My brunch arsenal, the dishes I’ve made enough times that they no longer cause any furrowed brows — a core entertaining principle here at House Smitten Kitchen (sigil: cast-iron skillet) — is as follows: bacon (always roasted in the oven, I mean, unless you were hoping to mist yourself with eau de pork belly*); some sort of fruit salad (either mixed berries and vanilla bean-scented yogurt or mixed citrus segments, sometimes with mint and feta); buttermilk biscuits; a pitcher of Bloody Marys, a bottle of champagne and a couple carafes of freshly-squeezed grapefruit or orange juice, blood orange whenever available; something sweet (our current favorite) and eggs. As I dictated years ago, everything that can be made in advance should be, thus pancakes, individually fried slices of French toast, omelets and even eggs baked in ramekins, adorable as they may be, are verboten. I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and it’s always the worst.
In the egg category, my favorite for ease and laze is this spinach and cheese strata, however, if I have even 15 additional minutes at my disposal (which, let’s be honest, I do, especially when I spend less time here) remains these baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms. We talked about it, oh, seven years ago, but it’s been so buried in the archives, literally three recipes deep with a single hideous photo, that I’m long overdue to unearth it. At the time, I was charmed by how incredible something so wholesome could taste. These days, I’d add to its list of charms: vegetarian, gluten/grain-free, as good for a weeknight dinner as it is a weekend brunch dish, and oh, did I mention that it looks like an Easter egg basket? That’s a recent development.
For years, I made it in a skillet, which is great if you were going for a rustic one-pan meal thing. But as will happen in a tiny kitchen, when we had friends over in late January, my skillet was needed for something else so I transferred the sauteed vegetables to a giant baking dish and made deep wells of wells for each egg, dropped them in and baked the dish 30 minutes before we were going to eat for the loveliest version yet. And, hey, I realize on a list of food priorities from “needing it to survive” to “hoping it tastes good,” “making food prettier” doesn’t even rank. This is not essential stuff. But when you’re trying to convince people that two pounds of wilted spinach and one pound of sauteed mushrooms are, in fact, going to taste astoundingly good (parmesan, butter and butter help), a little extra pretty goes a long way.
* Actually, let me share the very best bacon tip I know, which Tracy from Shutterbean recently shared with me: go to the Whole Foods breakfast bar and fill a take-out container with their house bacon, which is usually organic, humanely raised and a pretty good value by weight. You can reheat it at home on a rack when needed and save yourself all sorts of greasy, smoky cleanup. You could also make your own bacon the day before and crisp it 3/4 of the way, and finish it in the oven before guests arrive.
Brunch: Dozens more recipes here.
How to Host Brunch and Still Sleep In: You know you wanna.
One year ago: Yogurt Panna Cotta with Walnuts and Honey
Two years ago: Cinnamon Toast French Toast
Three years ago: Heavenly Chocolate Cake Roll
Four years ago: Radicchio Apple and Pear Salad and New York Cheesecake
Five years ago: Bialys and Artichokes Braised in Lemon and Olive Oil
Six years ago: Shaker Lemon Pie
Seven years ago: Potato Rosemary Bread
Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms
Adapted from Gourmet, June 2004
I triple the original recipe, which makes enough for four eggs, or an lovely weeknight dinner. You can find those yields in the link above. But I’m usually making it for a crowd, and any leftovers, even though the centers of the eggs will firm up when you reheat it, are still incredible. We’re having it for dinner this week.
Serves: 6 with massive portions to 12 with regular-sized ones. How far it stretches will depend on how much other food you’re putting out, but don’t underestimate how filling one egg can big with a big scoop of all the vegetables around it.
2 pounds (32 ounces) ounces fresh baby spinach or regular spinach leaves
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 small garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced (I use creminis)
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional; I skip this)
12 large eggs
6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
If you’ve just washed your spinach, no need to dry it before wilting it in the pan. If it’s already dry, bring 1/2 inch water to a boil in a very large ovenproof heavy skillet, then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop. You will have about 2 cups fairly tightly packed cooked spinach.
Wipe skillet dry, then melt butter over medium-low heat. Cook onion and garlic until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms have softened, exuded liquid and that liquid has cooked off, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg (if using), and chopped spinach and bring back a simmer. Remove skillet from heat.
If baking eggs in this skillet, make 12 large indentations in mixture, each large enough to fit an egg. Otherwise, you can transfer this mixture to a 9×13-inch baking dish and do the same there. I like to use 2 teaspoons to make the wells; I press the backs of them together to “pinch” up the spinach mixture to form taller walls so that the eggs will not merge together.
Do ahead: You can then set this aside for a few hours or up to one day in the fridge, covered.
When you’re ready to bake the dish, or about 30 minutes before serving, put oven rack in upper third of oven and heat oven to 450°F. Crack an egg into each well. Bake until whites are firm and yolks are still runny. You can check this by inserting a toothpick into various parts of the eggs and seeing whether they’re runny or set, which takes anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. The range is long due to different ovens and baking vessels. It’s better to have to check more often than to let them overcook.
[Cooking note: It is nearly impossible to get all 12 eggs to cook evenly. The ones in the center will be more runny; at the edges, they’ll be more firm. But don’t fret. I’ve found that almost all people have an egg preference (more runny vs. more firm) and each egg manages to find the right home. Just ask people their preference as you serve them.]
Remove dish from oven, sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, plus grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.
OMG. This is perfect for me on the weekends! Eggs are truly one of the perfects foods we have.
This looks divine! So much healthy protein.
What is a good substitute for heavy cream? Milk mixed with goat cheese? Sour cream? I never have heavy cream but lots of other options. Thanks
This looks to die for. And the eggs around the edges will just automatically go to my pregnant friends. More runny yolks for me!
Could this be made at 350? Want to also make your baked French toast at the same time and only have one oven.
I looked up the recipe w/smaller quantities for my household of two — and I see in that version you specifically call out not using a cast iron skillet? What’s the reason for that? That’s the only oven safe skillet I have…
Josie — I think in the original, they say that because some people really prefer not simmering water in their cast-iron, in case it encourages rust. I think you’ll be just fine, though, so I’ve taken it out in this edit.
Well, we are still noshing on the dark chocolate coconut macaroons from Passover (addicting), but I might have to bring this to my friend’s Easter Brunch this weekend–looks so beautiful!
This looks great! Any recommendations for a mushroom substitute?
Mushroom substitute — They could be skipped, or, if you like artichokes (I do!) I think they’d be wonderful here. You could buy them frozen to save prep time, just defrost and slice them thinly and saute them with the onions/garlic for a few minutes before adding the spinach, cream, etc. I love mushrooms so much but might do this next time, anyway.
Molly — Did you get in The Quinoa Fight (I’m being melodramatic) with your family? From what I hear, it’s an intergenerational issue at every Seder. “It’s not traditional!” “It’s not a grain; it’s a SEED!” :)
I have both skipped mushrooms and substituted zucchini. Both work well, and I’ve been asked for the receipe when I’ve made it both ways.
OMG!!! This is a MUST try for me!!! Super delicious!!!
Cannot wait to make/eat! Although I doubt my efforts will look quite as attractive!
Thank you for the perfect crowd dish for both Easter and Passover. I think I’ll make this instead of the asparagus fritatta I usually bring to my in-laws for their Easter (and my Passover) brunch. Still on the fence if I want to expose them to quinoa.
Absolutely, I’m making this tonight! How long do the leftovers last? To me, it sounds like a great weekday breakfast — just pull out a portion and zap it in the microwave.
Leftovers — With the eggs already baked in, I’d say three days, tops. However, you can make the vegetable mixture even further in advance (4 days? up to 5 maybe?) and use some to cook an individual egg in a ramekin as needed.
Deb, when you mention that you are having this for dinner this week, does that mean you think this would last in the fridge for a couple of days? My husband works 14 hour days and so he usually takes both lunch and dinner to work with him. I’ve been making various frittatas with a salad as one of his meals, but this looks like an interesting alternative. Were I to make the original yield (4 eggs), could I store it in the fridge and send him with one “serving” each day?
oops, sorry, when I went to type my comment, comment 12 was not there yet! I think Karen and I must have the same thought at the same time!
Your revisited spinach quiche is way up there with my favorite comfort foods, so I’m certain I’ll fall in love with this one too. I’m going to pre-make the spinach/mushroom mix and bake the egg with it as needed in individual ramekins. It seems like it’ll be so easy to put together after I get back from class!
Wow this looks absolutely amazing. Our ladies are laying so many eggs that we are always looking for more ways to eat them.
I might sneak some cheese on top of mine because I am addicted! I think I will try this for dinner tonight. :)
Oh man, I need to be getting myself to byo brunch, this looks delicious for lighter take lunch/breakfast food. I am sure red peppers can be used here in place of mushrooms right?
I ended up at a seder where I was the youngest person (36 tomorrow and I had to do the 4 Questions!) so I fielded inquiries from skeptical seniors about the grain. No, wait, seed! They couldn’t believe it is related to a beet and weren’t exactly sold on the look, or for that matter, taste of it. My parents are now in a perpetual fight (not really) about using kitniyot — the beans and rice and corn — during the holiday. It will be interesting to see who wins this battle. Hope you’re having a lovely holiday.
