A Meal in a Muffin
These savory baked goods deliver a complete meal in a single cup.
You’ve probably tasted a savory muffin. But how about a meal muffin? These baked goods take the savory concept a step up — typically combining eggs, veggies, often cheese, and sometimes meat — to make a complete meal. We scoured bakeries across the country to round up three unique finds.
Meal Muffins in Houston
The MerryMuffins bakery is the healthy labor of love of owner Laura Grinstead. Here, she offers nine jumbo savory high-protein meal muffins such as Chorizo Biscuit, Pepperoni Pizza, and Rice and Bean (pictured above) — each for 400 calories or less. “My business started by experimenting with trying to find creative ways for my children to eat better,” says Grinstead. “I took some of our family's favorite dishes and got inspiration from them. All our savory muffins have vegetables puréed into the batter.” You don’t have to head to Texas to try these for yourself: the bakery delivers nationwide.
Savory Soft Egg Muffin in Traverse City, Michigan
You better get to the Common Good Bakery early on a weekend, before the breakfast hot spot sells out of its Savory Egg Muffin. The base recipe changes from week to week: you might get roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, and feta cheese one week (with a soft-boiled egg in the middle, of course), and bacon, caramelized onions and Cheddar the next week. “I drew inspiration from a wonderful bakery in San Francisco, and I wanted to do a twist on a savory breakfast mixed with a Scotch egg,” says Kait Kelly, the bakery’s sous chef. “We change the flavors depending on what’s in season.” Because the muffins are fairly labor intensive, they’re often available only on the weekends — although Kelly says she aims to have them available as many days as possible. The muffin is a larger meal, with a bacon version falling in the 500- to 600-calorie range.
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Savory Cups in Wayzata, Minnesota
While the The Cookie Cups’ main sell is cookies in the form of mini muffins, the bakery’s creator, Nicole Pomije, brought savory mini muffins to the menu, as well. You’ll find menu items like Mac & Cheese, Meat & Potato, and The Sunrise (egg and cheese with spinach or potato; pictured above), with most muffins falling at less than 200 calories. Some are even less, with The Sunrise containing about 70 calories a muffin. Pair a couple of muffins with a small bowl of berries or a sliced apple.
Images courtesy of the restaurants.
