These Mini Egg Muffins with cheese and veggies are a go-to for quick and easy toddler breakfasts on busy mornings. These savory muffins are packed with nutritious ingredients and are so quick to bake up—and they work so well to make ahead.
Mini Egg Muffins
Rich in protein and fats that toddlers need, eggs are a wonderful toddler food. You can make a batch a batch of the egg muffins one day and keep them in the fridge until you need them. My family loves eggs all sorts of ways, but I love this recipe since they are so perfect for quickly reheating come meal time.
Having these breakfast egg muffins in the fridge, just ready and waiting to be reheated for a quick breakfast (or lunch) is a total time-saver.
They’re also delicious enough to make for a holiday breakfast, such as Easter or Christmas, to share with the whole family.
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Ingredients You Need
For this recipe you’ll need the following ingredients ready to go.
- Eggs: The base of this recipe is large eggs. You can use whichever type you prefer.
- Cottage cheese: This adds moisture, calcium, and protein to the recipe. It blends right into the batter.
- Shredded cheese: You can use cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, or another shredded cheese your family enjoys.
- Shredded butternut squash, grated carrot or minced broccoli: Or another vegetable that you like.
- Minced or grated fresh onion or onion powder: Either of these add a little more flavor to the mixture.
- Parmesan cheese: I like to add Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano) cheese for additional flavor in these egg muffins.
TIP: These are packed with protein and have a nice dose of veggies in the mix that are easy to chew. And they boast a solid dose of calcium, plus vitamin A from the eggs, cheeses, and squash.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the process involved in this easy recipe so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the full recipe.
- Stir together the ingredients.
- Add your veggie of choice
- Spoon into the greased muffin cups.
- Bake! Remove from oven, let cool for about a minute, then use a knife to gently loosen the cups from the pan. Cool a bit and serve warm or store to serve later.
TIP: The batter comes together really quickly as all it requires is some easy grating and stirring. You can whip these up whenever you have a spare 15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
We like these with both grated raw or leftover roasted butternut squash and sweet potato, shredded raw carrots or chopped broccoli florets. Use whichever you have or prefer. You could also add snipped spinach or kale or finely chopped bell pepper or mushrooms.
You can cut in half or serve whole for baby to gnaw on baby led weaning style. Their semi-soft texture also means that they are great for babies, younger toddlers or toddlers still getting the hang of more complex textures.
(In fact, this was the recipe that helped a friend of mine start to wean her daughter off of a feeding tube!)
When buying eggs for toddlers, know that from chickens with access to grass and pasture typically have more of these healthy poly- and monounsaturated fats than conventional eggs. Look for the terms u0022free rangeu0022 and u0022grass-fedu0022. Eggs—any way they are raised!—are also a good source of B12, which is particularly important for toddlers who don’t eat meat.
The batch is relatively small so you won’t have leftovers lingering forever (though they actually freeze really well should that be an issue). Store them, once cooled, in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Serve cold or warm for a few seconds in the microwave.
Each is a two-bite affair for my girls and they almost always insist on dipping them in salsa or ketchup. (I love them on top of salads!)
I’ve made this recipe a lot over the years and the one time the muffins stuck was when I brushed on oil, rather than using nonstick spray. So do use the spray if you can. And use a good nonstick muffin tin.
You’ll also want to let them cool for a few minutes in the pan, then use a paring knife, if needed, to help loosen the edges.
How to Store
Store them, once cooled, in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Serve slightly warmed up or at room temperature.
Best Tips for Success
- We like these with both grated raw or leftover roasted butternut squash and sweet potato, shredded raw carrots or chopped broccoli florets.
- Add snipped spinach or kale or finely chopped bell pepper or mushrooms to these egg cups if you’d like instead of squash.
- Chop up as desired for babies or younger toddlers.
- You can also pack these mini muffins in a packed daycare lunch or school lunch.
- Chop them up over salads for your own lunch.
- Try mozzarella instead of cheddar. Try ricotta instead of cottage cheese.
