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Quinoa, Egg and Cheese Muffins

The school year is still new and we’re already struggling to make breakfast and lunches interesting. We’ve fallen into a rut with breakfast protein. Eggs served scrambled, fried, boiled, diced, with ham, veggies, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chives seem like a lot of options. But eventually, the palette longs for something new and dashing.

Enter Quinoa, Egg and Cheese Muffins to the rescue! These savory little vessels of nutrition are portable, packed with flavor, re-heatable, loaded with protein and most of all, satisfying.

I have loved the idea of a flourless, savory cheese muffin for a long time, but had disappointing results in the past. The problem was that they always tasted good, but were either a weird consistency being too fluffy, or just not substantial enough to be the main course of our quick breakfasts. Adding quinoa however is a game changer. Quinoa brings the right amount of bite and substance to compliment the eggs, spinach and cheeses.

My family loves these muffins. And they also work great for brunch, lunch, pot lucks, post workout, parties, midnight snacks and more.

 

Quinoa preparation is similar to rice, but faster. It tastes great cooked with water or broth.

Spray your paper baking cups with cooking spray! This is strange but necessary and something that I’ve had to learn through trial and error. For whatever reason, every egg muffin recipe I’ve ever made sticks like crazy to pans and baking cups. If you skip this step, be prepared to spend a lot of time scrubbing your muffin pan post baking, or scraping half of the muffin from the paper liner. But the good news is that a paper baking cup along with cooking spray works like a charm, and your muffin will separate from the paper with ease.

Sauté the onions and then add in the spinach.

Combine the cooked quinoa with the eggs, spices, cooked onions and spinach.

Gently fold in the cheeses.

Voila! Yummy food!

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Quinoa, Feta and Spinach Muffins

Satisfying, savory muffins filled with quinoa, eggs, feta, cheddar and spinach. Make up a batch for quick weekday breakfasts, or bring some to your next potluck. 

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword cheddar cheese, eggs, feta cheese, make-ahead, quinoa, savory muffin, spinach
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes
Author Jessica Nelson

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium red onion, diced yellow, white and green onions can be substituted
  • 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
  • 6 eggs, lightly eaten
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 4 oz feta cheese, cubed into small pieces crumbled feta works well too
  • 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1-2 tsp salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pans by lining with paper liners. Then spray paper liners with cooking spray. 

  2. Heat a frying pan on medium high. Add olive oil to pan. Start by sautéing the onions until almost translucent, approximately 4 minutes. Then add in the spinach and cook until spinach has wilted and reduced in size and the onions are translucent. 

    Stir frequently to avoid burning the onions. 

  3. In a large bowl, add cooked quinoa, cooked onions and spinach. Mix to combine. Add in the lightly beaten eggs, garlic powder, oregano and combine.  

  4. Fold in the feta and cheddar cheeses and stir gently until combined. 

  5. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 of the way full with the muffin mixture. Bake for  25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the muffins on a rack to cool before serving. These taste great at room temperature. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers. 

  6. Makes 18 muffins.