My quest for a basket of meat to put things in is still not over. This one came much closer to what I was searching for – it isn’t on the money, but it is damn tasty! I won’t be satisfied until something of epic proportions comes out of the kitchen. You can see my last “basket” attempts, 1 successful and 1 very tasty “failure”.
These aren’t really 1 biters, but they sure as heck are worth making! They’re a little labour intensive for one person to eat, but if you are wanting to impress family, cook for a special occasion, or impress a significant other – this is your ticket. They’re absolutely delicious, can be presented very fashionably, and make you proud of what you’ve done at the end.
Ever since I purchased my new bake-ware set that’s ACTUALLY nonstick, I’ve been tearing up the kitchen with new recipes to try. Gravity is our best friend when cooking these. Gravity is going to help the bacon stay in shape as it cooks, pulling it down as it shrinks, and keeping the bacon baskets in place.
Just watch out for excess grease around the cupcake pan when you cook it. Mine has some grooves in it that the grease was able to fall into, making it an easy cleanup.
When you’re weaving, it’s important to remember the pattern of the bacon. You want to place the fatty side of the bacon pointing one way (for example, east), and then the meat side facing the same way (east again).
Alternating the meat and the fatty sides of the bacon will ensure a more even cook, and a closer/tighter weave once it’s cooked.
Yields 4 total Cheese Stuffed Bacon Baskets (keep in mind in the recipe I only made 2 stuffed baskets)
The Preparation
- 12 ounces bacon
- 4 large egg
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups spinach
- 2/3 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
The Execution
1. Let’s get started on the bacon basket. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. We need to make a bacon weave. Start by laying 6 slices of bacon flat. You will need to make them a bit more closely together than in the picture, but this is normally how I start.
3. Weave your bacon. Over, under, over, under, and continue to do that until your bacon is fully weaved.
4. When you’re finished you should have a full weaved sheet of bacon.
5. Cut your bacon weave through the middle. This should give you 6 slices of bacon per weave.
6. Cut your weave horizontally, and through the middle. This yields 4 smaller bacon weaves with 3 pieces of bacon each.
7. Grab a cupcake tray and line each corner with a piece of foil. If you’re making more of these, try to leave some space between each of the baskets. I’ve had them stick together before.
8. Lay your weaves on top of each piece of foil.
9. You will have to do a little bit more work here, making sure each piece of bacon is tucked around the cupcake tray. Try to keep the weave in tact.
10. Put your bacon baskets in the oven for 50 minutes. Previously, I have taken them out at 35 minutes – right when they just finish cooking – but I prefer them to stay in and get a bit crisper
.
11. Let them cool for 10 minutes. Put your oven to BROIL setting.
12. While the bacon baskets are cooling, crack 4 eggs into a bowl.
13. Add your 2 Tbsp. heavy cream to the mixture.
14. Scramble the eggs well, until everything is combined.
15. Put a pan on the stove and add 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil.
16. Add your spinach and let it cook down.
17. Once it’s started cooking, add some pepper. I don’t add salt because the bacon baskets will have a salty flavor.
18. Let your spinach cook down until this point.
19. Add your eggs to the mixture and turn your heat to low. DON’T TOUCH THE EGGS!
20. Once your eggs have started to cook on the bottom, now you can mix them. I take them off the stove at this point and allow them to finish the cooking process through residual heat.
21. Get your bacon baskets ready.
22. Fill your bacon baskets with the egg and spinach mixture.
23. Top them with cheese.
24. Put them in the oven on broil, I use the second highest setting.
25. You should start to see the cheese bubbling on te top, that means they have a few more minutes left.
26. Remove them from the oven when you’re satisfied with the crust of cheese. Remember that it hardens a little bit as it cools.
27. Serve and enjoy this deliciousness!
This makes a total of 4 servings of Keto Bites: Crispy Stuffed Bacon Baskets. Each serving comes out to be 607 calories, 56g fats, 2.4g net carbs, and 22g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 12 ounce bacon | 1813 | 158.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90.7 |
| 4 large egg | 315 | 20.9 | 1.6 | 0 | 1.6 | 27.6 |
| 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream | 101 | 10.7 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| 1 tablespoon olive oil | 119 | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 cup spinach | 28 | 0.3 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 3.6 |
| 2/3 cup cheddar cheese | 332 | 27.3 | 2.5 | 0 | 2.5 | 18.8 |
| 1 teaspoon black pepper | 5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Totals | 2713 | 231.6 | 10.8 | 3.4 | 7.4 | 141.8 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 678 | 57.9 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 35.4 |
Keto Bites: Crispy Stuffed Bacon Baskets
Ingredients
- 12 ounce bacon
- 4 large egg
- 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cup spinach
- ⅔ cup cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. First we create the bacon baskets. Start by laying the slices of bacon flat, then weave the bacon. Over, under, over, under, and continue to do that until your bacon is fully weaved. When you're finished, you should have a fully weaved sheet of bacon.
- Cut the bacon weave horizontally and vertically. This yields 4 smaller bacon weaves.
- On a cupcake tray, line each corner with a piece of foil. If you're making more of these, try to leave some space between each of the baskets, so they aren't touching. I've had them stick together before. Lay the weaves on top of each piece of foil, making sure each piece of bacon is tucked around the cupcake tray. Try to keep the weave intact.
- Put the bacon baskets in the oven for 50 minutes. Previously, I have taken them out at 35 minutes, right when they just finish cooking, but I prefer them to stay in and get a bit more crisp. Let them cool for 10 minutes.
- While the bacon baskets are cooling, crack the eggs into a bowl.
- Add the heavy cream, then scramble the mixture well, until everything is combined.
- Put a pan on the stove over medium heat and add olive oil, then add the spinach. Once it's started cooking, add some pepper. I don't add salt, because the bacon baskets will have a salty flavor. Cook until spinach is wilted.
- Add the egg mixture to the spinach and turn heat to low. DON'T TOUCH THE EGGS!
- Once your eggs have started to cook on the bottom, you can mix them. I take them off the stove at this point and allow them to finish the cooking process through residual heat.
- Set the oven to BROIL. (I use the second highest setting.) Get the bacon baskets ready.
- Fill the bacon baskets with the egg and spinach mixture, then top them with cheese.
- Put them in the oven under the broiler. You should start to see the cheese bubbling on the top; that means they have a few more minutes left. Remove them from the oven when you’re satisfied with the crust of cheese. Remember that it hardens a little bit as it cools.
- Serve and enjoy this deliciousness!
