These mini Spinach Egg Muffins mix up in minutes and are one of our go-to easy meals. They’re packed with iron and protein, and you can make them ahead and stash them in the fridge until you need them for the kids.
I love making one breakfast recipe for kids on the weekend to serve throughout the week and these egg muffins are one of our all-time favorites. They are super quick to stir together and are a nice vegetarian option to serve at any time of the day—including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
These muffins for kids have a moist texture, making them easy for little kids to chew, and they have a nice mix of ingredients so they can function as the main course in a meal.
We like them as an easy breakfast for toddlers. Or as a nutritious lunch for kids, as a baby snack or toddler snack, packed in a lunchbox as an easy hot lunch idea, and I enjoy them diced over salads. You can even serve them with a dip of pizza sauce or salsa for additional flavor.
(You may also like my Spinach Eggs, Sheet Pan Eggs, Spinach Muffins, and my Mini Egg Muffins.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at the ingredients you need to make this egg muffin recipe so you know what to have on hand and ready to go.
- Eggs: I use large eggs in my recipes, so plan to use them here.
- Spinach: You can use fresh spinach of any kind or frozen spinach. Leafy greens are often a tough sell with toddlers since they can be hard to chew and not very flavorful, but adding spinach to these egg muffins adds iron and fiber without compromising on texture.
- Shredded cheese: You can use cheddar cheese, mozzarella, feta cheese, or another type of shredded cheese you like.
- Cornmeal or flour: This helps the muffins have a nice texture that’s easy to pick up and eat.
- Mild smooth salsa: This adds a lot of flavor to the muffins.
- Cumin: Adding dried ground cumin ensures that the muffins are savory and flavorful.
TIP: You can serve these Spinach Egg Cups on their own or with additional salsa or even guacamole for dipping.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the process for making these egg cups. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full information, including the amounts and timing.
- Add the eggs to a medium bowl.
- If using fresh spinach, roughly cut it up with kitchen scissors. Add with the rest of the ingredients, including the egg mixture, to the bowl with the eggs and stir.
- Divide among a greased mini muffin tin and bake.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
TIP: Be sure to grease your muffin tin really well to avoid sticking. I find that nonstick cooking spray and a nonstick muffin tin work better than paper liners with this recipe.
Serving Suggestions
We like them with a simple side of fruit and crackers. You could also pair them with toast, a muffin, or add them to your own salad. I’ve also been known to add them to a grain bowl.
You can also warm the egg cups through and pack them in a thermos as an easy hot lunch for kids.
Iron-Rich Spinach Egg Cups
The spinach in these muffins is full of iron and it’s more readily absorbed by the body by the inclusion of the Vitamin C-rich salsa. Which is just to say that these are a great vegetarian source of iron for kids.
Best Mini Muffin Tin for Baking
This mini muffin tin from Wilton is the one I recommend. It works best when greased with nonstick spray.
How to Store
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Warm for 15 seconds in the microwave if desired to serve warm. You can also freeze in a zip-top freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 6 months.
Thaw overnight in the fridge or in 15 second increments in the microwave.
Best Tips for Success
- Be sure to grease your muffin tin really well to avoid sticking. I use classic nonstick cooking spray.
- To use frozen spinach, let it thaw and squeeze out any moisture. Use ¼ cup and break it up.
- To make gluten-free, use the cornmeal or a cup for cup gluten-free flour.
- To make dairy-free, omit the cheese. You could add another cup of spinach or another veggie like corn or cooked roasted butternut squash.
- You can omit the added salt if desired. Feel free to add pepper, minced onion, cooked and crumbled bacon, minced ham, cooked and crumbled sausage, or other ingredients you like in omelettes or frittatas, too.
- Run a paring knife around the edges of the muffins to help loosen if needed.
- Cut into smaller pieces for older babies or one year olds as needed.
- Use Italian seasoning or garlic powder in place of the cumin to vary the flavor.
Related Recipes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear what your family thought of it, so please comment and rate the recipe below.
So Good Spinach Egg Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 6 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup cornmeal (or all-purpose flour)
- ¼ cup mild smooth salsa
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a mini muffin tin very well with nonstick spray. (Be sure to grease it well to ensure the egg cups don't stick to the pan.)
- Roughly cut up the spinach with kitchen scissors or a knife.
- Add spinach to a medium bowl with the rest of the ingredients and stir well to combine.
- Divide among the prepared mini muffin tin, using about 1 tablespoon batter in each cup.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the tops are firm.
- Place the muffin tin on a wire rack and let muffins cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes. As they cool, they will start to pull away from the sides of the pan slightly. Use a paring knife around the edges to gently loosen and remove the muffins from the pan.
Equipment
Notes
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Warm for 15 seconds in the microwave if desired.
- Be sure to grease your muffin tin really well to avoid sticking.
- To use frozen spinach, let it thaw and squeeze out any moisture. Use ¼ cup and break it up.
- Gluten-free: Use the cornmeal or a cup for cup gluten-free flour.
- Dairy-free: Omit the cheese. You could add another cup of spinach or another veggie like corn or cooked roasted butternut squash.
- You can omit the added salt if desired.
- Run a paring knife around the edges of the muffins to help loosen if needed.
- Cut into smaller pieces for older babies or one year olds as needed.
Nutrition
This post was first published July 2020.
Would the baking time change if using a regular muffin tin?
Yes, 2-4 minutes longer
Should I reduce baking time if baking with mini muffin tins?
The info in the recipe is for a mini muffin pan so nope. Enjoy!
These are fantastic and really quick to make. We have dairy and egg allergies and I substituted Just Egg and dairy free cheese shreds and they came out perfect. Thank you for the great recipe!
