• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Nourishing Gourmet

Nourishing. Satisfying. Gourmet.

  • THM Coaching
  • About
    • Privacy
    • Contact
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
    • Everyday Nourishing Food
    • Salad Cookbook
    • Soup Cookbook

Easy Egg Muffins with Pesto & Ham (GF with DF options)

September 24, 2014 by Alison Diven 11 Comments

Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in healthy eating check out my free gifts! and subscribe to get regular email updates. *Some links may be affiliate.*
Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in healthy eating check out my free gifts! and subscribe to get regular email updates. *Some links may be affiliate.*

Easy Egg Muffins with Pesto & Ham -- Perfect for breakfast all week or a packed lunch

By Alison Diven, Contributing Writer

Y’all, a week of breakfasts or light lunches doesn’t get any easier or more delicious than this. These little darlings? Five minutes prep, then bake. Done. No sautéing, no mixing, no mussed up bowls. And the flavor combinations are endless! This batch got all fancy with layers of leftover pesto, goat cheese, and ham, but I can also vouch for the simple pleasure of ham and cheddar. And what about in-season Hatch chiles and cheese? Oh baby.  I’m still all over the freezer burrito idea, but if you don’t watch your supply, you run out before you have time to make more. (Ask me how I know.) Egg muffins to the rescue!

One thing I love about this method is that, unlike scrambled eggs (which I also love), it showcases the glorious orange-gold yolks of pastured eggs. If you’ve never tasted a backyard-raised egg, you really owe it to yourself to locate some. Their flavor is so much richer that I now find grocery store eggs bland, even the fancy ones. We buy grocery store eggs too, of course, but every chance I get, I nab the “good stuff.” Farmers’ markets are a great place to look for them, and sometimes locally-owned health food stores will carry eggs from the community. You can also ask around. You want eggs from chickens that spend most of their lives outdoors being chicken-y–eating bugs, worms, and grass. Once you see and taste the difference, you’ll know the “pastured egg thing” isn’t just hype.

Pastured eggs, or eggs of any kind, are especially important for pregnant women like me. Egg white omelets may still populate the “healthy” menu at restaurants, but it’s eggs with their yolks that offer so much for general health and for building babies—including hard-to-get nutrients like vitamins A, D, and K, choline, zinc, and iodine. (Read more nutrition details from Kimberly here.)  These days, as I plod through the third trimester, I get as many egg yolks as I can for the brain-food choline, but scrambling eggs every morning gets really old. Adding in these egg cups and raw “milkshakes” with egg yolks has kept me going.

Recipe Notes:

Swap out ingredients freely! Don’t do pork? Skip the ham or substitute a slice or two of chicken sausage. Use any cheese your heart desires, or nix it altogether if you’re dairy-free. Some easy, no-pre-cooking-required flavor combinations to try:

  • Jarred roasted red peppers, ricotta cheese, and a basil leaf
  • Roasted New Mexico (Hatch) chile peppers with goat cheese or cheddar
  • Tomato, mozzarella, and a basil leaf
  • Thinly-sliced zucchini, monterrey Jack cheese, and cilantro pesto
  • Ham and cheddar

Do use paper muffin liners. While not strictly necessary, they help hold everything together since you’re layering, not mixing ingredients.

Eat ’em hot or cold. They’re delicious fresh, of course, but I eat them cold throughout the week.

Other Bulk Breakfast Recipes You Might Like:

Individual Ricotta and Spinach Ricotta Omelets in a Muffin Tin
15 Freezer Burrito Hacks for Nourishing Cooks
Spiced Oatmeal-Apple Muffins (Dairy, Gluten, Egg-Free)
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Soaked)

Easy Egg Muffins with Pesto & Ham (GF with DF options)
 
Author:
Alison Diven
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 6
Print
 
Egg muffins are endlessly versatile and a great way to cook breakfast or light lunches for a week. Pesto, ham, and cheese give these an Italian vibe, but you could go all-American with ham and cheddar or Southwest with green chiles and goat cheese. Let your imagination guide you! They are also delicious without the cheese, so don't let being dairy-free stop you from enjoying them.
Ingredients
  • 6 ounces sliced ham (I often buy Applegate or Organic Pastures)
  • 4 ounces soft goat cheese or your favorite cheese, optional
  • ½ cup prepared or leftover pesto (use dairy-free pesto if needed)
  • 12 eggs, preferably pasture-raised and GMO-free
  • 12 paper muffin tin liners
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Meanwhile, line regular-size muffin tin with paper liners.
  2. Chop ham and cheese into largish pieces.
  3. Distribute chopped ham among muffin cups. Then add a small spoonful of pesto to each cup. Sprinkle in the cheese. Crack a whole egg into each cup.
  4. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the yolks are set but not chalky. Let stand for 5 minutes. Eat warm or refrigerate for later meals.
3.2.2708

 

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts

Alison Diven

A born and bred foodie, Alison is probably thinking about her next meal right. now. Her early interest in nutrition and eating spectacular food went alternative when her health collapsed in college, and she discovered—for the first time—real, nourishing food. She’s never looked back. Recent transplants to New Mexico, Alison and her husband and son are embracing their new, enchanted landscape (the light! the mesas! the sunsets!) and celebrating their many opportunities for local, sustainable eating in the Four Corners region. Alison shares the fruit of her 10-year healing quest at Alison’s List, a resource for whole-person healing and enrichment—body, mind, and spirit. Find her at Alison's List and her Facebook page. 