- Double the recipe and bake a whole pan of 24 mini muffins at once.
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I’d love to hear what you think of the recipe, so please comment below if you try these!
Mini Egg Muffins with Cheese and Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon onion, peeled and grated (or ¼ teaspoon onion powder)
- 1/2 cup butternut squash, finely grated (or leftover diced roasted squash, minced broccoli, grated carrot, or minced spinach)
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese (drained if needed)
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease 12 mini muffin cups with nonstick spray very well.
- Stir together all ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Spoon into muffin cups, filling about to the brim.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown around the edges.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes in the pan before serving to allow them to firm up a bit. Use a paring knife around the edges to help remove them if needed Serve warm or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container or store in the freezer in a zip top bag and reheat for 30 seconds in the microwave before serving.
- We like these with both grated raw or leftover roasted butternut squash and sweet potato, shredded raw carrots or chopped broccoli florets.
- Add snipped spinach or kale or finely chopped bell pepper or mushrooms if you’d like instead of squash.
- Chop up as desired for babies or younger toddlers.
- You can also pack these egg and cheese mini muffins in a packed daycare lunch or school lunch.
- Chop them up over salads for your own lunch.
- Try mozzarella instead of cheddar.
- Try ricotta instead of cottage cheese.
- Double the recipe and bake a whole pan of 24 mini muffins at once.
Nutrition
This post was first published September 2017.
If we freeze them, what is the best way to reheat???
15 second increments on a heat-safe plate in the microwave is how I do it.
Is there a way to make dairy free egg muffins that freeze well? I’ve used nutritional yeast in regular eggs to get the cheese flavor, or I could try vegan cheese, but is the cottage cheese vital?
You can omit the cottage cheese and add another egg. Enjoy!
Just made these for my little one and she loved it.
My 10 month old son loves these—easy to make, tasty, has veggies in it. Win win!!
I want to make these but only have frozen vegetables. What should I do?
You can use them, just make sure they are in small pieces (so thaw just slightly and cut up if needed)
I loved these so much and so did my 9 month old! I love them so much I wanted to know how would I make full size muffins? Would I just bake them longer? Thanks!
My 13 month old granddaughter loved these egg bites. They are nice and soft so she is able to take bites without me having to cut them up in small pieces. They are delicious and healthy!
Thank you!
I’m so glad!
This recipe blew my mind. Delicious AND healthy. Thanks, Amy!
Finally an egg bite my little one will eat and that actually tastes great! I used Greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese (didn’t have any). Chopped up broccoli in food processor to cut down on time and like that it eliminates any vegetable chunks. No need for salt since the Parmesan and the other cheeses have salt. Definitely let them sit after for 5 minutes as the recipe recommends, so they can solidify.
Very tasty, my toddler and nieces love them, and they’re simple enough to make in one bowl, plus my 23 month old does all the mixing and can put them in the muffin tins herself, so it’s a great morning activity.
I use onion powder and use scissors to cut broccoli and spinach directly into the bowl – that way there’s not even a cutting board to clean!
So delicious and easy to make!
I usually don’t comment but…..my picky 2 year old granddaughter loved these muffins! She ate 2 (and I made these in a regular muffin tin!) I myself have been eating them the last few mornings as well. 🙂 Thanks for a great, easy and healthy breakfast 🙂
You’re so welcome!
Hi Amy, what would the cooking instructions be if I were to use a full size muffin pan? I can’t wait to try this recipe out!
If you use 1/4 cup batter, maybe 2-3 extra minutes.
I never comment on these things but man, this recipe is definitely comment worthy! Such a hit for my picky 2 year old, perfect to bring on the run, and packed with protein! I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch!
So glad to hear it!
I made these using grated carrot and my son actually ate them! I tried one and was surprised by how good they tasted. I will definitely be making these from now on.
I’m so glad to hear that!
Just made these for my baby. Ended up eating quite a few myself! Delicious! Next time I am going to double the recipe. Thank you!!!