Sooo glad to see this one reappear. This is the recipe that changed my method and approach to brunch. I made it for a rather large crowd of 24 three years ago, and I still get requests for it. And it really is that easy.
This is going into the rotation immediately! Basically, these are my favorite pizza toppings all in one place although it would probably include tomatoes of some sort (fresh or sun-dried) if I’m being honest. :) I’m thinking sun-dried at this point so it doesn’t add too much moisture. Thanks for the beautiful dish!
I’m definitely considering this for Easter breakfast. One question: If I make the spinach/cheese set up the night before, will I need to heat it up before putting the eggs in & cooking the whole thing, or will I just need to adjust the cooking time?
Fantastic, I can hardly wait to try this recipe! thanks
I am wondering what happens to the heavy cream once this is all baked up? Do the mushrooms soak it up?
Stephanie — You’re really cooking the moisture out of both the spinach (wringing it) and the mushrooms (letting it release and cooking it off) before adding the cream. The cream “rehydrates” them. It’s delicious.
Sofia — No need to reheat the vegetables. It will probably just take the full 30 minutes. But watch it. I mean, once the eggs are overcooked, they’re overcooked. Better to check it more often.
Think chicken or veg stock could be used in place of the cream to rehydrate everything? I’m (sadly) dairy free.
Stephanie, I’ve had good success making this with coconut milk (the kind usually sold canned, that tends to separate into a thick cream at the top of the can.) Slightly different taste, but still amazing.
Wow! this is so right up my alley! If my Dad’s wife ate any breakfast food at all, Easter dinner would become Easter brunch and this would be on the menu!
This looks so good, and I’m craving it right now even when I had a big portion of chili a couple of hours ago…. The only thing I don’t have in my fridge is spinach, and I can get that tomorrow, and serve it for brunch on Friday. Thanks for the inspiration!
So good! I’m always looking for great new brunch recipes. Cannot wait to try this one out!
Gosh, not only delicious but a beautiful presentation. I love eggs for so many reasons! And thank you for sharing that bacon tip! Another thing I wonder why I’ve never thought of. My son pretty much asks if I have bacon to go with it (could be anything…) practically everyday. Have a wonderful Easter!
Deb, I love your comment about The Quinoa Fight. I got into The Fight with my dad who eats a bowl of plain quinoa every morning during passover as a substitute for his usual oatmeal. Although I don’t keep passover very strictly, he does, and I thought it was absurd that he was happy eating quinoa but won’t eat peanuts.
Oh Deb, you are KILLING me. First chocolate macaroons, now this?
Easter Brunch.
Done.
Ba-da-boom!!!!
(Thank you :)
Holy cow – this is the cutest brunch preparation of eggs ever. I am absolutely with you in that individual servings of food are just not. happening. when I’m serving brunch. I hate spending the entire time standing over the stove, so I’m all about bakes, stratas, frittatas, french toast bakes, etc. (or dutch baby pancakes). I just love how this presents, and you really can never go wrong with spinach and mushroom with your eggs.
This is timely! Would you believe I had been considering this for Easter brunch already? (Might be because you mentioned it in the salted caramel French toast post that has also made its way onto the menu…) Glad to see the recipe crowd-sized, and thanks for the hint about egg-doneness!
That looks phenomenal! I’ll have to try it for my next brunch!
Thanks!
I love it! I bake eggs very often because they allow me to still get a healthy breakfast without taking much time from my morning. I often use the baking time to prep my lunch, or to get ready. And they turn out so good! I have at least a post about it.
I love that you mentioned the individual ramekins in the comments! There are only two of us in my household, so I could store the veggie mixture in the ramekins ready to toss in the oven each morning. Can’t wait to try this!
Perfect timing. At the end of this month, I am hosting brunch for my supper club and planning to make this as my contribution :)
I’m going to admit I love the idea of hosting brunch but I’m terrible at figuring out the timing for everything going in the oven! Like if I wanted to do this, your baked french toast/morning bread pudding, and biscuits. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!
Diane — Bake the biscuits, keep them in a basket wrapped in a cloth and they’ll stay warm. Bake the French toast and this simultaneously. (I actually, however, do the sweet stuff last, putting it out as more of a “dessert” at the end of a meal than simultaneous with the eggs and bacon.)
I do love your spinach strata, but this is so cute; little spinach easter baskets full of easter egg…precious! Now, if I can just figure out how to make a scrambled or quiche-ish filling I’d love this. I am still 11 when it comes to loose egg yolks..
Oh my goodness, spinach and mushrooms are my absolute favorite to pair with eggs! Its like you read my mind! I am definitely going to have to try this soon.
Peace & Sunshine,
Sammi at Sammi Sunshine- A Food Blog
Deb, oh Deb, this si si totally YES!!!!
I have the best success with your recipes, Deb! Your favorite buttermilk biscuits are now mine, too. I’ve tried this recipe in the skillet a few months back as a weeknight dish – yum! The morning bread pudding will need another take as I burned my finger on the caramel and left it in the skillet too long while I was running my finger under cold water (silly me – I just couldn’t resist swiping my finger on the back of the spoon!) BUT despite the caramel not melting lovingly over the bread pudding, it was still tasty.
Hi Deb, in the original version the bake time is only 7-10 min, is this because of the smaller quantity or is the cooking time updated to 15-30 min for the 4 egg version too?
This is the recipe of yours that I have made and shared more than any other. It is a simply a brilliant brunch dish. Love the new way of serving. So pretty.
This looks so amazing! I need to make this! Totally gained a new follower. :)
Hi,
I don’t know if anyone can help me with this, but my husband doesn’t like runny egg yolks (I used to be in the same boat, but I’ve gradually begun changing my mind). Is there a way I could bake this and get firm yolks? Or would it turn out bad? I see so many baked egg recipes that look delicious, but I have been scared to try because I just don’t know about the yolks….. Thanks!
Margaret
I love how easy it looks to make, especially since everything goes into one deep dish. It’s great to see gluten-free brunch items because so many traditional breakfast items contain gluten. I also appreciate the hosting tips you included in this post.
This looks awesome! I always love it when you post vegetarian recipes…
Quick question– how do you think frozen spinach would work in this?
Looks lovely!!
Do you think I could sub frozen chopped spinach for fresh, wilted spinach?
This looks positively perfect. Such a great recipe for Easter this weekend!
Pressing a muffin tin into the mix could work for making the holes quickly and easily.
I wonder if kale could be a substitute ?
Can you suggest a cream substitute for my lactose intolerant friends? Regular almond milk? Or coconut milk perhaps? Thanks!
You had me at baked eggs! I’ve tried baking eggs in tomatoes a couple times in the past, but always found it to be a frustrating time issue (way undercooked or tragically over). But now I am going to do it again. Thanks for the assurance about uneven cooking. Also, I attended a seder last night where two quinoa salads were brought by two attendees over 60, so I’m not sure it is generational!
would this be gross and just not quite the same if i scrambled a few of the eggs and then poured them in? i would like to make this for a brunch, but half of us hate runny eggs and the other half loves them.
This is so gorgeous. I cannot wait to make this. Brilliant for a weeknight. Thank you!
Your fabulous brunch tips are why I’m now the “crazy” person who always volunteers for the breakfast cooking shift. I love getting up, moving a pan from the fridge to the oven, and sipping coffee while looking like hero! The strata has been very popular with groups but I think this will be perfect when it’s just two of us.
Could I do this with frozen spinach? Any warnings or suggestions?
Frozen spinach — I think it would work, but I’m not sure exactly how much you’d need. The 10-ounce standard frozen package, that’s weight, yes? If cups, it would be 1 1/4 cups. But I always thought it was weight and that the approximate volume was 1 1/2 cups. Nevertheless, my 2 pounds of baby spinach leaves once wilted, squeezed out and roughly chopped, were 2 cups, fairly tightly packed. So, you’re looking for 2 cups cooked and drained.
Kale — Yes, I think it would definitely work. Same drill: wilt, squeeze to remove all excess liquid, try to get yourself to 2 fairly packed cups.
To skip the cream — Coconut milk might work, although it would change the flavor profile a bit.
Margaret — You could cook the eggs until the yolks are firm. They’d taste hard-boiled, but the dish would otherwise be the same.
OMG! This is brilliant and looks so delicious. I’m going to be making this very soon. I love that it’s not only tasty sounding, but it’s healthy! Thanks for sharing, I look forward to making this.
Wow, so gourmet yet simple!
Deb, I love brunch as much as you do. It’s my favorite party to throw and I love eating sweet, savory, baked good, fruit, veggie etc. all on one plate. I LOVE IT. Thank you for all your great brunch recipes, they have (literally ALL) become a part of my brunch arsenal as well.
We made this tonight with leeks instead of onion because it’s what we had on hand — divine!! Made Irish bacon and your gruyere soldiers – best breakfast dinner!
