By With 31 grams of protein, this cottage cheese egg bake is easy to make with pantry staples and our secret ingredient: cottage cheese! Plus, it's easy to reheat and is just as good a few days later, so it's the perfect high-protein meal-prep breakfast! I tested this recipe over a dozen times until it was absolutely perfect, and now it boasts over 50 5-star reviews from readers enjoying it in their own kitchens.
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This has been one of the most popular cottage cheese breakfast recipes we've ever created, and for good reason. My cousin, aunt, mom, and hundreds of others across the world (including my husband's CrossFit crew) make this weekly. So skip Starbucks, and make this cottage cheese egg bake instead for a high-protein meal-prep breakfast!
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how to know when it's done
Bake until the center is just set-firm to the touch but still jiggly like Jello when you shake the pan. If it's too soft or runny, continue baking and check every 2-3 minutes. For a golden cheese top, broil during the last 5 minutes.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Eggs: Essential to the base-no subs here, but still cheaper than a Starbucks run!
- Cottage Cheese: I used 2%, but any kind will work. Ricotta is an option if you're okay with more fat. Have more to use, use it to make cottage cheese cinnamon rolls!
- Gruyere: Found near the aged cheeses in the deli section. You can swap with Parmesan, Italian blend, cheddar, Monterey Jack, or pepper jack. Freshly shredded cheese melts best! Try it in this breakfast casserole too!
- Flour: The flour here is needed to stabilize the whipped eggs. You can leave this out, but then I recommend shredding the cheese and just lightly blending to not create too much air in the mixture.
- White Onion: Adds sweetness and a little caramelization during baking. Yellow onion or shallots are great alternatives.
- Bacon: Crispy, salty, and delicious. Regular bacon works best, but turkey bacon, thick-cut, or even breakfast sausage are solid swaps.
- Spices: Keeping it simple here, we just use salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Add Ins: Want to mix things up? Try green onions, green chiles, red bell pepper, garlic powder, or chili powder.
Step by step: how to nail this egg bake every time
Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full instructions.
- Don't skip the bacon and onions, it's the best part!! And really very easy 🙂
- Blend the cottage cheese mixture, but not too much that it gets very bubbly. This will cause the bake to puff up and then deflate.
- Bake until just set, not too much or it will be dry.
- If you want to make egg bites like Starbucks, pop a tray of water in the bottom rack and the egg bites in the top rack to steam them. Enjoy a sweet and savory breakfast by pairing this with a microwave pancake bowl.
quick recipe video
Different-Sized Pans & Egg Bites
Need to bake this easy breakfast casserole in a different-sized baking dish? No worries! Baking time will only vary if the thickness is different.
- If your dish is less than 2", reduce the cooking time to 35 minutes to start and work your way up until the bake is set.
- If your dish is thicker than 2", then increase the cooking time to 50 minutes and continue to add time as needed.
- For egg bites, you can also just pop over to our high-protein cottage cheese egg bites post for full details.
how to store and meal prep it
This cheesy egg bake is great for saving in the fridge or freezer as one of your make-ahead breakfast casseroles. See how below:
Fridge: Let the bake come to room temperature and then cover with foil, plastic wrap, or a lid. Keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Let the bake cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and either a well-fitted lid or aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Reheating: From the fridge, warm slices in the microwave (1 min), air fryer (1-2 mins), or reheat the whole tray in the oven at 350°F for 20 mins. From frozen, bake covered at 350°F for 1 hour, then uncover and bake 30 mins more. Or thaw overnight and bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes.
Recipe
Cottage Cheese Egg Bake (High Protein!)
Equipment
- 1 blender
- 1 8x10 baking dish
- 1 sheet pan
Ingredients
- 9 eggs
- 16 oz Cottage cheese (2%)
- 8 oz Gruyere Cheese (or white cheddar)
- 6 tablespoon all purpose flour
- ½ white onion (or yellow)
- 5 slices bacon (or sausage)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Before you start!
If you make this recipe, please take a moment to leave us a review. We love to hear from you!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Shred half of the gruyere cheese and set it aside. Keep the other half whole as a block.
- Make the bacon by placing it in a single layer on a sheet tray lined with foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle the diced onions on top of the bacon. Bake the bacon for 15 minutes or until crispy. Once the bacon is done, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- While the bacon cooks, Add the eggs, cottage cheese, flour, half of the gruyere cheese (the not shredded half), salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to a blender. Blend for 45-60 seconds, until the mixture is fully combined and no chunks of gruyere or cottage cheese remain.
- Once the bacon is done and cooled enough to handle, dice or crumble it into bite sized bits.
- Pour the egg mixture into a casserole dish or other 8x10 or similar size oven-safe dish (pie pan, cake tin, cast iron skillet, etc). Sprinkle the bacon and onions over top of the egg mixture. Use a spoon or other utensil to mix everything together so the bacon and onions are evenly distributed. *For pans of different sizes, see the notes below for cooking time.See my notes for baking this in different pan sizes and tips for muffins/egg bites.
