Southwest Breakfast Muffins Recipe
These southwest breakfast muffins make an easily portable, high-protein breakfast for busy mornings.
I don’t know about you, but around here, mornings can be hectic. With all of us having to get out the door at the same time, it can get a little crazy.
Mini Chef doesn’t care to be rushed either. He’s a “take-your-time-like-you-have-it” kinda guy. Just like his Daddy.
So most busy mornings, the stress of getting out the door falls on me. I’m the worry wart around here. My brain is always on and running 50 mph. I’m always stressed because that seems to be how I function best. Perhaps it’s not the healthiest way to get through the day, but it’s effective to say the least.
Thinking back to my South Beach Diet days, I came up with this “grab-n-go” breakfast recipe that makes it easy to get some sustenance as the whirlwind I create zips through the house and out the door. (Don’t judge, at least I burn a few extra calories…)
WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE:
- ¾ lb. ground turkey
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 ½ cups red onion
- 1 ½ cups red bell pepper
- 1 tbsp. oil
- 12 large egg whites (or 6 large eggs)
You can easily print the recipe below. But don’t let these particular spices be the end of it. You can easily switch out spices for all types of different flavors in these savory breakfast muffins. You could use sage and poultry seasoning, or even rosemary.
HOW TO MAKE SOUTHWEST BREAKFAST MUFFINS
These are fairly easy to make. You basically just mush everything together and press it into a lined muffin tin. Easy! But here are the specifics…
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line muffin tins with muffin papers.
- In a large pan, combine all ingredients except egg whites and cook until done.
- While that’s cooking, separate your eggs, putting the whites into a large mixing bowl.
- When the meat is done cooking, allow it to cool, then stir it into the egg whites.
- Spoon the mixture into the muffin papers (a small ladle works best), and place in the oven for approximately 40 minutes. The muffins should have a nice golden color to them when they are done.
- Allow to cool and serve.
MORE EGG BREAKFAST IDEAS
SOUTHWEST BREAKFAST MUFFINS RECIPE:
Southwestern Breakfast Muffins
Equipment
- Standard muffin tin
- Muffin liners
Ingredients
- ¾ lb. ground turkey
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 ½ cups chopped red onion
- 1 ½ cups chopped red bell peppers
- 1 tbsp. oil
- 12 large egg whites (or 6 large eggs if you prefer whole eggs instead)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line muffin tins with muffin papers.
- In a large pan, combine all ingredients except egg whites and cook until done.
- While that's cooking, separate your eggs, putting the whites into a large mixing bowl.
- When the meat is done cooking, allow it to cool, then stir it into the egg whites.
- Spoon the mixture into the muffin papers (a small ladle works best), and place in the oven for approximately 40 minutes. The muffins should have a nice golden color to them when they are done.
- Allow to cool and serve.
- Storage: Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 4 months.
These look awesome Tiffany. I’m going to try them for sure. Just found your blog and LOVE it! Thanks so much for sharing!! I tried a green smoothie and love love love them!!! And I love how your personality shines through your writing here. I wish you lived next door so we could be friends and share smoothies! Have a wonderful Easter!!
Adrienne – Thank you! What a sweet thing to say!
I love your recipes and blog as well! I’m always looking to try something new and this is one of the first places I come to get recipes. If I were to do do this recipe with purchases egg whites.. how many cups do you think would be equal to 12 egg whites?
Kate – Funny you should ask. I just cracked 12 eggs for my protein pancakes! 12 egg whites equal 1-3/4 cups. Enjoy!
My mornings are super hectic like yours. I have 3 kids at three different schools. One in high school, one in jr. high and one in elementary school. No school bus, so I drive the oldest off first, come home, walk my youngest to school a few blocks from my house, then drop off the middle one on my way to work. Usually by the time I get to my desk in the morning, its the first time that I’ve sat down for 1 1/2 hours! I love these muffins, I’m totally going to make these – love the calories too!
Jenn – Wow! You DO have a busy morning! My hat goes off to you!
