Muffin tins are for baking – this is now merely a fact of the past. Muffin tins are not just for baking anymore. You don’t fill your trays with just muffin batter or cake mixture these days. However, not all people are aware of the muffin tin hacks that can bring their way of thinking into a different perspective.
Yes, you read it right; this article is about muffin tin hacks that can blow your mind. Learning about the tricks and hacks that you can do and the fantastic recipes that you can make with muffin tins are endless. You’ll end up regretting throwing your old muffin tins. You’ll also be thinking twice of placing the useful muffin trays in the bottom corner of your kitchen cabinet when you don’t want muffins for snacks.
From drawer organizers, dog toy, to candle holder, taco bowls and many more, muffin tins have come a long way. This article will open a whole new world of muffin tin uses. If you can’t imagine plants growing from muffin tins or heart-shaped cupcakes popping out of muffins, then you’re missing some incredible hacks in your life.
Who would have ever thought that a little muffin tin could have these many uses? If you have never thought of using your muffin tray for anything but baking, then think again. Here are 40 muffin tin hacks that will blow your mind. Try them as soon as you finish reading this article.
Mini-Planter for Green Thumb
Spring has already started – the perfect season for people with green thumbs. Herbs, flowers and small plants can add accent to your living room, dining room and your lawn. If you have old muffin pans, don’t let them go to waste because you can use them as mini planters.
The wells in a muffin pan are the perfect size for holding small plants or flowers. To make this muffin tin hack, flip over the muffin pan and punch holes in the bottom of each well or cup. Add soil and plant the seeds of your chosen herbs or flowers. Water them every day, and there you have it – your mini planter perfect for small live plants!
Snack Carrier for Kids
If you like your kids to do some housework without causing a mess, then a muffin pan carrier will do the trick. Youngsters are active and playful. They can also be naughty at times. If you don’t teach them how to behave, they will cause a ruckus in the house, which means more work for you!
But you don’t have to worry anymore; this muffin pan hack can help you handle your kids whenever you give them small house chores such as carrying their own snacks. Simply use a muffin tray, divide meals equally in the pan and then put the muffin tray in a basket. Now, you have a stable and safe snack carrier for kids.
Muffin Tins Today, Educational Tools Tomorrow
Since we’re talking about upcycling your old muffin tins, why don’t we turn them into great educational tools? You can use them to organize puzzle pieces or scrabble letters. Teaching children is no laughing matter; it’s a thankless job.
If you have children, you can repurpose your muffin tins to create a mini-game where your children can sort colors and numbers to their respective cups. Just use your imagination, and you’re sure to be able to come up with endless games for your kids.
The Best Candle Holder
Since muffin tins have a lot of cups, they make the world’s best candleholder. Scented candles like tea lights are becoming even more famous now than ever. You can light different scents together and make your house smell good and feel relaxing.
It’s a great way to keep everything fresh and calm. One thing to remember is that once you have used the tin as a candleholder, you have to wait until the candle has melted entirely. It might be a hassle to clean, but it is worth it.
Artistic Twist with Mini Corn Dogs
The thought about making corn dogs in a muffin tin may have never crossed your mind, but believe it or not, it is possible. Surprise everyone with this fun twist on mini corn dogs. It is the same corn dog that we know and loves, but with an artistic twist.
Whip together the cornbread mix and pour it into a greased muffin pan. Slice up some hot dogs and stick each slice in the individual muffin cups. Bake them for a satisfying snack during your next family get together.
Muffin Tin Drawer Organizer
Are you fond of recycling or reusing things? If yes, then it’s time you put a new spin on your old muffin pans. You can use muffin tins as a drawer organizer. Is it hard to imagine? Well, this muffin hack will keep your things ordered in a drawer.
If you have a stack of clips, thumbtacks, staples and other small office supplies that can go chaos in a drawer, go to your kitchen and get a muffin pan. Place the muffin tin inside your drawer and put your stuff in each cup. Make sure to put the same things together in each muffin container.
