These are breakfast muffins, vibrant easy-to-make healthy breakfast egg muffins made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. With Parmesan cheese, spinach, and tomatoes, they’re a winning way to start your day!
A mix of eggs, fresh veggies, and salty cheese cooked in individual cups–call them savory personal custards. They come together quickly and cook in about 5 minutes in the Instant Pot pressure cooker.
CLICK HERE to Pin Breakfast Egg Muffins with Parmesan, Spinach, and Tomatoes.
This was my first time cooking eggs in an Instant Pot. Dry beans from scratch, creamy risottos, and favorite soups –I make them all in my pressure cooker. But never, that is until now, did I use the pressure cooker to make eggs.
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I bought an extra wire trivet (affiliate link) for stacking the glass cups, because only three cups fit on a trivet. (One comes in the box with a new Instant Pot.) (Affiliate link) Using a second trivet set on top of the bottom three cups, you can cook 6 custards in one batch.
Once done and cooled, the egg muffins keep well in the fridge, which is helpful for planning ahead. Already cooked, they’re ready to reheat in the oven for a delicious sitdown breakfast. Serve simply, with a side of toast and salsa.
When you need a quick grab and go breakfast, just pop one in the oven or microwave and you’re covered. And of course you can make the muffins and eat them all in the same 20 minutes. 😉
If you’re planning to feed more than six persons, cook a second batch and keep them in the fridge to reheat when you wish. They’ll keep about 3 days.
Mistakes I made when making this recipe– aka kitchen fails:
- One, I forgot to put water in the pot. If there’s no water in the bottom the Instant Pot can tell, and nothing happens. With my custards stacked and ready, I locked the lid in place and set the timer. When the timer dinged, I opened the lid to find cups filled with cold custard, the same as before locking the lid. Hello–make sure there’s water in the bottom of the pot before closing the lid! Confession–twice, not once, I forgot to put the water in the pot!
- Once I had water in the cook pot, I made the breakfast muffins again. Wouldn’t you know, I forgot to sprinkle cheese on top before cooking. Without the weight of the sharp salty cheese, the spinach floated to the top. Breakfast egg muffins have better eye appeal and are much tastier with grated aged cheese. Lesson here: Don’t forget the cheese.
- Third time’s a charm. Done right, my breakfast egg muffins turned out beautifully!
A couple more discoveries in the making of these Instant Pot Breakfast Egg Muffins:
- At 6 minutes High pressure, even at 7000 feet above sea level, my egg muffins were overcooked. I cut the cooking time down to 5 minutes and they came out more custard-like.
- The steam in the cooker dribbles onto the egg custards. You’ll want to pop your muffins out the cups onto a kitchen towel right away, so they don’t come out watery.
So, what if you don’t have an Instant Pot but these breakfast muffins look too good to pass up?
How to cook breakfast egg muffins without a pressure cooker:
- To steam or poach:
Use a saucepan at least 8 1/2 inches wide. Stack the wire trivets and filled custard cups as for pressure cooking. Add water up to the level of the bottom trivet. Cover the pan and place over medium flame. After the water comes to a simmer, let the egg muffins cook until they are set, 15 to 20 minutes.
- To oven bake:
You can also bake the eggs in non-stick muffin tins–375° for 25 to 30 minutes. Those silicone muffin pans (affiliate link) are perfect breakfast egg muffins, but if you don’t have a silicone muffin pan, oil the cavities are very well or the eggs will stick.
This recipe is adapted from The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook, (affilate link) by Barbara of the blog Pressure Cooking Today. This is an update of the recipe I first posted in 2017! when Barbara’s cookbook was first published.
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Breakfast Egg Muffins with Parmesan, Spinach, and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 8 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk dairy or unsweeted milk alternative
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach, chopped
- ½ cup diced seeded tomato
- 2 scallions white and green parts, sliced
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan or Pecorino
Romano cheese
Instructions
- Spray 6 (6-ounce) ovenproof custard cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until just blended. Evenly divide the spinach, tomato, and scallions among the custard cups. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies. Sprinkle the cheese over each.
- Pour 1 cup water into the pressure cooking pot and place a trivet in the bottom. Place 3 custard cups on the trivet and then place a second trivet on top. Place the remaining 3 cups on it. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 5 minutes cook time. (see note)
- When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully open the lid and remove the cups. You'll want to pop your muffins out the cups onto a kitchen towel right away, so they don't come out watery. (The steam in the cooker dribbles onto the egg custards.)
Notes
- I first set the timer for 6 minutes at High pressure. My egg muffins seemed overcooked, a bit spongy. I dropped the cooking time down to 5 minutes and they came out more custard-like.
- The steam in the cooker dribbles onto the egg custards. As soon as you open the lid, release the muffins from the cups onto a kitchen towel to absorb the extra water.
- For cooking breakfast egg muffins without a pressure cooker see the recipe details in this post.
The recipe looks delicious.
I don’t want to add yet another kitchen appliance to my shelves just now.
Do you have any modifications for regular pressure cooker which I use on my gas range? Time, etc?
Thank you. · 20 November, 2017
Hi Benjamin,
Thank you for asking. I get that you don’t want to add another tool to the kitchen! I added instructions to the recipe post for cooking breakfast egg muffins without a pressure cooker. · 21 November, 2017
“Shredded” parmesan means the stuff in a bag and not the powder in a cannister, right? · 25 July, 2018
Hi Beth,
Yes. Never the stuff in the green cannister. I call it salty sawdust! 😉 · 26 July, 2018
Do you set the 2nd trivet on top of the custard cups? · 24 September, 2018
Yes, the second trivet goes directly on the top of the first layer of custard cups. · 24 September, 2018
if I have to do it with 3 eggs in the instant pot , how long should I pressure it in manual mode ? · 9 April, 2019
Hi, I’m guessing you mean you are only making a half recipe, am I right? The times should be the same as for 6 custard cups–I find 5 minutes in Manual mode the best, with 5 minutes natural pressure release followed immediately with turning the top dial to Vent. I hope this helps. · 9 April, 2019
While the taste here was good. I had a few problems. I didn’t have a trivet so I used a piece of heavy duty foil and the cheese on the lower cups stuck to the foil. Note to self and others, have trivet when making this! Thanks for the idea, though and I will invest in a couple of trivets. I saw the link you provided for the trivets on Amazon. · 3 April, 2020
Thanks Carolyn. I bought a trivet to review this recipe from Barbara’s cookbook. I’m glad you felt comfortable making do with what you had. Too bad the cheese stuck to the foil–not what we wanted, right? Thanks for the feednback. · 4 April, 2020