Need a tasty on-the-go breakfast? Make this egg bites recipe! Inspired by Starbucks, it's healthy, flavorful, and easy to make in a muffin tin.
This egg bites recipe is the best grab-and-go breakfast! The egg bites keep well in the fridge for a couple of days (and longer in the freezer), so they’re great for meal prep. Plus, they’re packed with protein and flavorful veggies for an energizing start to the morning.
The recipe is loosely inspired by the famous bacon and Gruyère Starbucks egg bites. They’re known for their velvety texture, which Starbucks says comes from cooking them using the French sous vide technique.
I’m not about to get out a sous vide machine to cook breakfast, so I had to find another way to make these egg bites delicate and creamy. My solution was one simple ingredient—cottage cheese!—which Starbucks also uses in its recipe. Blended with the eggs, it gives these bites a perfect texture and rich, cheesy flavor. You have to try them!
Egg Bites Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
- Eggs, of course! 6 large eggs do the trick.
- Whole milk cottage cheese – The secret ingredient! It gives this recipe an AMAZING custardy texture and cheesy taste. Plus, it adds lots of protein!
- Fresh spinach – Starbucks loads up its egg bites with bacon and Gruyère cheese, but I love these with fresh veggies! The spinach adds a lovely green fleck and earthy flavor. Feel free to use frozen spinach instead of fresh.
- Roasted red peppers – Make homemade roasted red peppers, or simplify this recipe by using jarred peppers from the store.
- Green onions – For savory flavor.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Variations
I love this recipe as written, but if you want to experiment with other veggies, feel free!
- Try small florets of steamed broccoli,
- sautéed kale,
- sautéed asparagus,
- or caramelized onions.
A sprinkle of cheese on top would be tasty too! I like these with shredded cheddar cheese or crumbled feta cheese.
Note: I recommend sticking to about 1 1/4 cups vegetables total—any more will add too much moisture.
How to Make Egg Bites
This recipe is easy to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, blend the egg mixture. Crack the eggs into a blender and add the cottage cheese, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Set the mixture aside while you prep the veggies.
To prepare the vegetables, start by cooking the spinach. Steam it for 1 minute, or until wilted. Transfer it to a strainer and squeeze out the excess water. Try to remove as much liquid as possible—you don’t want the egg bites to be watery! Roughly chop the spinach.
Chop the peppers and scallions and place them in a medium bowl. Add the spinach and mix to combine. Measure 1/4 cup of the veggies and set aside.
Next, assemble the egg bites. Grease a nonstick muffin tin with olive oil or cooking spray. Then, evenly divide all but the reserved 1/4 cup vegetables among the muffin cups. Pour the egg mixture on top, dividing it evenly among the cups. You’ll need about a scant 1/4 cup for each one. Finally, top with the reserved veggies.
Bake the egg bites at 350°F for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the eggs are set. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before enjoying.
That’s it!
Egg Bites Recipe Tips
- Use a nonstick muffin tin. These egg bites love to stick to the pan, so make sure your muffin tin is nonstick. If you don’t have a nonstick pan, a good alternative is a silicone mold. It’ll allow you to easily to pop out the egg bites!
- Make them ahead. These egg bites keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for a quick on-the-go breakfast!
- You can also freeze them. If you want to keep the egg bites around for more than a few days, I recommend freezing them. Allow them to cool to room temperature, and then seal them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow frozen egg bites to thaw overnight in the fridge before zapping them in the microwave to reheat.
More Healthy Breakfast Recipes
If you love this recipe, try one of these healthy breakfast ideas next:
- Breakfast Egg Muffins
- Overnight Oats
- Baked Oatmeal
- Chia Seed Pudding
- Breakfast Burrito
- Spinach Quiche
- How to Make a Frittata
- Or any of these 60 Healthy Breakfast Ideas!
Egg Bites
Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan
- 6 large eggs
- ¾ cup whole milk cottage cheese
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups fresh spinach, 3 ounces
- ½ cup diced roasted red bell pepper, about 1 pepper
- ½ cup chopped green onion, about 2 green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a nonstick muffin tin with olive oil.
