Learn How to Make the Base Recipe
These sausage egg bites with shakshuka veggies are a fun global twist on our egg bites base recipe. They pack flavors of the classic North African and Middle Eastern dish—tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, feta, and a hint of spice—into a portable, protein-rich breakfast or snack.
Perfect for meal prep, these egg bites are creamy, savory, and satisfying, with a plant-forward twist from veggies and spices.
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Culinary Tips for the Best Shakshuka Egg Bites
- Drain tomatoes well so extra liquid doesn’t make the bites watery.
- Blend until smooth: Blending the eggs with cottage cheese makes the bites creamy and fluffy, similar to sous vide-style bites.
- Use silicone: You can use a regular metal muffin pan, but the egg bites will stick. Use a silicone muffin pan, and they will pop right out!
- Don’t skip the cornstarch: Cornstarch lightly binds water and proteins, giving egg cups a more tender, custardy texture rather than a spongy one. It helps prevent the eggs from becoming rubbery if they’re slightly overbaked.
- Don’t overbake: Pull them from the oven when just set—overbaking makes them rubbery.
- Water bath optional, but worth it: Adding a baking dish with water helps create a moist cooking environment for extra-tender egg bites. Without it, you won’t get a creamy texture
Ingredient Swaps & Substitutions
- Cottage Cheese: Can be swapped with ricotta though texture will vary.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Any melty cheese works—try Swiss, fontina, or pepper jack for a kick.
- Granulated Garlic: Substitute 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic. We were just trying to cut down on prep.
- Red Onion: any color onion will work!
- Red Bell Pepper: Substitute orange or yellow for similar flavor. You can use green, but the flavor will be a little more harsh.
- Canned Petite Diced Tomatoes: Sub fresh tomatoes or canned crushed. Purchase low-sodium or no salt added cans if available.
- Nitrate-free Chicken Sausage: Sub nitrate-free turkey sausage or leave out for a vegetarian version.
- Feta Cheese Crumbles: Substitute goat cheese crumbles for a similar strong salty taste.
Recipe Variations
- Spice it up: Add red pepper flakes, paprika, or cumin for authentic shakshuka flavor.
- Plant-Based: Skip the sausage; add white beans for plant-based protein.
Looking for some egg bite inspiration?
Try out our base recipe, take a look at our variations, and then have fun experimenting with your favorite ingredients to YOUR Taste!
Equipment Recommendations
For recipe success, use the following tools:
- Cutting Board & Chef’s Knife – for uniform dicing when prepping veggies
- Blender – for smooth and creamy egg base
- Muffin Pan (or Silicone Cups) – prevents sticking and makes portioning easy
- Baking Sheet – to make your water bath
Check out our essential equipment guide to stock your kitchen with ALL the tools you need to prepare anything and everything!
Health Benefits of Sausage Egg Bites
This recipe features eggs, cottage cheese, vegetables, and nitrate-free sausage.
Eggs
There is a lot of confusion surrounding eggs. For a long time, it was recommended to limit eggs and other foods high in cholesterol, but more recent research shows that dietary cholesterol does not usually impact blood level cholesterol. Eggs do contain some saturated fat in the yolk, which does raise cholesterol levels, so be mindful of that. That said, this doesn’t mean you should just stick to egg whites. While the white is rich in protein, the yolk contains protein as well as disease-fighting phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. Eat the whole egg for best nutrition!
Vegetables
Vegetables, like tomatoes, red bell pepper, and onions provide fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals. We always advise people to eat a variety of colors because they all provide different benefits for your body.
Cottage Cheese
Cottage Cheese adds extra protein and calcium, plus makes egg bites creamy without heavy cream.
Nitrate-Free Chicken Sausage
Chicken is a lean protein source. It is also rich in B vitamins and minerals, such as iron. When consumed as part of a diet rich in vegetables, chicken may help reduce the risk of developing overweight and obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Further, white meat is considered moderately protective or neutral on cancer risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified processed meats containing nitrates/nitrites as Group 1 carcinogens (meaning there’s strong evidence they can cause cancer in humans), so be sure to look for the nitrate free kinds! We used Applegate Farms for our recipe testing.
Explore our Ingredient Guide for more tips on choosing the freshest, most flavorful picks for your recipes. Because great ingredients = great food! 🌟🍴
Serving Suggestions
Pair egg bites with:
- Fresh fruit and whole grain toast for a balanced breakfast.
- A side salad for a light lunch.
- A smoothie for an on-the-go snack.
Storage Tips
- Refrigerator: Store cooled egg bites in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a bag for up to 2 months.
- Reheat: Microwave 30–60 seconds or reheat in the oven at 300°F for 8–10 minutes.
Looking for more grab and go breakfast ideas?
Try these base recipes!
Whole Wheat Muffins Base Recipe
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Unlike many other recipe blogs, we encourage you to tweak our recipes to suit your taste. Try it out, leave us a review, and tell us what changes you made! We love hearing how you make it your own.
Sausage Egg Bites with Shakshuka Veggies
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1 cup cottage cheese (full fat or 2%)
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ red bell pepper, diced (~¼”)
- Dash salt
- ½ cup canned low-sodium petite diced tomatoes, drained well
- ½ cup cooked and diced (~½”) nitrate-free chicken breakfast sausage
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin or silicone muffin cups with nonstick spray.
- Place eggs, cottage cheese, shredded mozzarella, cornstarch, black pepper, and granulated garlic in a blender or processor. Blend until smooth and frothy, 30–60 seconds.
- Heat an 8” sauté pan over medium heat. Add oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onions. Cook for ~2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bell pepper and cook ~1 minute. Add diced tomatoes and dash of salt and cook ~1 more minute. Remove from heat and stir in sausage.
- Divide the onion-sausage mixture evenly among muffin cups. Pour egg mixture over each cup, about 1/4 cup per egg bite, and sprinkle with feta. Place muffin pan on a baking sheet and pour water into the sheet until it comes halfway up the muffin cups.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until set. Do not overcook. Remove from oven and let cool. Run a knife around edges to release. Enjoy!
