Muffins are the quintessential food format for snacking, they're handheld and ready to go in kid's lunches, snacks or enjoy them for an easy dinner. But sometimes sweet muffins are just too much.
Enter these savory, gluten free and protein packed chicken muffins.
Plus these are super easy to make!
Steps to make Chicken Muffins
- Prepare your muffin pan. I found that silicone or parchment liners worked the best. I do not recommend using paper liners, the muffins tend to stick too much.
- Sauté your veggies.
- Mix the chicken, eggs and remaining ingredients.
- Add the veggies to the chicken mixture.
- Portion in a well greased pan, this is important! I suggest using silicone muffin liners, like these, for best results. Or, try a non stick muffin pan. Or, try unbleached muffin liners.
- Bake, remove to cool, and enjoy!
Ingredients
Organic Chicken
I recommend using canned or leftover chicken in this recipe for ease and texture. I found that dry chicken resulted in a better muffin. Too moist, and the muffin tended to be a bit wet – yuck! Read about how to understand chicken marketing terms.
Eggs (& a quick cholesterol lesson)!
Whether you choose to buy pasture raised eggs, which contain more omega 3's and fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, or conventional eggs – you're making a great choice. If you're worried about cholesterol, fear not!
For some reason this health claim still clings, when the science was debunked years ago.
Eating high cholesterol foods does not directly raise your blood cholesterol. In fact, the majority of the cholesterol in our bodies was made by our bodies because of its vital role in hormone production, cell structure and many other important tasks.
Eggs are not only delicious, they're nutrient dense (see above) and have a ton of culinary versatility. And, when combined with a diet that includes different types of proteins, they're a win!
Veggies
I chose to use peppers, spinach and onions as these are some of my favorites, but this recipe could easily be adjusted to suit your preferences, and your ingredients on hand. Also, you could add fresh herbs in place of spinach which would add great flavor!
Soy sauce
Soy sauce provides a great salty, umami flavor. To me, it's similar to parmesan cheese.
However, if you avoid soy for any reason, try coconut aminos. Coconut aminos are soy and gluten free. The flavor is quite different in my eyes than soy sauce as you get a bit of sweetness, and not as salty, but it works with dietary restrictions. Especially if you're salt sensitive and need to restrict for health reasons.
If you're gluten free, (and not soy free) try Tamari, which still contains soy, but not wheat. I've never done a side by side comparison with tamari and soy sauce, but these work similar in recipes in which I swap them.
Storage
These muffins last about one week in the fridge. When you're ready to eat, pull a few out, place them on a microwave safe plate and warm for 20-30 seconds. Or, if you're my husband, you eat them cold for breakfast all the time!
Serving suggestion
These muffins are best enjoyed warm. If you're eating them as leftovers, I suggest placing them on a glass plate, remove any wrapping, cut in half and reheat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
Enjoy with fresh fruit, chopped veggies and hummus, or put on top of salad greens with extra virgin olive oil.
Now that you're salivating, let's dive into the recipe!
Recipe
Easy (High Protein) Chicken Muffins
Equipment
- Chefs Knife
- Strainer
- Cast iron skillet
- Muffin Tin
- Spatula
- Large mixing bowl
- Measuring Scoops & Spoons
Ingredients
- 1 14 ounce can Cooked chicken
- 2 cups Spinach, Chopped
- ½ cup White onion, Finely chopped, ~ ½ medium onion
- ½ cup Red pepper, Chopped, ~ ½ pepper
- 1 tablespoon Oil, neutral flavor
- 6 Eggs
- ¼ cup Almond flour
- ⅛ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce*, tamari, or coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon White wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt & pepper, each
- Goat cheese, about 2-3 teaspoon per muffin
Instructions
- Warm a cast iron skillet to medium.
- Add 1-2 tablespoon neutral oil like avocado oil. Over medium heat, sauté the pepper and onion for 2-3 minutes, until slightly softened.
- Add the chopped spinach, turn off the heat and cover the pan while you mix the egg mixture.
- Drain the chicken very well, using your hands squeeze any excess moisture from the chicken and break into shreds.
- In a large bowl add the eggs and whisk well. Add the almond flour, baking powder, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, salt & pepper and mix well. Add the chicken to this bowl and mix again.
- Remove the top from the veggie mixture, your greens should be wilted. Let cool a few minutes while you prepare your muffin tin with liners.
- Next add the sautéed veggies to the egg mixture, mix everything until thoroughly combined.
- Portion into muffin tins, greased, by ¼ cup scoops. These won't rise much, you can fill ¾ of the way.
- If desired, top each muffin with a couple teaspoons of goat cheese (parmesan or feta)
- Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes, until set. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan a couple minutes before cooling on a wire rack. Once completely cool transfer to an airtight container and store in your fridge for about 1 week.
Let me know what you think...