Grab-and-Go High-Protein Veggie Egg Cups
by Katie Webster
February 2, 2018 (updated 4/26/22) Jump To Recipe
These Grab and Go Veggie Egg Cups are my fave for a healthy high-protein breakfast for busy mornings. They’re made with any variety of low-carb veggie you like, plus fresh eggs, cheddar cheese and seasoning. Each serving has 17 grams of protein! They are sugar-free, grain-free, vegetarian and low-carb too.
DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Hannaford. I was compensated for my time. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Healthy Seasonal Recipes possible.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe for Veggie Egg Cups
Life is very busy these days, and I’m sure you can relate. Sometimes when life gets busy it can be hard to remember to eat well since there’s not as much time to grocery shop and focus on cooking healthy recipes. Because of this, I wanted to create more make-ahead grab-and-go recipes!
What I especially love about this high protein egg muffins recipe is that they really fill you up and give you lots of energy for the day. We should be eating around 110-130 grams of protein per day, but unfortunately, that isn’t always that easy.
Eating a high protein diet requires planning, since most of the quick and easy snacks we regularly rely on mainly contains carbs. With that being said, meal planning doesn’t always have to be difficult and time consuming. These veggie egg cups come together in only 35 minutes and call for ingredients you most likely already have at home!
You can freeze them, store them in the fridge, eat them for breakfast or as a snack, and bring them with you on your morning commute. I promise your kids will love them too!
After making this recipe, you should also check out these Paleo Egg Muffins. Another amazing make-ahead breakfast!
Key Ingredient for These Protein Egg Bites
Low-carb chopped vegetables
Use low-carb chopped vegetables such as kale, scallions, broccoli and peppers. You can also add in any other low-carb vegetables you have on deck, or swap something out.
Sharp cheddar cheese
Sharp cheddar cheese is the best! I love the cheddar cheese form Hannafords and Cabot Creamery. If you don’t love the tanginess from sharp cheddar, you can use something more mild like a Monterey Jack.
Eggs
Choosing quality eggs isn’t always easy, especially if you’re not sure what you should be looking for. Try to get cage-free eggs whenever possible. I used large eggs such as Nature’s Place Cage-Free Eggs. You’ll know they’re super fresh if the yolks have a bright yellow/orange color.
Additional Ingredients
- Cooking spray or ghee
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Step by Step Instructions To Make These Veggie Egg Cups
Step 1: Preheat oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or brush with Ghee.
Step 2: Cook veggies
Combine the veggies and water in a medium saucepan. Cover with a lid and set over high heat. Cook for 4 minutes. Remove the saucepan from heat and drain the vegetables in a sieve or colander.
Step 3: Assemble
Divide the vegetables evenly among the muffin tin wells. Top with cheddar cheese. Whisk to combine the eggs, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pour the egg mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup. Carefully pour over the vegetables and cheddar, dividing evenly among the cups.
Step 4: Bake
Transfer veggie egg muffins to the oven and bake until the eggs are puffed in the center, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot or enjoy cold.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Remove the egg muffins from the muffin tin and allow them to fully cool. Place them in a large sealable plastic bag or container and freeze for 1-2 months. To serve, remove from bag or container individually and thaw on a plate for 30 minutes (or in the microwave in 30 second intervals).
Yes. If you’re dairy free or have a dairy intolerance, you can either leave the cheddar cheese out, or use dairy free cheese instead.
You could theoretically add anything you’d like. Some other options are roasted red peppers, zucchini, beans, spinach, mushrooms and onion.
You could make this recipe in a 9×13-inch baking dish instead. Evenly spread out vegetables across the bottom of the baking dish, then carefully pour the egg mixture over top (following original instructions). Once it’s cooked, allow the egg to cool and cut into 2-inch squares.
More Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes
- In the summer, I grow Swiss Chard in my garden and I love to make this Chard and Egg Bake.
- I have been making this Spinach Egg Bake a lot lately too.
- These low carb Breakfast Pitas are to tasty and are so fun to make!
- You can’t go wrong with my Broccoli Egg Bake, especially when you’re feeding a crew.
- I love this recipe for an Easy Veggie Quiche.
- Whole Wheat Crepes are such a delicious and healthy way to enjoy a sweet breakfast.
