Egg Muffins with Fluffy Cottage Cheese

The taste of these cottage cheese egg muffins is great, with a slight tang and a fluffy texture. They have cheddar cheese in addition to cottage cheese to make the flavor stronger. Simple to make and great for breakfast or as a snack. Tastes great the next day too!

These cottage cheese egg muffins are a tasty alternative to scrambled eggs or omelets. They are high in protein and have a moderate amount of fat (only 4.5g of fat in 100g of cottage cheese!). These breakfast foods are best served right after they are made, but egg muffins with cottage cheese are just as good right out of the oven and hours later.

When you bake egg muffins, the tops usually rise nicely. But as soon as you take them out of the oven, they start to deflate, which can make them very dense. Egg muffins will deflate, which is normal and can’t be helped, but you can stop them from deflating too much. This is what I’ve done in this recipe for egg cottage cheese muffins.

I added a little bit of flour (and baking powder), which soaked up some of the moisture from the cottage cheese. This made the muffins fluffy and tasty, even the next day. If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, see my tips in the Notes below.

What you need to make cottage cheese egg muffins and what you can use instead

Cottage cheese muffin ingredients. Use full-fat cottage cheese, not low-fat cottage cheese.

• Eggs.
• I used mature cheddar cheese, but you could also use gruyere or another strong semi-soft cheese. The cheese adds flavor and a little fat, which makes the texture better. Don’t skip it.
• Flour: Makes the muffins less dense. Use rice flour to make it gluten-free.
• Baking powder: helps the flour make a light, fluffy texture and keeps the muffins from falling too much.
• Scallions, also called spring onions. You’ll need about 1.5 to 2 onions. Instead, I don’t think you should use chives. They rise to the top of the muffins, which means the flavor isn’t evenly spread out.
• I used fine sea salt instead of regular table salt because it is less salty. If you use the latter, add less.

Equipment

• ▢ 6-hole muffin pan

Ingredients

• ◯ 1 cup+½tbsp (240 g) cottage cheese full fat
• ◯ 6 large eggs
• ◯ ½ cup (50 g) cheddar cheese shredded
• ◯ 4 tablespoons scallions/spring onions finely chopped
• ◯ 2 tablespoons all-purpose/plain flour *see Notes
• ◯ ½ teaspoon baking powder gluten free, if required
• ◯ ⅓ teaspoon fine sea salt plus pepper to taste

How to make egg muffins with cottage cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/160 fan/gas mark 4. Grease a 6-hole muffin pan using either butter (approx.1 teaspoon) or cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Whisk eggs: In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs until smooth.
3. Add cottage cheese: Whisk in the cottage cheese, cheddar, scallions, salt and pepper until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Add flour: Sift the flour and baking powder and gently stir in using a whisk just to combine (stop stirring as soon as the flour is no longer visible).

5. Fill pan: Spoon the batter into the muffin pan.
6. Bake muffins: Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 30-33 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it cool (in the pan) for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Additional notes and tips

These muffins with cottage cheese and eggs are great for breakfast or as a filling snack when they’re warm. They can be served with other breakfast foods like bacon, sausages, and homemade baked beans. Also good with smoothies. Try raspberry avocado or broccoli.

I really like these muffins with some ketchup on top!

You can add other ingredients to these cottage cheese egg muffins to change the flavor.

• Protein: ham or bacon that has been cut up.
• Vegetables: chopped red pepper, broccoli, or finely chopped mushrooms that have been browned. These muffins are already pretty moist, so I don’t think you should add things that are very wet, like tomatoes.
• A pinch of hot or smoked paprika or nutmeg is all you need.

TIP: I suggest adding no more than 2–3 tablespoons of extra ingredients (but still including the cheeses, as the recipe says). You might end up making seven muffins instead of six.

Best advice

• Once you’ve added the flour and baking powder, don’t stir the batter too much.
• You should let these muffins cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. At first, they will be very soft and may fall apart if you take them out too soon. They will still be warm, soft, and fluffy after 15 minutes!
• The best way to eat it is warm.
• You can keep leftover egg muffins with cottage cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. If you can, microwave it for a few seconds before serving.
• Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight.
• Make it gluten free: I tested this recipe using rice flour which produced great results. I think other varieties of gluten free flours will work well, too (be sure to also use gluten free baking powder).

Nutrition

Serving: 1 muffin | Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 173mg | Sodium: 255mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 372IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 1mg

*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.

**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance’s instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.