Breakfast Muffins – a big, fat, fluffy, cheesy, bacon studded muffin with a whole egg baked inside. THIS is the breakfast of champions!!
Breakfast Muffins
This is a great grab ‘n go breakfast, but also has that wow factor to impress family and friends! It’s one of those “what if I did this….?” recipes when I was making some cheese muffins one day.
The first attempt had me scraping muffin and egg off the floor of the oven.
The second attempt had me grinning like a fool when I cut open a warm, golden domed muffin to be greeted with the sight of a perfectly cooked egg yolk.🙌🏻
I love how these Breakfast Muffins look just like ordinary muffins! No clue of the hidden goodness inside….
How to make Breakfast Muffins – with a whole egg inside!
Let’s get straight into how to make these! Not hard, but I have a few tips:
use Texas muffins tins ie the giant muffins not normal cupcake size muffin tins. The normal size muffins tins are too small – unless you use quail eggs …! ;
make a well with the muffin batter to crack the egg into; and
dollop bits of batter around the yolk first, then dollop in the middle and smooth over – I’ve found this to be the easiest way to cover the egg with batter.
What you need
Here’s what you need for these Breakfast Muffins. Just a note on a few of the items:
Vinegar – this activates the baking soda, giving it a kick start to make the muffin fluffy;
Sour cream or yogurt – the acidity in these also helps give the baking soda a kick start, as well as making the muffin nice and moist;
Baking soda & baking powder – baking soda is simply baking powder on steroids, it’s approximately 3 times stronger. I like to use both in this recipe for the best and most even rise BUT you can use just one of them (quantities in the recipe); and
Cheese – use anything you like!
How to freeze Breakfast Muffins
I’d love to say these Breakfast Muffins are great for the freezer, but unfortunately it isn’t because the egg whites become rubbery (cooked yolks freeze fine, whites don’t). However, I have made batches of these with beaten eggs (instead of cracking them in whole) and they freeze very well!
What about using a boiled egg instead?
I have made these Breakfast Muffins using boiled eggs and pushing them into the batter. Doing it that way, the eggs look fabulous when you cut into it because they hold their shape.
But the medium and hard boiled eggs are overcook once the muffin is baked. For perfectly cooked yolks, the boiled eggs need to be extremely soft boiled which calls for delicate handling to peel the shell – it’s a pain!
That’s why I just crack raw eggs in – best result for least effort. Even though the egg ends up kinda wonky. 😂
Plus, you know what they say…. the beauty is often in the flaw of things.
Oh, wait. That’s not a real saying. That’s what I say when I serve up wonky “rustic” food!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Bacon and Egg Breakfast Muffins
Ingredients
Flavourings
- 150g / 5oz bacon , chopped (I use lean)
- 1 cup green onion , finely sliced (2 stems)
- 1 cup (100g) cheddar cheese , shredded (or other of choice)
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) flour , plain / all purpose
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder (Note 1)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda (aka bicarbonate soda, Note 1)
Wet Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (165 ml) milk , full or low fat
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup sour cream or plain yoghurt , preferably full fat
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral flavoured oil)
- 1 egg
Muffin
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Brush 4 Texas muffin tin holes with with butter. (Note 3)
- Heat a non stick pan over high heat. Add bacon and fry until lightly browned. Remove onto a paper towel to drain the fat, then set aside.
Muffin Batter:
- Place Dry Ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.
- Whisk Wet Ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Pour the Wet Ingredients into the Dry Ingredients until flour is almost incorporated (limit to 8 stirs!) – don't overmix (makes muffins hard).
- Add green onion, bacon and cheese, stir 5 times.
Assemble
- Place 1/4 cup batter into each of the 4 muffin tin holes.
- Use spoon to make a well in the batter, crack egg into each well.
- Divide the remaining batter between each hole to cover the egg – best way is to dollop batter around the yolk, then on top of the yolk, then spread to cover (see video).
- Brush the muffins with melted butter, then bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Best served warm!
Recipe Notes:
- Baking soda – use extra 3/4 tsp baking powder instead
- Baking powder – use extra 1/2 tsp baking soda instead
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2015, updated August 2019 with new photos, brand new video, step photos, slight tweaks to improve the writing of the recipe and most importantly, Life of Dozer added!
