Cottage Cheese Egg Bites (Broccoli and Cheese) : Watch Learn Eat
Elevate your mornings with these delicious Cottage Cheese Egg Bites! They are oven baked, and turn out super fluffy without a sous vide machine. Plus they are protein packed with eggs, monterey jack cheese, broccoli and of course, the star of the recipe, cottage cheese. A perfect healthy breakfast start to your day!
Fun Fact: Cottage cheese origins goes back to ancient Mesopotamia, but the new world version came to be known as “cottage” cheese as it was made in small rural cottages where families turned curdled milk into cottage cheese curds that we all know and love today.
Whatever the history is, there is no doubt that this curdled delight packs about 25g of protein in 1 cup of serving and tastes great!
These cottage cheese egg bites are super easy and quick to spin up – they are a great option when you want a break from your usual breakfast routine. Plus, with they are keto friendly with less than 12g of carbs, and 27g of protein (for 3 egg bites).
Similar to my avocado cottage cheese toast, these pairs really well with any breakfast side dish you can think of like air fryer home fries, or air fryer sweet potato breakfast potatoes, or even a healthy juice like Apple Beetroot Carrot Juice or Apple Blueberry Lemon Smoothie. Check out the recipe below along with other variations you may want to try!
Why You Will Love This Cottage Cheese Egg Bites Recipe
- Protein Packed: This breakfast avocado cottage cheese toast is packed with 27g of protein (for 3 egg bites)! The main source of protein is coming from egg, cottage cheese, and monterey jack cheese. It’s a great vegetarian high protein food to kick start your day.
- Quick and Convenient: This easy protein packed healthy breakfast has less than 10 ingredients and can be made in under 30 minutes (oven baked sous vide style). It’s perfect for meal prep and even kid approved!
- Veggie Friendly: You can simplify or add additional add veggies to this meal to elevate this tasty and healthy breakfast even further. You can add in any veggies you like such as sautéed sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions or spinach.
- Budget Friendly: These are way cheaper than the ones that you will find in the grocery store aisle or at starbucks which will cost you $6 for a pack of 2.
- Perfect for Meal Prep: These stay fresh in fridge for 3-4 days, plus you can customize by mixing in different veggies or spices when you pour in the batter into the muffin pan.
Ingredients for Cottage Cheese Egg Bites
These cottage cheese egg bites are simple and easy to make with less than 10 ingredients and easy to put together in 5 minutes using a blender.
- Eggs (6 eggs): Eggs are superfoods that should be incorporated in a modern diet (if you are not practicing vegan). They are packed with nutrients such as choline, which most people do not get enough of in their daily diet.
- Cottage Cheese (½ cup): This recipe uses the 4% fat cottage cheese which gives the best consistency for these egg bites. I would recommend avoiding the non-fat versions as it becomes too runny in the blender.
- Yogurt (¼ cup): This recipe uses full fat yogurt. You can also substitute this with plain greek yogurt.
- Broccoli florets (½ cup): This recipe uses steamed broccoli florets. I used frozen broccoli and steamed them in the microwave for about 60 seconds before placing in blending.
- Shredded Cheese (½ cup): I’ve used ½ cup of Monterey Jack Cheese with peppers for spicy kick. You can choose to use any cheese you’d like here. Shred them before placing into blender.
- Seasoning (¼ tsp): This recipe uses garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper (all ¼ tsp).
- Butter or Olive Oil: To coat your muffin pan.
See recipe card for further notes and instructions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Count: This recipe makes 12 egg bites, so a 12 count muffin baking pan is ideal for this recipe.
Pre-cooking Instructions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take an empty baking pan. Fill with water (up to ½ inch) and place it in the bottom rack of the oven. You can use a sheet pan or a bread pan and fill ½ inch of water.
Why? Because we are recreating the sous vide magic without any fancy machinery. Adding a water bath will allow moisture to absorbed slowly into the egg mixture within the baking process.
- Step 1: Once you have all your ingredients set up, put them into the blender and blend for about 15-20 seconds. Cottage cheese lumps should smoothen out and you should have a runny consistency of the mixture.
- Step 2: Spray the muffin pan with olive oil or butter. Pour in the mixture. Fill about ¾ of the cup. The eggs tend to fluff up while baking, so you want to provide them some extra room to come up. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
- Step 3: Remove out of the oven. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Serve and Enjoy with fruit of your choice or any other breakfast side dish!
