Who Else Needs an Easy, Healthy Breakfast? Make Ahead Egg Bites Recipe

This post is written by Lori Hernandez of Three Acre Farm.

Do you struggle to get a healthy breakfast every day?

We do.

No matter how early we get up, mornings always seem rushed and getting real, wholesome, nourishing food in our bellies is a challenge! It’s especially difficult for my husband, who gets up for work in the wee hours of the morning. He just doesn’t have it in him to prepare ANYTHING in the morning (he is NOT a morning person), so his breakfast must truly be “Grab-and-Go”.

He also works a very physically demanding job, so I’m always looking for foods that will give him lasting energy throughout the day.

After wracking my brain for easy make-ahead breakfast solutions, I finally came up with this recipe for egg based breakfast bites. We keep chickens on our farm and almost always have a surplus of eggs, so this recipe is a good way to use them up.

A Power-Packed Breakfast

This recipe is full of ingredients that will nourish your body and keep you going all morning.

• Quinoa: A plant food that is actually a complete protein source (which is unusual!) and great source of energy.
• Eggs: Packed with protein and one of the most nutritious foods on the planet. The nutrition value is even higher if you can source eggs from pastured hens (chickens that have access to grass, insects, plants, etc. Not to be confused with “free-range”, which can mean the chickens are just free-ranging on a patch of dirt or concrete).
• Leafy Greens: Dark leafy greens, such as spinach and kale are loaded with iron.
• Veggies: These breakfast bites are a great way to get a serving of nutritious vegetables right away in the morning.

A Crowd Pleaser

In addition to being a great everyday breakfast, these breakfast bites look pretty enough to be featured at your next brunch. They always get scooped up quickly and everyone loves them!

I love the fact that the recipe is flexible and customizable. Often, I will make a double batch and create two different options: vegetarian and meat lovers.

The recipe is easy to change or tweak, so you can meet the dietary needs of your family, such as:

• Vegetarian
• Dairy Free
• Gluten Free

Feel free to play around the recipe! You really cannot go wrong.

These breakfast bites are a great way to use up leftover veggies/meats from previous meals, or to use up any veggies in your fridge that are just laying around. Every time I make them, they are a little bit different, depending on what season it is and what I have on hand, such as:

• Onions
• Peppers (sweet or spicy)
• Zuchinnis
• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Kale/Collards
• Swiss Chard
• Tomatoes
• Sweet Corn
• Peas

Quinoa, Veggie and Egg Breakfast Bites

 

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A nutritious, power-packed breakfast for busy people on the go!

Author: Lori Hernandez

Recipe type: Healthy Breakfast

Serves: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups of Quinoa, cooked
• 6-8 eggs (6 large or 8 medium)
• 2 cups diced/shredded vegetables (such as onion, bell pepper, hot pepper, carrot, potato, broccoli, cauliflower, etc)
• 5 handfuls of spinach, kale or similar leafy green
• 2 tbsp oil or fat of your choice (butter, ghee, bacon fat, beef tallow, avocado oil, etc.)
• ¾ tsp salt
• Pepper, to taste
• Optional: ½ - 1 cup of shredded cheese
• Optional: 2 tbsp of milk
• Optional: ½ cup of shredded/crumbled cooked meat, such as bacon, sausage, ham, etc
• Optional: fresh or dried herbs, such as basil, parsley, chives, etc.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with 12 muffin liners (or grease pans).
2. Saute veggies and leafy greens in oil/fat until softened, about 5-8 minutes.
3. Crack eggs into large bowl. Add salt, pepper and milk (Optional), and mix well, like you are making scrambled eggs.
4. Add sauteed vegetables to the egg mixture.
5. Add cooked quinoa to egg mixture.
6. Optional: add fresh/dried herbs, meat and half the cheese
7. Pour egg mixture into prepared muffin trays/liners. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top (Optional).
8. Bake for 25-30, until eggs are set when when poked with a toothpick and tops are golden brown.
9. Serve warm, room temperature or cold. They reheat well in a toaster oven.

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Oh! If you are feeling like pouring the batter into muffin cups to make individual cups is too fussy for you, you can always bake the batter in a greased baking pan or cast iron skillet. Ta-da! The breakfast bites have transformed into an elegant frittata.

The breakfast bites can be served warm, at room temperature or even cold!

So Many Options!

My husband avoids dairy, so when I make a batch, I omit the milk and only put cheese on half of the breakfast bites to appease both of us.

There are so many different options for these breakfast bites, such as:

• Broccoli, ham and cheese bites
• Garden fresh bites (use whatever veggies/herbs are growing in your garden that day!)
• Meat Lovers (omit some of the veggies and add more meat)
• Tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese (cherry tomatoes work best for this – saute them briefly first)
• Spicy, South-of-the-Border bites (corn, black beans, and spicy chilies like these Hatch Chilies)

I hope you are inspired to try these breakfast bites. They are a perfect snack or meal, any time of the day! Enjoy!