Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day. So, clearly, we should be adding more beans to it – because what better way to get the most out of the “most important meal of the day” than jam packing it with beans?? With that in mind, let’s talk beans and eggs. This Egg Scramble with Beans and Vegetables is a delightful, savory breakfast full of protein, fiber, and lots of vitamins and minerals. #BeansForBreakfast. It’s the way to go! (Although yes, of course you could easily enjoy it at other times of the day, too.)
Egg Scramble with Beans and Vegetables
Course: Meals4
servings358
kcal45
minutesThis Egg Scramble with Beans and Vegetables is a delightful, savory breakfast full of protein, fiber, and lots of vitamins and minerals. Beans for breakfast!
Ingredients
1/2 – 1 small onion, chopped (I like yellow onion, but any onion will work)
1-lb (~454 g) red potatoes, or potatoes of your choice
1 small-medium zucchini or other summer squash (~ 2 cups chopped)
1 bell pepper (recommend red, yellow, or orange)
2 cups mushroom of choice
2 garlic cloves, or to taste
1 Tbs neutral oil or olive oil
1 tsp salt, divided – may need to use less if using salted beans
1/4 – 1/2 tsp chili flakes, or to taste
2 cups cooked pinto beans, or your bean of choice (or even a mix of beans for extra color!) *see note
1 cup frozen spinach or 2-3 cups fresh spinach **see note
½ – 1 tsp smoked paprika, to taste (smoked adds a lot more flavor, would highly recommend over regular paprika)
4 eggs
Black pepper, to taste
Optional additions: Fresh herbs, Greek yogurt, freshly shredded or grated cheese, hot sauce
Directions
- For vegetable chop size, do a smaller dice if you want the vegetables to cook faster and be more evenly distributed. If you want larger bites of vegetables, use a larger, rougher chop. Chop the onions, potatoes, squash, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Mince the garlic.
- Sauté chopped onion and potato in a large skillet (non-stick preferable) with the oil, ½ tsp salt, and chili flakes over medium heat. Stir occasionally to prevent burning and sticking – using a skillet with a lid will help prevent this. Cook with the lid on and add a splash of water if necessary to prevent from sticking to the pan. Or, you can use splashes of bean broth/the bean cooking liquid for extra flavor.
- Once the onions are translucent, add chopped mushrooms, zucchini, bell pepper, garlic, and another pinch of salt to the skillet, stirring occasionally.
- While waiting for the vegetables to cook, drain the beans; rinse if using canned.
- Once vegetables have softened, add the spinach, pinto beans, and smoked paprika and heat through.
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. At this point, you can cook the eggs one of two ways. One: add the eggs to the bean mixture and cook through. This will result in the eggs spread over the vegetables and no real chunks of egg. It also means less dishes, which means I always choose this one. But perhaps you are more motivated than I am. So, here is option two: if you want distinct bites of eggs, do not add the eggs to the bean and vegetable mixture. Instead cook the eggs in a separate pan with a bit of oil. Then, add to the vegetable mixture and lightly fold in.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Sprinkle with any desired toppings. Serve warm.
Notes
- *If you are using canned beans, a 15 oz. can will have closer to 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked beans. If you don’t want to use partial cans, you can make it with 1 and a half cups, or – better yet – make it 3 cups of beans by using 2 cans. Try using different types of beans for extra color and pizzazz! Plus, the different colors correspond to different phytochemicals, so there are some potential health benefits of using multiple colors of beans. Win-win!
- **If you prefer hardier greens, like kale or chard, you can use these instead of spinach. They take longer to cook than a tender green like spinach, so add them earlier in the recipe.
- If summer squash is not in season, sub a vegetable of your choice. Some people like this with roasted corn.
Nutrition Facts for Egg Scramble with Beans and Vegetables
These nutrition facts were created in Nutritionist Pro and can vary slightly with different ingredients, brands, etc.
Beans for Breakfast
Looking for more inspiration for beans for breakfast?? Of course you are.
- Blueberry Baked Oatmeal with Beans – oats and beans are a perfect combo. And not just any oatmeal, but baked oatmeal. YUM.
- Chocolate Cherry Oat Bean Bars – again, why just have oats when you could add beans to them?
- Chocolate Banana Black Bean Smoothie – bean smoothies!! Refreshing, creamy, and the protein and fiber from the beans will help keep you nice and full.
- Summer White Bean Smoothie – keep the bean smoothie recipes coming, please.