My new favorite baby recipe! I think mild cheddar works better than the mozzarella because it has more flavor. She ate a lot though! I love sneaking in veggies.
I used AP flour and they turned out delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Absolutely delicious like so many of your recipes! Quick and easy to make too. Thank you for sharing with us!
Can you use baking cups/cupcake liners in the pan?
They will likely stick so if you want to do that, spray them lightly with nonstick spray first.
Just made them and I love them.
So easy to make, simple. Mess free. Nutritious and delicious.
Hi can I freeze these and how do I reheat?
Yes, freeze in a freezer bag once cooled, then warm in 15 second increments in the microwave.
I made these last night for my 8 m/o and she loves them! I didn’t have salsa so used a little arrabbiata sauce instead. I also only have a regular muffin tin, so left them in the oven for an extra 8 minutes and they were perfect. I love that these have cumin in – babies love flavour, too!
Very easy and great make ahead breakfast! Delicious and simple, love the spinach for the added nutrition too!
Interested to try. Could the salsa be omitted or substituted? What do you grease your muffing pan with? Thanks.
You can omit the salsa if you want, though it does add flavor. I use classic Pam nonstick spray as I find that it works best with this sort of recipe which is otherwise prone to sticking to pans.
Very tasty! I used a kitchen scale and did about 80 to 90 g of spinach, and probably about the same on the salsa as well. Colby Jack cheese. I highly recommend the GreenLife ceramic nonstick pan. I did not even grease the pan, and the muffins slid right out (silicone spoon to remove- no metal or you can scratch the coating)
How do you adjust for making these or even standard muffins in a typical muffin tin, if you don’t have a mini? Same amount of time or longer?
2-4 minutes longer should do it
Thanks!
I ended up using a blender to make sure all the spinach stems were small enough to prevent choking. The appearance is more like a muffin, but they still taste wonderfully!
Can you freeze these?
Sure, freeze in a freezer bag in a flat layer with as much air removed as possible.
Delicious and my toddler loves them!
Phenomenal. Thank you. I made this recipe for my 20 month old this evening to meal prep for the week. Good thing I used a full size muffin tin to make mine because when I tasted it, I knew I would personally be eating these. Lol! I will try to share with my kids, but I’m not making promises. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear it!
Did you bake for the same amount of time or longer?
Hi,
Just wondering if this recipe is suitable for a 8 month old?
If you’re doing baby led weaning, you can offer a whole muffin for them to chew on. If you’re doing more traditional baby food, it would be suitable if baby is able to pick up smaller pieces between their fingers and if they are at that point, you can dice this up into little pieces. I hope that helps!
I love trying all of your different egg muffin recipes! For this recipe I substituted the salsa with mari nara sauce (as you suggested in a previous comment) and I used Italian seasoning instead of cumin. They came out great!
Hello Amy,
I made this today for my toddler and it was delicious. In order to make this recipe, I added some ingredients from your Mini Egg Muffin recipe such as cottage cheese and red onions. For this recipe, I omitted the salsa and the cornmeal. Nevertheless, this was a tasty breakfast/snack that many toddlers and adults would love.
As per usual, thank you for all your hard work.
Tia
These look delicious! Wondering what I could substitute salsa with?
I haven’t made these any other way but you could likely use marinara sauce for a slightly different flavor or just omit it.
Would it come out okay without the cumin and salsa? My 2 year old doesn’t like either one of those ingredients.
Hi there!
Is it possible to freeze these?
It should be okay! You may just need to pat them dry after warming them.
These are quite good for a healthy muffin. Recipe worked out exactly as stated. I made mine with cornmeal, chunky salsa, and canned spinach. I substituted cayenne pepper because I didn’t have any cumin on hand.
Can theese freeze after baking? If not, do you have a an egg recipe that would work for freezing?
I think they’d be fine to freeze. You may just need to pat them dry after reheating them.
These are so good! I make them as full-size muffins whenever I have a bit of extra salsa leftover.
You sure aren’t kidding about the sticking! I sprayed my pan very well with cooking spray and they still stuck! I am trying to convince myself not to just throw the tin out. Now here’s hoping that babe like the egg cups!
Hi Shea,
These muffins are a big hit in my house. I use silicone muffin cups when I make mine. I spray them with avocado oil and the muffins slide right out- plus the muffin tin stays relatively clean! Hope this helps.
Can I just make these in regular size muffin cups? How much longer would I bake them for?
I’ve only made them as minis but I think probably 18-20 minutes. Check that they are lightly golden brown around the edges and on top.
Hi! These look great. At the risk of totally exposing myself as a novice …. What size muffin tins are considered mini? Thanks!
They typically have 24 cups in a tray and hold about 1-2 tbsp batter.
These sound delicious. My son loves eggs and I’d like to fix them another way other than hard boiled and scrambled. Could I use oat flour in this recipe?
I haven’t tried using oat flour but you could certainly try it!
Do you need to puree the salsa? If i didn’t get the chunky kind would it be fine to use from the jar? Thanks! I’m looking forward to making these!
If you have smooth salsa in a jar you can totally just go ahead and use it as is!
These sound perfect for a quick breakfast! Do you think I could freeze them and use muffin liners as well? I would love to have on hand and heat up for my son in the mornings.
Yes, you can totally freeze them! They heat up in 15-30 seconds in the microwave and are really great from frozen. (Make sure that the insides aren’t too hot before you serve them since they heat up really fast.) I wouldn’t use liners though since I have a feeling that they would stick to the filling.
Food-grade silicone muffin liners work well with this recipe. I spray them with avocado oil and the muffins slip right out afterwards.