These cheesy Spinach Egg Bites are the perfect low-carb, high-protein way to start your morning. Great for breakfast or brunch, and freeze beautifully!
Love a savory make-ahead breakfast? Frittatas are another great choice—check out this Ham and Cheese Frittata or this Bacon Cheddar Frittata next.
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Why Make This Recipe
I’ve had this recipe on my site for years, but decided to update it recently to make the egg bites bigger and fluffier. After a few rounds of testing, I got what I was looking for! Here’s what I love about these:
- Perfect for grab-and-go breakfasts
- High in protein
- Great for a mid-morning snack
- Customizable ingredients
Make a batch (or two), freeze them, and you’ll have them on hand for when you’re running late. They’re also a great dish for when you’re hosting visitors—add a plate of croissants and some fresh fruit, and your guests can grab what they like. No silverware required!
🥗 Ingredients for Spinach Egg Bites
- Bacon: Choose your favorite brand, or get straight from the butcher. I usually get a regular cut, rather than thick cut bacon, because it’s faster to cook. Also, feel free to leave this out if you’d rather make plain spinach egg cups.
- Cheese: Gruyère has a great nutty flavor that is delicious in these egg bites, but you can choose another cheese as well. Cheddar, Swiss, Fontina, or Comté would also work well in this recipe.
- Spinach: I thaw frozen spinach for this recipe and squeeze it dry. You can use fresh spinach, but you’ll need to cook it until wilted, then press out any extra moisture.
- Milk: 2% or whole milk will give you the best texture and flavor.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Line a large microwave-safe plate with two layers of paper towels and arrange 4 ounces bacon slices on top (about 4-5 slices).
Cover with another layer of paper towels. Cook in the microwave for 4-5 minutes (1 minute per slice), until bacon is fully cooked and crispy.
Set aside until cool, then chop.
Shred 2 ounces gruyère cheese—you should have about ½ cup. Reserve two tablespoons of the cheese.
Use your hands or a clean kitchen towel to squeeze all the liquid you can out of 2 ½ ounces frozen spinach that has been thawed in the fridge or microwave.
In a large bowl, whisk together 10 eggs, ½ cup milk, and ½ teaspoon salt, until combined well.
Stir in the chopped bacon, shredded cheese (except for the 2 tablespoons you reserved), and spinach.
Pour into muffin tin, filling each cup about ¾ full. (Try to distribute filling vs. liquid evenly.) Sprinkle the reserved 2 tablespoons of gruyere on top.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the egg mixture is just set. The egg bites will continue to cook a bit more after you remove them from the oven.
Place muffin tin on cooling rack, and let cool until you can remove the egg cups from their molds. Serve warm.
Storage Tips
These spinach bacon egg and cheese bites will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, stored in an airtight container. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
For best results, put egg cups on a plate or small sheet pan so they aren’t touching each other and freeze before putting into a ziptop freezer bag together. That way, they won’t freeze together, and you can grab one at a time to defrost and reheat. Or, you can wrap them individually in plastic wrap, then foil.
Recipe for FAQs for Spinach Egg Bites
This is a very forgiving recipe. You can easily make these vegetarian by not using bacon. You can replace the shredded gruyère with whatever cheese you prefer. Sharp cheddar cheese is excellent, as is gouda, feta cheese, or an aged Comté. You might even try this with ricotta cheese or cottage cheese.
Spinach is optional as well, if greens are not your thing, and you’d rather make straight up bacon and cheese egg bites. Or sub in sausage for the bacon. Try adding veggies like chopped bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, or onions as well—perfect for upping the nutrition content too.
If your egg bites come out rubbery, you may have overcooked them. You want to take them out just as soon as they are cooked through. So watch closely and remove from the oven as soon as that jiggle is gone!
Yes. No flour of any kind in this recipe, so all gluten-free eaters can enjoy these!
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Make sure you cook your bacon to maximum crispiness (without burning it). That will help it crumble easily and not get soggy in the egg custard mixture. This recipe shows you how to microwave bacon (my favorite method!), but of course you can cook your bacon however you prefer. In the oven or in a skillet will also work just fine.
Spraying your muffin pan well before filling the muffin cups is essential, as these egg bites will definitely stick. You can also use butter to grease the muffin tin if you don’t have cooking spray.
These egg cups are perfect for a meal prep Sunday. Use pre-chopped veggies to make super quick work of it, or stir in chopped leftover veggies from recent dinners. There are so many variations of this high protein recipe, you’ll never get bored making (or eating) them. These are like my favorite Starbucks egg bites, but with the fillings I choose. For another delicious make-ahead option, try this bacon and egg wrap too!
Other Delicious Breakfast Recipes
Agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Make it an on-the-go meal with these Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins, or turn it into something elegant with these Baked Eggs en Cocotte. Go healthy and try this delicious acai bowl. Or check out one of these popular recipes:
If you try this Spinach Egg Bites recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Spinach Egg Bites with Bacon
Ingredients
- 4 ounces bacon slices about 4-5 slices
- 2 ounces gruyère cheese
- 2 ½ ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 10 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Line a large microwave-safe plate with two layers of paper towels and arrange bacon slices on top. Cover with another layer of paper towels. Cook in the microwave for 4-5 minutes (about 1 minute per slice), until bacon is fully cooked and crispy. Set aside until cool, then chop.
- Shred cheese—you should have about ½ cup. Reserve two tablespoons of the cheese.
- Use your hands or a clean kitchen towel to squeeze all the liquid you can out of the spinach.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper, whisking well to combine.
- Stir in the bacon, cheese, and spinach.
- Pour into muffin tin, filling each cup about ¾ full. (Try to distribute filling vs. liquid evenly.) Sprinkle the reserved 2 tablespoons of gruyere on top.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the egg mixture is just set. The egg bites will continue to cook a bit more after you remove them from the oven.
- Place muffin tin on cooling rack, and let cool until you can remove the egg cups from their molds. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Bacon Egg Bites recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Susan M. says
An easy and delicious recipe to make - especially when having overnight guests!
Molly Pisula says
For sure! Love this for when we have house guests!
Rosemary says
Molly, these “Spinach Egg Bites with Bacon” are awesome! Easy to prepare, delicious and so convenient to have on hand when having unexpected overnight guests. Thank you again for saving the day with your much loved recipes! ❤️
Molly Pisula says
Thanks so much, Rosemary! I love these too!
Donna Bartlett says
These egg bites are so delicious, so easy to make, and good to have on hand for any time of day.
Molly Pisula says
Thank you, I agree completely!
Lee Ann says
I did use fresh spinach I had on hand and these were delicious. Such an easy breakfast!
Molly Pisula says
Thanks so much for rating and commenting--I really appreciate you!
Vicki Patton says
I made this recipe and these egg bites are delicious! Everyone enjoyed them. They warm up beautifully in the microwave.
Thank you for posting this recipe!
Molly Pisula says
Thanks so much for commenting! So glad you loved these.
Mimi Rippee says
Fun! I need to make these with my grand kids. Great recipe!
http://www.chefmimiblog.com
Molly Pisula says
Ooh, yes, it's a great one to do with little ones.
Jeff the Chef says
What a perfect, on-the-go breakfast. I would have these any day of the week.
Chef Molly says
Thanks! Me too! (And I have.) 🙂