Sous Vide Bacon and Gruyere Egg Bites
Creamy egg bites with buttery gruyere and crispy bacon make an easy make head grab and go breakfast. These sous vide bacon and gruyere eggs bites are perfect for meal prep! This Starbucks copycat recipe is part 2 of my How to Breakup with Starbucks series.
This article contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission if you buy something, at no extra cost to you! It is a way for me to continue bringing you free content. I appreciate you supporting my small business!
Welcome to part 2 of my How to Breakup with Starbucks series! If you missed Part 1, we made Chicken Sausage Breakfast Sandwiches – a fan favorite! In this series we are cooking delicious breakfast items that can be made ahead of time and easily reheated in the morning. Time to take back some minutes in the mornings (and some $$$) by skipping the Starbucks line and creating some of your breakfast favs in your own kitchen.
If you’ve ever gotten an order of Starbucks’ egg bites, then you know they are so tasty! They have a few different flavor options, and their small size makes them a perfect bite sized breakfast. In this recipe, we’re replicating the bacon and gruyere version. If you’d like to try a different version, there is also Starbucks egg white egg bites!
Quick tips
- Put your sous vide pot or container on a heat safe surface! (Don’t crack your countertops like I did)
- Use cooking spray in the jars so the eggs don’t stick. You can also loosen them from the jar by sliding a toothpick around the edge of the jar.
- Use silicone tipped tongs to put the jars in and out of the hot water.
- As soon as you remove the egg bites from the glass jars, soak in water immediately and clean ASAP! These can be a pain to clean so prompt cleaning works best.
Equipment
- Sous vide/immersion circulator – I use this Anova culinary sous vide precision cooker.
- Immersion blender or blender – super handy to have in the kitchen! I love this hand blender for blending soups so you don’t have to transfer to a traditional blender.
- 4 oz wide mouth mason jars with tight fitting lids – I also like these for portioning out dressings and sauces for meal prep.
- Silicone tongs – The water will be hot, so use the tongs to put the jars in and out of the water. The silicone tips will help them not slip. I also use these daily in my kitchen for cooking.
- large container or pot for the immersion circulator. I use a pot or a container like this one.
Ingredient notes
The ingredient list for these sous vide egg bites is pretty short! Bacon, eggs, cottage cheese, gruyere cheese, salt and pepper – that’s it! You are likely familiar with these but I will make a few quick notes.
- Bacon – I always use thick cut bacon for all my recipes. I like having a meatier bite of bacon. Also use high quality if you can. Smithfield Thick Cut is one of my favorites. Buy in bulk when it’s on sale so you can freeze the extras for later use. Bacon freezes and thaws wonderfully.
- Eggs – I tested these with liquid eggs and regular eggs. The ones made with regular eggs had a better texture. I also prefer to use farm fresh eggs when possible, but if you are buying store bought, Happy Egg Co is a great choice.
- Gruyere – Gruyere is a smooth cows milk cheese that melts well. It has a salty and nutty flavor. Great for this recipe for its creamy texture when melted.
Cooking tips
So how do we make these sous vide bacon and gruyere egg bites? They might sound a little intimidating if you’ve never used the sous vide cooking method before but you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is. Most importantly, the immersion circulator does all the work!
What is sous vide cooking?
Sous vide is a French term meaning “under vacuum.” Sous vide cooking is a method that cooks food in a vacuum sealed bag held in a water bath at a precise temperature for a certain period of time. Sous vide cooking is achieved with a precision cooker (aka immersion circulator) – the actual machine used to heat and maintain the water temperature.
Clip the precision cooker onto the side of a large pot or container then fill with water. Set to a certain temperature, and once heated, it will maintain that temperature for a certain period of time by circulating the water in pot while heating.
This cooking method is so good for so many dishes since it can achieve what stove top or oven cooking can not – a perfect temperature.
How to use the immersion circulator to sous vide?
Get a large container or pot and fill with water, and place on a heat tolerant surface. The immersion circulator should clip on the side of the pot, with the end fully submerged to the indicated fill line. Set the immersion circulator to indicated temperature. Once the water is heated to the appropriate temperature, then add the sealed bag (or in this case, jars) to the pot of water. You may need to use tongs since the water is hot.
Set a timer for the appropriate time. After the time is up, remove the bag/jars with tongs. In some recipes, you may be required to put the bag of cooked food in an ice bath, but it is not required for this recipe.
What are sous vide egg bites?
Sous vide egg bites are like bite sized egg soufflés. The eggs bites are cooked in air tight jars in a water bath held at a constant temperature with a precision cooker. The resulting eggs are a creamy and velvety texture that can’t really be achieved with any other method of cooking.