Latest posts by Alison Diven (see all)

  • Spiced Currant Orange Baked Oatmeal Mini Muffins (Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free w/ Egg-Free Option) - November 7, 2014
  • Easy Egg Muffins with Pesto & Ham (GF with DF options) - September 24, 2014
  • French Tuna Salad with Tomatoes & Herbs (Mayo-Free) - August 8, 2014

Filed Under: Breakfast and Brunch, Dairy Free, Gluten Free

Previous Post: « Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Sauce (dairy free option and maple syrup sweetened)
Next Post: Pennywise Platter Thursday 9/25 »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nikolia

    September 24, 2014 at 12:58 pm

    I’m eating eggs every morning since I’m nursing and this will certainly change it up! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Alison Diven

      September 26, 2014 at 7:01 am

      Hope you enjoy them! Your comment makes me realize that these could be a helpful dish to take to newly postpartum moms. I hadn’t thought of that before.

      Reply
  2. Amber

    September 25, 2014 at 3:29 am

    My husband’s family makes these a lot! They are so yummy (though they use mozzarella cubes). Instead of the paper liner though, they don’t chop the ham, and put it in, using it to cup and hold the other ingredients!

    Reply
    • Alison Diven

      September 26, 2014 at 7:03 am

      Thanks for the comment, Amber! I’ve seen those on Pinterest, and they look so pretty. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it to work in my muffin pans, which is why I started cutting the ham into pieces. I think the ham I have access to is too thick-cut.

      Reply
  3. Jessie

    September 25, 2014 at 4:30 pm

    this is so timely! I have some ham I’m trying to use up!

    Reply
    • Alison Diven

      September 26, 2014 at 7:09 am

      Fantastic! Hope you love ’em as much as we do.

      Reply
  4. Marta

    September 25, 2014 at 6:30 pm

    What do u think of silicone cups? Are they safe ? This sounds very yummy!

    Reply
    • Alison Diven

      September 26, 2014 at 7:12 am

      Marta, I haven’t done very much research about silicone, I’m sorry. So far I haven’t used it for baking, though I have some silicone molds for cold foods.

      Reply
  5. Natalia

    September 25, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    I am beyond excited about this! I wonder if I could whisk the eggs for my kids since that’s the only way they will eat them.

    Reply
    • Alison Diven

      September 26, 2014 at 7:04 am

      Absolutely! I’m an egg yolk lover, which is why I kept them whole, but “scrambled” would work too. In fact, I think there’s a recipe here at The Nourishing Gourmet for omelet muffins.

      Reply
  6. Dina-Marie @ Cultured Palate

    September 26, 2014 at 2:28 pm

    We love eggs and especially since we have our chickens, I am always looking for new recipes. My favorite is having “breakfast” in the evening! Can’t wait to try these – thanks for sharing!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

ConvertKit Form

Get Every Recipe

And the insider's view from our kitchen

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Follow Me

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Search

Please Read:

The information you find here at The Nourishing Gourmet is meant to help you become a better cook! This site is primarily for sharing family friendly recipes. It's not meant to give medical advice or to make any health claims on the prevention or curing of diseases.This site is only for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet. Also, any links to sponsors or affiliates (including Amazon) may give me a percentage of the sale or a pay per click. Thank you for supporting this site.

Categories

  • $10 Main (42)
  • $5 Dishes (43)
  • 52 ways to save money on a healthy diet (53)
  • AIP (23)
  • Baked Goods (83)
  • Beverages (72)
  • Breakfast and Brunch (61)
  • Condiments (8)
  • Dairy Free (492)
  • Desserts (184)
  • Dietary Needs (6)
  • Egg Free (11)
  • Egg Free (86)
  • For the Kids (66)
  • For the Love of Food and Books (18)
  • Gluten Free (484)
  • Grain Free (95)
  • Health (75)
  • Kitchen Tools (4)
  • Main Dishes (126)
  • Nourishing Frugal Recipes (167)
  • Nourishing Frugal Tips (70)
  • Nourishing Practices (56)
  • Nutrient Dense Foods (70)
  • Q and A (15)
  • Salads (39)
  • Sides (101)
  • Snacks (124)
  • Soups (50)
  • The Healthy $1 Menu (21)
  • The Low Energy Guide to Healthy Cooking (18)
  • THM (2)
  • Trim Healthy Mama (2)
  • Uncategorized (846)
  • Vegan (241)
  • Vegetarian (361)

Recent Posts

  • 2 Ingredient Peppermint Bark
  • Herbal Hibiscus Lemonade (Keto, THM)
  • Creamy Curry Red Lentil Soup
  • One-Pot Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
  • Healthy Pumpkin Spice Granola
  • Crispy Pumpkin Spice Granola (oil-free)
  • Why I Use THM Principles Now
  • Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad
  • Coconut Flour Pancakes
  • Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken

Recent Comments

  • Dorene St G on Cracker Toffee (Easy Peasy Christmas Candy)
  • Nadia Kriston on Finding a Toaster Oven Without Nonstick
  • KimiHarris on How to make heavenly coconut milk whipped cream (with an isi dispenser)
  • KimiHarris on Autumn Beef Stew (Tomato Free)
  • KimiHarris on How to make heavenly coconut milk whipped cream (with an isi dispenser)

Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons

Get Every Recipe

And the insider's view from our kitchen

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Footer

Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework