This spicy zucchini noodle egg bake is loaded with sautéed onions, spicy sausage, crispy bacon and of course eggs! Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner, it’s Paleo, Whole30 and low carb.
Ahh Mother’s Day! Sending out “happy” vibes to all of you moms, actually, regardless of whatever day you happen to be reading this. Let’s take a moment to pretend it’s Mother’s Day and acknowledge everything we do and everything we are for our families, all the time, 24/7 with no break (at least no mental break.)
And, let’s all try to do that WITHOUT becoming bitter, resentful, overwhelmed, or ridden with anxiety over the reality of our responsibilities. I hope I’m not the only one who has a tough time with that assignment. Eek, too much for the first paragraph of a zucchini noodle egg bake post? Let’s just leave it at “have a Happy Mother’s Day! You ROCK and you deserve to do whatever the heck you want today 🙂
Okay now that we’re done rejoicing and relaxing, let’s get to work. We’re spiralizing some zucchini and making a paleo, Whole30, and low carb egg bake with both bacon AND sausage. So things are about to get really tasty over here. Let’s talk zucchini noodles though for a moment before getting to the fun stuff.
Anyone who’s experimented with zucchini noodles has probably experienced the overly-watery zucchini noodle issue. Especially if you’re like me, and like to “wing it” when you’re trying new things. I remember the first time I made zoodles, I could not for the life of me decide why anyone would want to eat a watery mess of a “noodle” dish.
But of course, it’s live and learn with zoodles like it is with everything else. So, after the tragically watery zoodle mess I tried “draining” them on paper towels and squeezing dry before adding to my recipe. Sort of an improvement, we were getting there!
In fact, if you aren’t making a casserole and therefore don’t really need to cook them for long, draining and squeezing with paper towels works just fine. But, what if you’re going to be putting them in the oven for awhile? That’s when I finally discovered (and by “discovered”, I mean found out about through Google) the “sweat” method, and it’s now my go-to.
To make your zucchini noodles sweat, you simply spiralize them about an hour ahead of when you need them, put them in a colander, sprinkle them with salt (somewhat generously, since much of it will be draining out anyway) and set the colander over a bowl.
After sitting that way about an hour, you THEN squeeze out the excess water with paper towel and thank the heavens (or science) from saving you from like 1/2 cup excess water that you certainly did not want in your zucchini noodle egg bake. This method will work well for any zoodle casserole you make, significantly reducing the water in the zucchini. You can also do this well ahead of time and simply store your zucchini noodles in a container lined with paper towel in the fridge. Even less water when it’s time to use them!
As for the rest of the recipe, it’s nice and easy. We cook some bacon, brown some (precooked) spicy sausage and onions, mix with the zoodles, top with eggs, salt, pepper and bake until the eggs are cooked to preference. I love the yolks a little runny here, so good! Perfect for breakfast, brunch, dinner, really whenever. Hope you guys enjoy!
Spicy Zucchini Noodle Egg Bake {Paleo & Whole30}
Spicy Zucchini Noodle Egg Bake {Paleo & Whole30}
Ingredients
- 3-4 medium/large zucchini spiralized, salted and allowed to "sweat" for an hour*, then squeezed with paper towel
- 2 spicy sausage links chorizo, andouille, spicy italian precooked and chopped**
- 4 slices bacon cut into bite size pieces (use sugar-free for Whole30)
- 1/2 medium onion or 1 small onion sliced thin
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast or 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, if dairy is okay
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes add to preference
- 4-5 eggs
- salt and black pepper or a pinch of red pepper flakes to top eggs
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and heat a medium heavy skillet over med-hi heat
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Add the bacon and cook, stirring to evenly brown, until about 2/3-3/4 of the way done, then drain most of the fat, leaving just a bit to cook the onions and sausage.
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Stir in the chopped sausage and sliced onions with the bacon and cook until onions soften and sausage starts to crisp, and bacon is nearly done***, drain excess fat and set aside.
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Toss the prepared zucchini noodles* with nutritional yeast and a pinch of red pepper flakes if desired and transfer to an 8-9 inch casserole dish or 9 inch pie dish.
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Add the bacon sausage and onion mixture and gently toss to combine. Create 4-5 nooks in the mixture for the eggs and carefully crack each one into its nook. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to preference. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Allowing the salted zucchini noodles to sit for an hour or so removes a lot of water that you can then drain before using in the casserole. This eliminates the problem of a watery casserole!
**I love Niman Ranch andouille for a spicy Whole30 option!
***The bacon will continue to crisp up a bit in the oven, so don't cook it until very crispy or it will burn.
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Spicy Zucchini Noodle Egg Bake:
Want more Paleo and Whole30 brunch recipes? Try one of these!
Bacon Burger & Fries Breakfast Bake
Spinach Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust
Tell Me!
Do you have a great secret for prepping zucchini noodles?
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Bethany says
May 14, 2017 at 3:50 pmHappy Mother’s Day! I’m a long-time reader but first-time commenter. I just wanted to say that I love your blog and I love how you always post unique recipes that no one else seems to come up with! I’m actually eating one of your recipes as I type this (the Chipotle Taco Skillet Breakfast Bake, which is one of my family’s faves!) You somehow manage to create delicious, creative, and nutritious recipes that are also uncomplicated. Thanks for all that you do!
Michele says
May 14, 2017 at 9:07 pmThis comment just made my day! Nothing makes me happier than knowing people are making my recipes and they’re becoming favorites, that’s seriously awesome – thank you so much 🙂
Viktor says
May 15, 2017 at 6:58 amI just made this zucchini with my GF, and it was just lovely, you couldn’t tell you aren’t actually eating pasta!
Michele says
May 15, 2017 at 8:34 amCool! So glad you liked it 🙂
Emily says
May 15, 2017 at 10:30 amOoh wow that ‘sweat method’ sounds like a good option for getting the water out; and also zucchini + eggs + bacon sounds like a delicious combination. 🙂 Happy belated Mother’s Day Michele!
lyle says
May 15, 2017 at 10:24 pmJust made Spicy Zucchini meal, didn’t have any sausage,used 1tsp.(turmeric,cummin+coriander) was YUMMY