• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Cook, Craft, Cultivate
  • Recipes
    • Baking
    • Classic Recipes with a Healthy Twist
    • Fermentation
    • Kitchen Staples from Scratch
    • Lean and Green
    • Smoked and Grilled
    • Snacks
    • Veggie Focused
  • Gardening
  • Recommended Products
  • About
    • About Kristi
    • Creations
    • Photography
    • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Recipes / Weekday Vegetable and Egg Casserole

Weekday Vegetable and Egg Casserole

March 25, 2018

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
egg bake

For the last few months, nearly every week, I make a vegetable and egg casserole. Or in our house, we call it an egg bake. I make it on Sundays, and it stretches most of the way through the work week. I mostly make it for Hubby, so he has a quick, easy, and healthy breakfast without needing to take a lot of time. But I also enjoy a piece myself!

If you’ve ever heard of the Medifast Diet, there is a term they use called a “lean and green.” This is a meal that is just built on protein and low carb veggies. Sometimes you might add in an “option” or two like a healthy fat, a fruit, whole grain, etc. It’s basically a way to think about structuring your meals without needing to count calories. And it works pretty well!

For a “lean and green” meal, the protein amount varies by fat content (5-7oz). The veggies should be 3 “servings.” One serving is 1/2 or 1 cup, depending on how dense the veggie is. Leafy greens = 1 cup. Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, carrots, etc = 1/2 cup.

I spent some time dialing in a recipe structure for my egg casserole that I could get to turn out every time, would taste good, and would be a full “lean and green” serving. I think I’ve finally nailed it, so I wanted to share it here! Be sure you take note of the cooking method in the recipe. I have found that the key to ensuring a good egg casserole when using so many veggies is in this cooking method. I had a lot of trouble with watery eggs, difficulty baking, even overflowing (!) until I dialed in this step.

Greens and Protein for the Egg Casserole

For the greens section I like to use chopped frozen spinach, and broccoli rice as a base for the veggie component. I tend to stock up on both so I can vary which I use, or sometimes use a combination! I estimate these to be 1/2 cup per “green” serving, so for the spinach, 4 cups = 8 greens. For the broccoli, 3 cups = 6 greens.

veggies to thaw

Mushrooms and bell peppers also make a nice addition to the casserole. I tend to use those regularly as well. 1 cup sliced mushrooms = 1 green, and 1/2 cup diced bell pepper = 1 green.

veggies pre-chop

The protein is a combination of eggs, egg whites, low fat cheese, chicken or turkey sausage, and sometimes nonfat greek yogurt. I’ve shared some of my example combinations to build this vegetable and egg casserole in the recipe below – enjoy!

egg bake

Vegetable and Egg Casserole

Making this egg casserole ahead is an easy way to have a nutritious breakfast at the ready all week!
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 314 kcal

Equipment

  • Saute pan
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Small square or rectangular baker: 2-2.5qt

Ingredients
 

Protein - 4 Lean and Green Servings, so 4 proteins total

  • 6 eggs (2 protein)
  • 1 cup egg whites (1 protein)
  • 1 1/4 cup low fat shredded cheese (1 protein)

Greens - 4 Lean and Green servings, so 12 greens total

  • 16 oz bag frozen spinach, ~4 cups (thawed, 8 greens)
  • 2 cups mushrooms (sliced, 2 greens)
  • 1 bell pepper ~1 cup (diced, 2 greens)

Protein - 6 Lean and Green Servings, so 6 proteins total

  • 6 eggs (2 protein)
  • 2 cups egg whites (2 protein)
  • 1¼ cup low fat shredded cheese (1 protein)
  • 5 oz browned chicken or turkey sausage (1 protein)

Greens - 6 Lean and Green Servings, so 18 greens total

  • 16 oz bag frozen spinach, ~4 cups (thawed, 8 greens)
  • 10 oz bag frozen broccoli rice, ~3 cups (thawed, 6 greens)
  • 2 cups mushrooms (sliced, 2 greens)
  • 1 bell pepper, ~1 cup (diced, 2 greens)

Other optional ingredients for flavor

  • 1 jalapeno (if you like spicy)
  • ½ yellow onion (diced)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • Herbs of choice (oregano works really well in this dish)
  • Crushed red pepper (to taste, another option if you like spicy)
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F

    Prep and Saute the Vegetables

    • Thaw out the frozen veggies and use a colander or other method to squeeze out all the excess water. In liue of thawing and draining, you can also add them frozen to your saute in Step 4, and cook longer until all the liquid has cooked off.
    • Chop/slice the other veggies you plan to use, i.e. mushrooms, bell peppers, jalapenos, onion, garlic, etc.
    • Saute the veggies from Step 2 with a dash of salt until all their water has released and they are fully cooked down.
    • Add in the thawed veggies to the saute pan. Mix and cook until they are warmed through and any excess water is evaporated.
    • Taste and adjust for seasoning: salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, herbs.
    • If adding sausage, it should be browned ahead of time, then added in at this step.