Well , thank goodness, my mornings are a little less hectic now that the kids are 15 and 17. I still find myself racing around the house though some morning. I have a couple of muffin recipes I enjoy and then I try and have a piece of fruit along with it. Plan, plan, plan – that’s the only thing that keeps me eating clean. I usually take my breakfast to work to eat so that way I can enjoy it. I also make a lot of oatmeal. I have a lemon cranberry muffin recipe that I LOVE. I need to see what I can do abut making it a little healther. Now that summer is here, I’m back to making my yogurt and I’ll add fruit to it for smoothies – yummy!!!
Stephanie – That’s wonderful! Those muffins sound YUMMY! And you are right, the only way to eat clean is to plan clean! Good for you! Keep up the great work!
What did you do with the yolks??? I’m want to try these, but I think I’ll just buy the pre-packaged egg whites.
Wendy – I know people hate this answer, but they go down the drain. When I use that many eggs, I just cannot justify eating that many yolks. Sorry! 🙁
Hi I was wondering if you think you would be able to FREEZE these?
Thanks for all your wonderful ideas and recipes.
Julie – They didn’t last long enough for me to find out. I should thing so. I can’t any reason why you couldn’t. Worth a shot!
5 am gym, 3 boys-3 different school, on golden retriever to walk and then to my school to teach kindergarteners!! Crazy morning to say the least.
I know it’s a weird one but it works for me, I cook my oatmeal the night before, add my wheat germ, flaxseed, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and 3 egg whites cover and eat when I get home for the gym.. Prep time saves me valuable time in the morning!! Love the muffin ideas and next shopping trip will get the turkey meat for those. Thanks Tiffany.
Mel – You bet! And your oats don’t sound weird at all!
I just put these muffins in the oven. Can’t wait to try them. I bought the egg whites, but i think it’s cheaper to just crack the eggs. fyi.
adrienne – I think you’re right!
I actually make something similar but just keep the egg ‘batter’ in the fridge and spoon out what I need into my flex muffin pans. Usually 2 muffins. Then I throw them in the microwave for a one-minute hot breakfast!
Jen – Interesting! Thanks for sharing that!
Why not use whole eggs? Just curious…
Moira – With that many eggs, the fat and cholesterol content would be very high.
hmm… The equivalent of 12 egg whites is six eggs, divided by 16 muffins is < half an egg each. I did the nutritional evaluation, and it would 15 calories and 2 gms of fat to the muffins, making them 22% calories from fat. Seems okay to me and less wasteful.
Moira – Do what works best for you. My recipes reflect my personal decisions in nutrition. If you feel better about eating the whole egg, go for it! The yolk is actually the most nutritious part of the egg! 🙂
oh, I see my math is wrong… sorry…
These are going on my menu this week and I’ll be tripling it to freeze two batches. Egg muffins are some of my favorite breakfast freezer meals – so in response to the above commenter, these would definitely freezer well. You can usually package 12 muffins in a gallon size bag, and put the bag from the freezer to the fridge the night before to thaw and then reheat in the microwave or oven (and actually they can go fine straight from the freezer to the microwave for a minute or two.)
Do you find the eggs stick to your muffin liners?
Kelly – Thank you! Yes, the eggs will stick a little. I don’t think you can avoid that.
Hi Tiffany,
The more I explore your site the more I love it. I can’t wait to try these!
Thanks 🙂
Tracy
Tracy – Thanks! Hope you enjoy them!
i could sure use recipe in my kitchen, tnx!
JOG – Enjoy! 🙂
Can these be frozen?
Confused – They could be, but I don’t really recommend it. You could certainly give it a try with one muffin overnight if you make a batch and see how it is after it’s thawed. Or, just cut the recipe in half to make less. Hope that helps!
This could work well with meat substitute crumbles. Thanks Gracious Pantry! 🙂
Julianne – You’re welcome! Enjoy!
Hi I’m wondering why you only use the egg whites? Would it work using the whole egg?
Jennifer – Yes it would work with whole eggs. I use egg whites because the combination of whole eggs and the turkey meat would bring the cholesterol up pretty high. But you can use whole eggs if you wish.
Robyn – I’ve never tried, but I would imagine so.
Tidegrad – Thanks!