- Top the egg mixture with the shredded gruyere cheese. Bake for 45 minutes or until the center is just set. You can test this by gently touching the center. It should feel firm, but if you gently shake the pan, the egg bake should still move like jello. If the center is still too soft or liquidy, continue to cook, checking every 2-3 minutes. You can also broil the bake for the last 5 minutes to get the cheese nice and golden brown.
Video
Notes
9x13 pan - 20-25 minutes To know if your bake is done, it should be just set in the center. You can test this by gently jiggling the dish. The center should have a slight wobble to it, like Jello, but look and feel mostly solid when touched.
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
I love those Starbucks eggbites too so I can't wait to try this!!
Fantastic!
My new favorite! Thank you!
Excellent!!
This is really good! Fluffy and flavorful. Better than Starbucks egg bites!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I can’t wait to make this, love Gruyère cheese and it sounds so good!
Have you tried making this with almond flour?
No we have not tried almond flour. My hunch is that it would absorb too much liquid thus resulting in not as fluffy of eggs. A 1:1 gluten free substitute would certainly work or you could try it with almond flour but decrease the amount to only 3 tablespoons and see how it does. Keep us posted!
I just read the Bacon Cottage Cheese Egg Bake and printed the recipe. I'm going to make it after I get the bacon. It sound so good and I know my hubby will like it a lot too!
Great!!
Has anyone tried this without the flour? We don’t eat any type of flour. I’ve made this recipe with cottage cheese, eggs and cheese every week now and each week it turns out a little different. Looking for the perfect wha to get the eggs the perfect consistency. This is the first time I’ve seen flour in any similar recipe. I’m betting it would be good without. Maybe I just give it a go!
Hi Bethany! So in our testing, it will work without flour but with a caveat. The egg mixture is blended with the cottage cheese and this does 2 things. 1. It really combines everything for a smooth, creamy consistency (like Starbucks egg bites), and 2. It whips the eggs to generate air pockets. And once those air pockets are created and mixed with flour, the flour fills in those gaps thus helping the egg bake to hold its shape and stay light and fluffy. Without the flour it will still be very tasty but it will likely be a bit flatter and more dense.
Please do try it and let us know how it goes!
This was my first attempt at cooking eggs in anything other than a frying pan - and the only thing I did wrong was not read all the way down to the adjusted temps for different size pans, so mine was a little overcooked - but everyone loved it. Some cut it into squares and carried it on a paper towel and ate it, some put it on an English muffin, and some ate it with a fork - but everyone loved it! I may try it with sausage next time, since I'm not a huge bacon fan. This is def going in my recipe box! Thank you.
Thank you so much for the kind words! We're so glad you all enjoyed it!
I rarely leave reviews, but this one was too impressive not to! Absolutely delicious from start to finish. I used parmesan because it was all we had on hand, and baked in a 9" cast iron round. It only needed 30 minutes so I'm glad I caught it before it got too done. The flavor and texture of this were *chef's kiss*.
Wow, that's high praise!! Thanks so much for making it!
The consistency of this was not right. it didn't even taste like eggs.
I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Did you use any substitutes and did you use a blender to blend everything together or mix with a whisk? Just trying to determine if there is anything I can clarify in the recipe because we always want readers to have the same great experience.
We've had many readers try and love this recipe, as well as friends and family. We've also made it ourselves numerous times with no texture issues and I actually just used the base to make another egg bake because the cottage cheese, egg, and flour combination creates the most creamy texture, in my opinion.
Can you clarify how much cottage cheese to use? The recipe says 16oz but the Pinterest list says 2x 16 oz.
Hi there, the recipe uses 1- 16oz container of cottage cheese. Pinterest pulls ingredient quantities in automatically and they are often incorrect. We have no way to change those values so please always use the recipe on the website.
Thanks for making it!
Love this recipe! I did switch out for ham cubes just because I’m lazy. I brown it with onions in a skillet to keep it dry. And I keep it as the base layer. Love it!
thanks for making it and love hearing your swaps. Sounds delicious!!
I did some modifications based on what I had but this was delish! As someone who dislikes cottage cheese but is trying to pack a lot of protein in to meals this was a winner! You can’t taste it at all! We didn’t have bacon but had some day old burgers which I crumbled and added to the mixture. Instead of Gruyere I only had marble so freshly grated it and added it to the blended mixture. I also added diced red and yellow peppers and garlic powder. I upped the salt, pepper and red chilli flake quantities (aka eyeballed it!) as I love a bold flavour and this was awesome. I’m looking forward to eating it this week and happy to add to my weekly meal prep!
Yum! So glad you enjoyed it. Those modifications sound tasty!
