An egg white omelette with 31 g protein that actually tastes of something

If you have ever left half an egg white omelette on the plate because it was rubbery and bland, the whites were not really the problem. Strip out the yolks, the fat and the salt and you remove almost everything that carries flavour, leaving water and protein. This version puts back just enough fat and seasoning to make it worth eating, while a serving still lands at about 310 calories and 31 g of protein.

Prep time and servings

Prep: 10 minutes. Cooking: 10 minutes. Servings: 2.

Use one 24 to 26 cm non-stick pan. If yours is smaller, cook two separate omelettes instead. Overloading a narrow pan gives you a raw middle and a scorched base, which is the second most common way this dish goes wrong.

Ingredients

• 400 g egg whites (about 12 whites, or 400 ml from a carton)
• 2 egg yolks (about 34 g)
• 60 g feta, crumbled
• 120 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 80 g fresh spinach
• 30 g red onion, finely chopped
• 10 ml olive oil
• 5 g Dijon mustard (one level teaspoon)
• 2 g smoked sweet paprika
• 3 g salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 5 g fresh chives or parsley

Method

1. Pour the whites into a bowl and add both yolks, the mustard, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Whisk for 30 seconds until the mix is an even yellow and slightly foamy. You will not taste the mustard as mustard; it sharpens the salt and helps the mix set more firmly.
2. Heat the pan over a medium-high hob and add the olive oil. Give it a good 30 seconds to come up to temperature before anything goes in.
3. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes, until the skins start to split.
4. Add the spinach and stir for 1 minute, just until it wilts. Tip the vegetables onto a plate and drain off any liquid. Wet vegetables are the main reason these omelettes turn watery.
5. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Return the pan, pour in the egg mixture and leave it completely alone for 60 seconds.
6. Drag the edges towards the centre with a spatula and tilt the pan so the raw mix runs into the gaps. Keep going for 3 to 4 minutes, until the top is moist but no longer liquid.
7. Spread the cooked vegetables and crumbled feta over one half. Put a lid on and give it 2 to 3 minutes for the cheese to soften.
8. Fold the omelette over the filling, take the pan off the heat and rest it for 1 minute so the centre finishes. Scatter the chives on top and cut into two servings.

Nutrition per serving

These figures are an estimate per serving, worked out from the quantities above and divided by two.

• Calories: around 310 kcal
• Protein: around 31 g
• Carbohydrates: around 6 g
• Fat: around 16 g

Most of the fat comes from the feta, the yolks and the oil. Drop the feta entirely and a serving falls to roughly 230 kcal and 27 g of protein, but you lose a lot of the flavour with it, so halving it to 30 g is usually the better trade.

Variations and swaps

If you are counting macros tightly, leave out one yolk and add 30 g of smoked turkey breast. The serving stays close to 300 kcal and protein climbs above 33 g. If you need more fuel around training, serve it with a slice or two of wholemeal bread.

Feta swaps well for 60 g of halloumi or 40 g of mature cheddar. A low-fat curd cheese works but is much milder, so bump the smoked paprika to 3 g and add a pinch of chilli flakes to compensate.

Instead of spinach, try 100 g roasted courgette, 80 g roasted peppers or 60 g broccoli florets. Only use mushrooms if you fry them on their own for 4 to 5 minutes first, otherwise they release too much water into the pan.

For a breakfast made ahead, the omelette keeps for up to 48 hours in the fridge and reheats in a dry pan in 2 minutes rather than the microwave. If you are building a week of meals, it sits well alongside tuna and egg rice for meal prep, and on mornings when you cannot face a pan there is Greek yoghurt with fruit and walnuts as a full meal.

In short

Egg whites are not bland by nature. They taste of nothing when they are cooked without fat, without salt and with vegetables that have not been drained. Two yolks, a teaspoon of mustard, smoked paprika and 60 g of feta fix that for very little extra cost in calories.

One serving gives you about 31 g of protein for 310 calories, which makes it a solid breakfast or a light post-training dinner. If you want something heavier later in the day, chicken-stuffed sweet potato fits well, and a sweet craving is covered by these no-bake protein desserts.