More breakfast egg recipes
Life of Dozer
Dozer on the job – taste testing these Breakfast Muffins!
I used the regular muffin baking tin and used quall eggs. Worked great and very “cute”. For the lack of a better term. 🙂
YEE HAA!!! SO GLAD you enjoyed it Christian!!! 🙂
Thanks for a fabulous recipe! I have a 16 year old son that eats alot. I like to make sure he has some protein in the morning, so I’m always looking for make ahead recipes with eggs. He liked these alot! These muffins are definitely going into the breakfast rotation! We all enjoyed these!
I’m so glad Michelle! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Hi, I wanted to share that these muffins made the list of requested meals before my son leaves for college! They’re on the counter cooling now!
Now THAT is a high praise! 😂
What an AWESOME idea…totally have to try this for sure!!
Hope you do! 🙂
These are so adorable! i’ll have to see if they taste as good as they look
Can you freeze these and reheat?
Hi Lelania! Unfortunately not. The egg white becomes rubbery.
Hi Marti! SO jealous you have your own chickens! Given they are your own chickens, I am wondering if your eggs are larger than commercial ones? Being free range and spoilt chickens! Try making the divet larger then when you dollop the batter on top, spoon it around the yolk first before dolloping on top. That way you kind of form a seal around the yolk before weighing the egg down with more batter which makes it spread out. I’m so glad you love it though!! I have some of these in the freezer, they reheat so well! 🙂
to get a boiled egg inside without overcooking you could try a soft boiled egg. the yolk is till runny so when you stick it in the muffin and cook, you’re just cooking the yolk through rather than cooking an already cooked yolk.
Hi Arianne! I might try it with a very soft boiled egg. 🙂 I tried it with a soft boiled egg and still found the yolk cooked a bit too much for my liking. 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion! N x
I recently began commuting an hour to work in the morning – this is perfect! Thanks!!! 🙂
So glad Jessica! It is a great grab and go brekki! 🙂
I did not use bacon and replaced with the sundries tomatoes as you suggested…YUM!! I had to cook for 30 min to get the golden look at 350 degrees. Awesome recipe.
Oooh! I’m jealous! I actually have a big jar of sun dried tomatoes in the fridge, I must give it a go!! So glad you enjoyed it Sonya! N x
I did these just now in the toaster oven… they came out a little doughie… I put them in an extra 5 minutes and still? Any advice?
Thanks
Hi Romeo! Unfortunately a toaster oven is not suitable for this 🙁 It needs to be made in a proper oven because a toaster oven doesn’t get hot enough. 🙂
I am vegaterian and do not eat bacon but eggs. Any suggestions on substitutions for the bacon? Will the recipe be okay with out the bacon? Should I add additional seasonings?
Hi Sonya! This will be fine without bacon. The bacon salt doesn’t add extra flavours throughout the muffin, you just get pops of bacon flavour and salt so you won’t lose it. You could just substitute with extra chopped scallions/shallots or even chopped up sundried tomatoes or feta!
Nagi… Check this out!!! http://www.followmefoodie.com/2013/08/the-rebel-within-egg-baked-inside-a-bacon-cheese-muffin-recipe/
Checking it out right now!!!
Just made these this morning. Wonderful! Going to try Chorizo instead of bacon next time.
Oooh! Chorizo will be fabulous! I’m so glad you loved it Heather! Thank you so much for coming back to tell me, makes me so happy! N x
This is such a brilliant idea! No more worrying about breakfast every single morning!
We love your blog and recipes. Are you interested in becoming Chicory’s recipe partner?
Wait…I love your blog. These pictures are so amazing and you have so many recipes!!! Eggs inside a muffin!? SO COOL
Thanks so much Joleen!! Thought maybe this was a bit too wacky and weird for most people! N x
Stuffing bacons and egg into a muffin is like combing all my favorite item together! This is absolutely perfect for breakfast. You need to slow down here girl. I have a long list from your site that is waiting to be cooked and you just kept adding awesome new ones all the time 🙂
Ha!! Right back at you!! 🙂 N x
I agree! Everything you make looks amazingly delicious! Every time! Haha
Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Warm regards from Portugal!
Carolina, you’re so sweet!! Thank you for your message. You made my morning. 🙂 – Nagi x (from a cold but sunny Sydney!!)
