Southwestern Breakfast Muffins are an easy and delicious breakfast on-the-go. Muffins made with cheese, sausage, hash browns, eggs and peppers!
If you’ve been a regular reader here at A Family Feast, then you already know about what my husband Jack likes to call “A.I.” – recipes made with Available Ingredients in our kitchen!
So with a package of breakfast sausages, some potatoes, cheese and a bunch of other ‘available ingredients’ in our refrigerator and cabinets – and with Cinco De Mayo celebrations a month away – our Southwestern Breakfast Muffins were created!
These Southwestern Breakfast Muffins are fantastic! Jack made them just slightly spicy – thanks to the addition of some jalapeño, canned green chiles, sausage, and some Pecorino Pepato – a delicious, semi-hard goat’s milk cheese with peppercorns stuffed throughout. (We first cooked with this amazing cheese in this recipe.) You can swap in your favorite zesty cheese instead.
And with shredded potatoes inside, these Southwestern Breakfast Muffins have a wonderful hash brown sort of consistency on the inside, and a crispy golden outside.
These Southwestern Breakfast Muffins are the perfect breakfast-on-the-go – but they also make a delicious, portable lunch served alongside a salad or a bowl of soup.
You may like these other breakfast recipes:
- Breakfast Burritos
- Crustless Ham and Cheddar Quiche
- Sausage Veggie Breakfast Bake
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Sausage Bread
Southwestern Breakfast Muffins
Southwestern Breakfast Muffins are an easy and delicious breakfast on-the-go. Muffins made with cheese, sausage, hash browns, eggs and peppers!
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 1/4 cup minced jalapeño, no seeds (about one large or two medium peppers)
- 1/2 cup sweet bell pepper diced, such as red, yellow or orange
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 12–ounce package raw breakfast sausages, removed from casing (I used the plain, not maple flavored)
- 1 4.25–ounce can diced chilies, drained
- 2 whole eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 cup pepato cheese shredded (if this cheese is not available, use a queso fresco or farmer’s cheese but add 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper. Pepato cheese is pepper infused)
- 1 cup jack cheese shredded (pepper jack can be used for a spicier version)
- 1 1/2 pounds peeled russet potatoes put through large holes on cheese grater (prepare this ingredient last)
- 1 tablespoon butter to grease muffin tins
- Sour cream for garnish
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium sauté pan, over medium heat, melt butter and add onions and both peppers. Sauté for five minutes and add garlic. Sauté for one minute and add sausage meat. Cook until no longer pink, breaking up big pieces, about four more minutes. Pour into a strainer to drain off grease. Discard grease.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium to large bowl, add drained chilies, eggs, cilantro, cumin, coriander, both cups of shredded cheese, shredded potatoes and cooked sausage mixture. Stir to combine. (note, I did not shred the potatoes until I was ready to add so they wouldn’t discolor).
- Prepare a standard non-stick muffin tin by generously coating the inside and top of a 12 cup muffin tin with butter. Make sure the inside of the cups are well buttered.
- Divide batter between each cup but don’t press the batter down. Let it fall into each cup, tidy up the edges and place in prepared oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven, let the pan sit for a few minutes to set then gently remove each to a platter. You may need to run a butter knife around the edges and coax them a little to come out of the pan.
- Serve two to a portion and serve with sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro if desired.
We don’t eat pork so wondering if ground chicken might work or would it be too dry. Thank you
Hi Lori – You could use ground chicken…but, to your point, I’d suggest adding some butter for moisture as well as seasonings for flavor – since the sausage is much more flavorful too than ground chicken.
Have you tried freezing these? They look delicious but too much for two ! But would make some nice easy breakfasts! Thanks
Hi Susan – Yes – you can freeze these. They reheat nicely in the microwave
Could you use frozen hashbrowns in place of the potatoes?
Hi Sandra – Yes – we’ve used the Simply Potatoes brand of shredded potatoes in the past with good results. Hope that helps!
Would the pre-packaged “Simply Potatoes” work here?
Hi Stephanie – the Simply Potatoes would definitely work! (Great idea!)