Cottage Cheese Egg Casserole (High-Protein!)

cottage cheese egg casserole served with berries on a plate.

Cottage Cheese Egg Casserole (High-Protein!)

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 1

Servings:

Calories: 392kcal

This cottage cheese breakfast casserole is the high-protein breakfast idea I've been working on for the past 3 months. It has everything I try to squeeze into my morning, with plenty of protein, fiber, and veggies, all in one convenient slice. While it will take about an hour to prepare, from start to finish, it will make mornings for the rest of your week a breeze.

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1 shallot , chopped
1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon ground sage
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt & black pepper
5 ounces spinach , roughly chopped
15 ounces lentils , drained and rinsed
12 large eggs
1.5 cups cottage cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375ºF and lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish. (I use a stainless steel one, which I think bakes faster than a glass pan.) While the oven preheats, arrange a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and cook the shallot until translucent, about 2 minutes, stirring often.
Add the ground turkey to the skillet and season with ½ teaspoon of salt. Use a sturdy spatula to break up the meat into small pieces. Cook until it's no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Then season the meat with the ground sage, red pepper flakes, another ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper. Stir well to distribute the seasonings.
Next, add in the spinach and stir until it's wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes. It will shrink down significantly! Then add the drained lentils and season with another ½ teaspoon of salt. Once everything is warm, transfer the mixture to the greased pan and spread it out evenly.
In a blender, add the 12 eggs, cottage cheese, and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Secure the lid and blend until smooth. Then pour the eggs over the mixture in the pan. Gently shake the pan to make sure everything is distributed evenly, then bake at 375ºF until the center looks cooked through, about 40 minutes. (A glass pan might take longer, FYI.)

When the casserole is done, the top will look golden, and some areas might "puff up" in the oven. Don't worry, it will totally flatten when it cools.

As soon as the center of the casserole no longer jiggles, you can remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes. Slice it into 6 big squares and enjoy it warm. (You can cut the slices smaller for a brunch, but the 6 slices are great if you're trying to meet macro goals for a meal prep routine.)

Notes

Nutrition information is for 1 of 6 slices (about 269g per slice). This information is automatically calculated using an online ingredient database, so it's just an estimate, not a guarantee.

Lentil Swap: You can replace the lentils with a can of beans instead for a similar result. I like how small the lentils are, so you can't tell if you're eating them or the ground turkey.

Cottage Cheese: I tested this recipe with low-fat (2%) cottage cheese. I think any other variety would work similarly, though. If you want to omit the cheese, feel free! I'd also cut back on the salt in that case.

Salt Note: I use Redmond's Real Salt (fine) for my recipe testing. This is a pink salt and will probably taste a lot different than white table salt. If you're watching your sodium, feel free to use less! But if your dish tastes bland, it's probably because it needed more salt.

Nutrition