Remember the Tortilla Scoops with Spicy Nectarine Salsa we made as appetizers for my Pampered Chef party? Well these are a breakfast version, inspired by the great deliciousness of baking tortillas in a muffin tin, filled with stuff. I turned these into Tex-Mex breakfast nibbles, by stuffing them with spicy refried beans, sharp old cheddar, fresh onions & peppers, and lovely free-range eggs.
We’ve been making these quite a lot, after our friend Sue introduced us to her version at the cottage this summer. She mixes mashed (boiled) cauliflower in with the egg mixture, and it tastes divine! Her recipe is from a cookbook about sneaking veggies into kids’ meals, but I think it’s pretty awesome for adults. They look pretty fancy, but trust me – all you do is slice a tortilla, stick it in a muffin cup, fill with stuff, and bake. All of a sudden, you have these gorgeous tortilla bowls for your eggy deliciousness.
You can see in the recipe photos that I decided to only do 8 tortilla cups — it’s an easy recipe to adjust to the quantities you need for whomever you’re serving. A ratio of one egg for every 2-3 tortilla cups works really well.
This Tex-Mex version has become our standard, but it will work with whatever veggies you’d want in an omelet – maybe you could do “Greek” tortilla cups with green peppers, black olives, spinach, and feta… or mushroom tortilla cups with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and goat’s cheese… or leeks and collards… the options are endless!
I think we’re going to have these as our light breakfast on Christmas morning (so I’ve popped them into my Holiday category). You know, the meal before the big brunch and the dinner feast. I think the red peppers and the green cilantro will look perfectly festive, and they’ll provide some delicious nourishment and sustain us through the morning craziness. I might have to sneak some kale in there. After all, ’tis the season.
Tex-Mex Breakfast Tortilla Cups
Serves 4-6
- 3 large flour tortillas
- 60ml (1/4 c.) refried beans
- 1/2 red pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 red onion, finely diced
- 56g (2 oz or 1/4 c.) sharp cheddar cheese
- 4g (1/4 c. or 1 large handful) fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
Preheat your oven to 400F.
Grease a muffin tin (I use olive oil in a vacuum spray bottle – no ozone-harming chemicals!) with olive or coconut oil.
Slice your tortillas into quarters (a pizza wheel is great for this). Press each triangle of tortilla into a muffin cup.
Spoon in a heaping teaspoon of refried beans, and top with peppers, onions, cheese, and cilantro.
In a separate bowl, beat your eggs with a fork or a whisk. Pour the beaten eggs over the muffin cups, being careful not to overfill them.
Bake at 400F for 12-18 minutes, until your eggs have set and the edges of your tortilla cups are golden brown.
Let cool for 5 minutes, and gently run a knife around the rim of each cup to loosen it from the muffin tin.
Serve with a good dollop of Greek yogurt. You could also serve with salsa, extra refried beans, more veggies, and extra cilantro! If there are any that aren’t so pretty, feel free to top with a dollop of yogurt or salsa.
Eat warm, or at room temperature, and enjoy!
Kitchen Operas 
Lindsey, these look delicious. I think they may grace our Christmas morning buffet table.
Nora – they are AWESOME. And easy 🙂 What more could you ask for? 😀
I’m curious about your muffin pan! What is it made of and where can I get one? Thanks!
It’s a stoneware “12-cup muffin pan” from Pampered Chef. I don’t know where you’re located, but if you’re in Canada you can order through my friend, Heather:
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/heatherdancyger?page=products-detail&categoryId=9&productId=3932&itemId=1465
And here’s a link to one in the US:
http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=1016&catId=9&parentCatId=9&outletSubCat=
It’s awesome, and non-stick without scary chemicals because it’s made of stoneware that absorbs the oil you use in baking. And it’s HEAVY!!! You can only get them through Pampered Chef – they don’t have them in stores. I recommend seeing if there’s a Pampered Chef consultant in your area, they can often get you a deal!
Thanks, Lindsay. I’m always finding rust or scratched-through spots on my metal muffin pans, and I don’t like to use liners, so I have to avoid those cups or buy a new pan.
I had the same problem, and was constantly replacing my muffin tin. I think this one might outlast me!!!
Makes my mouth water! Looks very simple, yet delicious!
Love these!! They are so cute. I’m thinking they will work for Christmas breakfast.