Egg Bites with Bacon & Gruyère

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If you like the sous vide egg bites from Starbucks, you’ll love this copycat version — no sous vide equipment required!

Egg bites with bacon and gruyere piled on a plate.

This copycat recipe is a spot-on homemade version of the popular bacon and Gruyère sous vide egg bites from Starbucks. As an avid fan of the Starbucks version, I can confidently say that this egg bite recipe is nearly identical in taste and texture to the original—no fancy sous vide equipment required. The recipe is easy to make using just a blender, a muffin tin, and a few simple ingredients like cottage cheese, eggs, shredded cheese, cornstarch, bacon and hot sauce.

The secret to achieving the desired silky texture is baking the egg bites at a low temperature and also placing a pan of water in the oven to create a steamy environment. Egg bites can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Plus, they reheat beautifully in the microwave, making them a convenient, high-protein option for busy mornings or on-the-go snacks.

“This is by far the closest I’ve ever made to the real thing, and that’s after trying many different recipes. You nailed it!!”

Emily

What You’ll Need To Make Egg Bites with Bacon & Gruyère

Egg bite ingredients including bacon, cottage cheese, and Tabasco.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Add the bacon to a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

bacon in skillet

Cook, stirring frequently, until crisp, 5 to 6 minutes.

crisp cooked bacon in skillet

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.


bacon draining on paper towel-lined plate

In a blender, combine the eggs, cottage cheese, Gruyère, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

egg, cheeses, and seasoning in blender

Blend until completely smooth, 20 to 40 seconds.

blended egg bite mixture

Pour the egg mixture evenly into the prepared muffin pan, filling each well about three-quarters full. Divide the bacon evenly over the egg bites. Using a spoon or your finger, press some of the bacon into the batter so it is not all floating on top.

egg bite batter with bacon in muffin pan

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the eggs are just set. You’ll know they are done when the egg bites start pulling slightly away from the edges.

baked egg bites fresh out of the oven

Some of the egg bites may puff up and look a bit lopsided, but they will settle and deflate as they cool.

deflated, cooled egg bites

Let rest in the pan for about 5 minutes. Use a small spoon to loosen the egg bites from the edges of the pan and carefully lift them out onto a plate. Serve warm.

Egg bites with bacon and gruyere piled on a plate.

Variations

For a lighter option, try my spinach egg bites or egg white bites—the latter is another great copycat of the original Starbucks egg bites made with egg whites and roasted red pepper! You can also play around with the fillings by switching up the cheese (cheddar would be a nice alternative to Gruyère), replacing the bacon with sausage, or adding leftover veggies in moderation (cooked and chopped broccoli, bell peppers, and tomatoes would all be nice additions).

Storage

Once cool, the egg bites can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at 50% power for 60 to 90 seconds. The egg bites can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Take out of the freezer and defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat in the microwave.

Video Tutorial

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Egg Bites with Bacon & Gruyère

If you like the sous vide egg bites from Starbucks, you’ll love this copycat version — no sous vide equipment required!

Servings: 12 egg bites
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Total Time: 35 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1¼ cups (4% milkfat) cottage cheese
  • 1¼ cups shredded Gruyère (or a blend of Gruyère and Cheddar or Monterey Jack)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco

Instructions

  1. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Set one oven rack in the middle position and another in the lowest position. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
  2. Place a 9x13-inch metal or ceramic baking dish on the lower rack and fill it halfway with the boiling water from the kettle. This will create steam in the oven, which will help the egg bites to cook gently and attain a custardy texture.
  3. Spray a nonstick muffin pan generously with nonstick cooking spray (see note).
  4. In a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
  5. In a blender, combine the eggs, cottage cheese, Gruyère, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Blend until completely smooth, about 30 seconds.
  6. Pour the egg mixture evenly into the prepared muffin pan, filling each well about three-quarters full. Divide the bacon evenly over the egg bites. Using a spoon or your finger, press some of the bacon into the batter so it is not all floating on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes on the middle rack, until the eggs are set. You'll know they are done when the egg bites start pulling slightly away from the edges. Some of the egg bites may puff up and look a bit lopsided, but they will settle and deflate as they cool.
  7. Remove the egg bites from the oven and let rest in the pan for about 5 minutes. Use a small spoon to loosen the egg bites from the edges of the pan and carefully lift them out onto a plate. Serve warm.
  8. Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: Once cool, the egg bites can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at 50% power for 60 to 90 seconds. The egg bites can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat using the microwave.
  9. Note: I don’t recommend using a silicone muffin tin for this recipe as readers have commented that the egg bites take longer to set and cook unevenly.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Serving size: 1 egg bite
  • Calories: 151
  • Fat: 11 g
  • Saturated fat: 5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 2 g
  • Sugar: 1 g
  • Protein: 10 g
  • Sodium: 270 mg
  • Cholesterol: 116 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Gluten-Free Adaptable Note

To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.

