Instant Pot Egg Bites With Spinach & Prosciutto
(Ratings: )INGREDIENTS
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 ounce prosciutto, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Using a silicone egg bites mold, evenly divide the spinach and prosciutto among the 7 mold compartments. - In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, parmesan cheese, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well-beaten and smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the mold, about 3-4 tablespoons per compartment, filling up about 80% to the top. Cover tightly with foil.
Add 1 1/2 cups water to the pressure cooker pot. Place the trivet inside. Carefully lower the mold onto the trivet. - Secure and seal the lid. Steam for 10 minutes at high pressure, followed by 10 minutes of natural release. Manually release any remaining pressure.
- Uncover and remove the egg bites mold from the pressure cooker. Discard the foil. Invert onto a plate to release the egg bites.
NUTRITION
| Makes 2 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving (3-4 egg bites): |
| Calories 400 (65% from fat) | |
| Total Fat 29g | 44% |
| Saturated Fat 17g | 85% |
| Cholesterol 443mg | 148% |
| Sodium 710mg | 30% |
| Net Carb 2g | |
| Total Carb 2.5g | 1% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.5g | 1% |
| Sugars 2g | |
| Protein 27g |
Serve these egg bites with Low Carb Biscuits and London Fog for a fantastic keto brunch.
Selecting a Silicone Mold
I have a 6 quart Instant Pot and I use this egg bites mold, which perfectly fits my pressure cooker. It has 7 compartments, and each can easily fit about 1/4 cup of liquid.
If you have another type of suitable mold, that’s fine too. Just make sure it fits your Instant Pot and is safe for pressure cooking.
Meat & Veggie Variations
These egg bites contain prosciutto and spinach, and are reminiscent of one of my favorite frittatas. Here are some other filling ideas:
- bacon
- sausage
- ham
- bell pepper
- broccoli
- mushroom
- asparagus
- sun-dried tomatoes
- basil
- scallions
If you substitute any of these ingredients, note that the nutrition information will be different than what is listed here. For best results, you might also need to pre-cook some of the veggies and/or meat.
Other Ingredient Tweaks
You can also switch up the cheese. Maybe swap out the parmesan cheese for pepperjack, feta, or cheddar. If you use shredded cheese instead of finely grated (sandy consistency) as directed in the recipe, you may want to use a blender to ensure a very smooth mixture before filling the molds.
If you like your eggs or breakfasts to be a bit saltier in general, I recommend increasing the salt from 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon. That’s what I usually do, but I tend to enjoy saltier foods more than most.
Another variation is to use only egg whites, although you’ll be missing out on a lot of nutrients and fats in the yolks.
Cooking Tips
- Measure out the prosciutto and spinach by weight. Even if you’re tempted, don’t add more than what’s specified in the recipe. If you do, the egg bites will be fragile and won’t easily release from the mold.
- If you have trouble releasing the egg bites from the mold, run a butter knife along the edges of each compartment to release them.
- To prevent the spinach and prosciutto from sinking to the bottom of each egg bite, you can add them after pouring the egg mixture into each mold compartment. Either way, they’ll taste great!
- If you have leftovers, cover and refrigerate. They reheat well in the microwave. If you use the same egg bites mold as I do, it comes with a handy lid for storage.
Thanks for including link for silicon cookware!! Loved these! I used gruyere and bacon. Will add a bit more gruyere next time. So darned easy!!! I love batch cooking for the work week. This recipe has made it so much easier! Love love love!
Since I don’t have an Instant Pot, is there another way to make these?
Another reader asked about using a muffin tin and baking in the oven, which I think would work well. I suggest lightly spraying the muffin tin and baking at 350 F until a knife in the center of the muffin comes out clean, and they have golden brown tops. Might take 20-30 minutes depending on how large your muffins are.
Thank you for the recipe. I was wondering if you’ve tested with shorter steaming time? 10 plus 10 seems like a lot for this egg mixture.
Would love to make these. Any chance I could use a muffin tin and bake in the oven? What temperature and how long? Would appreciate a reply.
I think a muffin tin + baking in the oven would work well. I suggest lightly spraying the muffin tin and baking at 350 F until a knife in the center of the muffin comes out clean, and they have golden brown tops. Might take 20-30 minutes depending on how large your muffins are. Hope that’s helpful!
Do they freeze well?
I am totally new to Instant Pot. You mentioned to steam. Do I use the steam button on my Instant Pot or the Pressure Cook button?
I use the steam button, but either button would work for this case.
Made them this morning and they were delicious! I didn’t have any prosciutto so I used chopped bacon instead. Will definitely be making these again.
