I’m the type of person who won’t eat breakfast unless it can be ready in five minutes or less. That means I rely a lot on stuff like cereal, microwave oatmeal, and smoothies—or, to be honest, I forget I’m supposed to eat entirely, until I find myself suddenly ravenous a couple hours later.
While my quick breakfasts certainly are convenient and provide a brief energy boost from carbohydrates, they lack the protein I need to successfully avoid feeling like a raw ball of nerves before lunch time. As a food writer and avid home cook, I’m well aware that the classic egg muffin—simply whisked eggs mixed with veggies and baked in a muffin tin—has always seemed like a great way to circumvent this: Eggs are loaded with protein…right?
Well, sort of. One large egg brings in six grams, so even if you’re taking in two full ones with your egg muffins, you’re still only getting 12. And experts generally recommend about 15 to 20 grams of protein at breakfast to help you stay satisfied, Maxine Yeung, MS, RD, founder of the Wellness Whisk, tells SELF. It’s no wonder I found myself hungry shortly after eating a couple. What’s more, the thought of the limp, yellow lumps waiting for me in my fridge didn’t exactly make me want to jump out of bed in the morning.
Then a new possibility came to my attention. Scrolling through TikTok, I found home cooks whipping up egg muffins with about double the protein thanks to the help of one of my favorite ingredients: cottage cheese.
And you could take it so many ways, like sweet (say, this chocolate chip version or this option with blueberries) or savory (for instance, with olives and rosemary for a Mediterranean spin or pesto and tomatoes for Italian flavors).
I was feeling the savory route, so I decided to try a broccoli, spinach, and turkey sausage number from Nicole Addison, RD. It promised ample protein (a whopping 16 grams per muffin, while traditional versions usually come in the six to eight range), and to also help me in another area I often struggle with—eating more vegetables before noon.
I planned on prepping and freezing a batch of these to eat for breakfast all week long, but I could easily see myself whipping them up in the morning with how quickly they came together. All in all, prep took me just 10 minutes total and—if you’re using pre-chopped veggies—you could do it in even less time.
I started by combining cottage cheese, eggs, and milk with a whisk until relatively smooth. Yes, those iconic curds will still remain no matter how much you mix, but I barely noticed them in the final product—so you can rest easy if that’s a sore spot. Then I added flour and baking soda and kept stirring until no dry spots remained. Finally, I tossed in two cups of roughly chopped broccoli and spinach, chicken sausage, and a smattering of cheddar cheese before folding it into the batter, spooning it into a muffin tray, and baking for 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
What came out of the oven was a far cry from the sad egg muffins of days past: tall, bouncy, browned on top, and like a bite-size version of cheddar-broccoli casserole upon first bite. I have to say, I hardly noticed the cottage cheese save for the way it added moisture and a slight tangy flavor—and I have to guess that they’re at least partly responsible for the added heft and lack of limpness than what I get from plain old egg muffins. I let them cool, split them into two containers—one for the fridge, one for the freezer—and I’m happy to report that I’ve been able to eat them for more than a week without getting bored.
They taste just as good when thawed and reheated in the microwave as they did first thing out of the oven, and they really do keep me from getting ravenously hungry way too early.
The best part? The recipe is so adaptable. Don’t have broccoli on hand? Toss in another vegetable, like chopped bell peppers or even sweet peas. Wish there was a vegetarian version? Yeung says you could easily swap sausage for tofu and get a similarly high amount of protein.
As long as you keep the batter the same, there’s no risk that you’ll mess up the texture of the muffins or how they rise. I’m already thinking of new ways to doctor them up—like a Tex-Mex option with ground beef and peppers—and, thanks to all the extra protein I’m getting, I actually feel good enough to turn these ideas into reality.
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