My easy cottage cheese egg bake is fluffy, flavorful and packs 24.4g of protein per serving. Loaded with spinach, mushrooms and feta, it's a healthy low carb breakfast that comes together in a bowl, no blender required. I's perfect for meal prep, reheats well and tastes great hot or cold.
I love a high-protein breakfast to give me that much-needed energy boost in the mornings. This egg and cottage cheese bake is something I make on Sundays so I have breakfast ready to go throughout the week.
It has the same delicious fluffy yet creamy texture as my cottage cheese omelette, but delivers 6 servings and also contains bonus vegetables to make it a balanced meal.
Jump to:
Katrin's Recipe Highlights
Protein Power! A serving of this breakfast bake has 24.4g of protein, thanks to the combination of eggs and cottage cheese. At only 4.7g net carbs, it is also keto friendly.
No soggy business. My recipe method gives you a light, fluffy and creamy egg bake that's easy to slice. The secret? I sauté the vegetables first to cook off excess moisture and prevent the dish from turning watery.
Fantastic Flavor. Parmesan and feta add plenty of savory flavor, plus Dijon mustard gives the cottage cheese bake another upgrade - a chef hack borrowed from my keto quiche recipe.
Versatile. Serve it hot or cold for breakfast, brunch or a packed lunch. It keeps well in the fridge for 5 days, so one batch has you sorted for several meals.
Ingredients
Here is what you need to know about the ingredients. (See the recipe card for exact amounts.)
Cottage Cheese - The star of the recipe! It makes the baked eggs creamy, but you can't actually taste the cottage cheese.
I tested both low fat (2% fat, by Philadelphia) and full fat cottage cheese (5.6%, by Tesco). Both work well in the recipe, but the higher fat cottage cheese makes the bake taste richer and I preferred it.
Both large curd and small curd cottage cheese work well.
IMPORTANT: Drain any liquid (whey) that pools on top of cottage cheese before adding it to the egg mixture. This is another trick to avoid a soggy bake.
I also use:
- Eggs - Large eggs form the base of the bake and give it structure.
- Vegetables: I added brown mushrooms (they have more flavor than white mushrooms) and baby spinach leaves. Both vegetables contain plenty of moisture, which is why sautéing them first is essential to avoid a watery egg bake. Also, browning the mushrooms in the pan also gives them a deeper, more savory flavor. I slice them thinly for maximum golden edges!
- Garlic and Green Onion - Garlic and onion powder have their place, but for a delicate dish like this, fresh tastes best. I fry the garlic and the white part of the scallion with the mushrooms, then scatter the green parts over the top of the bake before serving.
- Parmesan - Adds a savory, nutty flavor to the egg mixture. I finely grate it so it distributes evenly throughout the bake. Parmesan is quite salty, so you don't need much additional salt in the recipe.
- Mustard - My secret ingredient for a serious flavor upgrade! Dijon mustard adds a subtle savory tang without making the egg bake taste of mustard.
- Feta - The tangy cousin of cottage cheese! Its salty flavor complements the mild cottage cheese beautifully. I scatter crumbled feta over the egg bake before it goes into the oven. It adds creamy, salty pockets that work especially well with the spinach and mushrooms.
- Salt & Pepper - Feta is a salty cheese, but the mix still needs a little extra salt to enhance the taste.
Instructions
It is simple to make a cottage cheese egg bake. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
Prep Vegetables
STEP 1
Heat the other 2 teaspoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet (10-12 inch) over medium heat. Fry the minced garlic and the sliced white parts of the scallion (spring onion) for 2 minutes until fragrant. Set aside the green parts of the onion for decorating.
Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 4-6 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
STEP 2
To the same skillet, add the spinach leaves. Sauté for 2 minutes until wilted and any excess moisture has evaporated. Set aside to cool.
Mix Cottage Cheese Egg Mixture
STEP 3
Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Beat vigorously with a balloon whisk for about 45-60 seconds until the whites and yolks are fully combined and the mixture is frothy.
Add the grated parmesan, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk again to combine.
STEP 4
Add the cottage cheese and stir with a spatula. Then, add the cooled mushrooms and stir again.
Assemble and Oven-Bake
STEP 5
Pour the cottage cheese egg mixture into the prepared casserole dish and scatter in the wilted spinach. Top with the crumbled feta cheese.
STEP 6
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until the egg bake is set, the edges are golden and the middle is no longer jiggly.
Let the egg bake cool to firm up. Then top with the green parts of the onion, slice and serve.