The only change we made was to omit the salt and add salt free Italian seasoning. The eggs looked just like your picture and were super delicious. We will definitely made this recipe again.
My husband cannot have cheese – Would these be okay without it ?
I think the texture would be very different, since cheese represents a large proportion of the ingredients. Personally, I probably wouldn’t enjoy them. If dairy is the issue, you can consider using dairy-free “cheese” (like the brand Daiya) which may work as a decent substitute.
Actually there is another recipe online that just adds for a quarter cup of water with five eggs and if you want to be dairy free they suggest adding nutritional yeast. I think that would do really well
I made these just now with Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes (they were packed in olive oil, so I squeezed out all the oil), and roasted asparagus and they are AMAZING!! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Can you try this with Egg Beaters or similar liquid eggs?
I haven’t used them before, Phil. But I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t also work. Let me know if you give this a try!
We made egg bites for the first time… the real egg bites turned out AWESOME! Then we decided to try again but with egg whites because we are working on a healthier lifestyle but these didn’t turn out, they were crumbly and fell apart. I assume the yoke was binding… do you have any thoughts on how to bind egg white bites?
I see a nutritionist and she has suggested using a mixture of egg white to egg ratio!
Can these be made in an electric pressure cooker?
Yes, they can be made in any electric pressure cooker. I have personally only tested this recipe in a 6-quart Instant Pot.
Thanks for this recipe! Bites came out good but a little salty. Did you use Parmesan cheese from the can or freshly grated?
I use parmesan cheese that comes in plastic containers stored in the refrigerated section of grocery stores. Not canned nor freshly grated. If it’s a bit salty, it could be the prosciutto, which you can decrease next time.
I’m lactose intolerant- is there something I can substitute for the dairy?
Check your grocery store to see if it has dairy free options for cream and cheese.
My aunt uses unflavored non-dairy coffee creamer as a substitute for dairy in recipes. I’ve never seen it fail her.
Do I have to use whipping cream? Can I use 2% or whole milk instead?
I haven’t tested this recipe with milk so I’m not sure how it would turn out. If you’re going to substitute with milk, I would go for the higher fat percentage.
I just made these this morning with ham, cheddar cheese and a little green pepper. So easy and delicious. Thank you for posting. I was looking for a recipe to try out the egg mold I got for Christmas. They turned out perfect.
Excellent !! Thanks for developing this recipe
I made this last week and it yielded 25 bites. I do use jumbo eggs only and I put mushroom pieces and Jimmy Dean sausage crumbles. Making today and adding some leftover chopped artichoke hearts to the mushrooms and sausage and expect I may have a higher yield. Not complaining at all, because they are so good! I take them to work for breakfast (a d sometimes lunch).
I love your additions, Robin. I may try artichoke hearts next time.
Delicious! I’ve had my egg mold for months, but hadn’t used it yet. I used cooked bacon instead of Prosciutto because I had it on hand. This was delicious, thanks for the recipe!
Fantastic. You’re welcome, Michelle!
I want to make these using fresh crab meat, same measurement as the prosciutto?
1/2 ounce isn’t a lot of crab meat, so adjust to your preference. You might want to flake the crab meat a bit, or finely chop it, otherwise it might be heavy enough to sink to the bottom of each egg bite.
How long do you think these will stay good in the refrigerator? What about freezing? Thanks!
I don’t think they will freeze well, so avoid putting them in the freezer. In the refrigerator, they will probably last at least a few days and up to a week. I haven’t managed to keep them around that long though; they’re usually eaten way too fast 🙂
Other sites have said that these freeze very well
Could you use the plastic lid that comes with the molds instead of foil?
Hi Britney! I don’t think the lid is heatproof and can be used in the Instant Pot, so I’d stick with the foil to be safe. The lid is for storage purposes.
I have used parchment paper in place of foil in the IP.
Amazon also sells the same type of mold with a silicon lid.
Could you stack 2 of the egg molds to double the batch? Would you need to add more liquid or time?
I haven’t tried stacking 2 of the molds, but that should work. Make sure they’re individually wrapped in foil. The liquid amount and time should remain the same. Let me know how it goes!
Hi Julia and Carrie 1) The lids on my molds (which look the same as the one you show in the recipe) are heat proof; 2) The molds can be stacked in the Instant Pot; 3) Cook time is the same; 4) Your recipes are the bomb!
I had an issue when using the lids on 2 of my egg bites molds. They were ok with the heat, but they did not seal as well as foil, and the egg bites were kind of a mess as a result. 🙂
1/2 oz spinach will cook down to nothing!
See first bullet point under “Cooking Tips” — I mention why you shouldn’t add more than that small amount of spinach. Any more than that and your egg bites will fall apart easily!