I’ll add we used frozen spinach & two bags would be needed, at least, for the full recipe. We made half & one bag frozen spinach was skimpy compared to half pound of mushrooms.
Oh my goodness, this sounds delicious!
I made this from the old post about 2 years ago! I experimented with adding chopped tomato, but didn’t add enough to make much of an impact.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who goes deep into the archives. The fennel, proscuitto, arugula and pomegranate salad from 2008 is another old one I’ve multiple times. Delicious and pretty!
Yum, this looks so delicious! I would make it for the Easter gathering my friends and I are having, but one of them doesn’t like runny yolk…what is wrong with her?!
This looks incredible, Deb! I’m bookmarking it for holiday brunches, when inevitably someone at my table has a gluten allergy while someone else is vegetarian. This beautiful-looking dish will make everyone happy!
Do you find that your eggs (I’m assuming you get them from the farmer’s market) have bloodspots often? I’m still trying to figure out why this is the car–it happens regardless of the farmer I purchase from, and even though they all claim not to have roosters.
Do you put a little dab of butter into each well to keep the eggs from sticking, or is the accumulation of butter and cream already enough.?
Still dozy from a surfeit of macaroons, and I am already planning Easter brunch,
Can’t wait to try it, and respect the Game of Thrones reference in the beginning. :)
and suddenly bacon gets its own key code in the breakfast bar… wait… is that bacon? Umm no…it’s umm… tater tots… like only 5 of them…says no one.
hahaha!!! that trick is EVERYTHING. It’s saved me for the past 5 years with this bacon loving boy of mine. And is it weird that I’m just sitting here staring at that photo of the spinach bacon nests waiting for eggs? Gorgeous! Love the last shot too. That juice makes it POP. I hope when I come to NYC next you will invite me over for Brunch and we can look at furniture catalogs together. xo
ha! I love the bacon tip at the end. That is my dream way of “making” bacon.
This looks wonderful! I have a potentially tricky question. My spouse cannot eat spinach or leafy greens due to Crohn’s (leafy herbs are fine, it makes no sense at all) is there anything that would work as a substitute for the spinach?
That looks so good!
How do you get the mushrooms so evenly sliced thin? I was amazed at the photo of the pretty mushrooms in the pan – so perfectly sliced.
Almost too pretty to eat.
I actually make your baked eggs recipe all the time in my skillet. But the problem I keep running into is that although I’ve used a whole bag of spinach, it’s never enough to cover the bottom of the pan or to make an indentation large enough for the eggs. Is there a key to maximizing the amount of spinach you end up with after washing and draining? Or should I just use more spinach?
RG — Nope, the trick is a smaller skillet, so you can build deep wells with tall spinach “walls.”
Mary — I used a mandoline. Lately I’ve been finding it faster, and a I like the thin ribbony way they cook up too.
To make this without spinach — You might try using a mixture of artichokes, mushrooms and leeks.
Marcia — The cream is enough to keep them from sticking. I’m not sure if you can see in the photo of the empty egg wells, but a little cream will spill into the center from the vegetables.
ATG — I don’t usually have this problem, and buy from a range of markets and stores. I feel like you can definitely Google to learn more about why this happens but will admit that I’m being a total wimp right now and don’t want to do it myself in case it squeams me out. Real mature, I know. :)
I actually made your ‘old recipe’ for a brunch a few months back. It was delicious but took a much longer time to cook (your original recipe says 7 minutes this one says 30). I thought it was because I had sauteed the veggies the day before and maybe they were cold. I’m glad to see this updated recipe and will look forward to timing it better next time! I had a lot of leftovers as the other items were done and eaten before serving this one. Not that I minded – delicious!
This is wonderful! I had planned to make your spinach and cheese strata for brunch on sunday, but I think I’ll be making this instead! It just looks so perfect!
A nice eggs florentine-like recipe, and great idea for brunch. I wonder if half and half would work, too.
Deb – Eggs, spinach, mushrooms, parmesan….you had me at hello! I’ll definitely be adding it to my brunch repertoire along with your spinach & cheese strata (have gotten rave reviews from friends thank you).
A few questions: 1) Where can I find the recipe for the smaller version (4 eggs)? I’m single so I’m thinking this will work for just me for a few meals if I do it in individual ramekins. 2) Have you ever tried it with frozen spinach? Not nearly as good but, it’s always on hand. 3) If I want to lighten this up calorie-wise, how do you think half & half would work?
Re: Quinoa, I’m laughing so hard! How did you know this was a topic of conversation/debate at our Seder on Monday after the 4 questions?!
FYI – Your matzo toffee chocolate bark was a huge hit at the Seder as well. I always tell my friends “I’m Smitten With The Kitchen”!
Keep the brainstorms and springboards coming!
Keep those recipes coming
Judy — See? I knew it wasn’t just my Seder. :) See comment #64 where I suggest how to approach using frozen spinach. Enjoy.
Oops – never mind, I found the smaller version – duh! (Need more coffee!)
This looks absolutely amazing! Spinach, mushrooms and eggs? Yes, yes, and YES.
Thanks! It squeams me out, too, and I end up ditching lots of eggs! I intially thought it was the farmer, but I’ve tried many. The 7.00 eggs at WF: same issue.
Oh MY!!!! looks delicious and I will be making this soon. Sounds like a dee-licious dinner.
Yum! I love baked eggs! Also, I’m definitely doing that Whole Foods bacon trick! I hate cooking bacon because it makes my whole apartment smell greasy for an entire week. I usually try and bake it, but it just doesn’t get as crispy.
xoxo
Taylor
Wow these look delicious! They seem like a healthy and not to hard of a dish. I can’t wait to make this myself, and spread the word! Thank you Deb for posting such wonderful and tasty looking recipes!
I think that that is a great idea. I haven’t tried it yet but it sounds very delicious. Thank you so much for your great ideas. Thanks Deb!
There is a bacon cooker made by a craftsman and sold by a shop (New Morning Gallery) in Asheville, NC, which allows you to baon in the microwave. It is amazing and great for a small crowd with minimal mess. I’d highly recommend (certainly over the more expensive Whole Foods approach!)
This is perfect for brunch! What could you substitute for spinach? Maybe kale?
Just made this tonight for dinner… I thought it was really good… I will be making the spinach portion again for other dishes… I over did the eggs >.< I was a somewhat afraid it wouldn't be enough so I made some biscuits as well… This was surprisingly fulling… biscuits not needed :) (that's ok… will make some gravy later:) )
This is my go-to brunch dish. I’ve been using your original recipe for years, usually doubling it and then adding as many eggs as will fit. These days, I tend to pair it with your mimosas or bloodies, lemon-cranberry scones, fruit salad, a green salad and something sweet for dessert (last time it was the world peace cookies.) I make the eggs in my Staub. Highly recommend!
Oh and these days I tend to leave out the cream and it still comes out delicious and rich.
Wow, this looks amazing! I’ve been looking for more ways to cook with spinach!
Just when I thought I loved you enough, you share a list of AMAZING food blogs plus,other interesting reading material and I couldn’t be happier to settle into this evening and read, read,read!
Thanks so much!
I just made this dish in a large skillet, scaled down for 4 eggs!! I made two substitutions: First, the only mushrooms I had were some black chanterelles my husband collected last fall, we dry sauteed them and stored in the freezer. They were amazing in this dish. Yellow chanterelles or hedgehog mushrooms would be good as well. Second, I had no heavy cream, but I did have half-and-half and ricotta cheese, so I just blended them together and WOW that is a great sub for heavy cream!! I used a 1-to-1 ratio, and seasoned just like the recipe (but in smaller amount of course since I was only using 4 eggs). I recommend using the nutmeg…it makes the sauce “pop” with an unexpected flavor. Thank you Deb!!!
This dish looks so beautiful that if it tastes that good, I am throwing out all those brunch dish recipes that involve individual pancakes or massive single omelets. As for quinoa, I made a quinoa stuffing/pilaf for Passover, and that’s the last time I flirt with quinoa, trying to make myself like it by adding masses of delicious sauteed onions and mushrooms and seasonings. In future I’ll use those add-ins with the rice, barley or farro they deserve.
For those of you asking about the blood spots in eggs they are harmless I pulled the following off of whatscookingamerica.com:
“Can you eat eggs with blood spots?
Eggs with a visible blood spot on the yolk are safe for consumption. The spot can be removed with the tip of a knife. Blood or “meat” spots are occasionally found on an egg yolk. These tiny spots are not harmful and are caused by the rupture of a blood vessel during formation of the egg. Blood spots do not indicate a fertilized egg. Mass candling methods reveal most blood spots and those eggs are removed, but even with electronic spotters, it is impossible to catch all of them. If desired, the spot can be removed with the tip of a clean knife prior to cooking. These eggs are safe to eat.”
I raise chickens and can confirm that the incidence of blood spots is pretty constant with or without the rooster and have nothing to do with the fertilized egg mark on the yolk. In our chickens there is generally between 1 and 3 per dozen. They seem to be slightly more common in the spring when they are getting started again.
