Spinach Gruyere Instant Pot Egg Bites

Love Starbucks Sous Vide Bites? Make your own for a fraction of the cost using your Instant Pot! These Spinach Gruyere Instant Pot Egg Bites are even freezer friendly!

“This post is sponsored by the Egg Nutrition Center. As always, all opinions are my own.”

You guys are always saying on the HH surveys you want more nutrition information in addition to recipes.  Today, I’m so excited because I’ve teamed up with the Egg Nutrition Center to bring you both up-to-date nutrition information AND a new recipe!  Hooray!

Did you know that eggs are a good source of eight essential nutrients?  Did you also know that most of the nutrients are located in the yolk?  

• Nutrients found in egg yolk: choline, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B6, iron, vitamin E, zinc, fat, cholesterol, folate, phosphorus, selenium, riboflavin, lutein and zeaxanthin, protein.
• Nutrients found in egg white: selenium, riboflavin, protein.

Today, I want to zero in on two crucial and lesser-known nutrients, lutein and choline, which contribute to brain health and development.

Choline is critical to brain development during both pregnancy and infancy. Recent evidence shows that infants who are exposed to higher levels of choline in utero, about 930mg/day in the third trimester, have improved information processing speed during their first year of life.  However, it’s estimated that more than NINETY percent of Americans INCLUDING an estimated 90% of pregnant women don’t get enough of this essential nutrient, likely because it’s not found in high quantities in many foods. 

Eggs, on the other hand, are an excellent source of choline.  Plus, they are easy to cook, because pregnancy and the first year of life are fun, but also hard on Mama.  From experience, I know that Moms need quick and easy if they are going to make it through these trying stages.  Eggs to the rescue! Luckily, just one large egg contains 150mg of choline, and two large eggs supply more than half of the recommended intake for pregnant women.  So, including eggs is a tasty way for pregnant women to help meet their needs and their growing baby’s needs.  

Lutein is another essential nutrient that has long been associated with eye health, but may also play a critical role in cognition.  Similar to how lutein accumulates in the eye, lutein and zeaxanthin are also predominate infant brain carotenoids, suggesting a critical need during neural development.  Levels of lutein in the brain have been positively associated with cognitive function in older adults.

Recently, The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates recommended choline to be included in prenatal vitamins because of its role in promoting cognitive development in babies.

However, we know that nutrients are always best absorbed from food.  Both lutein and choline are found in the yolk of eggs and are both fat-soluble nutrients.  The dietary fat, like that found in the yolk of the egg, helps the body absorb fat-soluble nutrients like lutein and choline at higher rates.  

This delicious recipe for Spinach and Gruyere Instant Pot Egg Bites also contains spinach. Like eggs, spinach is also a great source of both lutein and zeaxanthin. Eggs not only provide the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin (252mg per large egg), but research has shown eggs help to absorb these nutrients.  So, the fat in the egg yolk will increase the absorption of the fat-soluble nutrients from both the eggs and spinach!  

So not only are eggs delicious paired with all kinds of vegetables, but they can help you absorb more nutrients from veggies as well! Win-win!

How to Make Instant Pot Egg Bites

Like I said, pregnant and new moms don’t want to be cooking 24/7 – they are too tired for that. They are probably even too tired to make it through the Starbucks drive-thru.

That’s why I thought I’d recreate Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites, but with spinach for added nutrients. I’ve wanted to try these for a while, and I am so happy with how the recipe came out. Craving 100% satisfied.

To get started, you’ll want to either sauté down 1.5 cups of fresh spinach into 1/2 cup spinach, or thaw and squeeze dry 1/2 cup frozen spinach.  Then you’ll divide it evenly among the egg cups. Which by the way, you’ll need a special silicone insert for your Instant Pot. Don’t worry, though, it’s well worth the purchase.  I have two, and I use them all the time in the Instant Pot and the oven to make all sorts of things, especially eggs!

Next, it’s time to blend your egg muffin ingredients (everything except the spinach.)

Just like I did with my Starbucks Spinach Feta Wraps copycat recipe, I went to their website and poked around at their ingredient list.  One thing that stood out to me was the Tobasco. You could omit it, but trust me, the little bit of heat and dab of vinegar makes these really pop with flavor!

No Gruyere Cheese?  You could sub any type of hard cheese here like Colby, cheddar, etc. 

Then you’ll grease your silicone molds and pour your egg mixture evenly among them.  The spinach will rise to the top when you pour the eggs in.

The next step is to cover your mold with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Then, you place your egg bites on the metal trivet.  Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the instant pot basin and place the trivet with egg bites on top in the basin. 

Cover the lid, set to sealing, and STEAM egg bites for 10 minutes.

It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, cook for 10 minutes, and then you’ll want to let it naturally release for 5-10 minutes. That’s it! Then they are ready!

The BEST part about this recipe?  

You can make a double batch by setting one mold on top of the other (both covered in foil) and increasing cooking time to 12 minutes.  

AND they are freezer friendly! 

I know, I didn’t think they’d be that good out of the freezer, but they surprised me! As long as you carefully reheat them in the microwave wrapped in a paper towel, and don’t overcook them, they are just as delicious as fresh.

 

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