These Egg Bites with Cottage Cheese are perfect for a meal prep breakfast to enjoy all week. Packed with Southwestern flavors, who can resist an egg filled cup rich and creamy in texture, cheesy, with bacon and "just right spicy" poblano peppers.
¼teaspoonGround Black PepperOr New Mexico Red Chile Powder (more spice)
2smallPoblano Peppersveins and seeds removed, small chopped
1Red Bell Pepperveins and seeds removed, small chopped
6slicesBaconchopped and cooked
3Green onionsTops and touch green part removed. Thin sliced.
Dashes of hot sauce
fine chopped chives or cilantrofor garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Use kitchen shears to cut bacon into lardons. In a small fry non-stick pan, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain the grease but don't wipe out the pan.
Cut red bell pepper and poblano pepper into small squares.
Place eggs, cottage cheese, shredded cheese and salt and pepper into a food processor. Use the pulse feature to blend the custard egg mixture. Don't over mix. Mix just until bubbles start to appear.
Sautee the bell pepper and poblano pepper in the same non-stick pan you cooked the bacon. Cook until they are soft and tender. This will take about 7 minutes.
Place the muffin tin on a sheet pan. Fill each muffin ⅔ of the way full with the egg custard batter. Sprinkle the cooked peppers evenly on top of the egg bite cups.
Continue with the toppings by adding chopped cooked bacon, sliced onion and grated cheese. Again, evenly dividing these ingredients to each muffin cup. Use a knife or spoon to push the ingredients down into the custard. I like a gentle shake of hot sauce in each cup. Tabasco sauce or Cholula sauce work well here.
Bake the Cottage Cheese Egg Bites in a 325 degree oven for 30 - 35 minutes, or until custard is set.
Notes
Tips for Success:
Highly recommended: Once the muffin tin is filled with the egg bite mixture, pour three cups of hot water around the muffin tin. This water bath will keep those egg bites moist and fluffy. If you skip this step, the Cottage Cheese Egg Bites will be firmer.
Do not try to make these egg bites without cooking the peppers. Both the texture and flavor will be compromised. The poblano peppers will taste grassy and somewhat bitter if not cooked, and the texture will not be pleasant with the creamy eggs. Cook both peppers until they're very soft.
Use a non-stick pan to fry the bacon. Once you drain the grease, there will be a light layer of grease left in the pan. Perfect for cooking the bell peppers and adding some bacon flavor as they cook.
Don't oven blend the egg, cheese and cottage cheese mix. Too much air could cause the egg bites to collapse as they bake.