This ricotta egg bake with spinach packs in leafy greens, veggies, cheese, and bacon for a crowd-pleasing meal ready for brunch or the week's meal prep. With a richer, fluffy texture from the ricotta, this versatile egg dish comes together by hand and freezes well.
I'm REALLY jazzed to be combining two loves in one today with this brunch-ready ricotta egg bake with spinach. Loaded with leafy greens, peppers, onion, bacon, and shredded cheeses, a whole container of ricotta is incorporated into the egg base for lift and flavor. Do you see that pocket of ricotta in the slice profile above? A total treat!
I modeled this one after my cottage cheese egg bake base with a big difference - there's no need to wash out a blender here. Whereas I'm a stickler for blended cottage cheese recipes to eliminate its curd texture, a hand whisk does the job beautifully for this one.
This recipe yields 8 slices giving you versatility. It's a great way to serve eggs all at once for a brunch crowd, is an excellent protein-forward meal-prep breakfast for lunch for the week ahead, OR once cooled can be wrapped and frozen to keep future you fed and happy. Having an egg bake portioned out in the freezer came in clutch when I made my postpartum freezer meals.
Recipe Highlights
There's lots to love about this spinach ricotta egg bake.
- Simple equipment - Whisking this recipe by hand means the ricotta won't be completely smooth. That's by design! Biting into little pockets of ricotta throughout this egg bake brings delicious bursts of flavor.
- Easy measuring - You know I love streamlining measuring because that means less dishes to wash! This egg bake with ricotta uses one carton, one tub, one container, one package, etc. for convenience.
- Nice consistency - The addition of ricotta cheese to an egg casserole adds a lightness that prevents a dense texture.
- Crowd or meal-prep friendly - With eight servings, this recipe is a great way to make eggs for a crowd or meal-prep for the week (with extra to freeze!).
- You don't need full-fat ingredients - It's great with part-skim ricotta and 1% milk.
What You'll Need
- Eggs...and a lot of them. 12!
- Ricotta cheese: This blends into the beaten egg mixture for delicious richness and lighter texture. While whole milk ricotta will bring the most luxurious flavor, I usually use a high-quality part-skim ricotta (my personal favorite brand is Galbani) and think it's perfect.
- Milk: Just a bit to additionally lighten up the egg/ricotta base. Your preferred fat % is fine - I use 1% here.
- Bacon: I'm not a huge fan of using extra-thick cut bacon for an egg bake as I find the chunkier pieces can sometimes be a little chewy. No matter which width bacon you use, just make sure it's nice and crisp before crumbling and using here (especially so if going with thick-cut).
- Spinach: As with all cooked spinach recipes, the carton looks like too much spinach for this ricotta egg bake to handle, but it wilts up significantly to be a nice and manageable amount.
- Cheeses: I like a mix of a salty Italian hard cheese (Pecorino Romano usually, or Parmesan) with a milder, melty kind like cheddar or mozzarella. Here I used a marbled block of the two combined.
- Spices: I love a great all-purpose Italian herb seasoning (paid link, the one I buy), garlic powder, salt, and pepper, but you can zhuzh these to your liking.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Sauté vegetables.
Cook onion and bell peppers in olive oil over medium heat until softened, then add the spinach and cook for just a few minutes longer until wilted.
Whisk egg base.
Whisk together the eggs, ricotta cheese, and milk until mostly smooth. Then whisk in the salt, pepper, and seasonings. Use a large bowl as everything will come together in it.
Stir everything in.
Add the sautéed vegetables, shredded cheeses (reserve some for topping), and bacon to the bowl and stir to combine.
Assemble.
Pour out the ricotta egg bake mixture into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan and sprinkle the reserved cheeses over top.
Bake.
Bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes, or until the center has set and the internal temperature registers at least 160°F. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving!
Tips and Tricks
- Important - don't slice it right away. Egg bakes need some time post-oven to settle down and reabsorb some of the moisture, otherwise slicing will create a soupy mess if you dig in immediately. Wait at least 15 minutes to cut into an egg bake, but a bit longer is even better.
- Make sure the bacon is crispy. If it's not, it will remain a bit chewy. Especially if using the thick or extra-thick cut variety.
- Blot away excess moisture. After cooking the onion, peppers, and spinach, you can blot away any surface/excess moisture that develops from wilting the spinach once it has cooled enough to safely handle. You don't have to wring the spinach out or anything, but dabbing away any extra water can help keep the texture nice.
- Switch up the mix-ins. Switch out the bacon for other cooked meats like crumbled breakfast sausage or chopped ham. Same goes for the veggies - leftover potato wedges, roasted broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, etc. Just make sure they're sautéed, roasted, or otherwise pre-cooked so they have flavor and don't release too much water once it's baking.
Pairing Recipes: Round Out Brunch
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Ricotta Egg Bake with Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon cooked until crisp and crumbled
- 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 large green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 12 large eggs
- 15 ounces good-quality part-skim ricotta or whole
- ½ cup milk your preferred kind
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup finely-grated Pecorino Romano
- 1 ¼ cups shredded cheddar cheese divided, or your preferred kind
Instructions
- Cook bacon: Cook bacon in your preferred manner until crisped, then chop it into crumbles. I like to bake it by placing the strips side-by-side in a single layer on a large, foil-lined rimmed sheet pan . Place the sheet pan on the middle rack of a cold (off) oven, then once it's in set the oven to 425°F. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy to your liking. Remove the bacon with tongs to a paper-towel lined plate to drain, then once cool enough to safely handle chop into large bite-sized bits. Set aside for now.
- Heat oven & prepare pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside for now.
- Sauté vegetables: Add olive oil to a large skillet set over medium heat. Once heated, add the diced bell peppers and onion. Stir occasionally over the next 5-6 minutes as they soften. Then add the spinach leaves in batches (adding more once room opens up in the pan). Stir everything up as the spinach wilts over the next 3-4 minutes, the once wilted, remove the pan from the heat.
- Combine the egg base: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth, then whisk in the ricotta (no need to drain) and milk. Whisk well to break up all large clumps, but small solid bits of ricotta are just fine to leave - it doesn't have to be totally smooth. Whisk in the Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Fold in the rest: Add the crumbled bacon, sautéed vegetables, Pecorino, and about ¾ cup of the cheddar cheese to the bowl and stir to combine evenly.
- Assemble and bake: Pour the egg mixture into the prepared pan and evenly scatter the remaining ½ cup of cheddar cheese over top. Bake uncovered for 50-55 minutes, or until the center is set and the internal temperature registers at least 160°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Slice and serve: Let the egg bake rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving, either warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Bacon type: Use what you like, but if thick/extra-thick cut make sure it's cooked until nice and crisp before crumbling, as those wider slices can lean chewy.
- Cooking bacon: It's ultra important when baking bacon to use a rimmed pan to contain the significant amount of fat released.
- Excess moisture: If you notice pooled moisture in the pan of veggies after wilting the spinach, you can dab it away with a paper towel before adding the veggies to the egg mixture (you don't need to wring it out or anything).
- Storage: Once cooled, wrap leftover slices in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days. To freeze, place wrapped slices into an air-tight freezer bag (press out all excess air before sealing) and freeze for up to 3 months for the best flavor.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
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