These healthy chicken muffins are made with lean chicken breast, bell peppers, and cheese as the main ingredients. Tasty and easy-to-make recipe for the whole family.
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⭐Why you will love this recipe
- Fun - kids love fun food, and savory muffins can be a great idea for picky eaters.
- Healthy - made with lean protein and veggies. These muffins can be easily a complete meal
- Juicy - the diced chicken breast turns out very tender when cooked with little mayo and veggies.
- Meal-Prep Friendly - this meat muffin recipe is perfect for a meal prep day. They nicely fit into a lunch box and reheat well.
🥘Ingredients
- Chicken Breast - I always use chicken breast for this recipe, but you can also dice the skinless boneless chicken thighs. Chicken thighs have much more fat content, but are much cheaper than breasts.
- Eggs - The egg will help to keep all the ingredients in a muffin shape.
- Bell Pepper - sweet yellow or red pepper will make the muffins juicy, and colorful. It will also add some great flavor.
- Green Onions - Chopped green onions with the white part. They have a milder flavor but you are welcome to use yellow onion as well.
- Fresh parsley - finely chopped fresh parsley. You can use some dill as well.
- Shredded Cheese - I used Mexican blend shredded cheese because that's what I had in the fridge. Use any shredded cheese you have. You will need some for the batter and some for the topping.
- Mayonnaise - a little bit of a good quality mayo will do magic to these chicken muffins. The chicken pieces will absorb its flavor and become super juicy.
- Wheat Flour - you will need to add some flour to the batter for the muffins to hold their shape. You can any gluten-free flour as well.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - this ingredient is optional but worth adding. It balances the flavors and tenderizes the meat.
- Sea Salt - add some salt to the batter. Keep in mind, that cheese and mayo already contain some sodium.
- Spices - I used a simple mix of garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and paprika. You can add some oregano, thyme, or even Italian seasoning.
See the recipe card for ingredients quantities.
⏲️How to make chicken muffins
Dice Chicken - Using a knife and a large cutting board, slice the chicken into thin strips and then into cubes. You can dice them as small as you can, but no larger than 1-inch cubes. Place the diced chicken into a large bowl.
Make the Meat Mixture - Now, add egg, diced pepper, chopped onions, parsley, cheese, mayo, flour, apple cider vinegar, salt, and spices. Use a large spoon or spatula to mix everything well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (optional)
Fill the Muffin Molds - Prepare the muffin pan by inserting the liners. If you are not using parchment liners, spray the muffin cups with some cooking spray to prevent them from sticking. Add the meat mixture to each muffin cup leaving about one-inch space on top.
Bake - Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes.
Add Cheese and Bake Again - Take them out and sprinkle with the remaining cheese on top. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
🌡️How to store and reheat
Refrigerate: Place the leftover chicken muffins in the airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or air fryer until hot.
Freeze: First, cool the chicken muffins down and place them in a ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
🔪Special recommended equipment
- Muffin Pan - I use the stainless steel standard muffin tin and some parchment muffin liners. Silicone molds work great too and do not need any liners.
- Meat thermometer - A meat thermometer will guarantee the chicken reaches a safe temperature without overcooking it. I highly recommend purchasing one, if you don't have it yet.
♨️Pro Tip
For the best results and more flavor, I recommend marinating the meat mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes before cooking.
🥣Serving suggestions
These savory chicken muffins can be a full meal by themselves but are the best when served with some simple steamed veggies or a green salad on the side. I love using these muffins for my meal preps or as high protein snack.
📋Recipe variations
- Fresh Veggies: you can add other veggies to the mix, such as chopped zucchini, carrots, and cauliflower.
- Low Carb: for keto chicken muffins use some almond flour instead of wheat.
- Ground chicken: if you decide to go with ground chicken, use breadcrumbs instead of flour. They will be more like meatloaf muffins though but still tasty.
🍗Other popular recipes with chicken breasts
- Juicy cast iron chicken breasts
- Baked Tuscan chicken breasts
- Olivier salad
- Baked thin sliced chicken breasts
📖 Recipe
Chicken Muffins Recipe
Equipment
- 1 12-cup muffin standard size muffin pan
- 12 parchment paper muffin liners
Ingredients
- 3 small chicken breasts around 1.2-1.5 pounds
- 1 large egg
- ½ diced bell pepper
- 2 chopped green onions (with the white part)
- 1 small bunch chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup shredded cheese ¾ for the batter, ¼ for topping
- 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 4 Tablespoons wheat flour or gluten free
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line muffins cups with parchment liners. If not using the liners, spray with some cooking oil.
- Slice each chicken breast into one inch white strips. Dice the strips into small cubes.
- In a large mixing bowl, add diced chicken, egg, flour, ¾ cup of cheese, bell pepper, parsley, green onion, mayo, apple cider vinegar, salt and spices. Mix everything well with a spoon.
- Fill each muffin cup with the meat mix, but do not fill the to the top.
- Bake for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the muffins' internal temperature reaches 165°F. Cool down for 5 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
- If you have time, let the meat mix marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- If not using parchment liners, spray the muffin pan with some cooking spray.
- Do not over fill the muffin cups, leave 1 inch space on top.
- Use meat thermometer to check if fully cooked.
- Nutritional facts are for information purposes only and are estimate. For accurate nutrition information, weigh all ingredients and use special app to calculate the calories and macro-nutrients.
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