Food can be nicely organized as well, check out this next hack
Muffin Tray as Snack Organizer
Have you ever thought of using muffin pans as snack organizer for your kids? Muffin tins are handy for both parents and their children when it comes to snacking. Children can get greedy with sweet snacks. Therefore, as parents, you have to make sure you give the right portion of snacks.
You also have to bear in mind that snacking should be healthy for your children. How? Use muffin tins. You can limit the amount of food on each cup and put only the best and healthiest snack for your kids. Moreover, muffin tins as snack organizer are not just for children, but they can also be used as decorative snack trays for family gatherings.
Create your own mini pies
Instead of making a regular sized pie, which is good for sharing, why not give everyone his or her own pie by creating a mini version of it? There are many mini pie recipes that you can try doing for your family and friends. Make the most delicious recipes with your muffin pans.
For example, combine two Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts, 4 cups of can pie filling and one egg. Fit the dough into the muffin tins and shape it like a mini pie crust. Add your pie filling and lay down the top crust. Bake the mini pies for 30 to 40 minutes at 350F.
Keeping the Garage Organized
Do you like to keep yourself busy with DIY projects and home renovations? Or maybe you just want to fidget around and make your inventions? If your answer is a yes, then you most probably have a cluttered workspace. There is no shame in admitting that while you are busy tinkering away in your shed or garage things tend to lose their order. Nails mix in with the screws, cogs, and nuts go missing, being creative can be very messy.
A muffin tray is a perfect solution. You don’t need to spend dollars for an organizer. If you have an unused muffin tin, you can easily repurpose it as nuts and bolts organizer. The cups of the muffin tin can easily hold all the nuts and bolts. You can assign one each cup to keep a specific item; one for your screws, nails, nuts, or pins. You can even get creative with it by adding your design labeling the cups for a more efficient organization.
Create Healthy Frozen Lemons by Using Muffin Tins
Have a fit and healthy body for the summer season with frozen lemons! Lemons have a lot of health benefits, and it can surely make your body strong and healthy. Here’s a twist to your lemon water that can help you enjoy it even during the hottest season.
Cut lemons into slices and put them in a muffin pan. Cover the lemon slices with water and then freeze overnight. After 24 hours, you can now enjoy your frozen lemons. Add them in a glass of water and drink to your heart’s content.
Another creative hack just for you and your muffin tin!
Turn Muffin Pans into a Wall Art
Think of your home as a safe space for you to express your creative ideas. One way is to repurpose your muffin tins into minimal wall art. Unconventional art is a huge trend right now especially since art is open to interpretation.
So take out your muffin tin and paint whatever you want inside each cup. You could also put little trinkets inside or photos of your loved ones. You can even go all out, completely repaint your muffin tin, and give it a full makeover.
Fun Sized Cinnamon Buns
Muffin tins can be used to make the perfect mini cinnamon buns. If you and your family like the unique taste of cinnamon, then mini cinnamon buns can do the trick. How? You only have to use your muffin tins.
This is a great muffin tin hack if you want smaller portions instead of the regular sized cinnamon buns. The only difference with this mini recipe is that you need to add clippings of wax paper into each of the cups to prevent the cinnamon buns from sticking.
No More Wasted Crayons
When you have kids in the house, or you’re just creative, you tend to run out of art materials quickly. Crayons are one of the materials that we can’t usually maximize. When it gets too short it’s harder to use especially for kids that is why recycling them is so important. It’s cheaper than buying new crayons and gives you room to experiment and blend your creations.
Just place the small pieces of crayon in each cup. You can choose to pair them by color or have fun with it and mix match colors. Leave them in the oven until they melt. After, you can place them in a mold or wait for them to cool, and there you go, brand new crayons.
Chicken and Cheese – Perfect Combination
This muffin pie recipe is not only for those who crave for chicken but also for people who love yummy cheese. Try this tasty and hearty chicken and cheese mini pies. Combine shredded rotisserie chicken, shredded pepper jack cheese, cilantro, and peppercorn ranch dressing and diced green chilies.
