Egg White Muffins

At a glance

What stands out: What’s better than a lighter breakfast that is portable and ready when you are? You’ll love these freezer-friendly protein-packed egg white muffins for busy weekdays!

How long it takes: 50 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: skillet, whisk, muffin pan
Servings: 18 muffins

Protein On-The-Go!

Even as a food blogger, we don’t always have time for a made-from-scratch breakfast. Sometimes we have buttermilk pancakes in the freezer or whip up some straightforward crockpot oatmeal the night before, but other times it’s a bowl of cereal and milk.

But when we're craving something high-protein that we can grab on the way out the door, we make a batch of these egg white muffins.

Highlights:

• Customizable and flavorful: The recipe features sausage, sharp cheddar, and broccoli, but you can swap in your favorite ingredients. Our kids love these egg muffins with hash brown potatoes, ham, and cheese too!
• Filling: Packed with protein from the egg whites, cheese, and sausage along with fiber and other nutrients from the broccoli, a couple of egg muffins will keep you full for hours. (Be sure to try our popular breakfast sandwich recipe, too!)
• Speedy and straightforward: There’s hardly any prep work involved since we’re using frozen broccoli. And these egg white muffins only take about 20 minutes to bake!
• Freezer-friendly: Make a batch ahead and reheat whenever you need.

How it comes together

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease or spray a muffin pan generously. We prefer using a nonstick muffin pan for egg muffins.

Cook the sausage. Add the ground sausage to a hot frying pan set over medium-high heat. (If you’re using leaner turkey sausage, add a bit of olive oil first to keep it from sticking.) As the sausage cooks, break it up into crumbles.

Add the broccoli. Once the sausage is browned (no pink remaining), add the broccoli and cook until it’s thawed. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.

Prep the egg mixture. While the sausage mixture is cooling, whisk the egg whites, milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well-combined. We like to use a bowl with a pouring spout so we can easily fill the muffin cups.

Assemble. Divide the sausage and broccoli evenly into the muffin pan cups, then add a layer of cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the sausage, broccoli, and cheese, dividing it as evenly as possible.

Bake. Place the egg white muffins in the oven and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes or until they’re puffed up and golden brown. Leave the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before carefully removing. (They’ll shrink a bit as they cool.)

Ingredients Cook Sausage Add Broccoli Make Egg Mixture Divide Sausage Mixture Pour In Egg Mixture

Amanda Said:

“Made these and they were DELICIOUS!!! Definitely going to be making them over and over again. We kept half in the fridge and froze half and had no trouble reheating them. They came out reliable, as crispy and reliable just as they were on day 1!”

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Helpful Tips

• Coat the pan well. Make sure to spray your muffin tin generously with nonstick spray. Use a nonstick muffin tin, if possible. The muffins do have a tendency to stick. A silicone muffin tin or muffin cups would probably work well, too.
• Drain off any moisture from the frying pan. If there is excess liquid or grease in the sausage/broccoli mixture after you sauté it, drain it before adding the mixture to the muffin cups.

Ways to serve it

Fresh fruit. Cut up a melon, throw a handful of berries in a bowl, or just grab a banana if you’re eating these egg white muffins as a breakfast on-the-go.

Greek yogurt. If you’re feeling a little more ambitious, make a parfait with Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and from-scratch granola for crunch. You’ll add protein to your breakfast, too!

Toast or English muffin. Pair egg white muffins with a slice of whole grain toast or an English muffin, slathered with from-scratch strawberry freezer jam or orange honey butter.

Smoothie. This blueberry smoothie is a fantastic way to start the day! (Take a look at all our smoothie recipes!)

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerator: These egg white muffins can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If we're making them for meal prep, we'll put them in containers with compartments and add fruit or hash browns on one side.

Freezer: If you want to make the egg muffins ahead of time and stock your freezer, these egg white muffins freeze well. Place them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and store for up to 2 months.

Reheating: To reheat, microwave for 30 seconds, or if frozen, 1 to 2 minutes. You can also reheat them in a 350ºF oven or the air fryer, until heated through.

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• Yield: 6 (2 muffins each)
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 oz. ground breakfast sausage (either pork or turkey, see note #1)
• 4 cups (12 ounce package) frozen chopped broccoli florets (see note #2)
• 2 ½ cups liquid egg whites (see note #3)
• ¼ cup milk (we like to use 2% or whole milk)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (see note #4)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously spray a tin for 18 muffins with nonstick spray. The muffins tend to stick a bit so don't be sparing with the spray.
2. In a medium frying pan, brown the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it browns. Once the sausage is cooked through, with no pink remaining, add broccoli and continue to cook just until broccoli is thawed. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. If there is excess liquid in the pan, drain the mixture.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, milk, salt and pepper.
4. Arrange sausage and broccoli florets evenly in each of the prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle cheese in each well on top of the sausage/broccoli mixture.
5. Pour egg mixture evenly into each muffin cup.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown. Leave in muffin tin for about 5 minutes before removing and serving.

Notes

Ground breakfast sausage: we recommend using bulk breakfast sausage; either turkey or pork will work. Choose your favorite variety.

Broccoli: If the florets are rather large, you can chop them pretty easily with a large sharp knife, even if they’re frozen. If you prefer, use fresh broccoli florets, but they may take slightly longer to cook.

Eggs: Look for liquid egg whites in the refrigerated dairy section of the grocery store. If desired, you can substitute 8 large eggs instead of the egg whites.

Cheese: we think sharp cheddar is reliable for this recipe because it packs in a lot of flavor, but any cheese you like will work. Gouda would be good, as would something melty and creamy like Havarti or Monterey Jack.

Possible variations: Try other vegetables (sautéed bell peppers, onions, or mushrooms are great!) or breakfast meats, such as finely diced ham or cooked bacon.

Make ahead/Storage: The egg white muffins can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through, about 30 seconds for refrigerated, or 1 to 2 minutes if they’re frozen.