Move over, egg bites (which never fill me up properly) — here comes a truly satiating egg, vegetable & cheese breakfast casserole that will keep you going for hours.
What makes this casserole “Mediterranean” is the generous use of ingredients like olive oil, sheep’s cheese, fresh herbs, and a wide array of multi-colored vegetables.
Feel free to substitute other veggies, herbs, and types of cheese — one of my favorite features of Mediterranean food culture is that there are no rigid recipes and you are free to use whatever happens to be in season and in your fridge, pantry, or kitchen garden at any given moment.
If you want to boost the protein content of this dish further, you could add some sliced, cooked chicken sausage, cubed ham, or shredded smoked salmon, or you could replace some of the whole eggs with egg whites 9though that will change the texture of the egg base and make it less rich and velvety).
And if you eat an ultra-low-carb/keto diet, omitting the sweet potato will reduce the net carb count to 7 g per serving.
Mediterranean Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 green onions (scallions) sliced
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 1 red bell pepper cored, seeded, and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 8 oz cremini or white mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- 5 oz baby greens such as kale, arugula, spinach or a mix of these; chop these coarsely
- 8 large eggs cracked into a large mixing bowl
- ¼ cup full-fat yogurt or heavy cream, half-and-half, whole milk, sour cream or plant cream
- ¼ cup fresh basil coarsely chopped
- ½ cup grape tomatoes halved lengthwise
- 4 oz hard sheep's cheese such as Manchego or Petit Basque, coarsely grated; alternatively, you can use hard or fresh goat cheese, feta cheese or cow's milk cheeses like cheddar or mozzarella
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease an 8 x 8-inch casserole dish with olive oil or butter.
- Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and sweet potato (this needs to go in early as it takes longer to cook than any of the other vegetables). Saute, stirring, for 5 minutes until the onion starts to turn translucent.
- Add the garlic, green onions, ½ tsp of salt, and pepper, and cook for another minute., stirring frequently.
- Add bell pepper and mushrooms and cook for another 6-8 minutes until soft.
- Fold in the baby greens and cook another minute or two, turning gently with a spatula every now and then until the greens have wilted.
- While the vegetables are cooking, crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl, add the yogurt (or whatever dairy you are using), chopped basil (reserve a few leaves for garnish), and the remaining ¼ tsp salt, and beat with a wire whisk.
- Once the vegetables are soft, take them off the heat and set them aside for a minute to cool. Then tip the cooked vegetables and half of the grated/crumbled cheese into the bowl with the beaten eggs and gently combine all the ingredients using a rubber spatula.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Dot the top with halved grape tomatoes, scatter with the grated cheese and Parmesan, and slide into the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the eggs are puffed and appear cooked, and the center of the frittata just barely jiggles when you give it a gentle nudge. (To confirm doneness, a fork inserted about ¼-inch into the center of the eggs should come out clean.)
- Place the casserole on a cooling rack until you’re ready to serve. Slice with a sharp knife, and serve. Leftovers should keep well for about four days in the refrigerator. Enjoy chilled, at room temperature, or gently reheat in the microwave or oven. Makes a great lunchbox or picnic food!
Can you refrigerate this ahead of time?
Do you mean combine the ingredients and referigerate overnight bnefore baking? (Like a strata)? According to the USDA, you can: https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/How-long-can-I-keep-an-egg-strata-in-the-refrigerator-before-cooking-it. Make sure it’s covered while it’s in the fridge and bake it through so no raw ingredients remain. Let me know how it goes! 🙂