In a different bowl, add Bisquick original baking mix, eggs, and milk. Mix them all and pour the mixture into the greased muffin cups. Then spoon the chicken mixture on top of it. Bake this at 375F for 30 minutes.
Hard Boiled Life Hacks
Are you cooking deviled eggs? Or have a bunch of eggs to boil, but don’t have a pot large enough to boil them all at once? Let us be honest, boiling eggs is an easy task but what if I told you there is even an easier life hack you could use to make it even simpler.
Place one egg upright on each cup of your muffin tin. Then place them in the oven. When it’s time to take them out, let them run under some cold water, and they’re ready to peel. Now it’s time to think outside of the box and prepare something to go with your smartly cooked eggs.
Mini Breakfast using Muffin Tins
Breakfast is probably the most loved meal of the day, and it is just fit that you take it to the next level. Similar to how you create bacon bowls in muffin tins, you can start with the same process and then add your favorite breakfast ingredients into the bowl to make breakfast muffins.
There are many options for this tip since there are numerous different ingredients that you can combine such as sliced ham, bell peppers or tomatoes. Just be sure that you include eggs as you stir your favorite ingredients together in a bowl. Then, pour out equal portions into each of the muffin cups. Bake it for a few minutes and enjoy.
Delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
Peanut Butter and Jelly muffins are a decadent and delightful snack for you and your family. All that you will need to do is to pick up the muffin ingredients, including flour, salt, unsalted butter, baking soda, egg, vanilla extract, brown sugar, milk, and Greek yogurt. And of course, the main ingredients, peanut butter, and jelly.
Using your microwave, heat the butter and peanut butter together for 30 seconds to get the mixture ready, and then add the remaining ingredients and mix. Make sure that you add cupcake liners to the tin, and then pour the batter among the cups. Bake it for 18 to 22 minutes at 350F. Enjoy your delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins.
Enjoy Pancake Poppers with Your Loved Ones
Pancakes have always been a stable part of breakfast. It is a quick and healthy option, especially for sugar-filled kids. The smell alone can lure kids from blocks away, but it also a unique ability to make them eat healthier without them knowing.
Instead of flipping your pancakes, which is a bit of a hassle you can put them in the oven and watch them rise into a fluffy mini cake. Just prepare your batter as always, or maybe experiment with some fruits, grease your muffin tin, bake at 400 F for about 8-10 minutes. And there you go a fun twist on an all-time favorite.
Imagine how it feels like to be in heaven eating the tastiest food you’ll ever have. Check out the next muffin tin hack.
Pizza + Muffins = Heaven
Pizza, do I even need to describe it? It has been a staple food for a lot of people from around the globe. Culture and traditions have been made around a pizza. Yes, it is that great. What if you can take it up a notch?
Grease your muffin tin and preheat your oven at 425F. Take a can of buttermilk biscuit dough, separate the biscuits, and flatten them. Press each into a muffin cup. Top each of them off with one tablespoon of pizza sauce, mini pepperonis and one tablespoon of mozzarella. Bake them for 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them until they have a light brown top. There you have it a modern take on pizzas.
BBQ and Pizza in One
As mentioned earlier, everyone loves pizza. If you want something different from the usual pepperoni pizza, then you can try bbq chicken. You need a frozen pizza crust, shredded rotisserie chicken, shredded mozzarella, chopped red onions, BBQ sauce and some cilantro for your garnish.
Roll out the pizza crust and mold them into each of the cups. Add the bbq sauce and spread it around the inside of the cup. Then mix in the chicken and onions, and top it with cheese. Bake it for 10 to 12 minutes at 450F. Once the pizza muffins turn browned, take them out and top them with cilantro.
A King of Two Worlds
Mashed potatoes are the king of sides. But believe it or not, it is also the king of leftovers. This hack will enthrone the mashed potatoes on an entirely new level. Grab the king and the muffin tray to do our royal job!
