Published: Jan 22, 2019 · Modified: Mar 13, 2022 by Zerrin & Yusuf

Spinach with Eggs Breakfast

Name: Spinach with Eggs Breakfast Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 onion, diced; 1 pound spinach, washed well and roughly chopped (3-4 cups); ½ teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon ground black pepper; 4 eggs

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Spinach with Eggs is an easy brunch or breakfast dish you can make in one pan. It is healthy and packed with great flavors. You need 6 ingredients only. It makes a delicious lunch or dinner as well that is ready in no time!

Spinach and 4 whole eggs cooked in a pan.

This spinach and eggs recipe is like the green version of our menemen recipe. If you like egg recipes like these, check out our world-famous Turkish eggs cilbir recipe too!

We are so obsessed with eggs, especially fried and sunny-side up. We can crack eggs on any vegetable we cook in a pan and this spinach recipe is one of our favorite keto breakfast recipes.

OMG that yolk leaking on the cooked spinach is just irresistible! Watch the video below and see it yourself! Nobody can resist that yolk! YUM! We sometimes have it even for a busy weeknight dinner.

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Why should you make this recipe?
About The Ingredients
Alternative Add-Ins
How to Make
Variations
Expert Tips
Serving Suggestions
Are eggs and spinach healthy?
FAQs
More Egg Recipes
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Why should you make this recipe?

This is a quite satisfying spinach breakfast dish with the eggs (sunny side up) on the top.
It is a tasty low-carb breakfast recipe.
It is easy to serve it in individual portions; one or two eggs with the spinach around for each person.
It is easy to customize. You can add more greens or vegetables in the pan.

About The Ingredients

This is one of the easiest breakfast ideas with 3 main ingredients:

Chopped spinach, olive oil, salt and pepper, eggs and onion on a grey background.

Onion: A small onion would be enough for this recipe. Chop it finely.

Spinach: We use fresh spinach and chop it roughly. We use both the leaves and the stems. Don't worry, the stems taste as good as the leaves when cooked, so don't waste them. If you use fresh baby spinach leaves, you don't even need to chop them. To be even quicker, you can use canned spinach too. But make sure to drain the excessive water well.

Eggs: We use 4 large eggs for a serving of 4. Organic eggs have the best flavor, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Besides these, we need olive oil, salt and pepper. We sometimes add in cumin too. If you like the flavor of cumin, use a little of it when adding salt and pepper.

Although it is not in the recipe, we love squeezing lemon on this dish when eating. If you have never tried spinach with lemon, give it a try! They go very well together.

Alternative Add-Ins

Garlic: You can add in minced garlic when the onions are translucent if you want.

Tomato paste: To give this egg and spinach dish even a richer flavor, you can add about 1 tablespoon of tomato paste or 1 or 2 chopped tomatoes right before adding the spinach.

More herbs and vegetables: Kale, leeks, green onions, parsley and basil are all great additions. They go well with spinach. Also, you can cook some mushrooms with onions. All these flavors are great when combined with eggs.

Spices: You can add cumin, paprika and red pepper flakes if you want your breakfast to be a bit spicy.

Cheese: A little parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar cheese or feta would be a nice addition on the top. Add whichever cheese you like right after you remove the skillet from heat.

Meat: If you want to add more protein to your spinach egg breakfast, you can cook some bacon with onions.

How to Make

This is a super easy recipe that is like the green version of our Turkish tomato egg dish called menemen.

Finely chopped onion cooked in a cast iron pan.

Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet, add in onions and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally.

Chopped spinach, salt and pepper in a pan.

Add in spinach leaves. If your skillet is not big enough, add half or quarter of the whole batch, cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until spinach shrinks. Then add the second batch and repeat until you add all the spinach. So adding spinach in a few batches is a good idea. Watch how in the video below.

Cook for about 10 minutes or until all the water that has been released from spinach leaves evaporates. Season with salt and black pepper.

Eggs with spinach in a cast iron skiller

Add the eggs: Make wells for eggs. You can add as many eggs as you like, depending on the size of the pan. Crack one egg into each well and cook until the whites set, about 3-4 minutes. You can gently poke the whites with a wooden spoon to help them cook well. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on each egg and serve.

Variations

With the same ingredients, you can make another variation of this recipe.

Scrambled eggs and spinach: If you are a fan of scrambled eggs, you can easily make it with spinach. To do this, cook the onions and spinach leaves as described in this recipe. Whisk eggs with a little heavy cream in a bowl and pour this mixture over the spinach and onion in the pan. Cook them stirring constantly so that the egg mixture scrambles with the spinach. Season with salt and pepper, top with some cheese and serve. You can serve this on toasted bread slices.

Expert Tips

Before adding the eggs in the pan, make sure the water released by spinach evaporates. If it is still watery in the pan, cook for another 5 minutes. Then add the eggs.
You can use canned spinach but drain it well.
You can use frozen spinach as well, but thaw it first and drain well.
If you want to make spinach and eggs scramble, whisk eggs with a little heavy cream and pour it over the spinach in the pan. Cook it, stirring constantly.
If you have leftovers, keep them in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days. Reheat them in a pan on low heat. You can even crack another egg on it if you want to increase the amount.

Spinach topped with an egg served on a white plate and bread slices on the side.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve it as a part of world famous Turkish breakfast platter. We love to dip pide bread into this dish, especially into that yolk. Sometimes we serve it on our quick bread loaf slices.

Also, a few slices of avocado, tomato and cucumber on the side accompany the dish well.

Are eggs and spinach healthy?

Eggs are one of the healthiest foods packed with protein. Also, they keep you full for a long time, so they make perfect breakfast, lunch and dinner. When you combine eggs with spinach, you have one of the healthiest meals because just like eggs, spinach is a nutrient-dense vegetable. It is a great source of calcium and iron (source). What’s more, there is no ingredient here that increases the calorie of this recipe.

Fried eggs with spinach in a cast iron skillet

FAQs

Can we eat egg with spinach?

Yes, you can. Spinach and eggs make a super healthy and satisfying dish together.

Can I use canned spinach in this recipe?

Yes, you can. Drain it well and follow the same steps in the recipe.

Can I use frozen spinach?

Yes, you can. Thaw it first, drain well and then use it in the same way described in the recipe.

More Egg Recipes

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