The Ultimate Guide to Eggy Bites

My daughter and this year THREE of my bonus kids swam every morning of the summer for swim team. I’m on carpool pickup duty, and last year, I got in the habit of bringing the two of them that were swimming at the time eggy sandwiches every morning to scarf down in the car when they’re starving after. Now they have told me about 27 times how much they’re looking forward to the eggy sandwiches…

The original eggy sandwiches then morphed into weekly eggy bites for my daughter to have an easy grab-and-go breakfast option that’s high in protein.

Since then, we’ve experimented with different flavor combinations, and I’ll keep updating this recipe post as we find more that we like.

The cottage cheese blended with the eggs serves multiple purposes: it stretches the eggs beyond a 1:1 serving ratio, it adds additional protein, and I think it improves the texture beyond just plain oven-baked eggs.

Also, in case you want the math, the classic eggy sandwiches come out to about $0.65 each with homemade rolls, which is WAY cheaper than buying pre-made breakfast sandwiches — they run $1.75–$2.50 each at Costco.

Base Eggy Bite Recipe

Instructions

1. Add eggs, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and mix-ins to a food processor. (You can also use a hand-held immersion blender. You can probably use a regular blender; I haven’t tested it.) Blend until smooth.
   
2. For sous vide eggy bites: Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of your Instant Pot and place the trivet (that came with your Instant Pot) in the bottom. Divide the mixture into the compartments of your silicone egg bite mold* and tightly cover with aluminum foil. Put the mold into the Instant Pot and close the lid. Set the vent to sealing, then set the pot to MANUAL for 10 minutes at high pressure. Once the cooking time has finished, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure before opening the pot. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds.
   
3. For eggy sandwiches: Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8×8 baking dish with foil, then grease the foil. Pour in the egg mixture. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle. Let cool completely, then slice into squares equal to the size of your rolls. Make sandwiches with the rolls and then refrigerate or serve. Reheat in the microwave for 45 seconds, or in a toaster oven.
   
4. For eggy muffins: Preheat the oven to 350. Line 9 cups of a muffin tin with muffin liners (paper or re-usable). Divide the egg mixture between the muffin liners. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until muffins are set. Let cool before serving, or cool completely and refrigerate. Reheat in the microwave for 45 seconds.

NOTES:
Below you’ll find several flavor variations, but you can obviously make your own. Where I say “shredded cheese” above, that can also include crumbled cheeses like feta or goat cheese. Vegetable and meat mix-ins should be cooked; herbs can be fresh or dried (adjust quantities accordingly to taste). I typically use low-fat 2% cottage cheese, but any fat content will work.

You can also easily double this recipe. To make 20 sandwiches for a week of summer swim team, I doubled this recipe and cooked in a 13 x 9 pan, then cut into 20 rectangles. Slider buns or dinner rolls are appropriate for this size of sandwich. Obviously, you can make the sandwiches bigger if you like. I use this 30 minute dinner rolls recipe from Spend With Pennies for our eggy sandwiches.

As you start experimenting, you’ll notice that you can actually change the ratio of cheese and mix-ins to suit your own personal taste. I would keep the ratio of eggs to cottage cheese fairly consistent, but the original recipe this was based-on used a ratio of 4 eggs to 1/2 cup cheese, so even that has some wiggle room.

Eggy Bite Variations

Classic Eggy Bites

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup real bacon bits

Mushroom and Gruyere Eggy Bites

1/2 cup shredded gruyere
1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Spanikopita Eggy Bites

1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup frozen chopped greens like spinach, chard, or kale (or fresh, your call)
2 T fresh dill
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 sheet frozen puff pastry or phyllo dough, thawed

Cut the pastry sheet into 9 equal squares. Press one square into each muffin cup, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake until the edges of the pastry are golden brown and the eggs are set.

I actually got a bit more filling than would fit in the 9 muffin cups, so for me, this ended up making 9 with crust and 2 without. You could probably fill the 9 a little less and get a full 12 muffins from this recipe. You could also roll out the pastry sheet just a little bigger and get 12 squares of crust if you prefer.

Credit for the original sous vide egg bites recipe that I riffed on goes to Platings + Pairings.