This Riced Cauliflower Breakfast Bake is a low carb breakfast casserole made with riced cauliflower, eggs, melted cheddar and mozzarella cheese, crispy bacon, and green onion baked together in one dish.
It slices clean once it’s cooled for a few minutes, and there’s no bread, potatoes, or hash browns weighing it down, just protein and vegetables in every bite.
I make this one on Sunday afternoons so breakfast is handled for the first few days of the week (it reheats better than most egg bakes, honestly).
It works just as well for a weekend brunch or a low carb meal prep, since it holds up in the fridge without turning rubbery.
If low carb breakfasts are your thing, these are worth bookmarking too:
- 25 High-Protein Breakfast Bowls and Plates to Start the Day Strong
- 20 Insanely Good 40 Gram Protein Breakfast Ideas to Start Your Day Right
- 25 Satisfying High Fiber Lean Protein Meals That Are Low Carb
- Filling Low-Carb Dinner Ideas for Weeknights
Ingredients You’ll Need
Riced cauliflower is the base here, and grabbing the frozen bagged kind saves you from ricing a whole head yourself (just thaw and squeeze out the extra water first).
A mix of cheddar and mozzarella gets you the best melt, and center-cut bacon crisps up faster than the thick-cut stuff if you’re short on time.
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Ingredients
4 cups riced cauliflower, thawed and drained if frozen
8 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
8 slices bacon
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup chopped green onion, plus more for topping
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the dish
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with the tablespoon of butter.
Coat the corners and sides too, not just the bottom, so nothing sticks once it bakes. - Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, then crumble it once it’s cool enough to handle.
Reserve a tablespoon of the bacon grease in the skillet if you want to saute the green onion in it later (I usually skip this step, but it adds a nice savory note). - If you’re using frozen riced cauliflower, thaw it completely and then squeeze out as much liquid as you can using a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth.
This step matters more than it looks like it should.
Skip it and you’ll end up with a watery, loose bake instead of one that holds together when you slice it.
Fresh riced cauliflower needs the same treatment: a quick pulse in the food processor, then a hard squeeze in a towel. - In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper until fully combined and slightly frothy.
You’re looking for an even yellow color with no streaks of white left. - Add the drained riced cauliflower, half the crumbled bacon, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, the mozzarella, and the chopped green onion to the egg mixture.
Stir until everything is evenly distributed, then pour it into your prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer.
Give the dish a gentle shake on the counter to settle everything before it goes into the oven. - Scatter the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar and the rest of the crumbled bacon evenly over the top.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the eggs are set in the center and the top is golden brown with a few crisp bacon edges.
A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean, not wet with egg. - Let the bake rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing (it firms up as it sits, and cutting into it too early makes the slices fall apart).
This is the part I always want to skip and never should.
- Slice, top with extra green onion, and serve warm straight from the dish and enjoy!
Important Recipe Notes
1- Squeeze the cauliflower dry before mixing.
This is the single biggest reason a cauliflower bake turns out watery instead of sliceable. Even bagged riced cauliflower holds more water than you’d expect, and if it goes into the egg mixture wet, that water has nowhere to go but into your bake.
Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and twist hard over the sink (it feels excessive, but it’s not). You’ll be surprised how much liquid comes out of what looks like a dry bag of cauliflower.
2- Don’t overbake it.
Once the center is set and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, pull it from the oven right away. Cauliflower egg bakes dry out fast if you leave them in for a few extra minutes just to get more color on top.
If the top isn’t browned enough once the eggs are set, run it under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes instead of extending the bake time.
Keep a close eye on it if you do; broilers work fast, and this can go from golden to burnt in under a minute.
3- Make it ahead, and store it right.
You can assemble the whole dish up to a day ahead and refrigerate it unbaked, tightly covered, then add about 5 extra minutes to the bake time since it’s starting cold.
Cooled leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, and reheat well in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes (this brings some crispness back to the bacon, unlike the microwave).
It also freezes, though I’ll be honest, the texture softens some once thawed. Still tastes good, just less firm than fresh from the oven.
4- The riced cauliflower shortcut.
Skip ricing a whole head of cauliflower yourself and grab a bag of the frozen riced kind from the freezer aisle.
It saves a solid 15 minutes of prep, and once it’s thawed and squeezed dry, there’s no real difference in the finished bake. If you do rice your own, a food processor gets you there faster than a box grater and with a lot less mess.
How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe
Serving:
Cut it into squares and serve straight from the baking dish while it’s still warm, with an extra sprinkle of green onion on top.
Serve with a sour cream or a few dashes of hot sauce work well alongside it.
Storage:
Let leftovers cool completely before transferring them to an airtight container; they’ll keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
The texture stays close to fresh for the first couple of days, then gets a touch softer as it sits (still good, just less firm on the edges).
Customization:
Swap the cheddar and mozzarella for pepper jack if you want some heat, or use a Mexican cheese blend for a similar melt with more flavor.
Turkey bacon works if you’re cutting back on pork, and diced ham or cooked breakfast sausage are both easy stand-ins if bacon isn’t what you’re after.
A handful of chopped spinach or diced bell pepper is an easy way to work in more vegetables without changing the texture much.
Riced Cauliflower Breakfast Bake with Melted Cheese, Crispy Bacon and Green Onion
Course: Recipes4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
4 cups riced cauliflower, thawed and drained if frozen
8 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
8 slices bacon
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup chopped green onion, plus more for topping
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the dish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9×13-inch dish.
- Cook bacon until crispy, drain, and crumble.
- Thaw and squeeze excess water from the riced cauliflower.
- Whisk eggs with milk and seasonings.
- Mix cauliflower, bacon, cheese, and green onion into eggs, then pour into the dish.
- Top with remaining cheese and bacon, then bake 30 to 35 minutes until set.
- Rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
- Slice, top with green onion, and serve warm.
Notes
- Press out as much moisture as possible from cauliflower rice. This prevents a watery breakfast bake.
- For more protein, mix cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt into the eggs
- Assemble the casserole the night before, cover, refrigerate, and bake in the morning for an easy breakfast meal prep recipe.
- Freeze cooled slices for up to two months and thaw overnight before reheating.
- Estimated Nutrition Information:
Calories: 280–310
Protein: 23–26 grams
Carbohydrates: 6–8 grams
Fiber: 1–2 grams
Net carbohydrates: 5–6 grams
Total fat: 17–20 grams
Saturated fat: 7–9 grams
Sugar: 2–3 grams
Sodium: 550–750 milligrams
Cholesterol: 300–340 milligrams
