Hello from the beach! We woke up yesterday, checked the traffic and decided to drive down to South Carolina so we’d be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse today. And to be clear, I feel so COOL! I’m not impulsive at all (and just to call myself out, I had two “to-do” lists - if we go, if we don’t) so it feels kinda fun to have cut loose and come down here for a couple of days! ❤️ But on to the food! You probably know by now that I ADORE breakfast. We make tons of muffins around here, plus overnight oatmeal jars (including these fun chocolate overnight oats) and granola is a staple in our house. But did you know that I really adore savory breakfasts? It’s true. Some mornings I go with sweet but more often than not I get a salty craving in the morning and it must be satisfied. Preferably 5 minutes ago. (No one ever accused me of being patient!) So I’m really excited to share today’s savory breakfast.
This simple and simply divine savory oatmeal bowl with mushrooms, spinach and fried egg is one of my faves. And you probably know that we are oatmeal crazy in this house. Oatmeal in ALL the ways ALL the time! (And while my family goes sweet with their regular morning oatmeal, I always add salt, maybe hot sauce, sometimes even soy sauce to my oatmeal for a savory version.) I also adore a mushroom + spinach combo (check out my healthy bagel toppings) and I do NOT say no to a fried egg.T
I have put fried eggs on top of all kinds of crazy things and call it breakfast. I’ll take dinner scraps or whatever leftover veggies we have in the fridge, scramble them up, top them with a fried egg (and usually some hot sauce too) and I’m in savory breakfast heaven! So for today’s breakfast, I get some of my favorites… I cook the oatmeal with some onions because I’ve been in a weird onion groove for about two years now (you can skip them if you’d rather. Just don’t tell me cause that makes me sad.) Then I sauté some mushrooms that bring a ton of umami flavor, wilt in some soft, tender spinach leaves and fry up an oozing, perfectly set egg to serve on top. (All in the same skillet cause I’m lazy like that.) And when you break into that egg and the yolk runs all over the oatmeal and veggies… OH BABY! Come to mama!
Notes on making this savory oatmeal bowl:
I like LOTS of veggies so this has a good amount of mushrooms and spinach. Adjust to suit your tastes. As mentioned, you can skip the onion if you’re not a huge fan and just cook the oatmeal plain by itself (either on the stovetop or in the microwave). Because this is such a hearty bowl, I make just ⅓ cup of oats for my serving. Feel free to bump it up to a full ½ cup serving if you want (just adjust the amount of water.) You can add some hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes to the top of this bowl for a spicy kick. Not into frying an egg or want a vegan version? Skip the egg and add some nutritional yeast on top for a bit of richness. You could also add Parmesan or mozzarella cheese, if not vegan, but I think the creamy egg yolk adds enough richness on its own.
This savory oatmeal bowl is hearty, flavorful and rich without being too heavy. It will keep you full and energized through a long morning but it doesn’t weigh you down.
Now, this isn’t my normal on-the-go, out-the-door type of breakfast, but when everyone has left the house in the morning, and I’m about to dive back into deadlines for my day job as a health and nutrition editor, I love to steal 10 minutes to make myself a yummy breakfast bowl. It feels so luxurious! I hope you give this a try and I’d love to hear what YOUR favorite savory breakfasts are - leave me a comment below! XO, Kathryn
I like LOTS of veggies so this has a good amount of mushrooms and spinach. Adjust to suit your tastes. You can skip the onion if you’re not a huge fan and just cook the oatmeal plain by itself (either on the stovetop or in the microwave). Because this is such a hearty bowl, I make just ⅓ cup of oats for my serving. Feel free to bump it up to a full ½ cup serving if you want (just adjust the amount of water.) You can add some hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes to the top of this bowl for a spicy kick. For a vegan version, skip the egg and add some nutritional yeast on top for a bit of richness. You could also add Parmesan or mozzarella cheese, if not vegan, but I think the creamy, rich egg yolk is enough here.
