High-Protein Egg Bites are packed with protein with help from one sneaky source! Add your favorite toppings for an extra filling breakfast or snack recipe that keeps well in the refrigerator all week long, and freezes well too.
The main thing you need to know about this high-protein Egg Bites recipe is that I recently told my middle child I had a special, after-school snack for him and he asked:
“IS IT EGG BITES?!”
That’s how good these poppable, protein-packed mini egg bites are!
Delicious eaten hot and fresh, but also great straight from the refrigerator or reheated from frozen. This meal prep-friendly recipe is perfect for breakfast, snack, and any time in between.
Watch How to Make Them
Protein-Packed Breakfast or Snack
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. Here’s why you’ll love them:
- Economical: this recipe is a great way to stretch a pack of eggs with lower-costing ingredients such as cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and bacon or sausage (never thought the latter two would be cheaper than eggs, but here we are!)
- Customizable: add your favorite egg pairings to each egg bite such as the aforementioned sausage or bacon, different types of cheeses, and any or all veggies.
- Healthier: store-bought egg bites are incredibly salty and full of unnecessary ingredients. I like how WE control the ingredient list and nutritional content of our homemade egg bites.
- Cheaper: Starbucks charges $5+ for TWO egg bites. Get way more bang for your buck by making my egg bites recipe at home.
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 egg bites with cooked and crumbled bacon, browned breakfast sausage, or finely diced ham. Use turkey bacon for a lighter option.
- Cheese: we always have shredded sharp cheddar cheese on hand, but you can use whatever you love.
- Cottage cheese: I use low-fat cottage cheese, but feel free to use what you like best.
Egg Bite Variations
This is a great recipe to customize to best fit your tastes. If you want to add veggies to your egg cups, be sure to saute them until tender before adding to the egg bites batter. Here are some tasty combos to try!
- Mushrooms and swiss cheese
- Ham and cheddar cheese
- Broccoli and cheddar cheese
- Bacon, green onions, and gruyere cheese
- Red bell peppers, onions, and monterey jack cheese
- Spinach, tomato, and parmesan cheese, feta cheese, or mozzarella cheese
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Pin ItWhat 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. That said, I HIGHLY recommend you use a silicone baking pan for this recipe, which are nonstick and dishwasher safe.
Egg Bites Pan Tip
There are a ton of different styles of silicone mini muffin pans 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.
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
These Egg Bites store and reheat like a dream. Here’s the 411:
- How to store: Cool the bites on a cooling rack 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 silicone mini muffin pan then freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen egg bites to a freezer-safe Ziplock bag then 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 High-Protein Egg Bites
Step 1: Blend the batter.
Start by adding large eggs, cottage cheese, a pinch of salt, plus black pepper into a high-powered blender.
Blend until the mixture is very smooth and creamy then set the egg mixture aside.
Step 2: Add toppings.
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.
Step 3: Create a water bath.
Before putting the mini muffin pans in the oven, place a baking pan on the bottom rack then fill it halfway up with hot water.
This will create a water bath, aka a steamy baking environment, which ensures a tough skin doesn’t form on the top of your egg bites.
Step 4: Bake the Egg Bites.
Place the baking sheet with the mini muffin pans inside then bake for 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees.
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.
Enjoy warm (and with lots of ketchup, if you ask my kids!) 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
- Gluten Free Quiche
- Gluten Free Breakfast Bombs
- Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole
- Gluten Free Apple Muffins
- Green Smoothie Muffins
- Make Ahead Breakfast Bowls
- High Protein Overnight Oats
- Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Equipment
- Blender (I use this one from Blendtec!)
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 lb 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.
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!
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
Wow! These are so easy and delicious! It’s hard to stop at just 3!
I’m making these for an event at our church. Have you ever tried making them dairy free? There is one lady who cannot tolerate dairy. I would appreciate your input. Thank you!!
I can relate – they’re so poppable!! I have not tested this recipe without dairy. I’m sure it could work, though the bites will likely be more dense. I’d probably add some dairy free milk to lighten the mixture up.
Very good! Easy to make. How can I get my ingredients to distribute throughout, mine just tend to sit on the bottom?
I’m so glad you loved them, Virginia! The fillings will stay where you put them, so if you want the meat near the top of the bites, add the shredded cheese to the mini cups first, followed by the meat, and then the egg mixture.
Could I reheat these in the oven the next morning instead of the microwave?
That could be possible! I’d cover with foil in a baking dish to ensure they don’t dry out.