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the oil into the muffin cups. Scoop all the mashed potatoes into the cups, and bake it uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Add some of those cheese and fresh parsley to crown the king. Enjoy and share the king with your loved ones.
Muffin Tin Hacks can make dogs wag their tails.
Mind Game for your Pet Dog
Do you have dogs at home? Do you like seeing them being smart and adorable? This muffin trick is perfect for dog lovers. You can use your muffin tin to create a puzzle game for your furry friend. How, it’s easy as 1, 2, 3.
You will need tennis balls for each muffin cup in the tray. You can select one or more cups randomly to place a treat in for your dog to search. Then cover it with a tennis ball. You can set the muffin tray down in front of your dog and watch as your dog go smart and crazy playing.
Irresistible Bacon Bowls
Don’t you love bacon? The grease, the smell, that faint but enticing sizzle you hear as you cook it in a pan. Bacon is simply and undeniably irresistible. The best thing about bacon is that it is flexible as an ingredient that you can add it to almost anything.
All you have to do is line the inside of your muffin tin with bacon so that it resembles a cup. Around 3-4 bacon trips can be used to make sure your Bacon bowl maintains its shape. Pop it in the oven and wait for it to get crispy. Once you’ve taken your sizzling and crispy bacon out of the oven, you can place in some eggs, cheese or even get experimental with other recipes. Possibilities are endless.
Wonderful Vessels for Succulent
Garden can be filled with beautiful plants- in a muffin tray. Succulent is a type of plant that is drought-tolerant that adds a beautiful color palette in any corner of your house. Succulents are also known to be fast in propagating, and you can even take off one piece and spread it to create another one.
Succulents are magnificent in a straightforward way, so take that muffin tray and get the beautification going. You can separate and organize plants in a cute way that you can even give it as a gift to your friends or loved ones.
Turning Muffin Tins into Birds Nest
Another amazing muffin pan hack is what we call as the birds” nest for Easter. After making rice crispy treats, you can use the tray to create birds’ nests. You can take the crispy rice treats and work them into the shape of the muffin tray cup by pressing them firmly.
Once you get the form done, you can fill them with small chocolate eggs. This is a great idea that does not need a lot of work. Muffin tin can be very helpful in creating sized snack treats. Enjoy Easter with this muffin tin hack.
Have a Bite of Mini Brownies
This muffin recipe is perfect for brownie lovers. Create your own mini brownie bites at home, the same ones that you see in coffee shops. Mini brownies look delectable and tasty. They are also the smaller versions of brownies, so they are less messy to eat.
Unless you are a pro, it can be quite challenging to cut and to lift the square-shaped brownies out of the tray. This hack allows you to pop them out of the cups easily to keep their shape. Isn’t that wonderful?
Homemade Watercolor Tray – A Must Try!
If you have a creative companion in your house that loves to paint, here is the best suggestion that they will enjoy. Use your muffin tray. It is the cheapest and most creative medium for painting. Once you follow this hack, you’ll be proud of yourself, creating homemade watercolors.
A handmade watercolor tray is a big save for aspiring artists. They won’t even spend a dime for this custom watercolor tray, and what’s right is that it is eco-friendly. Just organize the colors according to the palette that they want to use for the day for an instant Picasso experience. The watercolor tray is a muffin tray, which is easy to wash, making it simple to put another palette for another painting session.
Go on a Picnic with Muffin Pans
Picnics are fun, but sometimes accidents happen. For example, your food or drink spilling all over your picnic blanket. Well, you don’t have to worry anymore. This particular muffin tin hack is perfect for picnic lovers, who want to bring snacks in the park.
You can stick your snacks and your cups in the muffin tray to create the perfect no-spill picnic tray. This can also help with pouring drinks one-handed, similar to the above picture. Another fantastic thing about this hack is that you can quickly pick up the tray and set it in your lap without fail.
