French egg muffins recipe (oeufs au four)
Main ingredients:
 | All purpose flour |
 | Eggs |
 | Grated cheese (emmental, cheddar, gruyère) |
 | Tomato coulis or tomato sauce |
 | (Substitutable) ham |
 | (Substitutable) fresh spinach |
Herbs and spices:
 | Pinch of dried parsley leaves |
 | Pinch of dried basil |
 | Pinch of garlic powder or flakes |
 | Salt and pepper |
If you are looking for an easy breakfast idea, French egg muffins, aka oeufs au four is your answer. The egg muffins can be prepared in a batch in advance, and served whenever you want.
With a provençale influence of tomato and garlic, it is somewhat similar to a French cake salé (savory cake) and a breakfast egg casserole, but in bite-size servings.
You can store and serve quickly on those busy mornings before going to work or school. With a dose of veggies and proteins, these breakfast egg muffins should keep you feeling full and satisfied until lunch.
These bite-sized snacks are also great finger-foods if you are having an apéro cocktail at home with friends. Combine them with a charcuterie, cheese plate, and some crudités veggies, and you have got a happy hour with friends that doesn’t require much supervision as the host.
How do you keep egg muffins from deflating?
If you heat up your oven too much, the eggs muffins and rise and the fall. Keep the oven temperature at 375°F (190°C) to keep them stable.
In addition, leave these egg muffins to cool slightly while still on the muffin tray before removing them.
Can you use gluten-free flour?
Yes, egg muffins cook perfectly with gluten-free flour. You can use a variety of flours such as all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, rice flour, or almond flour.
Preparation and cooking tips
Now, a simple French oeufs au four, is pretty fail-safe, but just in case I thought I’d put together a list of quick tips to set yourself up for success:
1. Using room temperature eggs.
In France, eggs are kept outside, not in the fridge. (Their shells are also brown on the outside, but that is another story. You can read more fun French food facts here.)
So when most French recipes call for eggs, they mean these eggs that are room temperature. It will just make the mixture easier to mix, and will take slightly less time than cold eggs would, but it is not going to make or break your recipe.
2. Use fresh veggies.
One thing that will impact your egg muffins is if you use frozen vegetables, that haven’t had a chance to properly cook in the oven. Fresh spinach, mushrooms, onions etc. will be much faster and easier to pop into the recipe than using frozen items that have to be defrosted.
3. Vary your ingredients.
And that brings us to the main point I wanted to make, which is you can change up your ingredients! In the recipe below, I’ve broken out the base ingredients which should always remain, and the substitutable ingredients, which you can change depending on your preferences.
I’ve picked ham and spinach for my egg muffins but you can do vegetarian flavors too like spinach and parmesan as well. Other interesting variations are:
- Smoked Salmon, avocado, and tomato confit
- Roquefort and cauliflower
- Dried tomatoes
- Fig and goat cheese
- Spinach and feta
- Brocolli and cheddar
You can combine all sorts of interesting ingredients and test it out. The base ingredients of eggs, flour, cheese, and milk remain the same, so you can easily test out the other ingredients in the same proportions as the recipe below.
For the cheese, the ones that work well most of the time are hard cheeses such as gruyère, cheddar, or emmental.
If you are having a party and preparing it as an apéro snack, you can prepare 2-3 different types for your guests.
4. Certain ingredients may need to be cooked.
One rather common ingredient that you might think to pop into your is bacon or lardons. Keep in mind that the eggs will cook faster than the bacon, and so you will need to pre-cook the bacon before putting it into the recipe. Ingredients like frozen mushrooms should also be cooked before adding it to the recipe.
Similar recipes
French Baked Eggs Muffins Recipe (Oeufs au four)
Equipment
Ingredients
Base Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 tablespoons of self-rising flour
- 2 tablespoons of tomato coulis or tomato sauce
- 1/5 cup of grated cheese eg. gruyère, emmental, etc.
- pinch of dried basil and parsley leaves
- pinch of salt and pepper
- pinch of garlic flakes
Substitutable Ingredients
- 2-3 slices of jambon cru ham
- 1 cup of fresh spinach
- pinch of piment d’espelette or cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Beat the eggs in bowl with a whisk.
- Once blended, add the tomato coulis, cheese, and flour and whisk throughly until it is smooth.
- Wash and dry the spinach.
- Chop the ham and spinach into small pieces and add to the mixture.
- Mix in a pinch of salt and pepper, garlic, herbs, and spices depending on preferences.
- Oil the muffin tray lightly.
- Ladle the mixture into each section of the muffin tray.
- Bake at 375°F (190°C) for around 20 minutes till the egg muffins have risen.
- Serve while warm.
- For leftovers, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheat to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note: We are not certified nutritionists and these estimates written and produced for entertainment purposes only.
What to serve with it?
If you are having egg muffins for breakfast, serve them with a cup of tea/coffee and yogurt for a quick and healthy breakfast.
If you are serving them at a party, you can serve them alongside other French appetizers like socca, baked camembert, etc. with a selection of apéritifs like kir and pastis.
Can you freeze it?
Yes, let egg muffins cool before you place them in an airtight container designed for the freezer, and you should be good to go, for about a month or so.
When ready to eat, thaw the egg muffins in a refrigerator overnight and bake at 350ºF (175°C) for about 20 minutes until warm.
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