This protein-packed Cottage Cheese Egg Bake with spinach and chicken sausage is filling and delicious. Enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with a salad and some crusty bread.
Cottage Cheese Egg and Sausage Frittata
As you may have heard me mention, I have been trying to get more protein in all my meals. Eggs are already high in protein, so cottage cheese and eggs combined add extra protein, perfect for people who don’t like the taste of cottage cheese. For more recipes that use cottage cheese, see my High Protein Bread, Savory Cottage Cheese Bowl, and Strawberry Protein Smoothie.
I love cottage cheese and have been experimenting with using it in recipes. I loved how this Egg Cottage Cheese and Sausage Frittata turned out. It’s a delicious high-protein breakfast and a great way to eat cottage cheese if you’re not a fan of eating it plain.
This sausage frittata almost reminds me of my Italian father-in-law’s, which uses ricotta. I also added Pecorino Romano cheese and Italian sausage for flavor, plus some baby spinach. The cottage cheese gives the frittata such a great texture and adds more protein to the eggs.
What is a good high-protein breakfast?
Breakfast is considered high protein if it has at least 15-20 grams of protein. Cottage cheese is obviously a great choice as a one-cup serving can have over 25 grams of protein. Below are some more high-protein breakfast ideas:
- Quiches: Crustless Quiche Lorraine, Ham and Swiss Crustless Quiche
- Omelets: Omelet Tortilla Breakfast Wrap, Goat Cheese Herb Omelet with Nova Lox
- Breakfast Bowls: Chorizo Breakfast Bowl, Breakfast Taco Scramble
- Sandwiches: BLT Breakfast Sandwich, Bacon, Egg, & Avocado Bagel Sandwich, PBJ on High Protein Bread
- Egg Casseroles: Tex Mex Breakfast Casserole, Sausage, Cheese, and Veggie Breakfast Casserole
- Eggs Benedict: Crab Cakes Benedict, Swiss Chard Eggs Benedict
- Greek Yogurt: Greek Yogurt with Berries, Nuts, and Honey
What pan do you use for a frittata?
You will need an oven-safe skillet to make a frittata. It starts on the stove but finishes cooking in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Use a non-stick pan that can go in a 350-degree oven or a cast iron skillet.
How to Meal Prep a Frittata:
Frittatas can be made ahead and reheated, making them great for meal prep. Just put the baked frittata into four meal-prep containers, cover, and refrigerate for three to four days.
To eat, bring to room temperature, or reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals until heated through.
What do you serve with a frittata?
Frittatas are excellent on their own as they are pretty filling since they’re so high in protein. If you’re looking to round out your meal, I have some suggestions for you:
- For breakfast, serve the Italian sausage frittata with hash browns, fruit or whole grain bread.
- For lunch or dinner, eat the frittata with a salad and bread or a vegetable side dish.
Variations:
- Sub the spinach for swiss chard or kale or try it with broccoli or bell pepper instead.
- Use Italian turkey sausage if you can’t find chicken.
- Instead of baking the frittata, scramble the eggs and eat it as a veggie sausage scramble.
- Make sausage frittata muffins by pouring the egg mixture into a muffin tin and baking at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
More Frittata Recipes You’ll Love:
- Caramelized Onion, Red Pepper and Zucchini Frittata
- Spinach and Feta Frittata
- Bell Pepper and Potato Frittata
- Light Swiss Chard Frittata
- Turkey and Sweet Potato Frittata
Cottage Cheese Egg Bake (Frittata)
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 link Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese, I love Good Culture
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup chopped baby spinach
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Move oven rack to the second highest from the top.
- Lightly spray a 10-inch oven safe skillet with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, cottage cheese, Pecorino, spinach, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Add sausage to a skillet, breaking it up in small pieces with a wooden spoon over medium heat and cook, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes.
- Add the egg mixture to skillet and cook 1 minute to let the bottom set.
- Bake in the oven until the top is set, about 16 to 18 minutes.
- With a spatula, carefully slide frittata out of the skillet onto a cutting board and cut into 4 wedges.
- Serve with salad and whole grain bread, if desired.
This was so easy to make and so good! Perfect for our Sunday brunch!
A+ Loved that the cottage cheese added more protein and also lept the frittata from drying out like so many do.
We love this recipe & have made it  several times.  The only add I would suggest is more seasonings!!! A lot MORE !  Still a 5 star recipeÂ
Can you make this with egg whites instead of eggs? Â If so, how much egg whites?
Sure, I think the egg white carton tells you how much to use to replace them?
Can you freeze it after it cools from baking? I’m going to try and I’ll post results.Â
Can you use muffin tins for individual servings?Â
Sure
We had a big weekend so I was looking for something really light for dinner this evening and this absolutely fit the bill. Made a few changes (mostly because of a picked-over grocery store) but I think I’ll stay with them when I for sure make this again. I couldn’t find any turkey or chicken sausage. Instead I used 4 oz lean ground turkey browned with fennel seed, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Hubby couldn’t tell the difference. I used 4 eggs and 4 eggs equivalent of egg whites to cut back on cholesterol. They only had 2% cottage cheese, so I went with that. I also had a handful of the last cherry tomatoes of the season from my garden, broiled them until they blistered and threw them in. Subbed in frozen, chopped spinach. Paired it with a nice salad and we were set. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s left overs!
This frittata is absolutely delicious, full of flavor, and easy to throw together. I used plant based sausage but otherwise followed the recipe as written.Â
Best thing ever and easyÂ
So glad you liked it!
This is a great recipe. I have made it twice and will again. She is correct, it does reheat nicely.
I have not varied it but will experiment in the future. I do use plant based sausage.
I used 6 eggs, an entire cup of cottage cheese and sautéed some mushroom and red bell pepper with the sausage.  DeliciosoÂ
I’ve been making this for breakfast meal prep for about a month now and absolutely love this recipe! I actually find that a fifth of the frittata is plenty of food for me and it drops the points. I made this today and realized I was out of cottage cheese, I I thought I’d try it with 0% Greek yogurt. It tasted so good! I still like the cottage cheese better, but what a great substitution. I’ve been enjoying your site since 2009! Thank you!!!
Thanks for sharing Laura! 🙂
Could I sub plain greek yogurt in the place of the cottage cheese? I don’t have any cottage cheese on hand but I do have plain greek yogurt.
I haven’t tried it but someone just commented that they did and it worked well. 🙂
This was SO good! I ended up cutting it into 5 pieces for meal prep breakfast and it reduced the points and was plenty filling. Thank you!
I’ve made this several times, and we love it. I like to double the chicken sausage. I even double the recipe so I can get 8 servings out of it (breakfast for two of us for 4 days). I wasn’t sure about the cottage cheese, but it is brilliant!
It won’t accept my email but it’s correct.
I’ve got you in Sue. Please let me know if you don’t start receiving emails.
Easy, quick and delicious frittata. Definitely making this again! Thanks!
Made using kale and turkey sausage links. It’s delicious!
Wondering if you can make these with just egg whites?
Hi Gina,
I just found your lovely and helpful site. Thank you for the nutritional breakdowns and listing the serving size. That is really helpful. I hope to be a success story. I’ve put on pandemic weight – ugh.Â
Thanks again, Lizzy
My toddler eats this!!!
I make this regularly, cut into toddler sized portions and freeze to have easy mains for my picky toddler. We will serve it at any meal or snack. This is one of the easiest ways to get a smidge of veggie into her and some good body fueling protein. Before serving I microwave a piece on 50% for a minute and then 30 seconds on full, cut into bits, let cool and serve.