Crispy Potato Nests with Quail Eggs + Chorizo

Things just get 10x cuter when they’re mini, right?! I’ve recently fallen in love with quail eggs. Not only are they mini and super cute, they’re also really tasty and a nice change from regular eggs. And they’re perfect in these crispy shredded potato nests. I’ve added some Mexican flavours with chorizo sausage, jalapeño and cilantro. These grab and go potato cups are great for meal prep too!

This post is sponsored by Spring Creek Quail Farms, which means I was compensated for my time. All views are my own.

All About Quail Eggs

Have you had quail eggs before? If not, I hope to convince you. These tiny, speckled eggs have completely stolen my heart. I was a little nervous to try them at first, only because they are tiny and I thought they’d be hard to crack. But, once you get the hang of it, it’s actually quite easy to do. I actually got it right on the first try!

Spring Creek’s quail eggs come from happy hens, raised in a free-run environment without hormones or antibiotics. They’re delivered fresh from their farm to the store! Spring Creek Quail Farms is located in Saint Anns, Ontario and is a small family run farm.

Here are some interesting facts about Spring Creek quail eggs:

• They taste like chicken eggs
• They’re one third the size of regular eggs
• Packed with nutrition including vitamins, minerals, high quality protein and healthy fats.
• They contain more fat and protein by weight than regualr chicken eggs, including double the iron and 1/3 more vitamin B12.
• Higher yolk to white ratio – yes please!

The Ingredients

These potato nests are easy to make and contain only eight ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need to make them.

Russet Potatoes

For these crispy potato nests, I use russet potatoes which I happen to love. They are great baking potatoes that get all nice and crispy in this recipe. I haven’t tested this recipe with a different potato, but I’m sure other types such as sweet potato, or a combination of the two would work.

All purpose flour (GF or regular)

To help bind the potato together and help form it, you’ll need some all purpose flour.

I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 All Purpose Flour which is gluten-free.

Spices (Smoked paprika & ancho chili powder)

To provide some flavour and help make these potato nests take on a Mexican flavour, I use smoked paprika and ancho chili powder. Both offer a lot of smokiness and in my opinion taste better than traditional paprika and chili powder.

Check out smoked paprika here!

Check out ancho chili powder here!

Quail eggs

Adding two quail eggs to these potato nests helps amp up the healthy fats and protein. I recommend using two quail eggs in each cup, as they’re more filling this way.

Chorizo sausage

Crispy chorizo sausage is added on top of these potato nests and provides tons of flavour and more crispy goodness.

Jalapeño

Adding some heat with fresh thinly slice jalapeño is a tasty addition and one that I highly recommend.

Cilantro

Garnishing with some fresh cilantro adds colour and flavour.

How to Make Potato Nests in a Muffin Tin

Making these potato and egg nests couldn’t be easier! If you have a food processor, I highly suggest using the shredding attachment to shred your potatoes. This will save you A LOT of time.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place a greased muffin tin in the oven while you shred the potatoes.

Shred Your Potatoes

First, shred your potatoes. There is no need to peel, them, just give them a good scrub. Use your food processor to shred them, or a box grater if you don’t have a food processor.

Remove as much water as you can

Place the shredded potatoes in a clean dish towel (this is better than using paper towels) and rinse the potato to remove the water. There is a lot of water, so be sure to really wring out the towel to get the shredded potato nice and dry.

Once your potato is nice and dry, add it to large bowl. Add the flour, spices and salt and mix.

Make the nests

Take out your muffin tin. Use your hands to form a nest and then place in the muffin tin. Press down in the center a little so you’ll have room for the eggs later. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until browned a little and starting to get crispy.

Crisp Your Chorizo

While the potatoes are baking, heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add a splash of oil to the pan. Add the crumbled chorizo and let it cook undisturbed for three to four minutes, until crispy. Then flip and continue cooking until browned, cooked through and no longer pink.

Add your eggs

Remove the muffin tin from the oven. Add a small bit of the crumbled chorizo to the egg nests. Use a serrated knife to crack open the quail eggs and add these to the potato nests. Place back in the oven to bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are still a little runny.

Remove the muffin tin and add more chorizo on top, followed by the sliced jalapeño and cilantro.

Substitutions & Tips

These crispy potato and egg nests are quite versatile, here are some options and ideas:

• No chorizo: use another type of sausage, or omit.
• Use another type of potato: try using sweet potato instead, or use half and half.
• Additional topping ideas: cheddar, cotija cheese, or cubed avocado.
• Use Italian seasonings instead and an Italian sausage.
• No flour: you can lessen or omit the flour, but be sure to really press the potatoes to ensure that little to no water remains. They will be a little more delicate this way.

• Make sure you grease your muffin tin so that the potato nests can easily be removed.
• To save more time, use frozen and thawed shredded hash brown potato instead of shredding your own potatoes. You may need to add cheese to make this hold together.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. I haven’t tried freezing and not sure how they would hold up because of the eggs. Although if you scramble the eggs, I *think* they’d freeze well.
• Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for about eight to ten minutes.

Grab and go Breakfast options

I love quick, meal prep friendly breakfasts. See below for more ideas:

• Savoury oatmeal cups
• Chia pudding
• Pumpkin oatmeal bars
• Blueberry baked oatmeal cups

The Muffin Tin I recommend

The muffin tin I use and recommend is this one. It is THE ONLY one that I have tried that doesn’t require you to use liners or even to grease the pan (although I still use some oil on it when baking these). This muffin tin is also the only one that I can make egg muffins in without them sticking and me wanting to pull my hair out after trying to clean the pan.

If you make these crispy potato egg nests, please share with me, by tagging me on Instagram or leave a comment and/or review below. I truly love seeing and hearing form you!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.

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