Speaking of eggs, so excited to find something that looks so delicious and easy with eggs! Definitely pulling out the ramekins this weekend to make breakfast for the week!
Thanks, Samantha. I’m just curious as to why some people don’t have a problem with them and why I always do. I know they’re purportedly safe for consumption, but being a vegetarian otherwise, I find it unsettling.
You never let me down, Deb! Simple but delicious–and the perfect brunch dish for a crowd. I scaled this down for one for dinner, so it’s also a great recipe in terms of flexibility (1 person or 12, brunch or dinner kinda thing). I love the idea that it could be made a bit more ‘luxe’ with wild mushrooms. Finally, I didn’t have heavy cream so I subbed in a couple of spoonfuls of cream cheese. Served with bread soldiers, it was satisfying, comforting and also fairly well-balanced, nutritionally speaking. There’s something about you, abd the good that you share, that just encapsulates, for me, the pleasure of cooking and eating in a way that no other blogger consistently manages to (which is not to deny the incredibly high quality of many of the food blogs out there).
‘Food’, even– not ‘good’ (though it IS good).
Sounds like the perfect brunch/lunch/dinner dish. I am making this ASAP! Thanks!
Beautiful! And just in time for brunch for the gluten-free, dairy-free guests we have coming this weekend. Happy Easter!
Una ricetta bellissima!!!!!
Man, this looks SO delicious! I can’t wait to try it. One thing though, how long can this dish last before going bad?
So delish! Made this for dinner last night with several substitutions, using what I had in the house. I used kale instead of spinach, red onion instead of yellow, Trader Joe’s cream of portabello soup instead of cream, and a little miso paste instead of Parmesan. It got an “Oh, wow!” at the table, and requests to make it again. Also sparked lots of other ideas for variations — will definitely be a staple dish for us. Thanks!
YUM! Three of my favorite ingredients! Definitely need to try this soon.
So you people are why there is always NO BACON left at my Whole Foods!!!
Oh gosh this looks amazing and all of my favourite things. I wonder if I can disguise the mushrooms somehow so I can bring this for Easter brunch, there are members of my family who are all “eew it’s a fungus do not want” and it drives me craaaaaaaazy. I suppose I could substitute but I love mushrooms and I feel that’s most important.
This looks awesome!! I cannot wait to try it!
I’m a little confused. I followed your directions to a T, and came out with pretty much cream of spinach and mushroom soup. I used exactly one cup of cream, and simmered it, and the liquid never cooked off. In the pics, your mixture looks flat out almost DRY. Mine was…well, soupy. I couldn’t even make wells in it, because they filled right up with cream. What did I do wrong?
Tom — If there was too much liquid, my guess is that it didn’t get squeezed out enough in the spinach-cooking phase. You really want to wring all the moisture out in handfuls. The cream doesn’t do much besides re-moisturize the dish; there’s so much spinach and mushrooms that they mostly drink it up.
Thanks Deb for this recipe. I host a regular, popular brunch amongst our friends and make most things from the Smitten Kitchen. Being a person who dislikes runny eggs, what is your idea if I make an incision in every other egg yolk in this dish before cooking? Beside perhaps a pretty pattern, do you think it will cook successfully? Cheers!
I’ll try to do this awesomeness tonight and I was wondering, could we add some potatoes here? :)
That looks delicious!
I cannot have milk or butter sadly. I figure I can replace butter with bacon or duck fat, any idea for cream substitutes that would work here???
Made this for Easter brunch, smoked salmon on the side – delish. And looks cool to put on the table as well, what a winner!
Long time reader – years and years – first time commenter. They are all good, and everything smitten that I make is always a fail safe sucess. However, this dish is worth commenting on! It made a beautiful Easter breakfast in my house, and still let me enjoy my morning with the kids. I knew it was going to be a hit when I sampled the spinach and mushroom mix the night before and kept sampling. My only tip to others is don’t use too big a dish – if in doubt go smaller and make deeper walls!
Thanks deb – made this today and it was fantastic! I forgot the cream, but just added a bit more Parmesan and I got distracted so they were a bit over cooked, but still delicious! We are always fans of what my husband calls “operationally smooth” cooking for guests, and this was a treat. Thank you for your fantastic blog.
I love the way these delicious eggs are tucked into a little bed of creamy spinach & mushrooms. More so, I love that you’ve made this breakfast or brunch dish so easy and fuss free too!
made this for easter today – it was PERFECT!
Just made this today for me and the hubby and we loved it! I had some green cabbage in the fridge so I combined that with the spinach which gave it a nice texture. I also added a little serrano for some spice. YUM. Thanks!
Made this, but severely lacking salt. Next time I’ll cook the spinach in salty water!
Made this this morning for brunch… amazing flavors just couldn’t reckon the photo and recipe allowing indentation for 12 eggs with the amount of spinach mushroom mix. I made it work with 8 (just didn’t get any myself) darn but as always should have done a dry run before serving to guests. Thanks
Made this for Easter brunch. Subbed a tomato sauce i had made for the cream, and it was fab. Also made the panna cotta linked from a year ago, and it was even better than the eggs! I wasn’t paying attention and used non-fat Greek yogurt, 1/4c sugar, and for the milk – 50% fat free half-and-half, 50% lite coconut milk. It was perfection with some fresh berries. No honey needed!
This, plus matzo crack, were my offerings at today’s Easter brunch at my in-laws. It was fabulous. Of course, my husband is now taking a three hour ham-induced nap.
I just stumbled across this.. and wow this baked spinach and egg dish is defintiely gonna be on my next brunch menu!
I say you last night on PBS weekend news. For me it was nice to have a face to go with a site that I use and follow. I, for one, really appreciate your site. It is often the first place I look when trying something new. Many of your recipes have now become standards for me.
Enjoy the day.
Made this for Easter brunch yesterday. It was great–my only issue was that I checked the eggs at 15 mins and they were already cooked more than I would like–not runny at all. Next time I’ll check sooner. Everyone loved it anyway, though!
you’re definitely the queen of brunch. I wonder if I can mix in some goat cheese or feta instead of the parm. Regardless, this is certainly going in my repertoire.
OMG that looks like heaven. Definitely trying!
I made this today (but the original portion). I threaded bacon on the bottoms of the wells and sprinkled manchego cheese at the top. Instead of nutmeg I added a pinch of paprika and mustard powder. My CSA box had tons of red kale but no spinach so I used that instead. I’ve popped it into the oven and I’m excited for the final product :). One question, at the bottom of wells, did you have any of spinach in it?
Monica — Glad you liked this. I pretty much cleared the spinach out from the bottoms, but it would be impossible to do so completely. See the photo above of the empty wells for reference.
Unbelievably good dish. Thank you for posting thr recipe. Being a bit of a carnivore, I added ground breakfast sausage to the spinach/mushroom mix and served it for Easter brunch. Everybody (even the mushroom haters) loved it.
This recipe came just in time for my mom’s birthday/Easter brunch. I prepared everything but the eggs yesterday. Then I added the eggs today and baked just before serving … soooo good! Will definitely make this again, maybe even for dinner. Yum!
We really enjoyed the baked eggs with spinach and mushroom for Easter brunch! Thanks! I have to take issue, however, with you bacon cooking philosophy. While oven baked bacon may come out uniform, cook predictably, and reduce your overall workload, it doesn’t have the character and brilliant flavor of the more traditional stove-top bacon. Thanks again!
Very tasty, very easy!
I love mushrooms and eggs. However I never thought about bakin eggs with mushrooms.
A friend of mine recommended me your blog and I see how wonderful it is. Wanted to thank you for creating such valuable website.
Barbara Dixon
Made your eggs today. Just trying to increase the number of vegetables in my life. My cream was no good so I substituted a little cream cheese and some veggie broth and it worked like a dream. Thanks for such a great blog!
I love baked eggs. They’re so yummy and easy to make.
Had this for breakfast this morning, WOW. It turned out so good! I’ve never cooked fresh spinach before and I scaled way down for just two servings, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well it came together. It was sooo yummy. Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks for the suggestion! My husband was pretty intrigued by the idea, so we’re going to give it a try! He suggested beating the eggs up before adding them to the wells, then cooking them until they are firm. If it works, I’m going to be so happy!
Hi! This is completely unrelated but I don’t know how else to do this — do you know what happened to the Wednesday Chef blog? On my computer(s) it has disappeared — comes up as “unknown domain.” I think all you uber-bloggers communicate so I’m hoping you can help. And I think (on a related matter) my kid would love this recipe, spinach monster that she is.
#146 – I gather Wednesday Chef’s blog platform (typepad) is down – they are working on repairing it.
Also love this recipe – delicious! Sadly didn’t have full cream, but coffee cream (5%), worked well.
We’ve been using your WF bacon tip for years–but as someone else mentioned, they’re on to us! Drat. Price for bacon has suddenly gone up higher than the rest of the breakfast bar–how the heck can they enforce that. Glad to know it isn’t just my WF. And they seem to be getting really stingy with putting it out. This is a crisis!!
And, I can’t wait to try this lovely recipe for brunch. Thanks Deb!
