Southwestern Egg Muffins
Full of black beans, peppers, and southwestern spices, these make-ahead egg Southwestern Egg Muffins are the perfect low carb, high protein breakfast! Make a double batch and freeze to make weekday mornings even easier.
There are an awful lot of lifestyle changes that happen when you have a baby. It’s easy to think about the big ones – the ones you spend 9 months contemplating.
Travel just became a whole lot more complicated. No more spontaneous late nights out without a sitter. No more sleeping in after a late night out. (Or more likely, no more sleep – period.) You trade in the New York Times bestseller list for Llama Llama and the Pout Pout Fish and a tiny clutch for a giant diaper bag.
One of the changes that I didn’t really think about ahead of time relates to food. (Which is funny, because I obviously think about food a lot.)
We used to have our standard “stuck at work until 9pm” or “just got home from vacation and haven’t been to the grocery store yet” bowl-of-cereal-or-popcorn dinners. And then one day, you have a baby who suddenly eats real food and needs an actual dinner and *poof* without thinking about it, the hodgepodge snack dinners are a thing of the past.
And don’t get me started on breakfast! I’m not much of a breakfast person – I don’t really like most breakfast foods. I’d much rather bring a hardboiled egg or yogurt to eat at work than sit down and eat first thing in the morning.
But again – toddlers expect breakfast as soon as they wake up. (Truth: Ryan’s first word of the day is often “pancake?!” when I go to greet him in the morning.)
So how does a non-breakfast eater manage a breakfast-loving toddler on hectic weekday mornings before heading to work? By keeping a freezer stash of egg muffins — specifically, these southwestern egg muffins.
I double the recipe and make 24 at a time, store them in gallon-sized freezer bags, and pull one out each morning. Easy-peasy!
Easy Baked Egg Muffins
Egg muffins are EASY. (And healthy, too — win/win!) All you really need are some whisked eggs. The add-ins are just flavor bonuses on the side!
Whisk together the eggs, add in whatever spices and other things you are using, and bake at 350 °F for 20 minutes.
The secret to keeping these egg muffins light and fluffy is to not over bake them. Have you ever had rubbery-tasting eggs? They’ve been cooked too hot, too fast. Why does this happen? It’s time for my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!
Kitchen Chemistry
When eggs are heated, the protein in the egg whites forms a bound structure which holds in water molecules. If the eggs are heated too quickly, these proteins will coil up instead of forming a smooth network, squeezing out the moisture. This results in chewy eggs with a wet external texture.
Equally important as not cooking at too high a temperature? Greasing your muffin tin well! Eggs like to stick to everything and the best way to avoid this is lots of cooking spray.
I find that cooking spray does a better job of coating the muffin tin than spreading melted butter, but the choice is yours!
Once the egg muffins are done baking, let them cool for 5 minutes and then run a knife along the outside edge to help loosen.
Packed full of protein and low carb? What a delicious way to start your day!
Favorite Add-Ins for Southwestern Egg Muffins
While you can fill egg muffins with whatever you like, we’re a big fan of big, bold flavors around here.
So we love this southwestern egg muffin version, filled with red peppers, black bean, and some garlic. Don’t forget the cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika! For even more punch, I also like to stir in some of my favorite chipotle salsa.
While egg muffins are perfect grab-and-go muffins for adults, we also love to feed them to our toddler. Toddler food is notoriously boring when it comes to flavor, but it doesn’t have to be; this is the perfect time to introduce a variety of spices!
Perfect to Make Ahead
My favorite thing about these egg muffins is that you can make them ahead of time. Meaning, make a double or triple batch, store them in the freezer, and then pull one out whenever you need a fast breakfast, lunch, or snack.
(They’re also perfect for a brunch gathering – a plate full of egg muffins, surrounded by fluffy waffles and fruit salad. Heaven!)
Eat them hot right out of the oven or freeze them for later. To freeze, I set them side-by-side on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer for a few hours, until frozen solid. Transfer the frozen egg muffins to a freezer bag and tuck away for up to 3 months. Alternatively, the egg muffins fit perfectly in these 4-ounce individual storage containers (affiliate link).
For best results, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake at 350 °F for 8 minutes, or until heated throughly.
You can also microwave straight from frozen, although the texture turns a little rubbery. My toddler never minds, though, so for him – I go straight from the freezer into the microwave for 45 seconds, onto his plate.
FAQs about Southwestern Egg Muffins
Yes! Confirm all spices and added ingredients (like the salsa) are free from gluten contaminants.
Egg muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Once cooled, place each egg muffin on a cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour or two, until frozen. Then transfer to a freezer-safe bag, removing additional air from the bag. Freezing separately before combining into one bag will prevent the muffins from sticking together.
Egg muffins are best reheated in an oven or toaster oven, for 7-8 minutes at 350 °F. They can also be reheated in the microwave, 30 seconds for refrigerated egg muffins and 45-50 seconds if still frozen.
More Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas
- Best Belgian Waffles
- Banana Bread Muffins
- Blueberry Blintzes
- Smoked Salmon Egg Muffins
- Baked Peach French Toast
- All Breakfast Recipes ≫
Southwestern Egg Muffins
Full of black beans, peppers, and southwestern spices, these make-ahead muffins are the perfect low carb, high protein breakfast!
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup black beans
- 3 green onions, diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Spray a 12-well muffin tin well with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and salsa together until yolks are broken and well combined. Stir in the spices.