Katrin's Recipe Notes
#1 Stick to the recipe step order. I purposefully sauté the veggies first, so they have time to cool down. You don't want to add them to the egg mixture piping hot. This would make the eggs cook unevenly.
#2 Pan sizes and timings: I used a 9x11 inch pan and my baked eggs with cottage cheese were done in 40 minutes. In a 9x13 inch casserole dish the mixture spreads out more and bakes a little faster, around 35 minutes. The slices still have has a nice thickness to them in the larger pan. If you use a smaller 9x9 inch pan, the egg mixture will be deeper and take longer to cook through in the centre.
#3 Check for doneness: Gently press on the centre of the bake - it should feel set and spring back. You can also insert a knife into the middle, which should come out largely clean.
#4 Deflation is normal. The egg and cottage cheese bake rises in the oven and then settles back down as it cools. That's completely normal.
#5 Let the cottage cheese bake rest. Give it 10 minutes after baking. The eggs continue to set as they cool, giving you cleaner slices and a firmer texture.
Variations
Switch up the vegetables. Try bell peppers, broccoli, zucchini or asparagus. Sauté them first until tender and to reduce moisture. This is especially important for zucchini as it contains a lot of water.
Try a different cheese. Swap the feta for goat cheese or grated cheddar. Goat cheese has a similar tangy finish while cheddar makes the bake richer and more savory.
Add meat. Breakfast sausage and cooked, crumbled bacon are great in egg bakes (tested in my English breakfast frittata). Diced cooked ham would also work well.
Serving Suggestion
Most of the time, I serve the bake with a crunchy green salad. Sometimes I also add a dollop of leftover cottage cheese on the side. Waste not, want not! If I want to be extra healthy, I enjoy it with my favorite green smoothie.
You could also pair it with half an avocado and a few cherry tomatoes. Bonus if you roast the tomatoes in the oven at the same time as the bake!
Recipe FAQs
I don't recommend it. Fat free cottage cheese is more watery and you may end up with a gummy texture.
Yes. Defrost it, then squeeze out any liquid.
Egg yolks add flavor to the bake. If you remove them, I recommend adding more parmesan to make up for this. For my egg white omelette, I used 1 tablespoon of parmesan per egg, which means an additional ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of parmesan for this recipe.
Yes, that works. You may need to add 5 additional minutes to the oven time if it goes in cold.
Storing and Reheating
Fridge: Let the cottage cheese bake cool completely, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can store individual slices separately for an easy grab-and-go breakfast.
Reheating: Reheat single slices in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then add 10 second-intervals until warmed through. Or, reheat in the air fryer for about 1 minute. Don't overheat the bake as this can make the eggs rubbery.
I don't recommend freezing egg bakes. They become softer once defrosted and just don't taste as good.
More Cottage Cheese Recipes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.★
Recipe
Cottage Cheese Egg Bake
Equipment
- oven-proof casserole dish (9x11 inch or 9x13 inch)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups cottage cheese 2-4% fat (higher fat content = better taste), 340g, drain liquid if necessary
- 4 tsp olive oil 2 teaspoons for greasing the casserole dish, 2 teaspoon for frying the veggies
Vegetables
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 scallion / spring onion sliced finely
- 6 oz mushrooms 170g, 2 cups sliced, I used chestnut mushrooms (brown mushrooms, also called cremini)
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves 90g, washed
Egg Mixture
- 12 eggs large
- ½ cup parmesan cheese 50g, finely grated, I used Grana Padano
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup feta cheese 75g, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F / 190C and grease a casserole dish with 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Prep Vegetables
- Heat the other 2 teaspoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet (10-12 inch) over medium heat. Fry the minced garlic and the sliced white parts of the scallion (spring onion) for 2 minutes until fragrant. Set aside the green parts of the onion for decorating.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 4-6 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
- To the same skillet, add the spinach leaves. Sauté for 2 minutes until wilted and any excess moisture has evaporated. Set aside to cool.
Make Cottage Cheese Egg Mixture
- Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Beat vigorously with a balloon whisk for about 45-60 seconds until the whites and yolks are fully combined and the mixture is frothy.
- Add the grated parmesan, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk again to combine.
- Add the cottage cheese and stir with a spatula. Then, add the cooled mushrooms and stir again.
- Pour the cottage cheese egg mixture into the prepared casserole dish and scatter in the wilted spinach. Top with the crumbled feta cheese.
Oven Bake
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the egg bake is set, the top is golden and the middle is no longer jiggly.
- Let the egg bake cool for 10 minutes to firm up. Then top with the green parts of the onion, slice and serve.
Leave a Reply