So easy and so good…
I ate more of them than I should have while I was taking pictures. #noregrets
I gave salsa and cilantro a whirl on top, and the verdict is in: tasty!
Whichever way you make your egg muffins, take half an hour or so (including cook time!) and just see how it goes. These little eggy pucks of happiness retreat just fine, and you can use up whatever vegetables are going soft in the fridge while prepping the solution to hectic weekday breakfasts at the same time. Enjoy!
Cook the chopped bell pepper until soft (I did this in a skillet).
Whisk the eggs until combined, then add the cooked bell pepper, cheese, sliced serrano pepper, and salt and pepper.
Place a spoonful of the pulled pork in each cup of a muffin pan (I used a silicone muffin pan since it’s the easiest to get the cups out of when cooked without sticking), dividing evenly. Spoon the egg mixture on top of and around the pork, filling no more than 1/4″ from the top of each cup.
Bake the egg muffins in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. They will puff up, but as soon as they come back to room temperature, they will deflate.