Teacher Power – The New Superhero
A preschool teacher always deals with a messy art lesson. Art materials can’t be organized efficiently because of their various shapes and sizes. It will shorten the time for other lessons that the teacher will give. And organizing art materials adds up to the pile of a mess the kids have summoned.
With that said, muffin trays will be the teacher’s only weapon. It is high power for those chaotic artwork days. By making the muffin trays carry every single art materials, the teacher will also be able to control time and space, literally.
Cool and Fancy Red Muffins
Not all recipes take a lot of ingredients and a lot of work to make it fancy. This recipe will make you look like a skilled and professional baker. Sounds great, right? You can take a frozen piecrust and flatten it out.
Cut the portions out and shape them around the cups. Then fill them with your favorite jelly and bake them until they are golden brown, leave them to cook for around 15 to 20 minutes at 375F. After 20 minutes, you’ll get cool and fancy red muffins.
Keep, Organize and Store Paints
This is another hack for those who have craft and paint supplies. You can keep your paints organized and intact by using plastic sauce containers. Pour the paint into a sauce container and stick a lid on it. You can then place them in the tray cups to keep them sitting upright and preventing them from spilling.
Having all your paints together on one muffin tray makes it easy to stack them up. Place them on a table to use and to take them away. It will save you from a messy paint-splattered table, and the organized tray can keep you from mixing paints accidentally.
Snack Time with Taco Bowls
Craving for some tacos but you don’t want to spend too much? No worries you can always make your tacos at the comforts of your own home. You don’t need to hassle yourself with going outside and standing in line at one of those Mexican fast food restaurants. Now with the help of your trusty muffin tin, you can make a quick, healthy snack for you and your family.
Get your muffin tin, clean it thoroughly, and flip it upside down. Plays your tortillas between the spaces then placed it in the oven until it browns and becomes crispy. While you wait for your tortilla bowls, you can use this time to prepare the best parts of your delicious taco. Remember to have your seasoned ground beef, lots and lots of cheese, onions, salsa, jalapenos, and the best guacamole you can find. It’s a quick and fun kitchen hack everyone is going to love.
Lovely Heart-Shaped Cupcakes
Heart- shaped cupcakes is a beautiful cupcake idea that is not as difficult to achieve, as most people believe. All that you will need is some marbles. After you distribute the baking cups throughout the tin, grab some marbles.
Place one marble in each cup, so it sits against the paper cup. This will cause it to sink in. Forming the shape of a heart. Just remember to be careful when you are scooping in the mix. These heart-shaped cupcakes are perfect for Valentines.
Mouth-Watering Pre-Scooped Ice Cream
Is it your birthday? Is it summer? Or is it just a day you want to unwind with some ice cream? There is no denying that ice cream is one of everyone’s comfort foods. It the perfect combination of cool and sweet snack that just brightens up a person’s day. As much as we love ice cream, we have to face the fact that giving out ice cream isn’t as fun. It can be quite a hassle handing out scoop after scoop to family and guests.
That is why it would be efficient to have pre-scooped ice cream. It may sound bizarre, but it will save time especially during parties. Now scoop out ice cream to each cup on the muffin tin. As easy as that, once they ask for their ice cream scoops, they could get one from the pre-scooped batch. You don’t feel hassled, and you have all the time to savor each bite of your ice cream. You can do this during parties or celebrations at home.
A hack you are sure to love. Check it out below!
Tasty Cookie Cups Just For You
Cookies are hard to resist balls of flavorful goodness. No matter what type of cookie you like, whether crispy or chewy, oatmeal or raisin, you are bound to love cookies. It is one of everyone’s childhood go-to snack and even as adults; it has that special effect on each of us. What if I told you there was another way to make cookies even more wonderful? Get ready to have your minds blown.
Take your muffin tin and flip it over; it will be our mold for our cookie cup. Prepare your cookie dough, whatever flavor fills your heart with joy. Lightly grease the protruding part of your muffin tin and carefully mold your cookie dough on to place. It is up to you whether you would like a cookie cup or a cookie bowl, regardless it will still be able to fill you with glee. Pop it in the oven and wait for it to take shape and crunchy. Take them out, and you have your cookie cups. You can fill them with the pre-scooped ice cream we talked about, or fill it with milk and eat the cookie at the same time. The sky is the limit.