This is an incredible recipe!! SOOOO much better than starbucks! i have been trying everything to make egg bites like starbucks and even bought a sous vide! This is 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Ya, so glad you enjoyed it. It's one of our favorites!!
What's the serving size?
The serving size is one slice that’s about 2”x2” square when using the pan size recommended.
I love a good breakfast bake. this one is perfect. I didn't have bacon so I subbed out for veggies. Still tasted wonderful. my new go to!
So glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for the 5 star review!!
This recipe was so easy to make and super good! I swapped some ingredients out for what I had at home, I did chorizo instead of bacon. And swapped for pepper jack cheese. Highly recommend, and its make quite a bit so nice for meal prep or to feed a crowd.
That sounds delicious!
Awesome!
Made this with mozzarella and Colby jack. Delicious!!
is flour necessary? any healthy substitutes?
You can just leave it out. The texture won't be as fluffy and stable however.
Simple yet a delicious recipe. I haven’t had the Starbucks egg bites, but this is such a tasty breakfast.
awesome, so glad you enjoyed it!
I haven't tried it because I know that Starbucks egg bites are gluten free. I'm unsure why you are adding flour and wondering if you tried to make it gluten free.
Hey there! Yup, I've tried this with and without flour, with and without corn starch, etc. The flour is here to help stabilize the eggs and get that same creamy texture in the oven, without sous vide However, I've added instructions that include putting a tray of hot water in the oven beneath the egg bake to create a similar environment to sousviding. If you do this - you can leave out the flour, making them gluten free.
Delicious! Loved this recipe…
I used turkey bacon due to a mammal meat allergy. I also used cheddar cheese since I already had that in the fridge. Turned out great!
Awesome!
Absolutely delicious! This is a really versatile recipe and I plan to make different variations depending on what's in the fridge. This time I accidentally left out the flour, but I did add some chopped baby spinach and roasted pepper to the bottom of each muffin cup before pouring in the batter. I also used thick shreds of mozzarella instead of the gruyere to use up leftovers. The egg bites held their shape beautifully and had a rich, velvety texture using the sous-vide method. I've never had a Starbucks egg bite, so I'm not comparing - but I love how they turned out. The bacon and roasted onion made them extra flavorful and special for a quick weekday breakfast!
I'm not sure if I missed something but, the instructions say to use some shredded cheese and the ingredients don't mention it at all? How much of the cheese is to be shredded? The recipe looks delicious though.
Half of the gruyere cheese gets blended and the other half shredded and put on top of the egg bake. I'll clarify this in the recipe!
Oh my-I love this dish!! So easy. I used fresh mozzarella and Parmesan because that’s what I had on hand. So good! Can’t wait to try it with Gruyère cheese!! I did brown it under the broiler at the end of baking and it was so good and gave a little bit of a crust. Perfect dish for meal planning!
Ahh we love hearing that!!
I love this recipe! I make it in a 9x11 pan. I do modify it a little. I mix the Gruyère, cottage cheese and apices together first. Then instead of adding flour I just add 1 tablespoon of corn starch. After that I gently mix the cheese mixture with 9 whisked eggs. I try to just stir until combined. Since I don’t add the full recommended amount of flour and I use just a little cornstarch instead, I put a baking dish of boiling water in the rack beneath the rack that has the egg bake. I add a little garlic and onion powder as well. This comes out amazing every time! I do recommend broiling it a little to get a little crispness on top! I’m really grateful to have encountered this recipe to be able to modify it to my taste
**by the way, the recipe is great as written as well; I followed the instructions step by step the first time I made it. My husband loved it but I personally didn’t love how it tasted with the flour so I wanted to try something different so I followed her alternate instructions (only difference being I also add a little cornstarch ).
That sounds delish!
Love this recipe. I will keep precut left overs in the freezer. Also- the other morning I was in a bit of a rush. I added to eggs, about 1/3 of a cup of cottage cheese, about 1/4 of a cup of cheddar in the nutra bullet. Then, I had a small handful of spinach for the hec of it. I skipped the bacon as I was rushing, but, I blended it all together, transferred it to a coffee mug and microwaved it for about. 1.5 minutes. It came out perfect!!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
I'm glad to hear that came out perfect, sounds like a quick breakfast win!
Substituted the bacon for sautéed spinach and added a dash of chili powder, absolutely delicious! Thank you!
Sounds yummy!
Have made this several times now and it’s a family favorite! The recipe is perfect. Highly recommend for breakfast meal prep!
That's so awesome to hear!
Just getting into the spirit of meal-prep. This recipe is an excellent one to start with. I use Monterrey Jack cheese instead of the Gruyere cheese and a few strips more of turkey bacon in stead of pork bacon. The dish was so good! I've never tasted the restaurant version, but I don't even want to, now. Good Eating!!!
That sounds awesome!
Fantastic! Made it vegetarian but might add a little smoked salmon next time. Perfect ratios of eggs to cottage cheese. Thanks!
That sounds delicious!