Sausage Egg White Casserole

I didn’t intend to create a recipe for Christmas morning. I intended to use someone else’s so I would be certain it was good. Yet, the same old thing happened when looking for a recipe. None of them called to me. None them matched exactly what I had available in my kitchen. I do a lot of risky things, but shopping Christmas Eve night is not one of them.

I’ve never cooked with pork sausage before. Or turkey sausage to be honest. I haven’t had pork sausage in about 8 years. When I broke my “no mammal” diet over the summer, I introduced a lot of things back into my diet, but pork sausage wasn’t one of them.

As a kid, when I would spend the night at my Grandma’s,  she would make us these tiny sausage biscuits from scratch. The original sliders. They were the reason to wake up in the morning. She’s one of those people who wakes up at the crack of dawn, so we never had to wait on them either.

I came across a tube of sausage in Aldi randomly. It had been marked down quite significantly, likely because it was the last of it’s kind. It was from their line “Never Any!” which is a respectable meat brand that I usually chose from. I thought, Christmas morning? Why not.

I used egg whites in this recipe rather than whole eggs, because I can’t help myself. I love whole eggs, but I figured with the sausage AND the cinnamon rolls I was planning to make egg whites might be the heart healthier option. Got to take care of that heart ;D

You may be thinking, “where’s the cheese?” Well, believe me, the cottage cheese does all the cheese work you’d need. This recipe is the epitome of savory and in all the right ways.

If you happen to be a vegetarian or a “no mammal” type of person, turkey sausage or veggie sausage crumbles would work fine too.

Sausage Egg White Casserole
Serves 8-10

Ingredients
16 oz pork sausage
1/2 onion, diced
1.5 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt (or less depending on preference for saltiness)
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp of the following: chili powder, oregano, and basil
egg white carton = 10 egg whites
16 oz cottage cheese = 2 cups cottage cheese (I used 1% percent)
4 cups fresh spinach

Directions
1. Grease a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish and preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a large greased pan, saute sausage on medium heat until thoroughly browned. Drain in colander.
3. In the same pan, saute garlic and onions until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Mix onion and garlic with the meat and add salt/pepper plus spices until well combined. Let sausage cool a little bit so the heat doesn’t cook the egg whites.
4. In a large bowl, add sausage mixture, egg whites, cottage cheese, and spinach. Mix until well combined. Pour mixture in to 9 x 13″ pan.
5. Bake for 45 minutes. Once out of the oven, let it sit for 15 minutes to set*. Enjoy!

*I baked ours the night before and then reheated it at 400 F for 10 minutes in the morning. This was likely helpful for flavor development and it was definitely helpful for convenience!

I have high hopes you’ll enjoy this one… so let me know how you like it if you do!