Saturday, February 12, 2011

Baked Bacon and Eggs (GAPS-legal, grain- and gluten-free)

Mmmm, bacon and eggs. This is a super easy and delicious breakfast casserole that came together last weekend.  I could eat it for breakfast every day!  We have found that it reheats particularly well.

Baked Bacon and Eggs:
5-8 ounces nitrate-free bacon
10-12 eggs, preferably farm eggs
1/2 c. milk kefir or plain whole milk yogurt
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Cut bacon slices in half (so they are half as long).  Place bacon slices in square 8X8 glass baking dish, covering the bottom.  The bacon slices should be overlapping.  Bake the bacon at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, just until it starts to crisp. Depending on how much you have overloaded the pan, you may want to rearrange the bacon some after it has cooked for 15 minutes (since it will shrink away from the sides).

While bacon cooks, prepare egg mixture.  Combine eggs, kefir, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and beat with a fork or whisk until well-combined and fluffy. When bacon is done cooking, rearrange the slices as needed to cover the bottom of the pan (since the bacon may have shrunk away from the edges).  Pour egg mixture on top.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and return to the oven.  Bake casserole at 325 degrees for about 40-50 minutes, or until set.  The eggs will puff up in the middle when they are near done, and will then deflate while cooling. Allow to cool slightly, then scoop and enjoy.

*Time-saving tip: If you will be saving the majority of the casserole to eat as leftovers, do not allow to bake completely.  Rather, pull the casserole out when the middle is just starting to puff up, and then eat portions from the sides.  This will ensure that the leftover eggs will not be overcooked when reheated. We store our leftovers in small glass containers. Then all that is required on the following days is to place the glass container in the toaster oven set at 250 degrees for about 20 minutes.

This recipe is part of Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, and Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet!
 

18 comments:

Laura said...

Mmmmm bacon.... ;)

Emily said...

Could this be made the day before or part of it done ahead of time? I have 6 kids and also homeschool. I need quick breakfasts! Just wondering. I love the idea of having bacon and eggs cooked in the oven.

Sarah Smith said...

Yes! It is delicious as leftovers. So you could easily prepare the day before (maybe just leave the middle slightly runny so it won't get overcooked the next morning). Or, just cook the bacon the day before, then cook the eggs in the morning. I love cooking it in the oven as it saves me the mess and constant attention of frying on the stovetop.

Amy Love@ Real Food Whole Health said...

This sounds fantastic! I'll definitely be trying this one :) Thanks for sharing.

Erin said...

How many servings is this? I'm looking for a recipe for a church brunch. Thanks--I love your blog. :-)

Sarah Smith said...

Erin, this recipe fills an 8X8 glass dish, so I would guess it is about 6 servings.

Anonymous said...

Looks great!
If I don't have any milk kefir, would raw milk work?

Sarah Smith said...

Yes, you could use milk or yogurt in place of the kefir (but if you use milk it won't be GAPS-legal).

Whitney said...

A HUGE thank you!

I made this yesterday with watered down yogurt (it was super thick FAGE total) and reheated servings this morning and YUM! Even my 5yo who doesn't really like eggs liked it. And my 8yo commented that he thought it had a faint sweetness (?) that went well with the eggs...maybe that was the (plain) yogurt giving it a richness. Anyway, YUM and THANKS!

Sarah Smith said...

You're welcome! I'm glad this recipe and the blueberry banana muffins worked well for you.

Anonymous said...

this looks amazing!!!

Anonymous said...

I just fixed this for my family and it was an enormous hit! Plus it was super easy. About halfway through the meal, one child got really sad. When I asked him why, he said it was because it was almost gone. :) I look forward to checking out your other recipes, for sure!

Anonymous said...

could it be made with almond milk in place of dairy??

Sarah Smith said...

I've never used almond milk, so I'm unsure. However, the Parmesan cheese is pretty essential to this recipe, so I don't think you could leave it out.

lakelady1 said...

What is milk kefir? Also do you pour off the fat from the bacon before adding the egg mixture?

Sarah Smith said...

Milk kefir is a fermented milk drink. You could substitute plain, whole milk yogurt if you prefer.

No, I don't drain off the bacon grease.

Unknown said...

I'm eager to try this! I have a random question about reheating this in a toaster oven. Most glass dishes that I have found say not to put them in a toaster oven, I think because they heat up faster and the glass has more risk of cracking. I have had one dish crack when I did try it in the toaster oven. What brand/type of glass dish have you found that heats up safely in your toaster oven?

Sarah Smith said...

Hi Joanna,
I use Pyrex dishes in the toaster oven. I think they probably are technically not supposed to be used in a toaster over, but I've never had any issues (and we have reheated things in the toaster over in Pyrex thousands of times, considering that my husband warms up his lunch that way every day at work, and I used to when I was going to work too). I think one of the keys is to avoid a big thermal shock; if I am warming something that is frozen, I will let it sit out on the counter for a little while before warming it; or if I have to put it straight into the toaster oven, I will start out with a lower temperature and then increase it once the dish has equilibration a bit. For re-warming eggs and such, I use a low temperature (around 250 degrees F), and that helps keep the eggs from drying out too much too. I hope this helps.