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These quick & easy egg bites are the perfect make-ahead breakfast. Make them in 35 minutes, and store them in the fridge for the busy work week, or freeze and reheat. Keto and Vegetarian.
We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.~ Pema Chodron
Here’s a simple recipe for egg bites that can be made ahead, perfect for busy mornings and breakfast on the go. These are adapted from Once Upon a Chef, where my friend Jenn was able to perfectly recreate the Starbucks version, using steam in the oven to create a silky custardy texture.
We’ve done the same here and kept them vegetarian with roasted red pepper and fresh basil from the garden. But really you can add almost anything! Scroll down to see some of my favorite variations!
The best part? They are SO simple!
Ingredients in Egg Bites
- Large Eggs
- Cottage Cheese- use only whole milk cottage cheese, full fat! The moisture in low-fat will prevent them from setting up!
- Shredded Cheese- gruyere, mozzarella, pepper jack, cheddar or a blend
- Salt and Pepper
- Roasted Peppers
- Fresh Basil leaves
How to make Egg Bites
Step One: Blend eggs, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth.
Step Two: Grease a nonstick muffin tin with spray oil and divide the batter evenly.
Step Three: Top with the roasted peppers, tomatoes and fresh basil, stirring them down a bit. Scroll down for more variations.
Step Four: Bake at 300F for 20-30 minutes (check at 20, and add more time if needed), until puffed, golden and the middle ones are set.
TIP: While pre-heating the oven, place a pan of water underneath ( 1/4 th inch deep) – to steam them while they bake. This creates a silky custard-like texture.
Step Five: Cool for 5-10 minutes, loosening the edges by running a knife around them, then carefully scoop out with a large spoon.
Serve warm or at room temp, or cool and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Egg bites can be reheated in a microwave for roughly 60 seconds or warmed in a toaster oven.
Variation of Egg Bites
- sauteed mushrooms, thyme, gruyere
- caramelized shallots, smoked mozzarella cheese and sage
- smoked salmon & fresh dill
- spinach, sundried tomato & goat cheese
- bacon crumbles, jalapeno & cheddar
- canned green chilies, cilantro and pepper jack.
Can egg bites be frozen?
Yes, egg bites can be frozen. Separate layers with parchment paper, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the morning.
Enjoy the Egg Bites. Take a look at my friend, Jenn’s blog and have a beautiful weekend. ❤️
xoxo
More egg recipes you may like:
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Quick and Easy Egg Bites
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: breakfast, brunch
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These quick & easy egg bites are the perfect make-ahead breakfast. Make them in 35 minutes, and store them in the fridge for the busy work week, or freeze and reheat. Keto and Vegetarian. (Adapted from Once Upon a Chef.)
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk, full-fat cottage cheese (full fat 4%) See note!
- 1 1/4 cup shredded cheese- gruyere, cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack, etc
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 roasted bell pepper, sliced or diced (from a jar, or sub-canned green chilies, drained)
- 1/4– 1/2 cup fresh basil, ribbons (or sub cilantro or dill)
- optional: 6-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- Optional: 3 tablespoons parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Place a pan of water 1/4 inch deep, on the lower rack to create steam. (see notes)
- Grease a standard, non-stick muffin tin with olive oil. If not using non-stick, use muffin liners.
- Place the eggs, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until silky smooth.
- Pour and divide the batter into the greased muffin tins-to about 3/4 full.
- Add the roasted pepper and basil to the top, stirring some down a bit. Top with a cherry tomato and sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese.
- Place the egg bites on the middle rack (over the pan with water) and bake until the egg bites are set and golden, 20-30 minutes. (Our were ready at 24 minutes.)Be doubly sure the center ones are set– they usually take 1-2 minutes longer than the ones on the edges.
- Let cool 5- 10 minutes; loosen the edges with a knife, and carefully scoop them out with a spoon.
- These will keep up to 4 days in the fridge or can be frozen and reheated.
Notes
Cottage Cheese: Using low-fat cottage cheese has too much moisture, and will prevent them from setting up properly.
Steam: Adding the pan of water to the preheating oven will make steam, which gives them a silky, custardy texture.