Hi Amy – my 2yo son LOVES these egg muffins and it’s one of the few things he’ll eat – they’re so tasty! I usually freeze and then warm in microwave before serving, but he’s starting preschool and they don’t warm anything up there. How do you suggest I serve from freezer to lunch box? Thank you!
I’m so glad he enjoys them! The easiest option would be to get a thermos to use so then you could warm them at home, pack them in the thermos and they’d be warm for him at lunch.
Amazing! I have three little kids and two of the three loves these (the other won’t even try new food.) I also loved them. Thanh you so much.
easy to make! delish but difficult to get out of the pan!
Nonstick spray may make it a little easier next time.
Hi Amy,
Can you use mini muffins cupcake liners to put into the pans?
Will that help with sticking?
thank you for your expertise.
Helen
Hi- They will likely stick to paper liners. I use a nonstick pan and nonstick spray and it works well. OR you can use greased silicone muffin liners. I hope that helps.
I have loved the silicon muffin tins that you can pop out the muffin. I found them at walmart.
Is this correct? Says 2 eggs?
Yes, it makes a small batch. Feel free to double it as you like.
These are soooo good! My son loved them. My husband too haha. I used bell peppers because that’s all I had.
Definitely gonna make them again and maybe make some bigger ones for me and my husband. And maybe add some meat for us! 😜
YUM! These are delicious Amy! I love how flavourful and easy these are to make. Thanks for the incredible recipe!
Made this for my super picky 3 year old toddler and he loved it so much! The cottage cheese makes the muffins really soft and spongy and I think texturally that made a huge difference as he usually doesn’t like eggs (I know! Picky I tell you!). Love this. And it’s one of those recipes that even if he doesn’t like it, I can eat it so worth trying in my book. Thanks so much for this great recipe!
How long can these be stored in the freezer?
Around 6 months, though try to remove as much air from the bag as you can.
what can I substitute cottage cheese with? non fat greek yogurt?
The only thing that works similarly is ricotta cheese. Otherwise, omit it and double the other cheese.
Hi,
I want to make these but need a dairy free alternative to the cottage cheese? Any tips on something that’s equally tasty?
Thank you!
Hi- The easiest option is probably to double the shredded cheese and use a really good df one (the Forager brand is great) or a dairy-free ricotta like the one from Kite Hill. Green Valley makes a lactose free cottage cheese which is also great if that’s an option (I realize it might not be)
These tasted great but realized after that if you are using regular cottage cheese, Cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese they must be very high in sodium which made me not want to give them to my 11 month old. I will make them again if I can find a sodium reduced cottage and Cheddar cheese. It would great if the recipe mentioned this.
I hear that concern, but if you look at the nutrition info at the bottom of the recipe, you’ll see that it’s not actually very high since it’s per serving. And if you consider it in context, it is a fine food to include as some sodium from foods like cheese is okay. More info on that in this post: https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/babies-and-salt/
Are these or any other of your make ahead breakfast muffins freezable? If so, how long?
Yes, they all are. Let cool and add to a freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible and freeze for up to 6 months
so easy and delicious. my 1 yo loves them- and so do we.
I wasn’t sure why the recipe called for so much onion powder and why the flavor was overtaking the whole dish… when I realized I put a whole tablespoon in instead of 1/4 tsp! I also added a third egg because the batter was so carrot-y. Minus onion-gate, I think it would have been really good. Would add some pepper to round it out, but otherwise will try again.
The recipe tasted great, but it was a total pain cleaning the muffin tin. Do you have the same recipe with it being in a pie pan instead?
My daughter liked eggs at 5-6 months and then never wanted them again, she’s now 15 months so I gave these a shot, unfortunately a no-go for now but these are so tasty and easy to make that I’m going to keep trying! My husband is weird with cheeses if they’re not on pizza (he’s a weirdo who doesn’t like cheesecake and cream cheese) and he thought these were delicious (BEFORE I told him there was cottage cheese in it, LOL – now he won’t eat them). Oh well, more for mama!
