The main thing you need to know about Mini Egg Bites is that the other day I told my middle child that I had a special, after-school snack for him and he asked:
“IS IT EGG BITES?!”
It wasn’t, sadly, but that’s how good these wee, poppable, protein-packed little egg bites are! They’re perfect to bake then eat warm, but also terrific for meal prep since they reheat deliciously. Plus like I said – they’re great for kids, and kids at heart.
Watch How to Make Them
Protein-Packed Breakfast or Snack
Mini Egg Bites are essentially mini frittatas or omelets that are packed with protein from the addition of eggs, meat, shredded cheese, PLUS blended cottage cheese in each bite.
Don’t run away CC-haters! You’d have no idea they’re in these mini egg cups. Once the cottage cheese is blended with eggs, they give each egg cup a rich and creamy texture, plus a boost of protein. With egg prices the way they are these days, cottage cheese also helps to stretch the eggs and make them go further. You’ll get 48 mini egg bites using this recipe, and for WAY less money than Starbucks’ egg bites which cost $5+ for two!
Plus, AWWW, look at them! Mini Egg Bites are too cute and truly irresistible!
Ingredients Needed
All you need is a handful of everyday ingredients to make these egg cups. Raid the refrigerator for…
- Eggs: you’ll need 8 large eggs for this recipe.
- Meat: I love making these egg bites with cooked and crumbled bacon, browned breakfast sausage, or finely diced ham.
- Cheese: we always have shredded sharp cheddar cheese on hand, but you can use whatever you love.
- Cottage cheese: I use 2% low-fat cottage cheese, but feel free to use what you like best.
Egg Cup Variations
This is a great recipe to mix up and make your own. If you want to add veggies to your egg cups, be sure to saute them until tender before adding them to the pan. Here are some tasty combos to try!
- Mushrooms and swiss cheese
- Ham and cheddar cheese
- Broccoli and cheddar cheese
- Bacon and gruyere cheese
- Peppers, onions, and monterey jack cheese
- Spinach, tomato, and parmesan cheese or feta cheese
What Kind of Pan To Use
Egg-based recipes are notorious for sticking to metal muffin tins, even after giving them a thorough coating of cooking spray. Ask me how I know. That said, I HIGHLY recommend you use a silicone baking pan for this recipe. They’re dishwasher safe and I can’t think of a single food that would stick to it.
There are a ton of different styles of silicone mini muffin pans out there so, depending on the dimensions of the cups in your particular pan, you might get more or less mini egg muffins out of this recipe than I do, and your baking time might be more or less.
For example, if the cups in your pan are more wide and shallow vs narrow and deep, you could get less bites and cooking time could be less. All that said, here are two pans I recommend:
- 24 cup Confetti Silicone Mini Muffin Pan (shown in photo below)
- 2 x 24 cup Red Silicone Mini Muffin Pan (shown in process photos)
I like to place the pans on a baking sheet to make transferring them in and out of oven safe and easy.
How to Store, Reheat, and Freeze
Like I said, these Mini Egg Bites reheat like a dream. My 6 year old can even place however many he wants on a plate then microwave them until warm. Breakfast and snack independence, FTW!
- How to store: Cool egg bites on a cooling rack on the counter then transfer to a storage dish with a lid and refrigerate for 4-5 days.
- How to reheat: Place desired amount of egg bites on a plate then reheat in the microwave on high until warmed through – 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on how many you are reheating.
- How to freeze: Place cooled egg bites back into the cooled silicone mini muffin pan then freeze until solid. Transfer frozen egg bites to a freezer-safe Ziplock bag or freezer-safe/airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- How to reheat from frozen: Place desired amount of frozen egg bites on a plate then microwave on 50% power until warmed through, 1 – 2 minutes depending on how many you’re reheating. You may want to give them a few seconds of high heat right at the end.
Alright – let’s get these bitty baby bites with big flavor onto your table!
How to Make Mini Egg Bites
Start by adding large eggs, cottage, cheese, a pinch of salt, plus black pepper into a blender. No whisk required!
Blend until the mixture is very smooth and creamy – I usually only have to blend on low to get everything nice and smooth. Set the egg mixture aside.
Next place two, 24 cup mini muffin pans on a baking sheet to make transferring to the oven easy, then add a teaspoon or so of the meat of your choice to each mini muffin cup. I’m showing browned breakfast sausage and cooked and crumbled bacon here.
