Egg Muffins (Frittata Cups)

Michael Eisenwasser

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Twelve portable frittata cups from a single muffin tin. Spinach, feta, cherry tomatoes, and bell pepper baked into tender egg muffins you can grab two at a time all week.

Prep 10 min

Cook 25 min

Serves 6

Gluten-freeVegetarian

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• 450 g baby spinach (about 9 cups loosely packed)
• 200 g crumbled feta (about 3/4 cup)
• 450 g red bell pepper (about 2 medium), small-dice
• 300 g cherry tomatoes (about 30), halved
• 4 scallions, green tops only, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil, divided
• 1/4 cup lactose-free milk or water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, dill, or parsley
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 strips plain pork bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)

Instructions

Prep the Pan and Oven

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Brush a standard 12-cup muffin tin generously with 1 tablespoon of the garlic-infused oil, getting into the corners of each well. Parchment liners work too, but silicone or a well-greased metal pan releases best.
2. Rinse and dry the spinach, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and scallion greens.

Wilt the Spinach and Peppers

1. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon garlic-infused oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the bell pepper and a pinch of salt. Toss for 3 to 4 minutes until it softens slightly.
3. Add the spinach in handfuls, tossing until each batch collapses. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until the pan is mostly dry. Transfer to a plate, press out any excess liquid with the back of a spoon, and let it cool for 5 minutes.

Whisk the Eggs

1. Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the milk or water, kosher salt, and several grinds of pepper. Whisk until fully blended with no streaks of white.
2. Stir in the cooled spinach and peppers, two-thirds of the feta, and the scallion greens. Fold in the chopped bacon if using.

Fill and Bake

1. Divide the mixture evenly among the 12 muffin wells — each should be about three-quarters full. A 1/3-cup measure gets you close in a single scoop.
2. Top each cup with a few halved cherry tomatoes (cut-side up) and the remaining feta.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are set and lightly golden and a muffin springs back when pressed. A toothpick should come out clean.
4. Let the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes so they firm up, then run a thin knife or offset spatula around each well and lift them out. Scatter the fresh herbs over the top.

Tips & Substitutions

• Grease the pan, seriously. Egg muffins stick harder than regular muffins. Brush every well with oil — bottom and sides — or use parchment liners cut into squares. Silicone muffin pans release cleanest of all.
• Dairy-free swap. Skip the feta and add an extra pinch of salt plus a squeeze of lemon before serving. Aged parmesan or cheddar also work at 40 g per serve (two muffins) and lower in lactose than fresh cheeses. Check the Monash app for the current serving size.
• Protein boost. The bacon adds around 2 g of protein per muffin. Pick a plain bacon without onion or garlic powder, honey, or inulin/chicory in the ingredient list. You can also fold in 4 ounces (115 g) of chopped cooked chicken, ham, or plain pork sausage — skip any seasoning blend with onion or garlic.
• Vegetable swaps. Swap the bell pepper for zucchini or a mix of red pepper and chopped kale. Zucchini and kale can shift to moderate at larger serves, so check the Monash app for the current gram limit and keep the total weight similar to the pepper so the bake time stays the same.
• Muffin size matters. A standard 12-cup tin gives you muffins sized so two equal one serving. Mini muffin tins cut the bake to 12 to 14 minutes and you'll want to eat four. Jumbo tins push to 28 minutes and one is a serving.
• Watch the spinach serve. Monash tests baby spinach as low at 1.5 cups (75 g) per person. Nine cups across six servings of two muffins each stays right at that line. English (mature) spinach also tests low and wilts down more, so you can swap it one-for-one.
• Skip onion and raw garlic. The infused oil and scallion greens carry the allium flavor. Don't add chopped onion, shallot, scallion whites, or raw garlic — all high-FODMAP in typical amounts.

Why This Works

Muffin-tin format makes breakfast portable. Eight eggs split across 12 cups gives you two-muffin servings of 12 to 14 grams of protein each — enough for a grab-and-go breakfast, and you can eat them cold out of the fridge, warm from the microwave, or stuffed into a low-FODMAP breakfast sandwich. The shape holds better in a lunchbox than frittata squares.

Spinach serve stays in range. Baby spinach is low at 1.5 cups (75 g) per person. Nine cups total across six servings of two muffins each works out to exactly 75 g per portion after it wilts down. If you eyeball it and add a tenth cup, the serving size still holds as long as you split it evenly across the 12 wells.

Bell pepper and cherry tomatoes are both low at these amounts. Red bell pepper is low at 75 g per serve (a generous portion). Cherry tomatoes are low at a small serve — about 5 per person. Halving 30 tomatoes across six servings puts you right in that range. Common tomatoes (Roma, vine) also have a small low serving — check the app for the current gram weight.

Feta is a low-lactose cheese. Feta tests low at 40 g per serve, roughly a quarter cup crumbled. Two muffins works out to about 33 g of feta per portion — under the threshold with buffer to spare. Most of the lactose drains off in the brine, so it sits well even during the elimination phase. Other low-lactose options that play the same role: aged cheddar, parmesan, brie, camembert, and lactose-free goat cheese.

Garlic-infused oil carries the flavor without the fructans. Fructans in garlic are water-soluble, not oil-soluble, so infusing oil with garlic pulls the flavor without the gut trouble. Strain out the garlic pieces before using — you want only the infused oil, never the solids. Use your own infused oil or a store-bought Monash-certified version. If using homemade, refrigerate and use within 2 to 3 days for food safety (or freeze in an ice cube tray), or buy a commercial acidified product for pantry storage.

Storage

Cool the muffins to room temperature within an hour of baking, then transfer them to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days at 40°F (4°C) or below. Reheat two muffins in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or in 20-second bursts in the microwave until warmed through. You can also freeze individual muffins wrapped in parchment and foil for up to 2 months — thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. The texture holds better if you freeze the muffins without the cherry tomato tops and add fresh ones after reheating.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.