Oh gosh, I am glad you’re enjoying them though!
Hello! Would it be weird to use almond Silk yogurt in place of cottage cheese? I got a lactose intolerant kid but would like to add the protein. Thanks!
Hi- It might be weird. I’m not sure if that would bake the same way. You could omit the cottage cheese and add 2 additional eggs though which would keep the volume the same and replace any lost protein.
how many eggs do you use? I assume 12, but I didn’t see a number on the recipe.
The full recipe is at the bottom of the post!
I have made this recipe twice so far- once with spinach and once with broccoli. Both times were delicious – my husband and I love them! My two year old son is resistant to eating eggs but I’m hoping he will come around. I will keeping offering, and it’s still a great exposure.
These are awesome!! My 18 month old son liked these and usually he’s hit or miss with eggs. Also, my husband loves them! Can you make adult size versions of these without having to adjust the recipe or change the cooking temp?
I’m so glad! Yes, you can make them in a standard muffin tin. You would to bake them longer, but everything else would be the same. Maybe 22-24 minutes!
I just made a double batch and they are fantastic! For some reason the bottoms are sticking to the pan though even though I let them cool. I used a spray and I have a pretty good nonstick pan. Not sure what I did wrong. They taste great though and my toddler loves them!
If you’re adding more veggies in addition to butternut squash/sweet potato, should all the veggies be 1/2 cup total?
Yes, that would keep the proportions the same.
Hi, forgive my stupid question but I’m from England!…
What is a 1/2 a ‘cup’ of butternut squash? Any measurement in grams? I have big frozen chunks so I imagine if I fill half a cup with that it will be wildly different from half a cup of cottage cheese (grams of each would be better?!)
Many thanks!
Hi- I’m working on adding metric (it’s a process!) but about a handful would be the easiest way to gauge that right now.
Thank you so much for the reply! I googled it as I really wanted to try these and Mr Google said 100g so I went with that…
and they came out great! Thanks Amy!!
If I add broccoli do I need to cook the broccoli first?
No, not if it’s chopped into very small pieces.
Yummy. Kid approved and easy to make!
My sons perfect food! He loves them so much and I never have to worry about breakfast time because these are a hit every time!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Any suggestions on how to make this dairy-free? My son is milk protein intolerant. We’ve got dairy-free cheese but I’ve yet to find dairy-free cottage cheese (or ricotta). Would yogurt be an ok substitute?
I would probably just leave out the cottage cheese and add an additional egg!
Oh my gosh we all loved this so much! I never thought to put butternut squash with eggs and it gives the eggs such a perfect sweetness. I made exactly as the recipe said, and added some leftover frozen peas. They didn’t last long enough so I’ll double the batch next time!
Can I use zucchini rather than butternut squash or would that be too wet?
Yes, just squeeze it super dry first.
Hi! Can you use frozen veggies in this recipe? If yes , should I cook it first before adding to the mix? Thanks so much!
Yes you can. Something like corn or peas could be added frozen. Bigger veggies like broccoli or cauliflower you’d want to thaw in warm water, drain and pat dry, and cut up into smaller pieces with kitchen shears.
Can i omit Parmesan? It’s too expensive here
Yes, totally!
This was yum yum. TRied it today. But I uses shredded carrot ,, cauliflower and spinach .
Hi, this was easy to pull together. I used a mix of broccoli and butternut squash and had to cook them longer (I think about 10 mins) to get them to set. They were still very moist and not dried out at all. Unfortunately our 2 year old was not sold on them (yet…I’ll keep trying) but my husband and I enjoyed them. Appreciate you sharing the recipe, Amy.
You’re very welcome!
I accidentally did the big muffin trays… How long do they bake if they are not mini sized? How do I know if it’s ready – should they be super firm or soft on the inside and slightly firm on top? As you can tell I’m new to cooking.
It would depend on how much you filled the cups, but if they were all the way to the top it might be 10 more minutes. The tops should be firm to the touch.
Hi! I would love to try to make these mini muffins.