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Comments

  • Add’l comment from Wendy
    Made these in a standard size, (I believe) non-stick muffin pan sprayed with Pam.
    They did stick, very minimally, but not at all to defer me from making them again.

    • — Wendy M. on April 16, 2024
    • Reply
  • Made for the first time today. VERY GOOD. I had printed a different site recipe (yea – shame on me..,) only called for 1/4 cup of the cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of Swiss.
    Would the extra amount of cheese(s) called for in your recipe necessairily make them noticably more dense?
    ALSO – to save time and hauling out blender and using an additional pan for the water bath; I only used 6 of the 12 cups of the muffin pan, so I filled the empty cups with a little water: could this equate as a water bath???
    and – instead of hauling out the blender would intense whisking mix things up adequately?

    • — Wendy M. on April 16, 2024
    • Reply
    • Hi Wendy, glad you liked them! I don’t think the extra cheese would make them more dense; just richer. Regarding the water bath, you’ll get the best results with a separate pan. And I do recommend using a blender to fully combine all the ingredients.

      • — Jenn on April 16, 2024
      • Reply
  • Made a double batch of these for the first time and they are the best! I did half without bacon & half with packaged bacon crumbles (for ease!) and they turned out perfectly. My 1 year old devours them! Thank you for this; will be coming back to this one regularly.

    • — Angela on April 16, 2024
    • Reply
  • Would cream cheese or sour cream substitute well for the cottage cheese?

    • — Sesame on April 14, 2024
    • Reply
    • Yes, cream cheese would work as a substitute here. Enjoy!

      • — Jenn on April 15, 2024
      • Reply
      • Would sour cream work in place if the cottage cheese?

        • — Melissa on June 21, 2024
        • Reply
        • Hi Melissa, I haven’t tried these with sour cream, so I can’t say for sure how it would work, but I have made them successfully with heavy cream. If you’re not using cottage cheese because you don’t like it, you can’t taste the cottage cheese at all…promise!

          • — Jenn on June 21, 2024
          • Reply
  • Incredible! They taste identical to Starbucks, and I can customize fillings/toppings. Thank you!

    • — Elizabeth on April 12, 2024
    • Reply
  • Absolutely a winner! Fluffy and delicious with different add-ins and subtractions…ham, spinach, feta, whatever. The base is great. Thank you 🙂

    • — Karen on April 12, 2024
    • Reply
  • This recipe was so easy and delicious. I think this will become a staple for me.

    • — Garrett on April 10, 2024
    • Reply
  • Made this recipe this morning and they’re delicious! Thank you Jenn

    • — Charlie on April 9, 2024
    • Reply
  • Thank you, a great recipe, I’ve been using this for a couple of years with great results! Just curious why corn starch was added and the amount of cottage cheese changed from 1 1/3 to 1 1/4. I haven’t tried the changes yet but just wondering.

    • — Andie on April 7, 2024
    • Reply
    • Hi Andie, I was developing an egg white version of this recipe and discovered those changes made the egg bites even silkier. Hope that clarifies!

      • — Jenn on April 9, 2024
      • Reply
      • Is it okay to use 2% cottage cheese?

        • — Minih on July 13, 2024
        • Reply
        • I’ve never used it for these so I can’t say from experience, but a few readers have commented they have successfully.

          • — Jenn on July 15, 2024
          • Reply
      • Jenn! My family has loved this recipe for years! I did come to ask about the cornstarch change and found someone else asked and the answer. Thank you for ALL of the recipes! I checked out your cookbook from the library and decided I just need to buy it! We’ve never been disappointed with one of your dishes. Merci beaucoup!

        • — Kelly Stewart on July 21, 2024
        • Reply
  • The texture is silky and tender. Delightful!

    1 cup ricotta substitutes well for the 1 1/4 cup cottage cheese.
    I also added 1 cup chopped fresh spinach, stirring a bit into each muffin cup.

    • — Nancy on April 6, 2024
    • Reply

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