- This low carb Baked Denver Omelet is one of my go-to’s.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Grab-and-Go High-Protein Veggie Egg Cups
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
If not being a morning person is standing between you and your healthy eating goals, then these Grab-and-go High-Protein Veggie Egg Cups, may be your new BFF! Rub the sleep outta those eyes, my friend, and grab a couple of these on your way out the door. You’ll get 17 grams of low-carb, veggie heavy, hunger-busting protein to start your day right!
Ingredients
- Cooking spray or ghee
- 3 cups low-carb chopped vegetables, such as kale, scallions, broccoli and peppers
- ½ cup water
- 4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup, such as Cheddar
- 11 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or brush with Ghee.
- Place veggies and water in a medium saucepan. Cover and set over high heat. Cook 4 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the vegetables in a sieve.
- Divide the vegetables evenly among the muffin tin wells. Top with cheddar cheese. Whisk eggs, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pour egg mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup. Carefully pour over the vegetables and cheddar, dividing evenly among the cups.
- Transfer to the oven and bake until the eggs are puffed in the center, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot or enjoy cold.
Notes
Cooking Tip:
If you don’t have a muffin tin, you could make this recipe in a 9×13-inch baking dish instead. Evenly spread out vegetables across the bottom of the baking dish, then carefully pour the egg mixture over top (following original instructions). Once it’s cooked, allow the egg to cool and cut into 2-inch squares.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 egg cups
- Calories: 224
- Fat: 15
- Carbohydrates: 5
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 17
Keywords: protein egg bites, high protein egg muffins, make ahead high protein low carb breakfast, veggie egg cups, veggie egg muffins
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
These look amazing and I love all of the helpful tips! Thanks for including my ghee tutorial <3
Do you bring the water to a boil before adding the veggies for 4 minutes?
These are perfect for meal prepping or Sunday Brunch with the family.
We are really into meal prepping right now. (So many containers in our fridge!!) I have made this recipe so many times now. I am glad you like it. Thanks for coming by to comment. Have a great week.
Love recipes like this that you can put just about ANY veggie combo in! Perfect for a very quick breakfast on the run.
★★★★★
It’s a great to use up odds and ends every week.
These are just what I need to start my day! I make a lot of eggs for lunch but this make ahead recipe is fantastic!
★★★★★
I love a bit of protein in the morning so these are a fave for me.
I do a lot of veggie juicing and so have leftover pulp, do you think I could use some of that to make these? Any thoughts?
Katie,
Made these with kale, red pepper and cauliflower. I tossed them with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and s&p and roasted 10 minutes or so. Love the smoked paprika!
thank you for these, am eating more protein too, especially in the morning and have been making eggs, nice to be able to make ahead and have these ready when I don’t have time!
The morning protein is making such a big difference for me! I am glad to hear you’re on board with it too. These have been so helpful for my husband to grab and go.
I love easy on-the-go breakfasts – these would be perfect before school for my kiddos!
They are great to have in your arsenal of healthy quick options.
These looks so dang delicious. I have to make these for lunch or a quick snack.
Thanks so much Luci. So glad you think so.
Egg muffins are one of my favorite healthy breakfasts!
Thanks for dropping by Emily. I love that you call them egg muffins. That’s what my husband kept calling them. I was like, that’s so confusing! Lol. Apparently he’s not alone.
These look amazing!! They would be the perfect amount of protein for me, for before my burn workouts!
Thanks Jessica- and good for you to focus on your protein if you are active. I hope you enjoy these!
This is an awesome idea and so versatile you can do it with so many different combinations. Thanks for sharing, yoru photos are mouthwatering too.
Thank you so much I am glad you appreciate the versatility. And thank you about the photos. Have a great day Adriana.
Yum! I love egg cups like this for grab-and-go breakfasts, especially how flexible they are – perfect for squeezing in some more veggies, not to mention using up bits from the fridge! Your pictures make them look extremely appetizing, as well!
Yes the flexibility on the veggies was key for us, since we didn’t want to get sick of any one combo. I just made them again and used mushrooms, red peppers and baby spinach- so good!
Can these be frozen
Someone just asked that on instagram and I hadn’t even thought to try it. I will have to make a batch this weekend to test it out. My guess is that they would freeze fine, but that you’d need to fully reheat them to make the texture palatable before eating.