Bacon Red Pepper and Cheese Egg Bites
My kids tend to eat cereal and frozen waffles most mornings for breakfast. I tend to prefer a cup or two of coffee before I’m ready to eat much. This doesn’t always work in my favor because right about the time I’m ready for an egg or a bowl of oatmeal it’s time to run out the door for this or that.
I’ve been known to hit a Starbucks drive-thru for their ham and bell pepper egg-bites for a quick fix and an easy breakfast on the run. It occurred to me last week, after yet another breakfast in the car, that I could probably figure out a decent copy-cat recipe.
My kids really like eggs too so I was motivated to come up with a recipe that would break up their frozen waffle addiction. I researched how to keep the eggs tender and found that baking them low and slow is the secret. I mixed up a few different combinations and found the bacon’s salty bite is exactly the savory flavor I’m looking for, while my kids love plain ham and cheese. I was able to get them to grudgingly admit they can’t taste the spinach so ‘it’s fine mom’ if I hide a little of the green stuff in their egg bites.
I settled on bacon, red bell pepper, a tiny bit of red onion and a big handful of fresh baby spinach as my favorite combo. The melted cheddar cheese makes this recipe decadent and the eggs tender and perfect for a quick breakfast on the go. I made a batch just this morning, running out the door with two in a paper towel and the rest saved in the refrigerator for breakfast the rest of the week.
As always, this is a great recipe to use as a base to make uniquely your own. Use any meat or plant-based option you have on hand or are in the mood for. Four slices of diced up bacon equals about about a cup. Diced ham or breakfast sausage would be delicious, just shoot for about a cup of protien. Diced zucchini, green chilis, green peppers, sweet onion or kale would all be lovely additions to this recipe. You can’t go wrong, just give everything a quick spin in the sauté pan before adding to the egg mixture. And don’t forget the salt and pepper.
Bacon, Red Pepper and Cheese Egg Bites
10 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
4 pieces center-cut bacon diced
1/3 cup red onion minced
1 medium red bell pepper diced
1 cup fresh baby spinach, diced
1 cup shredded medium-cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Liberally spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside. Dice bacon into small bits. Cook bacon over medium-heat until crispy and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined dish and add the onion and bell peppers to the pan. Return pan to heat and cook the peppers and onions for about five minutes until they start softening. Add the spinach to the pan and stirring, cook until spinach begins to wilt, about 2 minutes. Turn heat off to the pan. Combine bacon and vegetables. Set aside.
In a bowl combine the 10 eggs and half and half. Whisk vigorously until well-combined. Salt and pepper liberally. Shred cheddar cheese and add to the eggs. Pour egg mixture evenly into each of the 12 muffin tins, filling the cups about three-fourths of the way full. Spoon bacon vegetable mixture into each of the muffin tins. Bake egg bites for 20 to 22 minutes until the eggs are firm and have a slight rise to them. A knife stuck in the middle of an egg bite should come out clean and the tops of the egg bites will be firm and spring back to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before removing. Serve immediately and store extras in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Makes 12 egg bites.