3 recipes using eggs and spinach

What can I make with eggs and spinach?

Name: Creamy spinach and garlic omelette
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 1 servings
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 2 large handfuls (about 80g) spinach; 1 small garlic clove, crushed; 1 heaped tbsp cream cheese; 15g butter; salt and pepper

A bag of spinach collapses to almost nothing in a hot pan, which is exactly why it suits eggs: a big handful wilts into a soft green bed in under a minute, and the eggs set gently on top of it. The soft, slightly bitter leaves balance the richness of the yolks.

The thing to watch is water. Spinach releases a surprising amount of liquid as it cooks, and if that goes into an omelette or frittata it makes the eggs weep and turn rubbery. Wilt the leaves first, then squeeze or cook off the liquid before the eggs go in.

All three dishes below work for breakfast, lunch or a quick supper. Baby spinach needs no prep at all; large-leaf or frozen spinach works too, as long as you remove the tough stalks from fresh leaves and squeeze frozen spinach dry once it has thawed.

Spiced spinach baked eggs with yoghurt

Eggs cracked into hollows in garlicky, cumin-spiced spinach and baked until the whites set, finished with cool yoghurt. Serve with toast for dipping.

5 min prep · 15 min cookingServes 2ovenproof frying pan or small baking dish, oven

You have (Eggs + Spinach)

4 eggs
200g spinach

You’d add

1 garlic clove, sliced
½ tsp ground cumin
pinch of chilli flakes
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tbsp oil or butter (store cupboard)
salt and pepper (store cupboard)

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Heat the oil in the ovenproof pan over a medium heat and fry the garlic, cumin and chilli for 30 seconds.
Add the spinach a handful at a time, stirring until it wilts. Keep cooking for 2 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated, then season with salt and pepper.
Make four hollows in the spinach with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each. If you used a frying pan without an ovenproof handle, tip the spinach into a baking dish first.
Bake for 8–10 minutes until the whites are completely set. The yolks will still be soft; give it 2–3 minutes longer if you want them firm.
Spoon the yoghurt around the eggs, add a grind of pepper and serve straight from the pan.

Runny yolks are safe with British Lion-stamped eggs, including for pregnant women, children and older people. If your eggs are not Lion-stamped, or you are cooking for someone severely immunocompromised on a medically supervised diet, bake until the yolks are firm.

Spinach and feta frittata

A thick, sliceable frittata studded with salty feta, started on the hob and finished under the grill. Good hot or cold the next day.

10 min prep · 15 min cookingServes 4ovenproof non-stick frying pan (about 24cm), mixing bowl and whisk, grill

You have (Eggs + Spinach)

8 eggs
250g spinach

You’d add

100g feta, crumbled
4 spring onions, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil (store cupboard)
salt and pepper (store cupboard)

Method

Heat the grill to high. Heat the oil in the frying pan over a medium heat, add the spring onions and spinach and cook, stirring, until the spinach has wilted and the pan is dry, about 3 minutes.
Whisk the eggs in the bowl with a good pinch of salt and plenty of pepper.
Spread the spinach evenly across the pan, pour in the eggs and scatter the feta over the top. Turn the heat down to low.
Cook for 8–10 minutes without stirring, until the edges and base are set but the top is still slightly wobbly.
Slide the pan under the grill for 3–5 minutes until the top is set and lightly golden. Leave to settle for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges.

The middle should be firm when pressed, with no liquid egg. Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate and eat within two days.

Creamy spinach and garlic omelette

A soft folded omelette wrapped around spinach wilted in garlic butter with a spoonful of cream cheese. Five minutes of cooking for one.

5 min prep · 5 min cookingServes 1small non-stick frying pan (about 20cm), fork, spatula

You have (Eggs + Spinach)

3 eggs
2 large handfuls (about 80g) spinach

You’d add

1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 heaped tbsp cream cheese
15g butter (store cupboard)
salt and pepper (store cupboard)

Method

Melt half the butter in the pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and spinach and stir until wilted. Tip it into a sieve and press out the liquid, then wipe the pan.
Beat the eggs with a fork and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Melt the rest of the butter in the pan until it foams, pour in the eggs and stir with the spatula for 20 seconds, then let them settle into an even layer.
When the top is almost set, spoon the spinach and cream cheese over one half. Fold the other half over and cook for 30 seconds more, then slide onto a plate.

Got more than eggs and spinach?

Add whatever else is in your fridge or cupboard and get a recipe built around all of it, with the steps to cook it. No account needed to try.

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Good to know

Squeeze the water out

Wilted spinach holds a lot of liquid. Press it in a sieve with the back of a spoon, or cook it in a dry pan until the bottom looks dry, before the eggs go in. Wet spinach is the main reason a frittata turns watery.

Frozen spinach works

A few frozen spinach portions stand in for a bag of fresh. Thaw them in a sieve or the microwave, then squeeze them hard in your hands until no more water drips out. About 150g frozen replaces 250g fresh.

Low heat for set eggs

Eggs turn tough when they are cooked hard and fast. Keep the frittata on a low heat and finish it under the grill so the base doesn’t burn before the middle sets.

