These cottage cheese and egg muffins are one of my favourite breakfasts and since I had some leftover ham I figured that it was a great opportunity to update the photos for this recipe which I originally posted back in 2008! I first came across the idea for these muffins on Kalyns Kitchen and they reminded me of the cottage cheese muffins that my mother used to make when I was a kid so I had to make them. The primary ingredients of these muffins are the cottage cheese and eggs with a bit of flour to bind things together and from there you can add pretty much whatever you want! I particularly like the ham and cheese combo but I use other ingredients depending on what I feel like. Because of all of the moisture from the cottage cheese these muffins come out nice and light, fluffy and moist and what’s better is that with a minute in the microwave the leftovers from the fridge are just as good as freshly made so you can make a batch on the weekend and have quick breakfasts for the week. They also freeze really well so you can make them for later on when you know you will be busy. What a great way to enjoy some leftover ham, or a great reason to pick up some more ham!
Just look at how light and fluffy they are inside!
The original photo:
Cottage Cheese and Egg Muffins with Ham and Cheddar Cheese
Soft, light and moist cottage cheese and egg muffins with ham and cheddar cheese.
ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup flour (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces ham, diced
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 green onions, sliced
directions
- Mix the cottage cheese, eggs, flour, baking powder and salt followed by the ham, cheddar cheese and green onions, pour into a greased 12 muffin pan and bake in a preheated 400F/200C oven until golden brown and a toothpick poked into the centre comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
Note: These muffins freeze well!
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yum! these would be perfect for a packed or picnic lunch on the weekend.
These look DELICIOUS!! What a yummy combo~
these look & sound great!
I could make those for my breakfast. Looks yummy.
Kevin, the cheddar top looks real good!
Also, perhaps try a combo of flour and corn flour…not too gritty.
These would be great for a breakfast on the go Kevin!!!…or anytime for that matter!
wow, these look soooo good and easy! 🙂
I’m not sure which I like the looks of better – either way, they sound wonderful!
delicious and very moreish
These look very rich. Oh so tempting.
Love the melted cheese on top. Yums!
These look and sound delicious!!
I had to come and see these muffins you made that were kind of like mine, and they do look delicious. Sorry I missed them (I can’t keep up with you; you must cook all the time!) I agree the almond meal is a bit pricy (it’s about $12 for 4 cups here, but still not cheap) but I like the almond flavor and I’m avoiding white flour so it works well for that.
Great work! 🙂
Think I might give these a try this weekend so we have breakfast all week!
Hey Kevin! I came across your blog today while looking for a savory muffin recipe. I decided to give yours a try, changed a few things to my preference, and I LOVED them. I’m really inpressed with your cooking! I like how creative you are. I definitely will try more of your recipes. Check out my blog. I posted this recipe! =)
You see it's very rare to find a good food blog lately, many of them only concentrate on the pictures and the actual recipe is left aside. In your blog, I see you put a big effort on the recipe and I've been liking the mixtures and adaptations you do. Great Work
Wow! I'll be trying these this week. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
~Sarah
Do you have the original recipe with the almond flour? I am wheat free, and searching for good recipes with almond flour.
Anonymous: Here you go: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2007/12/cottage-cheese-and-egg-breakfast.html
Thank you for the recipe! Do you think these would work as a freezer meal?
Shanda: I would say yes!
I definitely will try more of your recipes!Yummy!
You mention flavor changes – ideas please. I think I would like something a little savory – pepper maybe or some pepper jack cheese for part of the cheddar.
Kevin, would that be creamed cottage cheese, or dry curd? Phyllis
Anonymous: Creamed cottage cheese. I have never actually encountered dry curd cottage cheese; I will have to look for it!
Anonymous: You can really do anything! Pepper jack cheese would be great! Maybe some pickled jalapenos? I also enjoy combos like Italian sausage and roasted red peppers using goat cheese as the cheese. Mushrooms or mushrooms and spinach or spinach and artichoke hearts would also be nice.