    Whisk up the Egg Mixture

    • Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, cheese, and greek yogurt if using.
    • Season the egg mixture with salt, pepper, and any other desired herbs/spices (sometimes I'll use a little here of whatever also went in the veggies). I've found that when using breakfast sausage as part of the protein, dried sage adds a nice flavor here. For salt, I use kosher salt and add 1 pinch/serving - this seems to be about right, since it's a bit hard to taste at this step!

    Combine the Ingredients

    • Mix the sauted veggies in with the egg mixture, and stir to combine thoroughly.

    Bake the casserole

    • Poor into a greased (oil-spray works well here) baking dish. For 4 servings, I use a small 9"x6" rectangular baking dish. 6 servings fits well into a 9"x13" dish. If you're going smaller, a 9" pie dish will work nicely for 3 servings.
    • Bake at 350°F. For a 4 serving sized egg bake, 45 minutes does the trick. For larger/smaller adjust by 10-15 minutes up/down. Bake until the egg bake is firm in the middle and the edges are slightly browned.
    • Let cool, and slice into pieces - I typically cut 2 pieces per serving. So for example, I would cut the 9"x6" pan into 8 pieces.

    Notes

    Nutrition calculations are based on a no-sausage version of this recipe.
    If these recommendations seem like too many veggies for you and your clan, no problem! Just cut back a little, maybe add an extra egg or two to make up for the lost volume of vegetables, and it will still be a tasty and healthy breakfast!
    Other protein ideas:
    • Try different flavors of sausage to change the flavor profile of the dish, or add in extra heat with a spicy Italian sausage.
    • Mix in some Greek yogurt - replace up to half of the shredded cheese by weight with Greek yogurt. This makes the texture of the casserole a little lighter/almost fluffy.
     
    Other vegetable ideas:
    • Broccoli florets instead of riced broccoli
    • Other greens instead of spinach, like kale or swiss chard
    • Eggplant
    • Cauliflower
    • You can even try roasting the vegetables instead of sauteing them, to get a different flavor profile.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2 pieces | Calories: 314 kcal | Carbohydrates: 18 g | Protein: 31 g | Fat: 14.5 g | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 8 g
    Tried this recipe?Let's see it! Mention @cookcraftcultivate or tag #cookcraftcultivate!

    Post Category: Breakfast, Lean and Green, Recipes, Veggie Focused Tagged With: breakfast, egg bake, medifast, medifast lean and green

    Previous Post: « Adventures in Woodturning
    Next Post: Store Visit to Native Seeds SEARCH »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    About Kristi

    Picture of KristiJourney with me in my homemade adventures - creating more from scratch and increasing my self-sufficiency, in my small suburban home setting.
    Read More…

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

    Featured Recipes

    Smoked Turkey on the Traeger

    Sourdough starter - bubbles/refreshed!