- Divide the chopped vegetables, beans, and cheese among the 12 wells of the muffin tray. Pour in the egg into each muffin cup, filling almost to the top. Stir each well with a fork to coat vegetables and beans with the eggs.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until egg muffins rise and set. Allow eggs to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the edge of the wells and remove with a spoon.
Notes
To freeze muffins, place in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours, until frozen solid. Transfer to a gallon-sized freezer bag and store for up to 3 months. (Alternatively, store individually in a 4-ounce freezer friendly container, suggestion below.) To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake at 350 °F for 6-8 minutes until heated through (recommended) or heat in microwave for 45-50 seconds.
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Love this southwest twist to the usually bland egg muffins. The spices, cheese, beans, pictures….love it all;)
This is just BRILLIANT, Julie. Not only did you just describe my life most days (hello, toddler mom life), but you solved a breakfast quandary I was having. I have a feeling Lady Baby is going to love these muffins!
Two egg-covered thumbs up from Ryan over here! Seriously though, ANYTHING to make mornings even a little easier is a huge win in my book. Why are mornings always so hard?!
These muffins are a great start of the day. Now, my day can start packed with proteins, Julie!
I love make ahead egg muffins. Like you, I’m not a breakfast person. While I love breakfast foods, I don’t have time to sit down and eat a proper breakfast so most days, I just skip it. As for my kids, it’s cereal, waffles and pancakes. If I served them any type of eggs, they’d look at me like I was crazy. However, they both love Southwestern flavors, so I’m giving these a try on them! Maybe even my picky eaters will eat them!
I hope they help with your picky eaters! Not liking eggs is so foreign to me – I’m not a big cereal/pancake/waffle person, so eggs are my breakfast standard!
I’m a breakfast person just don’t want to have to make it in the morning. So this breakfast muffins are perfect for me since I can make them up ahead. I love the flavors you put in these. Going have to try this soon. Oh, and your popcorn with chili powder sounded pretty good to me 🙂
Lol- I’m pretty sure my first word of the day is.. “coffee?” I love make ahead breakfasts because I’m a terrible early morning food prepper! And even though I love breakfast, I fairly often completely forget about it. I need to do better about making it ahead of time like this!
My kid LOVES having eggs for breakfast (actually we all do) , and I was just in search for new recipes we could try. These egg muffins sound just right. Well balanced healthy meal… delicious!
I love this..! This is so my family on the weekend… regular days is Oats or Cereal but weekends we need a good brunch and this is perfect.
HAHAH…yes I remember those days of little ones very well. Sometimes you don’t even have time to eat…let alone cook. I love this type of dish. You can eat it at all meals of the day. I am like you, breakfast is not my thing either. Brunch…now we are talking…and this would work perfect there too.
This kind of muffin is my JAM! I love having something really tasty to grab and go. I’m a huge fan of southwestern flavors, too!
Make ahead breakfasts are the best and anything with southwest flavors and ingredients is sure to be delicious in my book so these look amazing!
How did you know I was looking for something just like this? I plan on doing something like for quick lunches. Our lunches are terrible and when there isn’t something easy in the fridge, well, we eat what we shouldn’t. Thank you for heading me in the right direction.
I just have to say that these are genius! I am not much of a breakfast person either, and I love that they are freezer friendly and so easy! I can’t wait to try these out!
I love low-carb high protein breakfasts on the go! These would be perfect for lunches and after school snacks too and the fact that I can make a big batch and freeze is a plus!!!
Yes, great for after school snacks, too! We’re not at that stage of life yet, but these will be perfect when we get there.
I just made something similar with potato hash, eggs, cheese and a bunch of fresh veggies and herbs. Can’t wait to try this southwestern version for breakfast this weekend!
I love portable breakfast options – they make mornings so much easier! The southwestern flavors in this sound delicious.
SO much easier. I’m sure lots of people eat leisurely weekday breakfasts at the table… but I am not one of those people. Haha!
We’re big fans of egg recipes made in the muffin tin. They never last long enough to store for long around here, it’s good to know that they freeze well!
This looks so yummy! I never have time for a real breakfast so having a batch of these in the freezers is an excellent idea!
These are gorgeous! I love a egg muffin just like the next guy, but I have never considered making them for my blog. I just can’t get them to look pretty like yours. Bravo – I can’t wait to try the addition of black beans and cumin in my own version.
I’ve been making them for years trying to figure out how to get them to be a little less ugly, haha! I swear the secret is in this beat up old muffin tin – my newer, insulated tins never yield pretty egg muffins!
We come from a family where we don’t eat eggs, but I have started feeding eggs to my boys. I am so handicapped when it comes to making anything with eggs that I only feed them boiled eggs. They love omelettes when they eat it outside and always have asked me to make something else with eggs. This surely does like a very easy recipe to make and I can make it in one shot and freeze them to feed them through the week.
This is such a great and easy way to feed eggs to your boys, especially since you can make a big batch all at once!
I so understand how life changing having a child is! I sometimes get stuck when it comes to feeding my fussy-pants toddler, I must try this recipe, I think she will like it, so far I have not been very lucky with giving her eggs, she used to love them, but suddenly she decided not to anymore. Perfect breakfast!
Love breakfast muffins and this is such a great idea to use leftover salsa into something so delicious and healthy. I’m sure my hubby would love them as well as he loves eating eggs for breakfast.
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