Questions people ask

How much does a bag of spinach cook down?

A lot. A 250g bag of baby spinach wilts down to roughly a mugful. It looks like far too much in the pan at first, so add it in handfuls and let each one collapse before adding the next.

Can I make the frittata ahead?

Yes. Cool it, wrap it and keep it in the fridge for up to two days. It is good cold in a lunchbox, or reheat slices in the oven until hot through.

What else can I add?

Mushrooms, a little chopped ham, leftover cooked potato or a handful of grated cheddar all suit these dishes. Cook any raw vegetables before they go in with the eggs.

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Tell Shalotte what you have in, and she suggests what to cook from it, then walks you through the cooking step by step. Free during beta.

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3 recipes using eggs and spinach

What can I make with eggs and spinach?

Spiced spinach baked eggs with yoghurt

Eggs cracked into hollows in garlicky, cumin-spiced spinach and baked until the whites set, finished with cool yoghurt. Serve with toast for dipping.

5 min prep · 15 min cookingServes 2ovenproof frying pan or small baking dish, oven

You have (Eggs + Spinach)

4 eggs
200g spinach

You’d add

1 garlic clove, sliced
½ tsp ground cumin
pinch of chilli flakes
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tbsp oil or butter (store cupboard)
salt and pepper (store cupboard)

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Heat the oil in the ovenproof pan over a medium heat and fry the garlic, cumin and chilli for 30 seconds.
Add the spinach a handful at a time, stirring until it wilts. Keep cooking for 2 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated, then season with salt and pepper.
Make four hollows in the spinach with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each. If you used a frying pan without an ovenproof handle, tip the spinach into a baking dish first.
Bake for 8–10 minutes until the whites are completely set. The yolks will still be soft; give it 2–3 minutes longer if you want them firm.
Spoon the yoghurt around the eggs, add a grind of pepper and serve straight from the pan.

Spinach and feta frittata

A thick, sliceable frittata studded with salty feta, started on the hob and finished under the grill. Good hot or cold the next day.

10 min prep · 15 min cookingServes 4ovenproof non-stick frying pan (about 24cm), mixing bowl and whisk, grill

You have (Eggs + Spinach)

8 eggs
250g spinach

You’d add

100g feta, crumbled
4 spring onions, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil (store cupboard)
salt and pepper (store cupboard)

Method

Heat the grill to high. Heat the oil in the frying pan over a medium heat, add the spring onions and spinach and cook, stirring, until the spinach has wilted and the pan is dry, about 3 minutes.
Whisk the eggs in the bowl with a good pinch of salt and plenty of pepper.
Spread the spinach evenly across the pan, pour in the eggs and scatter the feta over the top. Turn the heat down to low.
Cook for 8–10 minutes without stirring, until the edges and base are set but the top is still slightly wobbly.
Slide the pan under the grill for 3–5 minutes until the top is set and lightly golden. Leave to settle for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges.

The middle should be firm when pressed, with no liquid egg. Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate and eat within two days.

Creamy spinach and garlic omelette

A soft folded omelette wrapped around spinach wilted in garlic butter with a spoonful of cream cheese. Five minutes of cooking for one.

5 min prep · 5 min cookingServes 1small non-stick frying pan (about 20cm), fork, spatula

You have (Eggs + Spinach)

3 eggs
2 large handfuls (about 80g) spinach

You’d add

1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 heaped tbsp cream cheese
15g butter (store cupboard)
salt and pepper (store cupboard)

Method

Melt half the butter in the pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and spinach and stir until wilted. Tip it into a sieve and press out the liquid, then wipe the pan.
Beat the eggs with a fork and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Melt the rest of the butter in the pan until it foams, pour in the eggs and stir with the spatula for 20 seconds, then let them settle into an even layer.
When the top is almost set, spoon the spinach and cream cheese over one half. Fold the other half over and cook for 30 seconds more, then slide onto a plate.

Got more than eggs and spinach?

Add whatever else is in your fridge or cupboard and get a recipe built around all of it, with the steps to cook it. No account needed to try.

What else have you got?

Add an ingredient

What are you cooking with?

Free during beta · no account needed

Good to know

Squeeze the water out

Frozen spinach works

Low heat for set eggs

Eggs turn tough when they are cooked hard and fast. Keep the frittata on a low heat and finish it under the grill so the base doesn’t burn before the middle sets.

Questions people ask

How much does a bag of spinach cook down?

A lot. A 250g bag of baby spinach wilts down to roughly a mugful. It looks like far too much in the pan at first, so add it in handfuls and let each one collapse before adding the next.

Can I make the frittata ahead?

Yes. Cool it, wrap it and keep it in the fridge for up to two days. It is good cold in a lunchbox, or reheat slices in the oven until hot through.

What else can I add?

Mushrooms, a little chopped ham, leftover cooked potato or a handful of grated cheddar all suit these dishes. Cook any raw vegetables before they go in with the eggs.

Do this with your whole kitchen

Tell Shalotte what you have in, and she suggests what to cook from it, then walks you through the cooking step by step. Free during beta.

Get Shalotte