Quail Egg breakfast stuffed peppers

These Quail Egg Breakfast Stuffed Peppers are the perfect way to start your day. A complete meal made with hash browns, breakfast sausage and melted Gouda all stuffed into sweet bell peppers and topped with three quail eggs.

This post is sponsored by Spring Creek Quail Farms. I have been compensated to sponsor this recipe but as always all opinions are my own.

Have you ever tried Quail Eggs?

To honest, I hadn’t until recently and let me tell you… these eggs are tiny but mighty! They have a higher yolk to egg white ratio than your traditional chicken egg which is right up my alley because the yolky part of the egg is my favourite.

Let’s start with…what the heck is a quail? My kids, sadly, had no idea so I figured there must be more of us who are new to quails.

What is a quail?

A quail is a small short-tailed bird that looks a little like a partridge. The males have distinctive face markings and sometimes a dark plume that arches over their heads… you know, to give him some swagger with the ladybirds.

They are part of the pheasant family and when roasted taste like a slightly more flavourful chicken.

Quail eggs vs chicken eggs

Quail eggs are smaller than chicken eggs but taste very similar. One quail egg is about 1/3 the size of a regular chicken egg and they are usually a light beige colour and decorated with brown splotches. Three or four quail eggs are about the same as one serving size of a regular chicken egg.

Quail eggs have a smaller ratio of the egg white to yolk than chicken eggs. Perfect for those who love the yolk like I do.

I am a huge fan of make-ahead meals and breakfast meal prep is one of my must-do activities on a Sunday. My usual favorite meal prep breakfast recipes are Peanut Butter Pancakes, Baked Ham and Cheese Egg Cups and Very Berry Baked Oatmeal.

And now these Quail Egg Breakfast Stuffed Peppers will be a future addition to my breakfast rotation! So easy to make ahead and super satisfying!

Ingredients you will need

• Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes – You will need to peel and grate using a box grater or food processor.
• Safflower oil – Or cooking oil of choice. This is to keep the sausages from sticking while cooking and also used to brown the hashbrowns.
• Breakfast sausage – Casings removed so that the sausage can be cooked and crumbled until brown for the pepper filling.
• Yellow onion -Adds flavour to the hashbrowns. You can leave this out if you aren’t a fan of onions.
• Paprika – Adds flavour and colour to the hashbrowns.
• Garlic powder – Another great flavour enhancer for the hashbrown filling
• Salt and pepper
• Gouda cheese – This is shredded and added to the sausage hash filling for a bit of ooey-gooeyness! Smoked Gouda is a great option as well for a smokier and richer flavour but feta, cheddar, provolone, and mozzarella are all other great options.
• Sweet bell peppers – A dose of veggie goodness and the shell that holds it all together.
• Quail eggs – A flavourful topping to add the perfect finishing touch to this breakfast bake recipe.

how to make Quail egg breakfast stuffed peppers

Peel and grate the potatoes using a box grater. Then place the shredded potatoes in a large piece of cheese cloth over a bowl and tightly wring out as much water as possible from the potatoes.

Once you have most of the liquid out, spread the shredded potatoes out on clean paper towels and place more on top. Press down to soak up any remaining liquid. Replace wet paper towels with drier ones and repeat as necessary to get the potatoes as dry as possible. Set the potatoes aside.

This process will make it possible for the potatoes to brown in the pan and stop the potatoes from boiling or steaming in their own liquid and becoming soggy when cooking.

Remove the casings from the sausages and place them in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat with 1 tsp of safflower or your preferred cooking oil. Using a wooden spoon break up the sausage into a crumble and cook until no longer pink and starting to brown.

Transfer the sausage from the pan to a large bowl and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the shredded potatoes, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix until combined and cook until potatoes are softened but not soft and brown.

To get the potatoes to brown I don’t recommend stirring the potatoes more than a few times while cooking. This will allow the potatoes to sit directly on the pan for a period of time so they can brown and crisp up a bit.

Once done, remove from the heat. Add the sausage back to the pan along with the shredded cheese and mix to combine. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Preparing the peppers

Wash and dry the peppers.  Remove the tops, seeds and ribs from the peppers.  Then, using a sharp, knife cut a little off of the bottom of each pepper so that they can sit flat in an oven-safe dish. Be careful not to cut too much so that you don’t open up the bottom of the pepper.  You just want a tiny bit so that the peppers have a flat, even surface to sit on while in the pan.

Sometimes I mess up and can’t seem to cut straight and then I end up with a lopsided pepper.  Not the end of the world usually, but in this case where we need to add some eggs to the top of the pepper, the last thing we want is for them to slide off.

To fix a crooked pepper, use the pieces of pepper you cut off as a wedge and stick them under the lower side to level the pepper out and get it to stand upright.

Fill each pepper up with the sausage hash and then top each with 3 cracked quail eggs. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and more cheese if you wish.

Bake for 20 minutes or until egg whites are cooked and peppers are softened. Remove and serve hot!

While I make this recipe for breakfast, it’s also a great option for lunch or dinner.

Can this quail egg recipe be made ahead of time?

Yes! It is actually great the next day. Just be sure to store any leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for no more than 2 days. I do not recommend adding the quail eggs before baking. Instead, add the cracked quail eggs to the top of each pepper just before baking.

This quail egg breakfast bake recipe can also be frozen but without the quail eggs. Store the uncooked peppers in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 months or individually wrap each stuffed pepper tightly in plastic wrap before freezing.

Thaw the peppers overnight in the fridge before baking and then, when ready to bake, add the quail eggs to the top of each pepper.

Can quail eggs be used instead of chicken eggs?

For the most part, yes! Quail eggs are quite interchangeable with chicken eggs but you will need to use 3 to 4 quail eggs to replace one large chicken egg.

There are a few exceptions. In the case where egg whites are a key ingredient, quail eggs are not a good substitute because quail eggs have less of the egg white part of an egg than a chicken egg. I mean if you want to make pavlovas with quail egg whites you can… you will just need A LOT of quail eggs!

storage

Store any leftover stuffed peppers in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.

Pin It For Later!