Anonymous: If you meant with the ham, the broccoli would make an excellent addition!
Due to medical requirements I can't have cottage cheese. Can I substitute Ricotta in the same volume?
Great breakfast on the go!
Holy moly I love how portable these are! And they look heavenly!
I love the comparison of your 2008 picture – when I look back on my blog in 2008 and 2009 I think "how the fuck did I think that looked appetizing?!
Love the cottage cheese spin on these muffins!
Kevin, I LOVE these savory muffins!!! and esp love the cottage cheese!!!
These look and sound wonderful! I will be making a batch of these this weekend.
These are awesome Kevin!! Great recipe!
I need these for breakfast now!!
I made these for breakfast today and they were amazing. Thanks for another great recipe, I know I can always find great things on your site. I shared this on my blog today.
Kati: I'm glad you enjoyed them!
These are very good Kevin and by ditching the almond flour are more environmentally sustainable as most almonds are grown in drought ridden California and they require staggering amounts of water to produce.
Kevin, amazing !! I made for my book club and every body enjoy.
Great job.
Thanks
Delicious recipe. I made these for the book club and every body enjoy.
I love your recipes.
Thanks Kevin..
I've made these a few times and have really enjoyed them. I found the recipe when looking for a way to use up some no-salt-added cottage cheese. They're a perfect breakfast. I adapted them to meet my husband's low sodium requirements, and they're still quite tasty. I shared this recipe on my blog and the GardenWeb Cooking forum.
Kevin, your recipe notes state that they freeze well. Do you microwave they to serve or what?
nonna23: Yes, the microwave is perfect for reheating them from the freezer!
Can't believe this actually worked. Very impressed!
I pinned this a few years ago and finally made them. I am sad I waited so long. Delicious!
I just realised my cottage cheese is expiring today!!! Thank God I found your recipe, which was the first one without almond meal. I am going to make it tonight….. thanks for the recipe!
How many weight watchers free style points?
Kevin, you are the best. These are fantastic. I made them with Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour and they came out great. Very light and fluffy and that is hard for gluten free. You could really spice them up with all kinds of things and spices. All your recipes that I have tried are great! Wish we could attach our pics.
Subbed 1/2 cup coconut flour for the flour and upped the cheese to 1 cup. Will defintely make again.
These are amazing for breakfast. I make a couple dozen ahead of time and my husband and I have way great up breakfast for the week. We’ve changed up the cheese and the protein, and they always turned or great. Thank you!
I little bland. Very tender. Great use of leftover cottage cheese and holiday ham. I would add some black pepper, a bit of sauteed onion and green pepper, a touch of brown mustard and just the smallest bit of sugar. I will try again with some changes.
How about trying ricotta cheese instead of the cottage cheese? Might give it a little tang.
Ricotta cheese works well!
Was looking for a recipe because we had a lot of eggs and cottage cheese that needed to be used and this recipe is great. Have made it with and without ham and love both versions. Made some for a potluck and they were a hit. Thanks for sharing, these are now a family favorite and easy enough to make with my toddler.
I came across this recipe looking for something new to do with cottage cheese. They are sooo delicious! I added some chopped fresh spinach just to round it out for a completely balanced grab and go meal. In case anyone is wondering, do not use cupcake papers. They egg “batter” stuck to them all the way around. Would have been better to just grease the pan as suggested which is what I was trying to avoid.
The carbs seem high. Flour is the only ingredient with carbs and 1 cup of flour has 95 carbs. Divided by 12 only comes out 7.9 carbs per muffin. Am I missing something?
I used 6 servings, or 2 muffins per serving, which accounts for the extra carbs.
I have been so enjoying your recipes and creativeness and this is a FANTASTIC RECIPE but even with the muffin tin being greased they stick so badly! I thought I was going to have to just throw my tin away! The only way I can make them again is to buy disposable muffin tins as I don’t imagine paper or silicone liners would work any better either.