Other variations: smoked salmon & dill, sundried tomato & olive, bacon crumbles & cheddar, canned green chilies + cilantro and pepper jack.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 egg bite
- Calories: 122
- Sugar: 1.4 g
- Sodium: 278.2 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.9 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 10.3 g
- Cholesterol: 112.6 mg
Keywords: egg bites, egg muffins, egg bite recipe, easy egg muffins, egg muffin recipe
How do you adapt the recipe for smoked salmon and dill? What quantity and are there any adjustments in time?
Hey Stephanie! I would just add a tablespoon or two of salmon to each cup, and a teaspoon or two of dill to each. Time would be the same.
While I followed the directions explicitly, unfortunately, this recipe did not work out for me. I baked the full 24 mins and while the tops were set, the bottoms were not, and when I tried to remove the egg bites from the pan, they fell apart. All of the red peppers fell to the bottom, so this probably contributed to them not holding together. The bottom of the egg bites were a custardy consistency which I had to scrape out of the muffin tins, so I scooped them together and froze them in lumps. They do taste good, though, but the consistency was not what I was looking for. Only change I made was that I used 2% cottage cheese, as that was the highest fat content my store had, so maybe there was too much moisture? Other than that, not sure what went wrong – I am an experienced cook and baker as well.
★★
Hi- shoot! I think the cottage cheese was the issue. I tried it with lower fat cottage cheese and the exact same thing happened to me. I will note this in the recipe.
Thanks! Someone below mentioned using ricotta – do you think that would work better if I can’t find a full-fat cottage cheese? Any other potential higher-fat substitutes like, maybe mascarpone or cream cheese?
I’m not sure. I personally haven’t tried the ricotta. Maybe if it was whole milk ricotta?
The same thing happened to me, but I DID use the whole milk cottage cheese, as directed. It probably took an extra 10 minutes on top of the 24 minutes to actually set.
★★★
Oh dear Hannah. Just trying to trouble shoot here- have you tested your oven temperature? Did they work out after the extra 10 minutes?
EGGcellent! 😬 This recipe is spot on to the egg bites we buy from Sam’s, which is what I was attempting to replicate. Texture was perfect, light and fluffy without any excess accumulated liquid. Thank you so much for sharing. I cannot wait to try out more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Jessica! Appreciate the comment and rating too!
So good! I needed to use up some extra eggs and came across this recipe. I didn’t have cottage cheese so I used ricotta cheese. Thanks again for a great easy recipe!
★★★★★
Perfect Heidi!
Smooth and creamy! So much flavor! I added bacon bits to it as well. Love the idea of steaming from below. Eggs were so moist!! Would definitely make again!
★★★★★
Great to hear Christy!
These are easy and delicious. Made a batch, reheated during the week.
★★★★★
Great to hear!
Can these be made with egg whites?
Hi Toni, I haven’t tried with egg whites only- but I bet they would be ok? I’m just guessing though…will you let me know if you try?
So easy and delicious. I gave the recipe to my college aged daughter. Nice to make ahead and have a quick protein ready for breakfast.
Yes, perfect for the grab and go! Glad you are enjoying.
These are amazing – the steaming is key. Curious about the link connected to the salt ingredient. I love the idea of domestically sourced salt and this one looks good. Is this recipe adjusted to account for the density of sea salt versus kosher salt (the salt I have been assuming for your recipes). Love your website and find I recommend it quite often to others!
Hi Sandra- glad you enjoyed this. I have been using this Real Salt brand for a few couple of years in all the recipes. It is very rich in minerals and now I tend to stay clear of sea salt because of microplastics and pollutants. It is a finer salt and that is what I used here.
I think this recipe looks great and very handy as a make ahead breakfast idea. Is there something I could use instead of cottage cheese, though? I’m lactose intolerant, but I haven’t been able to find a good substitute for cottage cheese yet. Thanks so much!
Hummm… that is a great question. Would a lactose-free cottage cheese work for you? I think I have seen those. 😉
Has anyone tried this with Labneh instead of Cottage Cheese? I’m on a I LOVE LABNEH kick and wondered if it would make these delicious and Mediterranean.
Hey Lara! I love that idea but have not tried it. If you do, will you let us know what you think? Curious.