I’ve made these muffins twice, and here’s what I learned. The dough is very thick, so there’s no way I could tap the tin to make the dough flat in the bottom of the muffin pan. Not to worry, but just saying. 🙂 Also, I put a “divot” in the bottom dough, so when the egg goes in, the yolk settles in the middle. Then I put a tiny amount of dough on all four sides to keep the yolk in the middle, then I cover the top with dough. Another thing, I have a professional oven and find that the muffins must bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees; with regular muffins containing baking powder I bake at 375 for a faster rise; think I’ll try that next time. OVERALL: My husband and his crew LOVE these! 🙂
Hi Cindy! Thanks so much for your tips! My batter must be slightly thinner than yours, possibly because I use large eggs because I can bang the tip to flatten the bottom. Your tip to create a divot is GOLD!!! HOW have I never thought of that?? GAH!
The baking time confuses me though! The amount of dough that ends up in each muffin is around the same as what I use for regular muffin tins so I found that 20 minutes is perfect. 30 minutes would overcook my egg. My oven is new so the temperature is bang on, I even keep a thermometer in there so I can be confident that my cooking times are right for recipes. OH but I do have a fan forced one, though if you have a professional one, then I assume yours is too.
Anyway! I’m glad that yours worked out and your husband enjoyed it! And THANK YOU for your tips and your comments, they are so helpful! 🙂 N x
That should have said Nagi… Sorry! 🙂
No worries! – N 😉
Magi… I wonder how overcooked the eggs would get if you used quail eggs (the cooked ones that come in in Asian markets) and pushed them into the batter. OR… could you use raw quail eggs and make them in the regular sized muffin tin?
Thanks! Cheryl 🙂
Hi Cheryl! You know, that’s EXACTLY what my mum said when she read this! She said most people won’t have texas muffin tins so I should make this with quail eggs in a regular muffin tin 🙂 I haven’t been to the asian store since she suggested that but in theory, it should work perfectly! I don’t think they would be very overcooked because they are in the centre of the batter which heats up last, and muffins in regular muffin tins usually cook in around 15 minutes, but because there is less batter if you push a quail egg in, then it should cook in around 12 minutes.
I’ll try it soon and updated the recipe. But if you do try it, I’d love to hear what you think! – Nagi x
OK… so I just looked back at what I wrote, and because I was at work, I didn’t ask the question right. Within the parentheses should have said, “…the cooked ones that come in a can in the Asian markets. So, I’m guessing that since you think the regular-sized eggs would become overcooked, I’m assuming the smaller eggs would become overcooked faster. I will try and let you know.
Ah. Yes, I did think you meant raw quail eggs. But I would be concerned about any cooked eggs overcooking…having said that though, I am not sure if the preserving ingredients for canned eggs slows down the cooking process? Also cooking this in a regular muffin tin will cut down on the cook time therefore reducing likelihood of the eggs overcooking.
Keen to hear how it goes!! N x
Excellent idea, Nagi! This is one good prep ahead breakfast recipe that I can make for my kids. A feel good ‘I have got them a balanced healthy breakfast’ in the midst of the morning ‘get to school, get to work’ chaos. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Thanks Jen!! I have to agree, I can’t think of a plain muffin (even a savoury one) as a proper breakfast. It just doesn’t keep me full! However, THIS is really satisfying – amazing how one egg can make such a difference! 🙂
Hi Nagi! Sort of a dumb question, but where did you get lean bacon? I really like bacon (especially in all things breakfast) but the bacon at my local grocery store seems to have a lot of fat on it. Do you ask the butcher to cut the bacon for you fresh instead of buying the pre-packaged kind? Or is turkey bacon usually pretty lean? (haven’t tried turkey bacon yet, I’ve only tried pork bacon).
Hi Sarah! In Australia, our bacon typically comes with the streaky bacon attached to what we call “the eye” which is an oval piece of bacon. All pink, just a bit of fat on the edges. 🙂 It is SO much leaner than the streaky bacon but you get all the yummy bacon flavour. Otherwise I use turkey bacon which is super lean! Honestly, this works with ham too. Thick cut works best! 🙂 N x
Thanks for the suggestion Nagi! I will look for the lean bacon you described, and turkey bacon next time I’m at the grocery store!