Just a quick question… do I need to cook the butternut squash before combining it other ingredients just before baking?
If you shred it, it can be raw. If you want to add little cubes, it should be cooked first.
Made these and these were delicious! Thank you for the recipe! Love love love these bite size egg and cheese muffins!
Made this recipe & didn’t sit well with my picky 2 year old so ended up eating the entire thing myself. It was really good!
I’m glad you liked it at least!
Thanks for the heads up Kit! I emailed with her and got her to take it down and did my best to explain why this isn’t okay.
Super awesome for my daughter’s lunch at school. Bonus is that my elderly mother likes them for breakfast, too. Winner!
That’s awesome!
These are great! My toddler is generally leery of vegetables, but she gobbled these up. I added shredded carrot. Will definitely make again.
I’m so glad!
Can I use regular size muffin tin instead of Minnie and just up the time ?
You can, though I’d suggest filling them only half full since these are pretty delicate and may not hold together well if they are full in the regular size cups. If you filed the regular size cups about half full, you might only need a few extra minutes of baking time.
These are delicious! I will be making them with many vegetable and cheese variations. They are going to be great to be able to pull some out of the freezer at a moments notice and give my little guy something fresh not processed to eat. Thank you!
Hooray, thanks for the feedback and I’m glad to hear this!
Hi, if I don’t have cottage cheese nor ricotta cheese, can I use Greek yoghurt as a substitute?
I would use shredded cheese instead. Yogurt will make it difficult for them to cook all the way through.
1
I added shredded zucchini, carrot and extra cheese for my daughters batch in the hopes of packing as many veggies in a tiny bite as possible. The extra cheese helped cover up all those extras and she had no idea (YAY!). For my husband and I, I chopped bell peppers and added those to everything else and used half the amount of cheese. Both came out amazing! Plan to make these often. Thanks for the recipe!
Hooray! I’m so glad to hear all of this!
This is a staple of my 1.5 year old’s lunches. We always have them in the freezer! I’ve made them both full size and mini size, and with butternut squash and broccoli.
Hooray! Keeping them in the freezer is such a smart idea for easy lunch packing!
How did you alter the recipe to make 12 full size muffins?
I’ve just made these with my 3 year old. Do you think they’d be okay to give to a 9 month old? I can’t see why not, but just want to check I’m not missing something
Absolutely should be fine! I’d cut them up into smaller pieces. enjoy!
Has anyone ever tried these (or similar) in a microwave? If so, approximate time? My 1y10m is requiring more snacks at daycare and i’m trying to avoid breads as option so early on, so very keen to try this. Thanks!
I haven’t tried this exact recipe in the microwave, but it’s have scrambled an egg that way. You could stir in a little bit of a cooked veggie and cheese into an egg, place into a heat-safe bowl, and microwave for 30-60 seconds stopping to stir halfway through. I don’t think you’d have the same muffin consistency as if you bake them in the oven (it would be softer) but it would be faster!
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Excellent, delicious sort of like the sous vide eggs that Starbucks serves
Made these this morning, they were a big hit! I used grated carrot and butternut squash which gave them a really nice color. Thanks for the recipe!
The title references powdered kale but the recipe doesn’t. ?? Thanks!
I just made these and yum!!! I just threw in some soft sweet potato. My toddler is not a fan yet but maybe I will experiment.
What can you use instead of the butternut squash?
You could try finely chopped zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, grated carrot, grated sweet potato, frozen peas…
I just made these and they are delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Can these be frozen?
Yes! They freeze really well. Let cool completely, then store in the freezer in a zip top bag with as much air removed as possible. Reheat for 15-30 seconds in the microwave (and check to make sure it’s not too hot since they heat up really fast) before serving.
I made a batch of these last night — Violet ate 1/2 of one straight away! (And I ate two, because yum.) My mini-muffin tin holds 24 muffins, so I doubled the recipe and had to extend the cooking time to 28 minutes. (I also swapped in ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese because it’s what I had on hand.) Super delicious!