Made this last night for the final night of Passover. So delicious! One question – this was my first time baking eggs. I only kept them in for 15 minutes, but the yolks were totally firm when I took the dish out (still delicious!). What do you think about playing around with the temp (maybe 400 for 15-20 minutes)? Thanks!
I’m going to be that “I made this but with a bunch of changes” commenter. I didn’t have any cream or spinach. I used kale for the bulk, and put in the third of a jar of pasta sauce I had that wasn’t going anywhere. I look forward to trying it with cream one day, but it was very tasty anyway! Thanks for (resurrecting) the idea!
Made this last night for my whole family – 3 girls lapped it up as did their Dad and I! Super easy, yummy and nutritious. I added feta (my addiction) to the mix. Thanks so much for your delicious and inspiring recipes!
Thank you for your recipes. Did the baked egg with spinach and fresh swiss chard…YUMMY! But you did it for me with the brown butter rice crispie treats…we call it crack and I have crack heads that drop hints all the time.
wonderful site…love it
b
Thank you for the comment! I’ve made this now 3 times and each with a half and half spinach and Swiss chard mixture — my husband won’t let me make it with just the spinach, he loves it so much this way.
Deb –
Made this for my in-laws over Easter weekend. They traditionally will eat whatever you put in front of them, but rarely say anything. (And we’re pretty good cooks.) But this? THEY LOVED. COULD NOT GET ENOUGH. RAVED ABOUT.
So thanks. Not only for a fabulously delicious recipe that everyone (the kids included!) loved, but for inspiring comment from the comment-less. An amazing feat.
I made this last night and it was delicious. The only thing I was wondering about was maybe cutting the amount of cream? It was a little runny with the spinach/mushroom mixture, but the eggs got a little over cooked? Ideas?
Liba — The cream can be cut, but the wetness was more likely from residual moisture in the spinach than from the cream. When I make this, I really try to squeeze every drop from the spinach, annoying as it is of a process, and don’t find the result to be particularly wet or creamy.
I adore this recipe. It was one of my favorites in the archives and I’m delighted to see you’ve revived it! I plan to make it for brunch this weekend. One of your all-time greats. Along with your Swiss chard and white bean soup, the recipe I most frequently go back to!
Looks great- I’m going to give it a try!
You can bake french toast! I make the most decadent french toast by making a custard, soaking thick cuts of challah and then transferring them to a cookie sheet plopping into a 350 oven and flipping them over after 10 minutes and then continue cooking them another 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can make a breakfast bread pudding. Make a custard, cube your challah, place it in a baking dish pour your custard over it, dust with cinnamon and pop it in the oven. You can even mix ahead.
Totally not buried in the archives for my family! I’ve made in the last couple years for Christmas breakfast at my parents house. I think I can go ahead and call it a tradition. We can go ahead and call it whatever we want, so long as we’re eating it. Baked eggs always! The problem with my attachment to it as Christmas recipe is that I don’t make it nearly enough (whereas your dead-simple and so very delicious baked eggs in tomato sauce have become a staple). This post reminds me that that needs to change immediately.
I made this for myself in a nonstick frying pan. Basically made the spinach/mushroom mixture with large handful of spinach, 2 mushrooms, 2 green onions and 2 T cream. Pushed that all to the side of the pan and cooked two eggs, over medium as I like them. Granted, not as pretty, but really delicious and took me about 10 minutes max!
Hi Deb! This looks wonderful and I cannot wait to make it this weekend! I had one question – would it be possible to incorporate hashbrowns or some kind of starch into this dish? If so, what would you suggest? Thanks!
Kay — Could you just serve them on the side? Or were you hoping to do some sort of potato-spinach-mushroom egg cup? I’m not sure I totally followed.
Yes! This looks fantastic! I’ve been craving greens for breakfast, and love that this is all cooked together in one dish. I’ll be making this next weekend for sure!
This is baking while I sit at the kitchen table drinking wine and the smells of utter divinity! Oh, and listening to Sweat Shop Union -bliss! My eggs , only for, for me and the guy, jumped their wells! Nothing to do but I’m sure they’ll taste great. One suggestion for all mushroom sautés -I get my cast iron pan hot enough to sizzle a drop of water and put them in, sear them for half a minute or so, then add butter. Learned that from a chef and use it always now. Makes the yummiest ever. You have to frig around with whatever else is going on but I haven’t ever regretted it! Love this site so much. Eating blondies with my wine!
Hi Deb! I was hoping I could incorporate the potato into the dish itself, but I was not sure how to do it without the potatoes getting a big mushy? But yes, I was thinking about doing some kind of potato-spinach-mushroom egg cup. Any suggestions would be great!
Kay — I think the potatoes would get mushy. This essentially lightly creamed mushrooms and spinach — I think the texture is at odds with crispy potatoes.
Hi Deb,
Can I replace heavy cream with milk/soy milk?
Wizard — You can, but it won’t be as thick and rich. You might try using less to start since it’s less likely to thicken when cooking.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was utterly delicious. At first there were cries of “Where’s the meat?” from my teenage sons, but that soon stopped once they started eating. Verdict? “You can make that again, mum.” Believe me, that’s high praise indeed! Best bit? It’s so filling, they only had two eggs each and there are four left for me for lunches over the next few days!
Oh my word, I made this for brunch this past weekend and it was FABULOUS! I did listen to Deb (naturally) and served some crispy potatoes on the side, but I did include sausage and leeks to the recipe and it was divine! I can’t wait to make it again!
I can’t believe you made me eat spinach willingly and enjoyed it. Again. =O
Thanks for this awesome recipe….It was the inspiration for/centerpiece of our ‘May the Forth” star wars themed brunch. We renamed it “Eggs a la Yoda” and it along with your cinnamon brown butter breakfast puffs (renamed Ewok Balls for the occasion) was a big hit.. keep up the good work and May the 4th be with you!
Another stellar recipe. Didn’t have enough spinach, so added in some chard, which worked well too. What I loved best about this is it could be breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. Thanks.
Do you think I could fit 14 eggs in this? I will have 7 adults on Sunday and while I’ll also have other food, I like to have the option for everyone to have 2 eggs. Thanks
Helena — In a bigger dish, maybe. 12 is already quite a squeeze in a lasagna pan.
Hi Deb – I am planning on making this with your creme brulee french toast recipe (using the sally lunn bread recipe – it’s a very Smitten Kitchen Mother’s Day) tomorrow.
If this dish should go in at 450 and the toast at 325, what would the most harmonious oven temp/time combination be for both to be done together? Thanks so much!
Denise — I didn’t see this in time but 400 would probably be fine for both.
This was perfect for our Mother’s Day brunch. Thank you! The kids love chopping mushrooms, so we had probably double the suggested mushrooms. So good!
Used my Cuisinart to dice the (large) onion then used the slicing disk to do all the mushrooms and it worked great: some were sliced whole, some broke a bit but all were perfect. I had the Cuisinart out already (for the Retro Strawberries-and-Cream Pretzel Tart on Epicurious) and it was a huge time saver. The finished result had fabulous flavor and was the perfect (day before) make-ahead; I just cracked the eggs at the last minute and, while it baked, stuck whole grain ciabatta in the panini press for a crunchy accompaniment. Served w/ sauteed onions/peppers/chicken & garlic sausage for an easy Mother’s Day brunch. LOVED IT! The easy clean-up — thanks to the advance effort — was a great Mother’s Day gift to myself!
Ok, don’t get sick of me, but made 4 of your recipes this weekend, so I just have to comment how it went, this is my third post on your site today, one more to go! This one was ALSO great, and another keeper in the list of options when we have guests. The only bummer was that I cut the recipe in half with only 6 eggs, and I think it wasn’t enough for a dinner of 6. It wasn’t the only dish, but it was a popular one! Also, my holes were not big or deep enough and when I cracked the egg into them it just ran all over the place, I was worried, but it actually looked and tasted great!
This was so good. I used coriander instead of nutmeg…. amazing.
I halved this recipe for dinner last night and it was delicious! So so good and very easy. Half the recipe fed my boyfriend and I with just a little leftover. I will be making this again very soon, I just cant stop thinking about how good it was!
Excellent and easy, though I did add some extra cream and parmesan and replaced the mushrooms with more spinach. It did take a good half hour or more to cook in a heavy ceramic baking dish. Yummy.
All these food blogs make me want to try something new. Just goes to show everybody has their own sense of creativity. Well at least most do. Nice Post!
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Hello! This looks amazing, and I’d love to make it this weekend – but have a non-mushroom fan. Any substitution recommendations?
Jessica — You might try artichokes.
I made this last night, sticking pretty close to your instructions. It turned out delicious and made a good presentation. I’ll be repeating this one for sure.
The spinach mushroom saute was so delicious and this made for a beautiful presentation. Although after 15 minutes in the oven my yolks were rock hard :( I love a good runny egg so I was a bit sad! I may do 11-12 minutes next time.
What a super easy and truly delish dish! It works very well to make the mushroom and spinach sauté the night before and add the eggs in the morning. I used portobello mushrooms, yum! I agree with other reviewers – cook for only about 11-12 mins for semi-runny eggs. This is a great low-carb option, for sure! This dish will be present at many future brunches!
