Now Is the Time to Buy Reusable Silicone Muffin Cups (2024)

How many items in my kitchen do I own because I got them as a present? The number is very large. Like a coworker who loves cats or your uncle who goes golfing all the time, a friend who likes to cook is an easy mark when it comes to gift-giving: Anything kitchen-adjacent will do, and there are lots of food-related doodads out there just waiting to be sent my way. Some gifts are more successful than others (wasn’t super sure what to do with this, for instance), but on the whole I love to get a new kitchen gadget, wherever it falls on the wacky-to-useful spectrum. This is how, a few years ago, I came into possession of a pack of Valentine’s Day–themed silicone muffin cups.

I must admit, I regularly forget how much I like muffins until one comes into my life. I think it’s because they remind me of youth sports. I’d find a poppy seed muffin, a bag of edamame, and a Gatorade (weird combo, but mom knew: carbs + protein + electrolytes) in the side pouch of my swim bag every time I had a meet, so they feel utilitarian rather than fun. If I’m out at a bakery or debating what to make in my own kitchen, muffins are rarely in my top five choices. But on the occasion that I am given a muffin, or decide to bake some because I magically have all of the ingredients on hand, I remember how much I love them. And honestly, what’s not to like? They’re cake but less frivolous, acceptable for breakfast, and smartly engineered for one.

What’s not to like are muffin liners, the flimsy, weirdly sticky paper pieces you have to peel off and discard before you can enjoy a muffin. Silicone cups eliminate the need for liners once and for all, bake possibly an even better muffin, and manage to cut back on garbage at the same time. In perhaps the fastest transition from “Okay, weird, but thank you” to “I can't remember living without these” of any culinary present to date, one use cemented my reusable muffins cups’ place in the pantheon of perfect kitchen tools. Scroll on for a few reasons why they’re worth adding to your collection, or a make stellar gift for a food-loving friend.

(Also: These liners obviously work for cupcakes too, plus anything else you may wish to make in a muffin tin with a layer of nonstick protection. Once you have a pack to your name, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to put them to use.)

They’re sustainable.

If you use beeswax wrap, universal lids, and washable side towels, you really should add a pack of silicone muffin cups to your arsenal. A one-time purchase of a 12-pack of cups can yield a lifetime of muffin (and cupcake!) baking with no paper waste added to your environmental ledger. And if baking multiple batches, no need to fear: Simply peel the cups off your slightly cooled muffins and put them back to work for round two.

They’re effective.

In making the switch to a sustainable kitchen item, it’s normal to think you might be compromising on quality. But with muffin liners, trading in paper for silicone actually means leveling up in the effectiveness category. Silicone muffin liners release easily and cleanly from the baked goods they protect in the pan, which means you never have to worry about pulling off a chunk of the cakey base of your muffin because the liner was stuck. You never even need to serve your baked goods with the cup still attached, which makes for a nicer pastry tray overall. The sturdier varieties (like the Oxo models below) don’t even need a special tin to work; you can line them up freestanding on a sheet pan to make muffins anytime. Plus, they’re all dishwasher-safe.

You never have muffin liners anyway.

Every time I’ve ever wanted to make muffins or cupcakes in my entire life, I’ve had to run to the store for liners. Why is it this way? It’s not like I used the whole box in one go last time! What happened to the rest?! They vanished, somehow, which inevitably adds another barrier to entry for this particular baking project. Now that I’m silicone’d up, however, I am never without the hard materials needed to make a tray of blueberry-studded or cinnamon-spiced personal treats.

They’re cute.

Candy-colored? Marbled to match your kitchen countertop? Tiny and jet-black like you’re a baking secret agent? Silicone muffin cups come in a variety of styles, so you’re sure to find the right one for you.