Next add a pinch of shredded sharp cheddar cheese to each mini muffin cup. Again, about a teaspoon or so.
Pour the egg and cottage cheese mixture to just below the top of each mini muffin cup.
The egg bites will pop UP a little during the baking process, but they shouldn’t puff OUT too much.
Time to bake! Before putting the mini muffin pans in the oven though, place a baking pan on the bottom rack then fill it halfway up with hot water. This will create a steamy baking environment which ensures a skin doesn’t form on the top of your egg bites.
Place the baking sheet with the mini muffin pans inside then bake for 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees.
Mini Egg Bite perfection!
Let the bites cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes, then pop each one out and place onto a cooling rack to cool slightly.
(Seriously, how cute are they?!)
Enjoy warm (and with lots of ketchup, if you ask my 6 year old!) or follow the instructions above and in the recipe card below for refrigerating or freezing them.
I hope these easy, poppable egg bites add some joy and deliciousness to your next breakfast or snack time – enjoy!
More Easy Breakfast Ideas
- Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole
- Gluten Free Apple Muffins
- Green Smoothie Muffins
- Make Ahead Breakfast Bowls
- High Protein Overnight Oats
- Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
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Mini Egg Bites
Description
Mini Egg Bites are packed with protein with help from one sneaky source! Fill with your favorite toppings for a filling breakfast or snack.
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1lb bacon, cooked and crumbled OR 1/2lb breakfast sausage, browned
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Directions
- Place a baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven then fill with a couple inches of very hot water. Close oven door then preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- To a blender, add eggs, cottage cheese, salt, and pepper then blend until very smooth.
- Place 2, 24 cup mini silicone muffin pans on top of a half sheet pan (see notes re: size of mini muffin pan and how many bites you’ll get if your pan has different dimensions than mine!) Fill each cup with a small amount of crumbled bacon or browned sausage, and shredded cheese, then fill to just below the top with the egg and cottage cheese mixture.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the sheet pan halfway through, or until the centers of the bites are set. Let cool for 2-3 minutes in the mini muffin pan then pop bites out of the pan and transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm, or let cool completely then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- To reheat: Place desired amount of egg bites on a plate then reheat in the microwave on high until warmed through – 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on how many you are reheating.
- To freeze: Place cooled egg bites back into the cooled silicone mini muffin pan then freeze until solid. Transfer frozen egg bites to a freezer-safe Ziplock bag or freezer-safe/airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reheat from frozen: Place desired amount of frozen egg bites on a plate then microwave on 50% power until warmed through, 1 – 2 minutes depending on how many you’re reheating. You may want to give them a few seconds of high heat right at the end.
Notes
- Different silicone mini muffin pans have different cup widths and depths, which could affect baking time and how many mini egg bites you’ll get from this recipe. The silicone mini muffin pans I use have a cup width of 1.5” and depth of .9”.
- Feel free to use any combo of meat, cheese, and/or veggies you like in these mini egg bites to make them your own!
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Video
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
I made these and while they tasted great, they were only about 1/4″ tall! I bought the red pans and didn’t alter the recipe–any ideas? Did you ever have them turn out flat?
Hmm, I haven’t! Did you have meat, cheese, and egg mixture filled to right underneath the tops of the cups?
Would these be fine served at room temp?
I think if you are comfortable leaving eggs/meat out at room temperature it would be ok!
Since I need to buy the silicon Mini muffin pans which of the two styles do you like the best🤔
Either one will give you the exact same results. :) The red ones are available on Amazon, while the sprinkle ones are from Walmart!
These were delicious! I used cream cheese instead of cottage cheese because that’s what I had and they turned out great! Plus I used regular size silicone muffin cups with no problem. I’ll be making these all the time!
Fabulous!! I’m so glad they turned out for you, Emily! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Do you think I could substitute ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese?
I think that could work!
Can you use a metal mini muffin tin? Or a regular size muffin tin?
You definitely can – I would just count on some of the egg bites sticking. Mine stuck even when I used a lot of nonstick spray. Egg-based recipes are just notoriously hard to get out of metal pans even when sprayed with cooking spray!
Did you use dairy free cottage cheese and cheese for some of these?
Hi Judy! I have not tested this recipe with dairy free cheeses!