Tip: A little water goes a long way! Your water bath doesn’t need to contain a lot of water (just about ½ inch). Too much moisture can cause eggs to deflate or shrivel up after they come out of the oven.
Diet Substitutions
Gluten Free and Low Carb/Keto: This recipe is naturally gluten free as it uses no flour. As an added bonus, this recipe is low carb with 27g of protein and 12g of carbs in each serving (for 3 egg bites).
Egg Whites. If you are avoiding yolks, and prefer to cook with egg whites instead, swap 2 egg whites for every egg.
Eggless:If using an egg substitute like Just Egg, use 1.5 cups as the recipe equivalent (¼ cup is roughly equivalent to 1 egg).
Recipe Variations
The egg bites recipe is versatile, so you can make several variations with this base.
- Gluten: You can also use flour in this recipe as well, these will create a firmer version of the egg bites that won’t shrivel up later. Use ¼ cup flour and ¼ teaspoon of baking powder to recreate this recipe with gluten.
- Mix and Match with Veggies – You can simplify or add additional add veggies to this meal to elevate this tasty and healthy breakfast even further. Egg bites go well with tender veggies and greens such as sautéed sweet peppers, tomatoes, spinach or kale.
- Spicy: Use 1-2 chopped thai chili peppers or jalapeño poppers for a spicy variation to this egg bite recipe.
- Savory: Add ¼ teaspoon of freshly chopped garlic and ginger along with ¼ teaspoon of cumin powder and chili powder for a savory variation of these egg bites.
Equipment
You will need 2 main equipments to make this recipe:
How to Store Homemade Egg Bites
These egg bites will stay fresh for up to 4 days if stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for up to 4 months.
Reheat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm.
Top Tip for Success
- Bake in a shallow water bath: Your water bath doesn’t need to contain a lot of water (just about ½ inch). Too much moisture can cause eggs to deflate or shrivel up after they come out of the oven.
- If using a sheet pan as your water bath, stack the sheet pan under the muffin pan. Carefully place the stacked pans in the center of the oven. Blogger Detoxintsa has a great demonstration of this using pictures on how to place the stacked pans in the oven
FAQ
Can you use silicon molds to make this recipe?
Yes, you can use silicone mold for this recipe. You may need to bake longer, i suggest checking in at the 25 minute mark and adding another 2-5 minutes depending on how your egg bites look.
Can you use air fryer to cook these egg bites?
Yes, you can use the air fryer to cook these egg bites. These will not be as fluffy as you cook them in the oven because the air fryer uses a flash high heat method to cook food. The oven method uses a slow cooking process with water bath to make the eggs fluffy and soft.
To cook them in the air fryer, use silicon muffin cups (you may need to use 4 cups or 6 cups depending on how big your air fryer is). Air fry at 300 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
Are these similar to the Starbucks Egg Bites?
Yes! these are copycat variations of the Starbucks recipe. Starbucks recipe also uses rice starch and canola oil, which is not used in this recipe, but they are so close to the real version!
More Breakfast and Brunch Recipes to Try
Looking for other vegan or vegetarian breakfast or brunch recipes? Try these:
Pairing Options with these Cottage Cheese Egg Bites
Craving something sweet on the side? Pair these cheesy and savory egg bites with a sweet treat! Here are a few quick, easy and delicious pairings that go well with this egg bites recipe.
Conclusion
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If you made this recipe, let us know how it turned out by leaving a comment below!
Recipe Card
Servings: 12 egg bites
Calories: 108kcal
Equipment
- 1 Blender
- 1 Muffin baking pan
Ingredients
- ½ cup Cottage Cheese
- 6 Large Eggs
- ½ cup Shredded Cheese I used monterey jack cheese in this recipe
- ¼ cup Broccoli Can be steamed or sautéed
- ¼ cup Yogurt any type of yogurt works
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic use garlic powder for convenience
- ¼ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt for taste
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Notes
If using a sheet pan as your water bath, stack the sheet pan under the muffin pan. Carefully place the stacked pans in the center of the oven.
Use 4% milk fat cottage cheese for best results.
This recipe makes 12 egg bites, so a 12 count muffin baking pan is ideal for this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1egg bites | Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g