These Bacon Egg and Cheese Tarts are the ultimate brunch treat! Made with simple store bought puff pastry, these are cheesy, flaky and make for the perfect breakfast.
Alright y’all, not sure if you have checked your calendars, but Easter is just around the corner! Literally…just in like, less than 2 weeks.
And if you haven’t started making your Easter menus yet, might I suggest you add these delightful Bacon Egg and Cheese Tarts?!
Why You’ll Love These Tarts:
Everyone loves a fun brunch! These are the ultimate treat to make to really wow your guests. And thankfully, they come together in no time at all and are SO easy!
First reason – store bought puff pastry! Yup. This is going to save so much time yet yield an incredible tart! I used my favorite Jus-Rol puff pastry (not sponsored, just truly love this brand!) and it was flaky, buttery and every bite was roll your eyes in the back of your head good.
To be honest, I could really just eat the puff pastry by itself but why not load it up with my all time favorite breakfast combination?!
BACON. EGG. and CHEESE. Is there anything better?! In this particular tart, you have a deliciously cheesy bottom of the pastry – the cheese melts and gets golden brown…even forming a little cheesy crust on the bottoms of the pastry.
In the middle you find a perfectly jammy egg. It’s perfect because it’s not ultra messy – it’s not runny to the point where it’s going to stain your Easter outfit.
And surrounding those two ingredients would be my fave: crispy bacon! The crispy bacon adds an incredible texture to these tarts.
Overall, they are just lovely and would be perfect with a glass of orange juice or steaming cup of coffee! So let’s get into what you need to bake them!
Ingredients You Need:
Store bought puff pastry – as I mentioned above, my favorite brand is Jus-Rol, but probably any store bought will work. If it’s frozen, be sure to thaw it beforehand!
Eggs – large eggs will work in this recipe.
Sharp White Cheddar Cheese – Use freshly shredded!
Cooked Bacon – the crispier the better, in my opinion.
Salt, Pepper and Chives for Garnish – the chives add such a delightful freshness to the tarts and you must season the eggs!
How to Make Tarts in 5 Simple Steps:
- Make your bacon. I found it easier to bake mine in the oven – I did it for 400 degrees for like, 20 minutes or so or until your desired crispiness is reached. Once that’s done, let it cool and crumble it and set it aside.
- Roll out the puff pastry and place it on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Using a pizza cutter, slice the puff pastry into 6 equal slices. Gently curl up the sides of the puff pastry, about ½ inch in, to make a little nest for the egg. Poke a few holes in the middle of the pastry and par-bake the puff pastry for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven. It will have puffed up – use a fork to deflate it.
- Shred the cheese. Add about ⅓ cup of cheese to the bottom of the puff pastry, leaving room for the egg to go in the middle. Crack the egg into the middle, sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Add a generous portion of the bacon to each tart.
- Bake for 15 minutes OR until the egg white has set.
- When done, eat while hot! Garnish with chives and additional salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!!!
Best Baking Tips:
To make sure you don’t have a soggy bottom crust (shout out to Great British Bake Off!)…it’s best to par-bake these puff pastries. That’s a fancy way of saying bake them before adding toppings!
They WILL puff up (they stay true to their name) but you can easily just deflate it with a fork and then add your toppings.
Use a fork to poke into the egg white to really decide if it’s done to your liking.
Take the time to freshly shred your cheese. It melts better and has more flavor!
I found it easier to BAKE the bacon ahead of time. It made less of a mess and made sure that my oven was preheated for baking the pastry. Win win!
Cooking the Eggs:
If you want to have a hard boiled egg, bake for a few extra minutes. If you want a runnier egg, bake it for less. It’s all about preference.
I tested this recipe 3 times and I found that at 15 minutes, the egg was about perfect for me, just the right amount of jammy without being too runny and making a mess.
Ingredient Substitutions:
You can substitute cooked breakfast sausage for the bacon.
You can use any cheese you have available – however, I love the flavor of the SHARP cheddar.
Add on some fresh veggies if desired (minced red onion, fresh herbs etc.) or you can garnish with green onions instead of chives.
Storing Leftovers:
I’ve found these are best eaten the day while hot. If you do happen to have leftovers, I warmed mine up on a pan in the oven until the pastry was warmed throughout. However, just know, this will cook your egg more!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few others you might like:
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Bacon Egg and Cheese Tarts
These Bacon Egg and Cheese Tarts are the ultimate brunch treat! Made with simple store bought puff pastry, these are cheesy, flaky and make for the perfect breakfast.
Ingredients
- 13.2 oz package of store-bought puff pastry (make sure it's thawed and ready to go!)
- 6 large eggs
- 12 oz package bacon, cooked and crumbled
- chives, salt and pepper for garnish
- 2 cups sharp white cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
Instructions
Cooking the bacon
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Cook the bacon however you'd like, but I prefer to do it in the oven. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the bacon evenly on the foil, making sure it's not touching other pieces. Cook the bacon for 20 minutes or so, until crispy. Once done, let it cool and then crumble it into small pieces.
Cooking Tarts
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Turn the oven up to 425 degrees. Put your thawed puff pastry on top of parchment paper on top of a large baking sheet. (side note, Jus-Rol puff pastry comes pre-rolled in parchment paper which makes it SO easy).
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Using a pizza cutter, slice the puff pastry into 6 even pieces. Curl up the edges on each individual pieces, about 1/2 inch in. Poke a few holes in the center with a fork and bake for 6 minutes.
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While it's baking, shred the cheese. Set this aside for now.
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Once the puff pastry is done baking, remove it from the oven. It *will* have puffed up. Just use a fork to deflate the middle. REDUCE the heat of the oven to 400 degrees!!!!
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Add about 1/3 cup of cheese around the sides of the puff pastry, making a little "nest" in the middle to be able to crack the egg.
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Crack the egg in the middle of the puff pastry tart. Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Finally, add a generous amount of crumbled bacon on each pastry.
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Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees - or until egg white is cooked through. If desired, begin checking the egg at 12 minutes until it's cooked through.
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Serve immediately while warm and garnish with lots of chopped chives. Enjoy!!!
Recipe Notes
*see blog post above for best tips on how to cook the egg in the center!