- In a blender, place the eggs, cottage cheese, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Place the spinach in a steamer basket and set over a pot filled with 1 inch of water. Bring the water to a simmer, cover, and steam for 1 minute, or until the spinach is wilted. Transfer to a strainer and squeeze out the excess water. Roughly chop.
- Place the spinach in a medium bowl and add the peppers and scallions. Toss to combine and measure ¼ cup of the mixed vegetables. Set aside.
- Evenly divide the remaining veggies among the muffin cups. Pour a scant ¼ cup of the egg mixture over the vegetables in each well. Divide any remaining egg mixture evenly among the wells. Evenly sprinkle the reserved ¼ cup vegetables on top.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the eggs are set. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.
Great!
I made these, and the taste is fabulous however similar to another review, mine were full of air and the middle and when they cooled they were like discs. Not sure if the blender introduced too much air and that is why? They taste wonderful so I will try again and maybe blend the cottage cheese on its own and add the egg at the end.
I loved this recipe! They came out great! I used broccoli , mushrooms and zucchini
So glad you loved it, Amy!
These did not work for me! The flavor was great, but while baking they puffed up considerably, but then after cooling deflated down. The result was a crispy bottom, a big air gap and a thin layer of edible egg at the top. Not sure how to prevent this, followed recipe and baking instructions as written.
Hi Julia, I have had this happen with baked egg muffins before, but not these. In my experience, blending the cottage cheese with the eggs and baking at a relatively low oven temp helps stabilize the eggs, and they come out really creamy. Did you by any chance use a fat-free cottage cheese or make any other changes to the recipe?
Hi Phoebe, I used full fat cottage cheese and baked about 20 minutes with ingredients as instructed + a sprinkle of Parmesan. They started puffing up at about 10 min and deflated by 15. Not sure what happened!
Hi Julia, interesting! We’ve never had that happen with these. You might try reducing the oven temp slightly if you make them again. It could be that yours runs slightly hotter than ours. The egg bites may puff up less at 300°F or 325°F in your oven.
Perfect recipe! I sauteed my spinach/peppers/leftover carrots in a tbsp of olive oil and let it cool before adding to bottom of muffin cups. For those asking for nutrients: copy the url into My Fitness Pal and adjust the recipe to suit your details. Mine came out to 200 cal and 17g protein each.
Hi Sue, so glad you enjoyed the egg bites!
Excellent recipe and super easy to make. I would definately make these again. Since I didn’t want to invest in a new silicon muffin pan, I bought silicon cups and used those in my non-stick muffin pan.
Costco has them for only $14 for 2 cupcake trays! I’ve put off buying them for awhile but such a good deal!
Can I make these with egg whites
Does anyone know what the macros would be for these?
I have to say I was skeptical about this recipe because I’ve tried others that were Starbucks dupes but this one really is! You can definitely get as fancy or as simple as you want with the veggies and/or meat
very good recipe.
thanks
For the life of me I can’t get these out of the pan in one piece! I’ve tried lots of Pam, brushed olive oil over the entire cupcake pan surfaces, butter. They always stick so bad! What am I doing wrong?! How do I get them out of the pan?
I use the muffin pan that’s made out of silicon , it’s lovely they just slide right out
I’m happy to hear!
Could you sub Greek yogurt for the cottage cheese?
Came to ask a similar question! We always have a good supply of home made yogurt and was hoping that works.
They were good; however, the olive oil did not prevent them from sticking to my non stick muffin tin. I will definitely try this recipe again.
Can you freeze these to eat through out the week?
Hi! I freeze my egg bites all the time. I put a layer of paper towel down in a container and then a layer of egg bites and repeat. I take them out of the freezer 2 at a time and let them defrost in the fridge overnight and then use them the next day. They have always been great.
Do have the nutritional information available or did I overlook it? Excited to try this recipe.
these came out great! didn’t have green onion so used 1/2 regular yellow onion.
So glad you loved them, Jeanne!