Scrambled eggs with vegetables and cheese: 25 g protein

Scrambled eggs with peppers, spinach and cheese: exact quantities, step-by-step method and an estimate of 25 g protein and 310 kcal per serving.

Getting 25 g of protein at breakfast doesn't have to mean a shaker or cold chicken at seven in the morning. Four eggs, a splash of egg white and 40 g of cheese cover the number, while the vegetables cooked in the same pan add fibre and bulk without much of a calorie jump. This version makes two servings and takes about twenty minutes.

Preparation time and servings

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

Most of the time goes on chopping. If mornings are tight, dice the pepper and onion the night before and keep them in a sealed container in the fridge — then all that's left is the pan.

Ingredients

4 medium eggs (about 220 g, shelled)
100 ml pasteurised liquid egg white (or the whites of 3 eggs)
40 g half-fat hard cheese, grated (Edam, Gouda or similar)
100 g red pepper, diced
100 g cherry tomatoes, halved
80 g fresh spinach
50 g red onion, finely chopped
10 ml olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 5 g parsley or chives

Method

Beat the eggs and egg whites with a fork for 20–30 seconds, until the colour is even. Hold back the salt for now — salt draws out water and makes the curds looser.
Heat a 24 cm pan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring now and then.
Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes, just until they soften and release some juice.
Stir in the spinach for 30–60 seconds until it wilts. If there's liquid pooling in the pan, turn the heat up and drive it off — that puddle is the usual reason scrambled eggs turn out watery.
Turn the heat down low and pour in the egg mixture. Leave it alone for 15–20 seconds, then push it gently from the edge towards the middle with a spatula.
When the egg is set but still glossy and slightly wet (roughly 2–3 minutes), scatter over the cheese, fold once and take the pan off the heat. The residual heat finishes the cooking and melts the cheese.
Season with salt and pepper, add the herbs and divide between two plates straight away. Scrambled eggs go rubbery if they sit.

Nutrition per serving

These figures are an estimate per serving, worked out from the quantities above. The real number shifts with egg size and the fat content of the cheese.

Calories: about 310 kcal
Protein: about 25 g
Carbohydrates: about 9 g
Fat: about 18 g

Full-fat cheese adds roughly 30–40 kcal per serving. Drop two yolks and replace them with 60 ml of egg white and the protein stays the same while calories fall to around 260 per serving.

Variations and swaps

More carbohydrate. A 40 g slice of wholemeal bread adds about 95 kcal and 18 g of carbs. If you train in the morning that's a sensible addition; if you don't, the eggs stand up fine on their own.

Dairy-free. Skip the cheese and add 50 g of smoked chicken breast, cut into strips, along with the vegetables. Protein stays near 25 g and you keep the savoury edge the cheese was providing.

Other vegetables. Mushrooms, courgette and broccoli all work, but mushrooms and courgette release a lot of water — give them 2–3 extra minutes before the eggs go in. Squeeze frozen spinach dry first, or you'll end up with soup.

Cooking for one. Halve everything and use a smaller 20 cm pan, otherwise the thin layer of egg overcooks before you can fold it. If you like eggs but want a different shape of breakfast, there's the same idea in oat and egg protein pancakes.

On mornings with no ten minutes to spare, overnight oats with protein do the job because they're made the night before. And if you want the same formula — vegetables, protein, one pan or one bowl — at lunch, look at the chicken rice bowl with vegetables or the chicken tortilla with yoghurt sauce.

When to see a doctor

If eggs regularly leave you cramping, bloated or running to the loo, or you notice a rash or swelling after eating them, that's a reason for a check-up rather than a recipe tweak. The same goes if a doctor has already given you specific limits on protein or fat because of your kidneys, liver or blood lipids — adjust the quantities with them, not from a table you found online.

In short

Four eggs, 100 ml of egg white and 40 g of half-fat cheese with 330 g of vegetables give two servings of roughly 25 g protein and 310 kcal. Two details decide the texture: drive the water off the vegetables before the eggs go in, and pull the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly wet.