I’m glad you like them! I find that they generally slide out of the pan super easily though…
Hey Kevin, Since you don’t provide for people like me in 2022 to comment on this recipe, I will be forced to comment this way!!! Why don’t you just update your business app?
Anyway, I was so excited to make this recipe tonight! I sprayed my muffin tin so much I thought they would be swimming in grease, but instead, they stuck to the pan!!!
I was able to get several of them out in tact but they lacked flavor so much that I had to add some mild salsa to make it palatable.
I will certainly enjoy the muffins that did come out of the pan in tact! I recently fell and injured my left shoulder so I will not have any fun cleaning up that pan that all the bottoms are stuck to!
Finally, I noticed most of your reviews are from people who have just read the recipe and have not yet made it yet! Hardly fair!
Hi Marcia,
Can you let me know which kind of comments are not working? I will look into getting them working!
I’m sorry to hear that they stuck in the pan for you, they usually just slide right out… did you use a no-stick pan?
All of the flavour in these muffins comes from the ham and the cheddar; I like to use an old/strong cheddar.
Hi Kevin, I totally succeeded 2nd time! I tossed my outdated pan, got silicone, cooking time the same for me. I’m not a fan of bold cheddars, I listened & used Colby Jack & Jalapeño Jack. I doubled the salt + pepper, garlic salt, Smoked Paprika. I was low on Ham so I added roasted Anaheim peppers.
Since my shoulder is broken, I really needed these muffin’s as my go to breakfast. Your Spinach Artichoke Chicken Dish I can make with one hand. I subscribe and will be looking for more one handed dishes. Thanks for your response which encouraged me to try again! Awesome 😎
I’m glad it worked and you enjoyed them! Colby jack and jalapeno would be good!
Can this be made with almond or coconut flour to cut the carbs? Would they still come out yummy? Thanks!
These work well with almond flour! I usually use 3/4 cups almond flour and 1/4 cup flour (or whole wheat flour) when I use almond flour. I have not tried this recipe with coconut flour.
Can I substitute a pie plate instead of a muffin tray? If so, how would you change the baking directions?
Yes you can! The bake time will increase a little, take a look at it at around 30 minutes and keep an eye on it. It may take 35-40 minutes as a pie.
Tried this recipe and swapped out flour for oats and added chillie….YUM,,,,
With all the ingredients plus I added cherry tomatoes these muffins were completely tasteless.
YUM! These would be fun for sleepovers in the fishhouse.
I use silicone muffin pans. No greasing needed. They take a bit longer and don’t brown as nicely but still turn out great.
I made this yesterday and they were wonderful shared with my sisters and definitely will be making again!
These muffins were fantastic. I added spinach, red and green pepper, half parmigiano reggiano and half old cheddar cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika. So delicious.
I tried 3/4 cup almond flour and only 1/4 cup all purpose flour, filled 6 generously greased muffin cups. Came out beautifully. Only problem is the muffins still stick to the pan. I wonder if some oil should have been added in the batter, or is my muffin pan getting too old?
One cup of flour seems like a lot. I’ve made other egg muffin cup recipes before that don’t use any flour and they’ve turned out great. Does this recipe really need flour in it?
Tried your recipe for the cottage cheese egg muffins . Taste great but need to work on filling the individual cups 2/3 and not more . Also, they all stuck to the pan and had to but scooped out . Wish they looked as pretty as yours . Maybe the next batch will . ⭐⭐⭐⭐
These muffins have great texture, but the flavor was “meh.” Not enough umami for our taste buds. I am going to make them again as a great foundation recipe…adding spice, vegetables or different protein or cheeses to switch it up. Because the texture is so good, we give them 3 out of 4 stars; but, someone who doesn’t like spice/herbs will likely rate it 4.
Hi Kevin, we have back to back out-of-towners over the next few weeks so thought I’d give this recipe a try. If I freeze them, should I defrost in the refrigerator the night before? Also, your suggestion on best way to reheat. Thank you in advance SO much!
Defrost them in the fridge the night before. I like to warm these in the microwave but the oven will also work! Enjoy!