How to make sous vide egg bites?
First, set up your immersion circulator with a large pot or container of water on a heat tolerant surface. A word of warning! Most countertops are considered to be heat tolerant, however I would still advise putting your container on the stove top or on a trivet. I put my pot with the immersion circulator directly on my countertops and had it heated to a high temperature for a long period of time which caused the granite to crack. Yikes! Don’t make my mistake.
Next, set the precision cooker to 172°F. You can prepare your ingredients while the water preheats.
Cook the bacon while the water is heating. You can do this stove top, but I prefer baking my bacon at 400°F for 20-25 minutes until perfectly crispy. Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces and set aside on paper towels to absorb any excess grease.
While bacon is cooking and water bath is preheating, you can prep your jars. Spray each jar generously with cooking spray to help the egg bites slide out easier. Don’t skip this step! Or else you’ll be picking out chunks of egg bites from the jars – I know from experience.
Blend the eggs with an immersion blender (or standard blender) for about 30 seconds. This helps whip and fluff up the eggs a little to help the final texture. Next add in the cottage cheese, gruyere, salt, and pepper to the egg mixture and blend again for about 15 seconds, until all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour about 1/4 cup egg mixture into each jar, add a piece or 2 of bacon, and seal the lid tightly. Gently lower the jars into the water bath with silicone tipped tongs.
Some jars may float to the top. As long as the jar is still submerged, they will cook properly. Make sure the jars stay level though, if any tip over, the final shape of your egg bites may come out lopsided.
Set a timer for one hour. Now the precision cooker does the rest of the work for you! Except the dishes – unfortunately that’s still on you (wahhhh).
After an hour, remove the jars from the hot water bath with the tongs and let sit until they are cool enough to handle. You can use a toothpick to loosen up the egg bites from the sides of the jar, and they should slide our easily.
Wash the jars promptly! I like to put the jars in a bath of soapy water as I remove the egg bites from them. Don’t let the egg stick to the jars and dry, or it will be difficult to clean them out later.
You can serve the egg bites hot or save them for later use.
How to save the egg bites for later
I like to lay the egg bites out on parchment paper on a baking sheet then freeze them for about an hour. After an hour, put the egg bites into a freezer bag and save until you are ready to eat!
Reheating
If frozen, microwave for 1 minute. You can also put them in the toaster oven from frozen as well. I like the toaster oven method better since it upholds the velvety texture better.
FAQs
Sous vide is the best method for making egg bites because the constant temperature creates a velvety and creamy final texture. Since the eggs are contained in air tight jars, they don’t lose any moisture during the cooking process.
Yes! Pop them on a baking sheet with parchment and freeze for an hour. After transfer them to a freezer bag and keep in the freezer until you are ready to use.
You can microwave them for 1 minute from frozen. You can also reheat in the toaster oven, which is my preferred method since it holds the texture better, and dries out the eggs less than the microwave.
This recipe calls for the precision cooker to be set at 172°F for 1 hour.
Related recipes
Don’t miss part 1 of my How to Breakup with Starbucks series, where I make Chicken Sausage Breakfast Sandwiches.
Chicken Sausage Breakfast Sandwiches
Any questions about these sous vide bacon and gruyere egg bites? I’d love to help! Drop a comment below or send me an email!
Sous Vide Bacon and Gruyere Egg Bites
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- 8 eggs
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- 4 oz gruyere cheese (finely grated)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- SET UP: Preheat oven to 400°F. Set immersion circulator to 172°F*. Lay bacon in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet. Spray the insides of the glass jars with cooking spray.
- BAKE: Cook bacon for 20-25 minutes, until desired level or crispiness**.
- PREP: Blend the eggs together with the immersion blender for at least 30 seconds. Add the cottage cheese, gruyere, salt, and pepper to the egg mixture and blend again for at least 15 seconds. Cut bacon strips into bite sized pieces, and put a piece or two in the bottom of the jars. Pour ¼ cup of the mixture into the jars, and seal lid tightly.
- SOUS VIDE: Place the jars into the preheated water using tongs, and set a timer for 1 hour.
- COOL: Remove the jars from the water using tongs, and let them cool for a few minutes. Use a toothpick to loosen the egg bites from the sides of the jar and remove.
- SERVE/SAVE: Serve hot. If you want to freeze these for later use, set eggs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and pop in the freezer for an hour. Remove from the baking sheet and put in a freezer bag until you are ready to eat.
- REHEAT: Microwave for 1 minute, or heat up in the toaster oven until heated throughout.
