Chorizo Cottage Cheese Egg Bake

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• The flavor - There's a lot going on here to love! The corn tortillas soften up beautifully during the bake time to blend in and tie all of the southwestern flavors together.
• It's versatile - Just like a sausage breakfast strata, this cottage cheese egg bake really can work for any meal of the day. Honestly I most often make this one for dinner and then reheat the slices for future lunches. Anything goes!
• It feeds a crowd - A breakfast that can be prepped ahead of time to feed a crowd all at once is a valuable thing when hosting for the holidays or brunches year-round.
• Freezer-friendly - And if you aren't feeding a crowd? Wrap leftover slices and freeze to make future you happy.

Recipe Ingredients

An astute observer might notice two things about the below photo: milk is not pictured, nor is salt. I tested this recipe multiple times over the course of a year and went back and forth about adding milk. When I took the photo below I was on the "no milk" train, but ultimately landed on a little bit - one-half cup. Instead of A.I.-ing in a glass of milk, I'm telling you about it here. Of course, the measurement is included in the recipe card.

But no salt is correct, and in an egg dish nonetheless! Cottage cheese has a good bit of sodium on its own, and the strong flavor of seasoned chorizo makes it so you don't need to add any separately.

• Chorizo: This is Mexican-style raw ground chorizo. I've most commonly found pork, but if you can locate chicken or turkey, that would be great, too.
• Green Chiles: These are canned, mild in spice, and often found in the "international" aisle of U.S. grocery chains.
• Bell Pepper: Red brings a pop of color and a tad extra sweetness, but orange or green is fine.
• Eggs: There are 10 which always sounds like a lot for a recipe, but this amounts to just over one egg per serving.
• Cottage Cheese: This gets blended into the egg mixture and all but disappears - you can't even taste it. Instead blended cottage cheese adds protein and replicates the thickness you'd often get with heavier-fat dairy products like half-and-half or cream. Small curd, large curd, 2%, or 4% all fine.
• Spices: A southwestern medley, including oregano, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, and smoked paprika.
• Cheese: Plenty can work, but I usually go with extra-sharp cheddar, colby or pepper jack, or a blend.
• Corn Tortillas: The corn flavor is really nice, so I wouldn't recommend substituting with flour.

Step-by-Step Instructions

There are four separate layers to this chorizo breakfast casserole: the corn tortillas, the meat and vegetables, the egg and cottage cheese mixture, and the cheese.

Prepping the Layers

1. Step 1: Cook and crumble ground chorizo in a large pan until fully cooked. Transfer to a plate to drain and wipe out pan to use again.

2. Step 2: Sauté onion, bell pepper, and garlic in olive oil, then stir in the green chiles (do not drain), and cilantro.

3. Step 3: Crack the eggs into a blender or high-capacity food processor, then add cottage cheese, milk, and dried spices.

4. Step 4: Blend well until entirely smooth. Keep this mixture in the blender.

Assembling the Egg Bake

1. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, then place a layer of corn tortillas.
2. Add half of the cooked chorizo and sautéed vegetables evenly over top.
3. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese.
4. Slowly pour in half of the blended egg/cottage cheese/milk.

Repeat layers once more, then bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes, or until set in the center. Rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Tips and Tricks

• Texture - Thanks to the tortillas and low amount of milk, this cottage cheese egg bake is fairly structured and not a fluffy, soft quiche-like consistency. I've made this recipe with more milk and it worked just fine (if that's more your thing), but prefer the less milk/cleaner slices version.
• Testing & Variations - This dish has evolved over time. I tried frozen hash brown shreds in place of the tortillas (do not recommend, they were bland and watery), letting it sit for varying amounts of time before cooking, different styles of chorizo, all different cheeses, using up leftover roasted broccoli and black beans in place of red pepper, homemade taco seasoning in place of the individual dried herbs and spices, etc. Besides the hash brown situation everything was great, so do use this recipe structure as a guideline when making it your own.
• Resting Time - Let this chorizo breakfast casserole rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing into it and serving for cleaner slices.
• Storage - Wrap leftover slices in aluminum foil or place in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Wrapped in foil and sealed in a freezer bag, slices can be frozen for up to 3 months.