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

  • Oh my, these are wonderful! I only have silicone muffin pans and they worked fine. I sent hubbs out for gruyere, and he came back with fontina, so I used half fontina and half parmesan. Also, our grocery only had the 2 percent cottage cheese but this didn’t seem to matter! Added two more slices of bacon (for hubbs) and followed remainder of recipe exactly. My result was a wonderful, buttery, custardy breakfast! Thanks Jenn for another winner!

  • I made these yesterday and they turned out great!
    I used packaged crumbled real bacon and since the store didn’t have cottage cheese, but had ricotta (months ago it was the reverse), I used ricotta and without gruyere, I mixed some cheddar and monteray jack with jalapeño cheese. It stretches 6 eggs and is very satisfying. Definitely will make this again.

  • Made these this morning. Added shallots sautéed with the bacon for the last minute of cooking. Very delicious. Next time I might omit the salt. I did not see any of the other reviews comment on this but these little guys stuck like crazy.
    I did serve them with your buttermilk biscuits!

  • I thought they were delicious and a great way to get protein in the morning.

  • These are delicious! I used cheddar as that was all I had and they still turned out very tasty. I love how quick and easy they are to whip up.

  • My partner is on a low glycemic diet so I kept the cottage cheese but substituted 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast for the other cheese. They turned out excellent! Thanks for a great recipe.

  • Sadly, this recipe was a flop for me. I was not familiar with the term sous vide and feel the recipe narrative could benefit from some clarification. The recipe states “to bake 20-23 minutes” ;however, I feel it should state that the muffin pan should be placed “on the middle rack that is above the rack with the baking dish filled with water.” The instructions were not clear to me and I placed the muffin tin in the baking sheet with water – made a bath. a disaster.

    • Oh no, I’m so sorry, JE! I have added clarification to the recipe. Hope they turn out well if you try them again.

  • Hey Jenn,
    I was just wondering if you’ve ever made these without the bacon. I was thinking that maybe I could try adding some feta and sautéed spinach, mushroom, and shallot since I’m vegetarian, but I’m worried it’ll up the water content too much. Any suggestions? Thanks

    • Hi Juliana, Yes, I’ve made these without bacon. And think that you could make them with the ingredients you’ve mentioned. I would just sauté all the veggies first and make sure to remove any liquid from them before incorporating into the egg mixture so they’re not too watery. Please LMK how they turn out if you try them!

  • What else would I do on a wintry morning when I am snowed in but turn to Once Upon a Chef’s emailed recipe & cook away! We enjoy those Starbucks sous vide egg bites, too and I was thrilled to see you offer a recipe to make them in the oven. I went a wee bit creative with my ingredients … turkey bacon in some & sautéed shallots & red peppers in the others. This recipe is simple to assemble and the end result is delicious! Peter was a bit skeptical when I mentioned it included cottage cheese, but he gobbled down the finished product!

  • Fantastic. This should be Food52’s #1 Genius Recipe of 2021.

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