    Fermented Foods Part 1: Sourdough Starter

    Peanut butter protein bars

    Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bar Recipe

    Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies – Twist on a Classic

    Pie pumpkins

    How to Make Pumpkin Puree in 3 Easy Steps

    pork shoulder with smoke crust

    Tender, Juicy, Traeger Smoked Pork Shoulder / Pork Butt

    Instagram

    And... we have saffron!! We planted some saffron b And... we have saffron!! We planted some saffron bulbs last fall as an experiment 🤞They grew lots of green but didn't flower, so we cut them back in the spring, turned off their water, and waited. And waited. Towards the end of summer, we started watering them again. And guess what?!? They grew back! And this time with flowers 🤗 Those red stamen you see are the saffron spice that you harvest, with tweezers 😳 Yep. Good thing we don't have too many (yet!!) They multiply every year, so we are looking forward to increasing abundace. I love it when garden expeirments work out 👏 And the pretty fall flowers are a definite bonus 👌
👉 Did you know that saffron is the most expensive spice you can get by weight?!? Makes it doubly worth the effort to grow some of your own!
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #azfallgardening #azfallgarden #azgardening #azgarden #azgardener #saffron #bulbs #growyourfood #growwhatyoueat #gardenexperiment #gardenfresh #gardeninthedesert #growsaffron
    Got most of our fall and winter garden planted tod Got most of our fall and winter garden planted today! 🤗 Still need to take out the eggplants and replace them with lettuce/spinach/arugula seeds ... but they are growing so well I am having a hard time pulling them out just yet 😫 ... soon. Maybe even tomorrow ... we will see.
But otherwise, so excited to have gotten all the other seedling starts into the ground, and my first round of lettuce and spinach seeds sown! The seedlings have been inside under grow lights for a couple months and were ready for their new home 🌱
If you are new to gardening in zone 9b ... we actually have a great growing season through fall and winter - all your brassicas and greens really love this time of year!
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #azfallgardening #azgardener #azgarden #veggiegarden #fallgarden #growyourownfood #growwhatyoueat
    Japanese eggplant from the garden for a Sichuan in Japanese eggplant from the garden for a Sichuan inspired stirfry dinner tonight 🤗 A tip I learned about stirfrying eggplant: soak it in salt water for 10-15 minutes after cutting, before stir frying. It breaks down the tough skin making it more tender in the finished dish (similar to steaming first,  as some recipes recommend). If you want it to be crispy, coat it with cornstarch after soaking, and then shallow fry in your wok.
The eggplants are loving this 80s weather we are having in Scottsdale right now! 
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #azfallgardening #azgardening #azgarden #azgardener #vegetablegarden #eggplant #japaneseeggplant #homegrown #growyourownfood #growwhatyoueat #sichuanfood #sichuaneggplant #fishfragranteggplant #eggplantstirfry #howtocookeggplant
    The sewing project is done! A poof for the living The sewing project is done! A poof for the living room 😃 It's may not be perfect but I'm pretty darn proud anyways 🤗 I am not a seamstress, this is a new skill I am working on. There are so many possibilities when one has aquired some skill with a sewing machine. Pretty pleased with how this one turned out! What will I tackle next... 🤔
.
#cookcraftcultivate #craft #sewing #sewingproject #poof #imadethat #imadeathing #sewingisfun #projectfortheheat
    Wow Paige! Look at all that fur 🤯 Don't know if Wow Paige! Look at all that fur 🤯 Don't know if this is her blowing out her puppy coat or if this will be a regular occurance but we sure de-furrred this morning with our @furminator_inc ! You can tell by the light color it's mostly all undercoat ... Also, have to bribe with treats to get anything accomplished around here 😆 But it works! She's looking for more outta that jar... 🐶💗
.
#cookcraftcultivate #paigepuppy #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #furminator #instadog
    Ever tried a fried egg on top of your oatmeal? It' Ever tried a fried egg on top of your oatmeal? It's become a class favorite over here 😋 We just poke the yolk while it's cooking so it cooks through and then toss it in our bowl. This one is cooked with and topped with basil from the garden ... 👌
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cook #breakfastinspiration #breakfast #breakfastideas #oatmealinspiration #oatmeal #oatmealtoppings #basil #gardenfresh
    Getting crafty this weekend ... What's it going to Getting crafty this weekend ... What's it going to be? 🤔
.
#cookcraftcultivate #craft #crafting #sewing #sewingproject #beginnersewer #beginnersewing #projectfortheheat
    #gardenfail 😭 We planted our pomegranate tree t #gardenfail 😭 We planted our pomegranate tree three years ago, and every year the fruits split. This year we had about 25 fruits on the tree, they lasted longer than usual, but this last week as our temps ramped up they ALL split!! I'm so bummed 😔 They are supposed to be EASY to grow here!! 🙈 We've tried regular watering, no extra watering, feeding, not feeding ... 🤷
Anyone out there have tips they can share for growing pomegranates in Phoenix?? #pleasehelp 😆
.
#cookcraftcultivate #cultivate #azgardening #azgardener #azgarden #pomegranatetree #pomegranates
    Follow @CookCraftCultivate

    Footer

    Cook Craft Cultivate

    • Homepage
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy

    Our Other Brands

    • Kristi Stephenson Photography
    • Kristi Stephenson Creations

    Copyright © 2018–2023 Kristi Stephenson Creations LLC