Sausage Cheddar Egg Bites
Whisk cottage cheese straight into these Sausage Cheddar Egg Bites for an extra satisfying breakfast you can prep ahead for the week. With a creamy texture, major flavor, and short ingredient list, this is a recipe you’ll be happy to make again and again.
Breakfast, solved.
I am not always a huge breakfast eater — not for any ideological or dietary reason, only because I’m too busy getting the kids situated and don’t extend the extra effort to make myself a plate, too. But some days you just need a little breakfast snack — even if it’s mid-morning by the time you eat it — and that’s when having something high-protein, delicious, and effortless to reheat is a gift.
These sausage cheddar egg bites check all the boxes and then some. They derive protein not only from the eggs, sausage, and cheddar, but also from cottage cheese whisked right into the eggs. Blending cottage cheese into eggs is a common trick used to imitate the fluffy texture of Starbucks egg bites, which are actually made with the sous vide cooking technique.
The sound of the blender or food processor terrifies my young daughter, so one day I decided to just whisk in the cottage cheese, and found the results very satisfying! Plus, not having to wash the blender is always a win in my book!
Bottom line: make a batch of these egg bites — one recipe yields one dozen bites — and enjoy knowing one meal, at least, is sorted for the week!
Ingredient & Substitution Notes:
- Ground Italian sausage. Use a mild or sweet Italian sausage to keep these, well, mild, or grab spicy sausage for extra heat without hassle. If you only have sausage links, slice open the casings, scrape the interior out into the skillet, and crumble it as best you can.
- Six large eggs.
- Shredded cheddar cheese. Of course you can substitute any other type of cheese that you like. Try mozzarella, gouda, Swiss, or a mix!
- Small-curd cottage cheese. If following this technique of just whisking the cottage cheese into the eggs, I recommend sticking with a small-curd variety. If you don’t mind using the blender to blitz the cottage cheese and eggs together more fully, either small- or large-curd cottage will become totally smoothed out, so it doesn’t matter much which you use.
- Seasonings: dried Italian seasoning, kosher or flaked sea salt, and ground black pepper.
Remember: this is just an overview and the why of the ingredients I choose here. Find full amounts in the print-friendly recipe card below.
How to make Sausage Cheddar Egg Bites:
Begin by browning the sausage in a small skillet on the stovetop. Divide that sausage among 12 muffin tin cups, and top each with a teaspoon or two of shredded cheddar cheese.
While the sausage browns, whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, and seasonings. Add this mixture to the muffin pan wells, trying to divide it evenly among each cup.
Pro Tip
My number one tip: a silicone muffin pan is a must for frustration-free egg bites. It’s nearly impossible to cleanly release egg bites from a metal muffin pan, even with copious amounts of cooking spray, whereas they pop easily out of silicone molds every time. Another tip: place the silicone mold on a large baking sheet so it’s easy to transfer into and out of the oven.
Bake egg cups for roughly 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. You will know they are cooked all the way through when a knife inserted into the center comes out completely clean, and when the egg cups gently pull away from the rim of the muffin pan.
When in doubt, leave them for an extra minute or two — they can be forgiving if slightly overcooked, but if underdone they will be runny and unpleasant inside.
Garnish with a few fresh herbs and serve right away for a delightful brunch, or refrigerate to reheat throughout the week for a satisfying meal prep.
Variations:
As with most egg bite recipes, the fundamentals make a great base for any different add-ins. A few alternate ideas:
- Substitute the ground sausage with any type of ground meat, or small bits of shredded chicken or diced ham or pancetta.
- Leave out the meat entirely — thanks to the eggs, cheddar, and cottage cheese it is still a high-protein breakfast.
- Add some veggies — sautéed pepper, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, baby spinach, etc. The key is, if adding veggies that have a substantial water content, like zucchini or spinach, be sure to cook them down so they are not too watery when added to the egg bite mixture.
Storage and Reheating:
Store egg bites tightly covered, refrigerate, and reheat as desired for up to one week. Sprinkle some fresh herbs and extra black or red pepper sprinkled on top to freshen them up.
Related Recipes:
If you love a high-protein breakfast, our 4-ingredient cottage cheese pancakes are a must try! They are so easy to make and so dang delicious.
Other favorite breakfast recipes include banana almond milk or blueberry oat smoothies, an easy spinach Parmesan or Mediterranean frittata, cinnamon scones, and all the muffins–especially lemon olive oil and banana zucchini walnut!
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Sausage Cheddar Egg Bites
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ground Italian sausage
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 3/4 cup small-curd cottage cheese see note
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher or flaked sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside. (I highly recommend using a silicone muffin pan for this recipe to prevent sticking!)
- Add sausage to a small skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, breaking apart with a spatula, until well browned and cooked through.
- While the sausage cooks, grab a large bowl and whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Divide the browned, crumbled sausage evenly among the 12 muffin cups, then top each with about 2 teaspoons of shredded cheddar. Whisk the remaining cheddar into the egg mixture, then pour the egg mixture evenly into each muffin well. (You can just whisk all the cheddar directly into the egg mixture, but I find this method barely any extra effort and it guarantees each egg bite has a good amount of cheddar, since sometimes the shreds can sink to the bottom of the egg mixture.)
- Place the muffin tin on a large rimmed baking sheet, transfer to the oven, and bake for 18-22 minutes. Egg cups are done when they pull slightly away from the muffin tin’s edges and when a knife inserted into the middle comes out totally clean.
- Enjoy right away, or refrigerate and reheat as desired for up to one week. Serve with fresh herbs and extra black or red pepper sprinkled on top, as desired.
Notes
- Small vs. large-curd cottage cheese. If following this technique of just whisking the cottage cheese into the eggs, I recommend sticking with a small-curd variety. If you don’t mind using the blender to blitz the cottage cheese and eggs together more fully, either small- or large-curd cottage will become totally smoothed out, so it doesn’t matter much which you use.
Made w/ chicken sausage, a little jalapeño. So good!
Ooh that sounds delicious. Thank you for the review- it means a lot!