Just made this dish again! Thank you so much for sharing it–it is truly delicious and has so many healthy ingredients that I feel great eating it! I wilted some kale that I had lying around (didn’t want it to go to waste and it blends in so well with the spinach that the kids had no clue) and it was spectacular. Love, love, love this dish!
When I made this the tops of the eggs were rubbery and hard – any idea how to prevent that? Maybe lower temperature or butter/water on top? I sort of peeled off the rubbery part and it still tasted good underneath (boyfriend loved it!)
Eating this right now… delicious!
I made it all in a skillet and omitted the mushrooms as I didn’t have any on hand. Didn’t have cream either, so I added a couple dollops of plain Greek yoghurt along with some milk… made it so flavourful that I didn’t need any cheese! Maybe a good substitution for the health-conscious?
Thanks Deb, fantastic recipe!
My roommate made this last night and I can’t wait to make it myself! Really good.
I made this so I can have a few weekday breakfasts ready to rock. I didn’t have enough spinach so I added a green pepper and I grated a zucchini. Used low fat milk and added goat cheese. Runny eggs scares me so I just whisked them up and poured them into the wells. Delicious!
Just had this for dinner with homemade potato wedges as a side. I used frozen spinach – and it worked amazingly well. A little cayenne also added a bit spicyness to the eggs (which were just perfect – your advice to check with a toothpick was exactly the best way to do it!!)
Thanks so much – this is much better than any baked eggs I´ve ever eaten – even Eggs Benedictine – which I am addicted to, have a hard time competing. Thanks so much for widening my spinach horizon:-)
Made this for Xmas morning, was great that it could be mostly made ahead. I pulverized the mushrooms in a food processor (to hide them from the mushroom haters who don’t know I do this a lot and they’ve been eating mushrooms for years in a variety of foods!) and added it to the sautéed onions, along with Italian turkey sausage meat (did not feel like messing about with bacon). Used only 8 eggs in a 9×13 pan. Eggs could have been a lot runnier, definitely take it out the first time you check and wonder if it’s done, it probably is!
Deb-I made these to day with Swiss chard: super great! However all of my eggs cooked with a kind of rubbery “skin” over the top. Is that normal or is the problem on my end?
I made these for a big brunch and they were a huge hit. My eggs went from under to way over awfully fast – next time I’ll keep a better eye on them.
Similar to a shakshuka by Israeli cookbook author Janna Gur, which uses spinach, leeks and feta rather than the traditional spicy tomato sauce.
I made these last year the first time around and made them again tonight. I have to say, one SHOULD use the nutmeg, and put it in while the mushrooms are cooking to flavor them. OH YUM! Also, good bacon cooked in the oven on a Pampered Chef Large Bar pan (or the fancier equivalent, though I do think these are terrific stone ware for the price) is the way to go. The bacon can cook at 450 to pre-heat the oven thoroughly and there is still no mess and very little smell and you can keep all the bacon fat yourself for other uses! Super dinner tonight! I will definitely be making this a regular part of our menu!
Has anyone tried making this with coconut milk? Would that be too weird? I have to give a non-dairy brunch this weekend, and I’m wondering whether to try substituting something else creamy for the cream, or just leaving it out altogether.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I hated cooked leafy greens, and now this has completely changed my mind. My boyfriend and I have been eating the leftovers at almost every meal!
This is absolutely delicious! I just made the recipe in individualized portions in a muffin tin for an easy bring-to-work breakfast, and while the muffin tin isn’t ideal—not enough room to make an adequately deep well for the egg, so I had to dispose of some of the white—the end result just gets smooshed together anyway, so it was fine. Rich and yummy without feeling heavy and a great way to get veggies in in the morning!
Made this for brunch this morning. I don’t know if I had quite enough spinach, because there wasn’t enough of the vegetable mixture to really make deep wells to crack the eggs in. Also mine were fully cooked through at 15 minutes, so I missed my chance at a runny yolk. The eggs were too hard while there was still quite a bit of liquid in the vegetable mixture despite me squeezing all the water I could out of the spinach.
It still tasted good, I think I just messed up on a few parts. I would try this again! Probably with more spinach and less cream, and start checking those eggs at 10 minutes.
looks so yummy and healthy! What a great way to sneak greens into your first meal…perfect for Easter morning!
I’ve been thinking about making this as a lunch to take to work. Has anyone ever experimented with reheating in a microwave? I’d love to maintain the beauty of a runny baked egg, and I know the microwave will just destroy it.
Just for reference — I made these this weekend for a brunch. I prepped everything Saturday night and did them in individual ramekins in the fridge. If I did it again, I’d up the amount of spinach and mushroom per egg for ramekins — the egg kind of cooked over the spinach, despite the well, so it wasn’t quite as striking from a looks perspective. Also, I had someone who doesn’t eat eggs, so I smashed up some tofu with some spices and put it in one of them instead of egg, and it was great as well.
Just made this again after more than a year – this time for dinner. It was sooo good! Will definitely be on the table again soon!
People keep asking about substituting coconut milk (the stuff in the can, with coconut cream,) but nobody seems to ever reports back, so I’m reporting back: it’s totally delicious!
Also, my frozen spinach is sold in 300 g packages, and 2 packages yields approximately 1 cup, microwaved and squeezed dry. I use a potato ricer for the squeezing.
I also wonder if the complaints about the vegetable mixture being too wet is not from the spinach being insufficiently squeezed but from mushrooms not truly being cooked dry. I’ve observed in the past, cooking mushrooms till the pan looks dry, and then as they cool just a bit, more liquid comes out. If you added the cream promptly, you might not notice that additional mushroom liquid coming out.
All I can say is, make sure the water really is fully cooked off! (Moistness from possibly too much butter, since I eyeballed it, wasn’t a problem.) Maybe even allow it to cool a minute to see if any more seeps out. Just a guess, but I bet the thin slices you get from using a mandolin help the mushrooms give up their liquid faster and more fully.
I made a riff of these with some leftover spinach and kale, and I would like to formally thank you for showing me the light of greens for breakfast. Specifically greens + cream + Parmesan, yummmmmmm.
Absolutely devine! I made it today for brunch and it was wonderful. Everyone loved it. Thanks for this gem of a recipe. I’ll definitely be making it again.
I usually don’t have time for breakfast. Coffee is the usual breakfast food for me during the weekdays. On weekends, when I am home and have people over, I will tend to cook the usual eggs and bacon with a side of teast. I know, boring! But this recipe seems easy enough and really yummy, hearty and healthy. I love all the ingredients in this dish and I will definitely attempt to make these the weekend coming up.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve just made this for a group for the third time, this time for my friend’s 30-person bridal shower (one of several items served — i did 21 eggs and they were all devoured). It’s so wonderful, and guests really rave about it. I just want to flag that even after doing it 3 times, I’d missed the detail of adding the parmesan AFTERWARDS, and that’s important as it’s quite hard to tell if the eggs are done if they’re obscured with parmesan. I accidentally overdid half the batch this weekend. It was all still totally delicious though!
I’m so confused….so when I made mine, it looked like there was no way there was enough spinach mixture for a 9×13 so I used an 8×8. Then it was SO liquidy that it was hard to make a well for the eggs because every time I’d push the spinach mixture out of the way, it all collapsed back since it was so wet. If it tastes good, I’ll try again, but maybe with less cream? HELP?!?!!?
Janice — If it’s too wet, it probably just needed to have the water wrung out more. What kind of spinach did you start with? And it should absolutely be enough for a 9×3… once the wells for eggs are made. Without them, less so.
I made this for Mother’s Day yesterday – fantastic! I used shallots instead of onion, and I think it was a really nice substitute. Everyone loved it!
I’m trying to make this for my FIL who just had a heart attack…Is is possible to sub olive oil for the butter and, more importantly, to skip the heavy cream? Cheers!
Update: I ended up keeping the butter but skipping the cream altogether, and it turned out just fine. Only thing is that it was tricky to tell when the eggs were done. They developed a sort of rubbery skin over top, which I thought was an indication that they were overdone, but the middle ones all still had nice runny yolks. Rubbery skin was not desirable though. Any suggestions?
I just made this for my husband’s birthday brunch and everyone LOVED it! So so so delicious! Will become one of my go-to recipes. Thank you!
I halved the recipe and made it in a cast-iron. In my oven the eggs were cooked to the point where the yolks were completely solid after 15 minutes. As I would prefer the yolks runnier, next time I will start checking with the toothpick at 10 minutes! Otherwise this turned out perfectly; a crowd-pleaser all around.
Just made this for friends that we had visiting for brunch. So good and we have requests for the recipe. I followed the recipe exactly and it was done in 25 minutes. I may shorten the cooking time next time by two minutes. You do need to watch it really close the last few minutes so the yolks don’t all get hard. Really delicious, will make again for sure.
I made this and it was delicious! Put it together (sans eggs) the day before. Could not have been easier. Thanks for a delicious recipe. Served it with your home fries which are also delish.
