Cottage Cheese Egg Bites
Updated December 28, 2025
Ghazalle Badiozamani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
8 large eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) full-fat cottage cheese
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) shredded Gruyère, Cheddar, mozzarella or Monterey Jack (or a combination)
½ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Raw chopped vegetables (optional), such as onion, scallions, bell pepper or spinach (or a combination)
Cooked chopped vegetables (optional), such as mushrooms, broccoli, roasted red pepper, cauliflower, potato, sweet potato or butternut squash (or a combination)
Cooked chopped bacon or sausage (optional)
Finely chopped herbs (optional), such as basil, parsley, chives or cilantro
Dashes of hot sauce (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 325 degrees with the rack in the center position. In a kettle or a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil and keep at a simmer. Thoroughly coat a 12-cup muffin pan (preferably silicone or nonstick) with nonstick cooking spray.
- Step 2
Place the eggs, cottage cheese, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, and the salt and pepper in a blender. Blend on high for 8 to 10 seconds, just until the mixture is smooth and frothy. (Don’t overblend, as too much air could make the egg bites collapse as they bake.)
- Step 3
Place the muffin pan on a sheet pan. Pour the egg mixture into the muffin cups, filling each three-quarters of the way. If using any optional mix-ins, add them on top of each cup and, using a chopstick or small spoon, gently stir them into the mixture. Top with the remaining ½ cup shredded cheese and transfer to the oven. Carefully pour the hot water into the sheet pan just to cover the very bottom of the muffin cups. (You can also skip the water bath; see Tip.)
- Step 4
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the egg bites have set. Remove the muffin pan from the sheet pan of water in the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then remove the bites from the pan. If using a silicone pan, they should pop right out. If not, use a butter knife or small offset spatula to run along the sides of the cups and gently lift them out. Egg bites will keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in a microwave or a 300-degree oven until warmed through.
You can also make egg bites without the water bath. The egg bites will be firmer and more compact (rather than soft and fluffy), and they’ll brown on the bottom, like a frittata.
Private Notes
Comments
Love egg bites! This recipe is very adaptable and the bites microwave well. I don’t own a silicone mold and bake them instead in a nonstick muffin tin sans water bath. The texture is still great just not as visually perfect. 13 minutes is all they need at 325 this way.
Rather than fiddle with water in a sheet pan, I just put water in a casserole dish on the oven rack below the rack with the bites. Works great.
@Tips for lactose intolerance? Lactaid cottage cheese works well. Aged cheese like Gruyere and Aged cheddar have little to no lactose, and work well.
Are people using a normal size muffin tin or a mini muffin tin?
Mine turned out pretty delicious, but they did not pop out of the muffin tins. They weren’t so pretty and some of them left some of their bottoms behind. Perhaps they needed a few more minutes in the oven - ? (Although the tops were firmly set.)
I followed the recipe exactly but made a batch of six large muffins instead of twelve regular sized muffins. They cooked as directed but for one hour. Came out perfectly.