Never Buy a Planting Grid Again
Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies nowadays. It’s an excellent way to save some money by growing your produce and help out the environment by planting more greens. Whether you have a green thumb or just starting own on your garden, muffin tins are sure to be a big help.
The first thing you have to do is take your tray to your garden with lightly packed dirt. By pressing the tin firmly on the soil, you will be able to have an instant planting grid for your herbs and seedlings. It is an easy hack to make sure you have an even and well-spaced garden, giving your plants ample space to grow.
DIY Easter Eggs the Easy Way
Easter is a day filled with chocolates, egg hunts, and all-out celebration of peace. Children everywhere are excited about the fun activities and surprises throughout the day. But let’s face it, Easter is also a day where kids make a mess of their art supplies and possibly the living room. No need to worry, this muffin tin hack is a good-bye mess solution.
Paint is a tough stain to remove that is why placing each color on a separate muffin cup will be a great help in keeping your tables clean. You can also fill them with marble patterns of different colors so that all the kids have to do is carefully dip their eggs in the cups, and they would get instant Easter eggs. Alternatively, you can place the eggs first on the tin, and then drizzle them with paint and glitters. So many options to choose from and so many patterns to make.
Feed your mind and be creative with our next hack!
Muffin Pan Condiment Holder
Pot lucks, barbeques and festivities, there is only one thing that cannot go missing from either one; Condiments. Each person has a particular affection for each condiment. And with dozens of dishes, you know that there should be an abundance of condiments to choose from. By using your reliable muffin tin, you don’t have to worry about getting separate cups for each condiment. This hack is space saving and hassle-free that you’ll be sure to love.
Plan out which condiments you are going to need for the day. It is best that you arrange them from subtle to strongest of flavor. Now, take your muffin tin and slowly pour each condiment into their designated cups, this saves you the cleaning time and the hassle of worrying about all the mess everyone is going to make. Whether they like chili or mustard on their hotdogs, pickles or onions on their burgers, or a wide arrange of sauces, your muffin pan will cover everything for you.
Make Way for the Stuffed Peppers
Peppers are excellent sources of nutrients. They contain Vitamin A, C B6, B2, E, and fiber. But the question is how you would get all these nutrients inside your kids. No need to worry stuffed peppers is the solution you didn’t know you needed. They are a delicious way to introduce vegetables to your children. Peppers are very colorful and aromatic that they can entice anyone to take a quick bite. Sadly stuffed peppers are very messy to make. Good thing, there are muffin tins.
All you have to do is cut the tops off your peppers, clean them inside out, put each pepper on your muffin tin and stuff them with whatever filling you are craving for. You can pop them in the oven to give them that beautiful brown color and activate the powerful scents they have. Melting the cheese and heating every stuffing would ensure your kids would love them. There are so many recipes to choose from. You can even stuff them with rice, cheese, meat or fruits.
Pre-Freeze Smoothies using Muffin Tins
New Year’s resolutions are tough to follow. Especially when you’ve promised to go on a diet. You could lose interest, lose track of time or completely forget about this resolution. One way to keep to your dietary schedule is to drink organic, nutrient-filled smoothies. Smoothies are an excellent way for you to energize yourself while taking in the necessary nutrients and fiber you need for the day. Think of it as an organic cure-all. However, as much as smoothies are tasty and fun to drink, they can be a bit of a hassle.
Here is where your muffin tin will come in handy as soon as you get home from the market after you have purchased all of your fresh produce and leafy greens. Blend them all and then portion them in your muffin tin. Now let them freeze in your refrigerator until you need them. This way it’s easy for you to get your daily dose of Mother Nature without missing out on other activities. It’s a deliciously nutritious way to stay fit and in shape all year, staying true to your new year’s resolution.