This was absolutely delicious, and so simple. It really was a treat — decadent but also full of veggies.
I kept all amounts the same, but halved the number of eggs (6 instead of a dozen) for my crowd size. The ratio of greens to eggs was perfect this way, in my opinion, as I LOVE lots of greens. I also added a bit more nutmeg since I love that flavor, especially with cream.
Served alongside fresh homemade bread and a glazed spiral ham, it was an absolutely delicious and low-fuss brunch.
Love this…looks delicious….! Going to make this in the next few days…thank you!
Delicious! We had a surplus of lovely spinach in the garden this year, and we ate our way through it with this recipe. We made half batches and they were enough for two hearty dinners and a lunch! Awesome. This one is going in the gold folder!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I wanted to try it so much that I made my own Mother’s Day brunch! I was not disappointed! It was SO scrumptious that I wish I had made 12 eggs instead of 8! I could eat this all day! How good would this be over brown rice? I’m going to make it again this week!
Deb, I’ve made this a few times and it is amazing! My only problem is that every single time I just can’t seem to get the eggs right. I check and check and check, but by the time the whites are finally cooked the yolks are overcooked. Please advise on how I can get the eggs to cook just right! (I have the same issue with shakshuka!)
I have the same problem, although it’s delish anyway. Maybe cooking it in the top third or the temperature is the problem?
Also, can it be frozen without the eggs? And can it be made with half and half?
It’s not just you: baked eggs are always a pain. I watch the oven like a hawk. I tend to take them out a minute or two early; the residual heat will keep them cooking. I look for the whites to be opaque and not liquid, but not quite as firm as you’d like to eat them yet. They should seem slightly under.
hii deb, love this recipe and especially your deep baking dish. where did you procure such a simple and elegant dish? thanks!
It’s my favorite 9×13 (lightweight but sturdy, washes up like the day you bought it) and it’s usually almost dirt cheap (my last one was $17). However, now it looks out of stock (but there are other sellers listed). Buy two if you find it. You’ll be so glad you did.
I made this without cream or nutmeg, and with less spinach than advised. I used the full amount of butter and I didn’t cook down ALL of the mushroom liquid, but it worked well and was a rich dish, even sans creme. Next time I would put on the cheese mid-bake to get it golden. It was amazing! I used farm share spinach (adult but still tender) and two little dollar bags of bruised creminis from the market. I did it with six eggs, on an upper rack in a pyrex container, and it was a perfect dinner entree for four people but we all wanted more. This dish cries out for a companion grain, so I made a rye berry salad appetizer but once this was out of the oven, nobody wanted any salad. :D
This is now my new brunch go-to dish. Delish, easy, and crowdpleasing! I have also added bellpeppers to it and it is great too.
Dear Deb: Quick timing question on this dish. Having 12 over for brunch this morning and making this. Time is set for noon. Want to serve this pretty soon after the majority show up. Not doing a lot of appetizers as that leaves them too full for the whoopie pies, 3 berry crisp and homemade ice cream for dessert. What time would you put the eggs in? 15 mins before noon and ply those who come on time with brunchy cocktails and candied pecans for 15 mins? or start it the true 1/2 hour before first arrival and then let it sit. Just don’t want late-comers to get the sad cold parts is all….Advice?
Sorry I didn’t see this sooner (hope it was a success!) but I’d put the eggs in 10 to 15 minutes before you want to eat. It continues cooking as it comes out of the oven so I always try to 1. Take it out a little earlier than seems right. 2. Not let it sit before serving it.
I am having a crowd for brunch. And I have a lot of chard in my garden. Can I substitute chard for the spinach. If yes , would you recommend any special treatment of the chard?
The flavors are perfect. Be aware that the author just tripled the numbers in the original recipe from her source, Gourmet 2004. Unfortunately that included the cooking time. My eggs were seriously hard–My own fault for not watching it more closely. I’d be willing to use frozen spinach next time.
Hi there, I know it’s a long shot that you’ll see this in time (hurrah for your book tour!), but I love this dish and was hoping to make it for a crowd for breakfast on Thanksgiving. However, we’ve got someone with a milk allergy and I’m not sure what to do for the cream. (The butter’s easy to replace.) Do you think coconut milk would work? I was thinking maybe I could even play it up by cooking the greens with some chilies, but I can’t tell if that would be weird or not. Or would I be better off just choosing a different recipe? Thank you!
Yes, I’ve made it with coconut milk, the kind in a can. It tastes divine, if a little different.
Looks amazing. Is there any component in this recipe one could do in pressure cooker such as instantpot?
Probably, but I am not sure it would save much time because none of this cooks long. For the egg part, it will be hard to get them cooked exactly right (you want to pull them out a minute too loose) if you can’t watch it.
this looks divine!!!! Q: i cannot do the heavy cream (due to also having blueberry muffins etc!). Any chance 2% milk or fat free half and half (with flour thickening?) might work at all ?? i know it wouldn’t be as delicious…
thank you!!
A friend made this recipe at brunch recently, and it was the star of the meal! (the meal also featured delicious cinnamon rolls, so this was no easy feat).
I’d love to try this recipe with a substitution of a spicy tomato sauce similar to shakshuka over the spinach and mushrooms. Any suggestions on how to do this? Thanks :)
Do you want to make a shakshuka and keep the spinach and mushrooms or just a tomato-y sauce to put over this dish?
Since I have ducks laying lots of eggs and a CSA that is spinach heavy, this looks perfect. But, any idea why the original recipe cautions against using a cast iron skillet? I’d understand if it was tomato heavy but I can’t wrap my head around the problem of using one here. Deb, any idea why I shouldn’t use my cast iron?
This has become my go to brunch dish. Making it for Easter tomorrow. Every single person i’ve served it to has been impressed with presentation and even more so once they try it. Love it!
I’m a huge fan of baked eggs (and a huge fan of Smitten Kitchen!) I have to say these were easily some of the best non-traditional baked eggs I’ve ever made, will definitely be doing them again for a bigger crowd!!
Delish…5 stars!
Got great reviews for this for Mother’s Day brunch even after forgetting to add the Parmesan (sprinkled some on top.) My brother-in-law thought the name could be improved – he christened it “Frog in Bog” (after Toad in Hole) which delighted my nephew. I think it will be known as Frog in Bog at our house.
This is a genius recipe for serving brunch to a crowd. I did the prep in advance and assembled and baked it this morning for a World Cup viewing party. Used frozen spinach and subbed half and half for cream, and scaled it up to make 18 eggs. Was a hit with bacon and buttermilk biscuits on the side (biscuits prepped ahead and flash-frozen per SK’s How to Serve Brunch guide!)
I baked for 13 minutes at 400 degrees F and the yolks were past runny already [insert sad face emoji here]. Those who are yet to make this – I suggest you start at 400 degrees and start checking after 8-9 minutes.
I have made this several times — it’s wonderful and amazingly popular for such a vegetable heavy dish. I know this is an old post, but just in case anyone is watching… Do you think this would freeze okay without the eggs (that is, if I prepped the spinach and mushroom mixture up to making the indentations but before adding the eggs)? I hope to make this a couple of days ahead for xmas brunch. Thanks for your help!!
I’d think so! But I bet it will also keep for a couple days in the fridge.
Great, I might try the fridge route then! Thanks very much for your reply!!
Do you (or anyone) think this would work as well with equal amounts of baby kale? Thanks!
Think it would work with a hasbrown crust in a cast iron skillet- maybe a thin version of your kugel – baked and crisped first then filled with this recipe, or would cream make it too mushy?
Hi!
I love the recipe for baked eggs with spinach and mushrooms 🍄 but I wonder if I can substitute the heavy cream with something lighter like almond milk?
We ate lactose intolerant🐣
Thank you kindly!
Have a Blessed Holiday🙏
Barb Stevens
I made this yesterday by substituting the cream for stock and a good portion of the butter for avocado oil. Still tasted wonderful, IMHO.
I was hoping to use thawed frozen spinach, would that be terrible if I squeeze out all the water?
I think it would be just fine. I’ve definitely done it in the past.
I made this using coconut milk instead of the cream and it was delicious! We also happened to leave out the parmesan cheese by accident, but didn’t miss it.
I often cook at remote sites–from the Yukon Charley Preserve in Interior Alaska to St. Lawrence Island, from where we can, indeed, see Russia. This egg, spinach, mushroom breakfast is always a favorite. And, as the cook, I”m happy to say it’s easy to prep. That counts at 6:00am.
I’ve been meaning to try this recipe for years and finally made it this evening. I halved it and used 4 eggs. Otherwise followed directions exactly.
I checked my eggs after 10 minutes and the yolks were already hard :( I used a Le Creuset pan so perhaps it had an impact on cooking time. The flavors were great and, if I can convince my husband that mushrooms are not evil, I will make it again…either in a different pan or checking the eggs every five minutes.
Have a guess. I cooked this in my MIL’s oven and noted that her oven defaulted to turning the top and bottom elements on, while at home my oven just the bottom element is on by default. Since the dish is placed in the top third of the oven maybe the top element could have had an effect for you too?
