XXL Silicone Bags, Set of 2
102oz each and see-through, so you can portion a whole week and still find it.
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Sous Vide Egg Bites
The coffee shop version costs five dollars for two. These cost about forty cents each and come out closer to custard than to egg muffin, because sous vide holds the water at a temperature that cannot overcook them. You do not need a vacuum sealer for this. A gallon silicone bag with the air displaced by water is how home cooks have done sous vide for years, and a clear bag lets you watch the jars and confirm nothing has tipped.
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup cottage cheese, full fat
- 1 cup shredded gruyere or sharp cheddar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- Butter or oil for the jars
Directions
- Set a sous vide circulator in a large pot of water to 172F. Butter twelve 4-ounce canning jars or silicone molds.
- Blend the eggs, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper until completely smooth, about 45 seconds. The blender is what gives them the silky texture; a whisk will not get there.
- Divide the bacon between the jars, then pour the egg mixture over, filling each about three quarters full.
- Seal the jars fingertip tight, which means only as tight as you can turn them with two fingers. Any tighter and pressure cannot escape.
- Stand the jars in the gallon bag, lower it into the water so the water pressure pushes the air out of the top, then seal the bag with the top above the waterline. Cook 60 minutes.
- Lift out and cool. Eat straight away, or refrigerate up to 5 days and reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Tips and variations
- Fingertip tight is not a suggestion. Jars sealed hard can crack as the contents expand.
- Blend until you see no flecks of cottage cheese. Texture is the entire point of this recipe.
- No circulator: bake them in a water bath at 300F for 25 minutes. Close, though not quite as silky.
- Swap the bacon for roasted red pepper and spinach, squeezed dry, for a vegetarian batch.
- They freeze for a month. Reheat from frozen at 50 percent power so the edges do not toughen.
The bag this recipe is built around
Sous vide without a vacuum sealer works by water displacement, and that needs a bag big enough to stand jars upright with the opening above the waterline. The Clear XXL bag is gallon sized and see-through, so you can check the jars mid-cook. Food-grade silicone handles 172F water for an hour without any of the questions a plastic bag raises.
See the Clear XXL Bag
Common questions
- Can you sous vide without a vacuum sealer
- Yes. Put the food in a sealable bag, lower it into the water and let the water pressure push the air out, then seal it with the opening above the waterline. This is the water displacement method.
- Why are my egg bites rubbery
- The temperature was too high or they cooked too long. At 172F for an hour the proteins set gently. An oven run hot will always firm them up more.
- How long do sous vide egg bites keep
- Five days in the fridge, or a month frozen. Reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds from cold.
- What can I use instead of cottage cheese
- Full fat Greek yogurt or creme fraiche in the same quantity. Both blend smooth and keep the custardy texture.
More breakfast recipes
Keep the ones that work
Copy this one onto a 4x6 card. Title across the top, the eight ingredients down the left, the six steps down the right, and Makes 12, 172F for 60 min along the header. File it behind the Breakfast divider. Built to outlast the screenshot.
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