Bacon and gruyere egg bites (copycat Starbucks recipe)

And, would you (pretty please) answer four questions for me?

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Hi! I have a fun breakfast or brunch recipe for you, inspired by Starbucks’ sous vide egg bites. These are a high-protein version of the bacon and gruyere egg bites, and you don’t need a sous vide to make them!

It’s an easy meal prep recipe you can make ahead of a new week for quick breakfasts, but it also makes a good weekend breakfast or brunch-y item if you’re looking for some Mother’s Day ideas (it’s THIS SUNDAY, by the way 😉).

I’m dropping that recipe below but first I was hoping you could help me with something.

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When I first launched Stem and Spoon in 2019, it began as a project to create healthy, non-inflammatory ketogenic recipes. My husband Ian was actually following a vegan-keto diet at the time and I was struggling to find clean recipes, specifically ones that incorporated anti-cancer foods that were also ketogenic-friendly. This meant that most of my early recipes were also dairy free and I’ve always worked hard to include nutrient-dense ingredients into a keto lifestyle.

Over time, my site has broadened to include more comfort foods, dairy, cheeses, and some recipes that call for non-keto items (like dates or honey), and it has reflected my own family’s shift in eating— a focus on modified keto dishes that are often more low carb.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big fan of diet labels, but I guess if I were to describe my personal ideal eating goal, I would call it “low-carb paleo plus dairy” (because I personally love cheese too much to give it up 😋).

As I’ve been thinking about this, I’ve been curious how you would define your eating style and what types of recipes do you enjoy most?

Would you mind taking a few seconds to answer the four questions below? It would help me learn more about what is most important to you when cooking at home and it will certainly weigh into my decisions as I create recipes for you.

Copycat Starbucks bacon gruyere egg bites

I’ve shared egg bites before on the blog (these keto smoked salmon egg bites) and I recently created a version of it for a client of mine (with different add-ins and process). But then I got to thinking about how much my family loves the Starbucks bacon and gruyere bites and how simple it would be to make right at home.

This is a copycat Starbucks recipe that uses cottage cheese for extra protein. The best part? The egg filling comes together in a blender!

My biggest tip is to invest in a silicone muffin pan if you don’t have one already. In my smoked salmon egg bites recipe, I used parchment paper cups with a regular muffin tin. You can certainly go that route but the egg tends to stick to the paper a little bit. I’ve found that a silicone muffin pan is perfect for homemade egg bites. They slip right out of the mold with ease.

I have this one (Amazon affiliate link) which I recently found at Costco in a two-pack! This recipe makes 12 egg bites, so you will only need one pan.

Ingredients:

• 4 strips bacon

• 8 large eggs

• 1 cup cottage cheese

• ½ teaspoon onion powder

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon sriracha or hot sauce

• 2/3 cup shredded gruyere cheese

• optional add-ins: crushed red pepper flakes or fresh chives

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the bacon to a large skillet and cook until medium crisp. Set it aside on a paper towel lined plate to cool. When it’s cool enough to handle, finely chop the bacon.

2. While the bacon cooks, add the eggs, cottage cheese, seasonings, mustard, and hot sauce to a food processor or high-powered blender. 

3. Pulse to blend, then blend on low for a few seconds or until the mixture is smooth and well combined, with very few whole cottage cheese curds.

4. Divide the chopped bacon among the muffin cups (about a teaspoon in each one), then sprinkle a few shreds of gruyere in each of the cups, using only about half of the shredded cheese.

5. Pour the egg mixture into the muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 of the way. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of each egg bite.

6. Transfer to the oven and bake at 350°F for 17-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the centers are mostly set (a tiny bit of jiggle is fine— they may look gooey but this is most likely from the melted cheese). The egg bites will puff up quite a bit as they bake and deflate as they cool.

7. Remove from the oven and let them sit in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Gently lift them out of the muffin pan and serve immediately.

Notes

• This makes a great base recipe for your own favorite flavor combinations! Use a different type of cheese or a crumbled breakfast sausage. If you prefer it with roasted veggies instead (mushrooms! asparagus! sautéed onion or bell pepper!), chop them up and omit the bacon entirely.

• Gruyere can be pricey depending on where you shop (I can usually find it at a great price at Aldi, by the way!). Swiss cheese is a more budget-friendly option.

More Mother’s Day recipe inspo

• Crustless Zucchini Quiche

• Keto Lemon Blueberry Scones

• Iced Strawberry Matcha Latté

• Keto Almond Flour Biscotti

• Keto Basque Burnt Cheesecake

• Chocolate Almond Flour Zucchini Muffins

Crustless zucchini quiche and keto almond biscotti.

And speaking of breakfast, here’s some feedback on the low-carb “oatmeal” (minus the oats) that I shared a couple of weeks ago! Have you tried it?

The recipe lives on the blog but I also included it in the below Substack post:

Low-carb pantry staples, part 3 (breakfast edition)

“Fast, tasty and filling. The coconut milk and shreds make it plenty sweet for me without adding sweetener. I'm think of premixing the dry ingredients to keep in a jar in the fridge for an even speedier breakfast. Thank you!” -Rebeca

I’m always so grateful when you take the time to give feedback, thank you! I appreciate you weighing in on my poll above, too.

I hope you have a great rest of the week and a wonderful weekend. If you’re a mama, happy early Mother’s Day to you!

Abby