This dish looks delicious! Would it work to sauté the spinach after the onions and garlic were cooked instead of boiling it?
I made a smaller portion of this (4 eggs) in a cast iron pan. I checked it at 15 minutes, and the eggs were way, way over cooked, like rubbery, hard-boiled eggs. Not appetizing. I threw them out and am trying it again. I’m not sure what happened, but I highly recommend checking before 15 minutes!
Made this for Easter brunch today. Sub’ed mushroom stock for the cream, put a layer of potatoes on the bottom, and served with a side of hollandaise sauce. Got lots of wonderful complements. Thanks for the inspiration!
This was perfect! Made it for Easter. Can see using this year round.Excited to have a new brunch entree in my arsenal!
This was a big hit at our Easter Sunday celebration! I followed the advise of checking early and often. Love how the eggs were cooked at different temps in a 9×13 so you could appeal to those who like their eggs fully cooked or with a bit of a runny yolk. Served with your Simple Potato Gratin. It was a Smitten Sunday!
This was SO GOOD! And fun to make! I used coconut milk instead of cream and a mix of kale and spinach and it was wonderful. Cooked for 20 minutes. Thank you! This will definitely be in our regular brunch rotation.
Would this work with frozen spinach instead of fresh?
yes. I usually use frozen when I make this. just wring/press out the moisture well when defrosted, same as you would the boiled spinach. getting the quantity right may be a bit of experimentation.
Yes
So excited to make these but have no heavy cream:/ could I sub milk?
Yes but it won’t be as creamy, of course.
Sounds wonderful !Is it possible to omit the cream . , or reduce the amount ?Or substitute
Mine’s in the oven right now – I chopped some japaleno and sauted that in with the onions and garlic as well. Now I just need a crusty loaf of bread to eat this with.
Ok, ok, I know this might be the oddest question for this kind of dish… Is there any possible substitute for the mushrooms?
I know it’s an ingredient that is literally in the title of the dish… But if there is any hope of substituting them, please advise!
Another sauteed vegetable should work — zucchini, fennel, etc.
Wows cant wait to try this recipe. This is an amazing recipe. Thanks for the wonderful post.
15 minutes resulted in rubbery eggs for me. I’ll have to try this again with less time.
I know I am weird but I only like scrambled eggs or omelets. Can this be made by mixing the eggs as if making scrambled eggs and adding each to a well in the spinach?
I definitely think you could. Maybe add a little cream to the eggs so they don’t set so hard.
Made this for an Easter brunch. Came out perfectly although eggs were quite set after 25 minutes. But my oven is pretty efficient. Next time I’ll decrease the temp.
Also made your citrus salad with feta and mint. Also great!
Made this for Easter breakfast. Added extra spinach. It was not complicated but it was delicious. Served with English muffins. Would definitely make again.
We had this for Easter brunch this morning and it was a big hit. Very yummy!
It was also easy to prepare. We made the spinach-mushroom mixture the night before and kept in in a container in the fridge over night. In the morning I warmed it a little bit in the microwave and put it back into the skillet, made the “nests” and cracked the eggs. Was in the oven a touch too long, but still delightful even with the egg yolks fully set. Definitely a keeper!
This looks delicious! Is there a way to make this dairy free? What do you recommend swapping the heavy cream with?
Maybe it’s cheating, but I’ve made this a few times and just used frozen spinach and skipped the wilting. I just defrosted drained and squeezed it out the day before. I’ve never made it with fresh spinach, so I can’t compare, but it’s been delicious with frozen spinach.
Would this recipe work in muffin tins? Seems logical, and for us unsophisticated cooks, less chance of creating a mess.
I do think so, but the egg might take up most of the tin, too.
I had been wanting to try this recipe for quite some time, but it seemed like it might be rather time-consuming. I could not have been more wrong. Since we first started making it a few months ago, we’ve made it almost weekly. We halve the recipe and make it in a cast-iron skillet. (We often end up using 7 eggs instead of 6.) It is a quick, easy, and delicious weekday meal.
The one time we made the full amount (12 eggs), we were staying in a cabin. We prepared everything except the eggs at home ahead of time, then packed both the vegetable mixture (in a 9 x 13 pan) and a dozen eggs. It worked very well.
I highly recommend this recipe. It’s amazing how flavorful it is despite the simple ingredients.
I made it with soy cream for a guilt-free version that could work for supper too, and also used frozen spinach. I actually nearly always use frozen spinach and just steam it til cooked, then it stirs in so easily to recipes like this but you get loads of volume for much less fridge/freezer space AND less work in the kitchen. This was excellent and is definitely going to become a regular feature around here.
Mine was seriously watery—not sure what I did wrong. The suggestion that all the liquid will cook off the mushrooms in 5 minutes is just wrong, I let them cook for 15 minutes and it was still pretty liquidy. Ah well.
I cooked my 6 eggs at 450 degrees/15 minutes and they were stones. Is that because there were too few eggs?
This looks delicious and straightforward other than cooking temp/time :-). Is there any update thought on when to start checking the eggs for finish, and/or whether the temp should be lower? Thank you!
Eggs like this will always have a range. Here’s my best advice: If you’re serving it right away, take them out when the whites are set and the yolks are not. If you might be serving it 10 or 15 minutes later, take them out a minute or so sooner as they will continue cooking in the hot pan.
Like all SK recipes I’ve tried, this one turns out perfect exactly as written! It’s easy to make, healthy, and full of flavor. I halved the recipe for my household of one and ate leftovers for lunch with SK’s Ginger Fried Rice. Both taste great on reheating, just with the eggs turning firmer, as expected.
This looks incredible! Do you think I could use two cups of thawed frozen spinach that’s had all the liquid drained off?
Yes.
taste wise, DELISH! i didn’t care for the amount of liquid though…i did squeeze out the spinach, but maybe not enough, it will be more mindful of that next time!
I highly recommend this recipe! I transferred mine (a half recipe with 6 eggs) to a glass dish for the next morning. Baked for about 15 minutes but that left the yolks too far—not runny but not dry either. Next time I’ll probably take them out sooner, like about when I went to check them and they looked just about opaque but jiggled a bit much, exactly like Deb says. And I will make it again because it was easy and good looking and impressed a house full of food snobs so much that 3 people took pics of the recipe. Left the cheese off and subbed coconut cream and olive oil because of an allergy but it was still great.
Made this as instructed, took it out after about 22 minutes, and it was delicious! I used frozen spinach and I can’t imagine why fresh would ever be preferable here! I overcooked the eggs just a little bit so the yolks weren’t runny, so next time I’ll try to not be afraid to take it out before the whites are fully set. Also maybe I’ll mix in the grated parmesan before baking? It seemed like an afterthought being sprinkled on top.
But anyway, delicious!
I have made this before and it’s terrific! Highly recommend. Two questions 1) is it possible to omit the dairy altogether – we have sensitivities. 2) If I wanted to make this the day before and reheat, has anyone had success doing so?
You can probably use a non-dairy milk here, instead. To make it ahead, I’d wait to bake the eggs into the nests until you rewarm it.
I made the spinach mushroom mixture a day ahead, and then we decided we weren’t in the mood for eggs. I topped raw chicken breast cutlets with the mixture, topped that with sliced mozzarella cheese, and poured some heavy cream in the baking dish.
It was absolutely incredible.
Hate to be “that ” person, but do you think this can be modified and assembled as a frittata? Making for a brunch and not sure of folks egg preferences so having it all mixed together might be a better idea. I did poke around your frittata recipes, but I like the idea of spinach and mushroom (plus I have them on hand!).
I don’t see why not, you could use this to replace the brussels and bacon in this one if you wished.
This is easy to scale up or down. I sprinkle with extra cheese before baking.
This was brunch this morning and it was perfect for a crisp Fall day before football. And it paired beautifully with a Bellini.
I’ve just made with kale instead of spinach and it was brilliant because any bits on the top became crispy and browned like kale chips. I also baked in the same cast iron skillet in which I sautéed to save a dish and speed up the baking. Great recipe!!!
That sounds delicious. And perfect for a diabetic like me. Please tell me which of your books I should get. I dont cook puddings or sweet things and like lots of grains, high fibre veg, eggs etc. With minimum prep! Is one of your books better for me?
Thank you. You can look at a list of recipes in each book at the end of this page and that will hopefully make it easier to choose: https://smittenkitchen.com/books/
This was delicious. I followed the recipe, and omitted the nutmeg. I cut the recipe in a third, as a test to see if I should serve it to guests next week. For this small pan, the cook time needed to be shorter – I checked the eggs at 15 minutes and they were already solid. But still tasty! My note – don’t skimp on the spinach, you need a lot of volume to make good wells. Thanks for the great breakfast!
I’ve made this for brunch twice now, with vegan cream for a little extra lightness, and it’s been an absolute hit both times. I also added a little lemon zest before sticking it in the oven, and finished with a sprinkle of lemon juice. The lemon adds a really nice bit of acidity to the richness of the dish.
This one is going in the regular rotation, thank you!