I’m always looking for new ways to make breakfast, especially eggs. I love the sous vide egg bites from Starbucks, and there’s a local coffee shop with egg muffins. I wanted something I could make at home but something that wasn’t as dry as most egg muffins or egg muffins you find.
As much as I want one, I don’t have a sous vide machine. So, I turned to a baking trick—adding moisture to the oven while you bake. I basically steam the eggs with a pan of water under the muffin pan, keeping them fluffy and soft instead of dry and tasteless. And because they’re not so dry, they pop out easily from the muffin tins! (As long as you’ve also added oil or butter before-hand.)
This recipe I have here includes kale and bacon, but you can even add whatever ingredients you want to change up the taste. Some of the fillings I’ve used include:
- Bacon
- Spinach
- Kale
- Sweet potato
- Sausage
- Diced red peppers
- Diced onions
- Ham
- Marinated artichoke hearts
You can take your favorite omelets fillings and translate them into these delicious, easy-to-make egg bites!
One of the most important tricks I learned: make sure you cook the fillings ahead-of-time, if need be, and spoon them into the muffin tins before you add the egg mixture. If you mix it all together, the filling tends to clump up and stay at the bottom of the vessel while the eggs come out. You end up with a bunch of egg cups that are mostly egg and others that are mostly filling. Adding them before-hand ensures an even distribution of filling.
I also add the bacon to a cold oven and let it cook while the oven is preheating to 350°. It’s a trick I learned from Danielle over at Against All Grain to keep the bacon from shrinking. I also place the bacon on a cookie-cooling rack which I then place in a sheet pan, so the fat can drip off. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes and works perfectly!
Other than that, it’s a straight-forward and simple recipe! In about 45 minutes you’ll have a delicious and novel breakfast. I usually serve it with avocado, sautéed greens, and a dash (or a few dashes…) of hot sauce. Yum!
- 12 eggs
- 4 bacon slices
- 1 cup of kale, torn up into small pieces
- 2 Tbsp. milk or milk substitute
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by wiping the cups with butter or oil.
- Place bacon slices on a sheet pan and place the sheet pan in the oven. Turn the oven on to 350° and cook until the bacon is crispy or nearly crispy. I dab the extra fat off when it’s finished, but that’s completely optional.
- Do not turn the oven off when the bacon is finished.
- Heat butter or oil up in a pan and once hot add the kale. Sautee until kale has softened.
- While the bacon is cooking, crack the eggs into a bowl, add the milk or milk substitute and salt and pepper to taste (add less salt if you’re using a salty meat) and whisk until the eggs are light and frothy. Pour the eggs into a pourable vessel, like a large measuring cup.
- Once the bacon is done, crumble or cut (I use kitchen shears) the bacon. Spoon the bacon and the kale into the prepared muffin cups. Pour the eggs on top, being careful to only fill the muffin cups ¾ of the way.
- Take a roasting pan and about two inches of water. Place the muffin tin on top of the roasting pan (or in, if it’s a large roasting pan) and transfer all carefully to the oven.
- Cook for 25 to 35 minutes, depending on your oven. The egg bites are done when the top is fluffy and looks solidified.
- Take the pans out even more carefully and let cool before removing the egg bites from the muffin tin. I usually run a spoon around the outside and bottom of the egg bites and they come out easily!
- Enjoy!
Even the baby likes these egg bites, which has lately become my litmus test of the eatability of foods (she’s not picky, but, well, she is a baby!)
‘Till next time!
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