These are individual breakfast cups made in a muffin tin: bacon lines each cavity, ground beef cooked with cherry tomatoes fills the middle, and a whole egg goes on top before baking. The honest reason to make them is that you get a complete, portable breakfast with almost no dishes — one skillet to brown the beef, one muffin tin, done.
Before you start
The one technique that actually matters here is getting the bacon to conform to the muffin tin walls without tearing. Use bacon at room temperature, not cold from the fridge — cold rashers crack when you press them into the cups. Lay the strips out on the counter for about 10 minutes before you start. The second thing worth knowing: drain the cooked beef and tomato mixture well before spooning it in. Excess liquid will pool at the bottom of the cup and prevent the bacon from crisping on the sides. A quick press with a paper towel or a slotted spoon is enough.
What can go wrong
- Egg whites run under the bacon: This happens when the beef layer isn’t packed firmly enough to create a stable base. Press the filling down lightly before cracking the egg on top.
- Bacon shrinks away from the tin walls: Bacon contracts as it cooks. Overlap the ends slightly when lining each cup so there’s enough coverage after shrinkage.
- Yolk sets solid: If you want a slightly soft yolk, check the muffins a few minutes before the recipe’s stated end time. Oven temperatures vary, and a runny yolk can go fully set faster than expected.
- Muffins stick and fall apart on removal: Even with bacon lining the tin, fat can still cause sticking in older or uncoated pans. Run a thin knife or small offset spatula around the edge of each cup before trying to lift them out.
- Ground beef stays grey and watery instead of browning: This usually means the pan was overcrowded or not hot enough. Brown the beef in a single layer over medium-high heat and don’t stir it constantly — let it sit for a minute before breaking it up.
Shopping notes
Standard supermarket streaky bacon works fine here — skip the thick-cut variety, which is too stiff to press into the muffin cups without splitting. For the beef, an 80/20 lean-to-fat ratio gives you enough fat to keep the filling moist without making it greasy. Cherry tomatoes are worth using as-is rather than substituting regular diced tomato, which releases more water and makes the filling loose. If you want to add vegetables — diced bell pepper or baby spinach both work — stir them into the beef mixture in the last minute of cooking so they soften slightly without adding extra moisture.
Keeping and reheating
Once cooled, store the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. For longer storage, wrap each muffin individually in foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 15 minutes — skip the microwave if you can, since it turns the bacon rubbery. From the fridge, 8–10 minutes in the oven is enough. The egg yolk will be fully set after reheating regardless of how it came out of the oven originally, so factor that in if texture matters to you.
Tasty Paleo Bacon and Egg Muffins
Ingredients
12 rashers bacon
500 grams ground beef (minced beef)
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
12 medium eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Grease the muffin tin using butter or cooking spray.
- Use bacon to line the muffin tray.
- Cook off the beef mince with the tomatoes.
- Place a portion of mince and tomatoes on top of the bacon.
- Crack an egg on top of the mince mixture. Make sure you don’t put in too much mince mixture, or your egg will not fit.
- Place the mince in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius and cook until the egg is to your liking, for about 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Common questions
Can I make these ahead the night before?
You can fully bake them the night before and refrigerate overnight — they reheat well. Assembling them unbaked the night before is not recommended, because the raw egg will weep liquid into the beef layer and the bacon will start to cure from the salt contact, changing the texture.
Does the ground beef need to be fully cooked before it goes into the muffin tin?
Yes — cook the ground beef all the way through in the skillet before assembling. Ground beef must reach an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) for food safety, and the short bake time in the muffin tin is not long enough to guarantee that on its own.
What if I don’t have a muffin tin?
A standard 12-cup muffin tin is really the right tool for this recipe — the shape is what holds everything together. A ramekin works as a substitute for a single serving, but skip improvising with foil cups on a baking sheet; the bacon won’t hold its shape without rigid walls.
What to cook next
- Sweet Savory Scotch Eggs
- Hearty Beef Cauliflower Bake
- Savory Beef Herb Pancakes
- Spicy Beef Stuffed Peppers
