This veggie loaded egg muffin is the perfect breakfast for those busy mornings. These muffins are a great way to hide a variety of veggies that your toddler will otherwise refuse to eat.
These egg muffins are great for breakfast, snack and packs well in the lunch box. It’s not only toddler friendly but perfect for us parents too. With a little bit of prep, you can have a hearty and nutritious breakfast ready in no time.
We love eggs for breakfast. It’s filling, protein packed and really tasty. Also, eggs are super easy to make. I also prefer eggs to cereal and oatmeal because it’s savory and I don’t like to start my day with too much sweet. With a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old at home, mornings get really busy and as much as I love to make breakfast fresh every day, I love to have some make ahead breakfast options so I can get them ready sooner for day care and school.
Not a fan of eggs, try these scrambled tofu recipe for breakfast!
What goes inside these egg muffins?
The start of the recipe is obviously the eggs!
Eggs, some seasoning as you would add in an omelet or scrambled eggs, veggies of your choice and cheese. Sounds like a formula for a great recipe, doesn’t it? Have some leftover veggies from previous night’s dinner? That works well too!
You can even add left over pastas, add some pesto, whatever cheese you have left in the refrigerator. Really! There are so many variations you can make with this recipe. So, you will never get bored of it.
Why should you make egg muffins?
Eggs – Eggs contain a lot of essential nutrients that are vital for a child’s development. They are rich in protein, choline, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Choline is a nutrient that contributes to the brain development in children. Eggs are a great source of choline and it is therefore recommended that eggs are introduced to babies above 6 months of age. The high protein content in eggs will help in the child’s growth and development. A single egg contains about 6 grams of protein! Eggs are not only healthy, but they are easy to make and cooks so fast
Veggies – Kids need at least 3 to 4 servings of veggies each day! The colorful they are, the better. If your child is as picky as mine when you serve veggies separately, then you can add it is dishes like these and they will disappear fast. Veggies give your child the essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, fiber, anti-oxidants. They help in keeping your kids healthy.
Cheese – Dairy products like cheese are protein rich and contains a good amount of calcium. They also contain a good number of vitamins like A, B12 and nutrients like zinc, phosphorous, omega 3 fatty acids and Vitamin K2
How do you make these egg muffins?
They are simple really. The word muffin might have you thinking it is going to a difficult recipe, but its basically eggs baked in a muffin pan. All you have to do is get your filling ready, mix it up with beaten egg mixture, season it with salt, pepper, herbs and bake it In the oven until they start becoming golden brown in the edges.
What kind of muffin pan do I need for this recipe?
As far as muffin pan goes, I love to use a nonstick muffin pan for this recipe so they are easy to remove from the pan. You can also use silicon baking tray or individual silicon cups. You can make these muffins in any size. Mini or regular muffin pans work. I used a regular muffin pan so I can load as much veggies as possible in a single muffin. I would recommend you spray your muffin pan with a non stick spray even if you are using a nonstick pan.
Can I make these muffins in advance?
Yes! Absolutely. I love this recipe because it is perfect for making it ahead. I like to make them one week in advance and use it as needed throughout the week for breakfast or snack.
You can store these muffins in an air tight container for about 3 to 4 days or freeze it in an freeze safe container for up to 3 months. I would suggest you cool the muffins completely before you put them in the refrigerator or freezer.
To reheat it, you can simply microwave it until they are hot enough. If they are frozen, you can thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and heat them in the microwave before serving.
Egg muffins 3 ways-
Broccoli & Cheddar egg muffins – A classic combination and a great way to include broccoli in your kids diet. You can easily substitute the cheddar with any other cheese of your choice and add other veggies or greens along with the broccoli
Spinach and Tomato Egg muffins – Sweet cherry tomato, nutrient dense spinach and lots of cheese makes this such a yummy combination.
Bell pepper and zucchini egg muffins – Another veggie loaded combination that tastes really delicious. This is probably my favorite combination of all the 3!
Ingredient swaps and additions –
Cheddar – Can be substituted with other cheeses or cheese blends like mozzarella, feta, goat cheese. You can also use a combination of cheeses asper your taste.
Broccoli- can be substituted with any other greens of your choice.
Bell peppers – Use any peppers that you may have. Or you can substitute it with more zucchini or yellow squash.
Cherry tomatoes – Use any variety of tomato that you have on hand.
Spinach – Substitute it with kale or chard. I would sauté them slightly before I add it to the muffin batter.
Toddler Egg Muffins Recipe:
Prep time – 15 minutes
Cook time – 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the base:
- 12 Large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (use less if desired)
- ½ tsp mixed dried herbs
For the tomato spinach muffins:
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 3/4 cup chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup packed shredded cheddar or mozzarella
For the broccoli cheddar muffins
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
For the zucchini and bell pepper muffins
- 1 cup chopped bell pepper and zucchini
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Other:
- Oil or butter for sautéing the veggies
- Non stick spray for muffin pan
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 F
- Crack the 12 eggs and add it to a large mixing bowl.
- Add milk to the bowl and whisk the eggs. Add the salt, mixed herbs and pepper to the egg mixture and whisk again until well combined. You egg mixture base is done.
- Saute the Broccoli in a skillet with a tsp of oil until they are slightly soft and set it aside.
- In the same pan, add another tsp of oil and saute the chopped bell pepper and zucchini until they are sightly soft. You don’t want the veggies to become too soft as they will be getting baked along with the eggs. I do this so my youngest can eat it. If you are making it for older kids, you can skip this step of sautéing the veggies.
- Now divide the egg mixture base into 3 equal portions and add it to 3 different bowls.
- Add the tomato and chopped spinach, cheese to one portion, the sauteed broccoli and cheddar to one portion and the sauteed bell peppers and zucchini and cheese to the last one. Mix each portion so the filling is combined with the egg mixture.
- (Alternatively, you can add the prepared filling directly to the muffin pan and add prepared egg mixture on top of the filling.)
- I like to mix the filling and egg in advance as I find it prevents the muffins from sticking.
- Now pour the prepared muffin mixture on the muffin tray until they are 3/4th full. You can add more cheese at the top if you wish.
- You might have some left-over filling depending on the size of your pan. You can use them for the second batch if needed.
- Bake the muffins at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges start turning golden brown.
- When done, let them cool for about 5 minutes and remove them from the pan.
- Serve them hot or refrigerate for future use!
