Savory Quinoa Breakfast Bowl with Kale and Eggs Recipe

What Is Savory Quinoa Breakfast Bowl with Kale and Eggs?

This is a savory breakfast bowl built on cooked quinoa instead of bread or sweet cereal. The quinoa stays loose and separate, the sautéed kale wilts down beside it, and a runny egg yolk spreads over the top like a sauce.

What Makes This Recipe Anti-Inflammatory?

Kale brings glucosinolates, compounds that turn into sulforaphane when you chop and chew the leaves. The leaves also supply lutein. Egg yolks add lutein, zeaxanthin and choline.

Extra-virgin olive oil contributes oleocanthal, a phenolic compound with anti-inflammatory activity. Quinoa counts as a whole grain and adds fiber and magnesium, and pumpkin seeds bring more magnesium plus gamma-tocopherol, a form of vitamin E. The bowl has no added sugar, no refined flour, no breakfast sausage and no refined seed oils.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch lacinato kale (about 6 ounces), stems removed and leaves chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 medium avocado, sliced

Directions

Step 1

Put the rinsed quinoa in a small saucepan with 1 cup of the water and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, lower the heat to its lowest setting, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the water is fully absorbed and each grain shows its white germ curled outward. Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered.

Step 2

While the quinoa boils, toast the pumpkin seeds in a large dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes, moving the pan often, until they start to pop and smell toasty. Move them to a small plate. Toasting them now overlaps with the quinoa cooking time.

Step 3

While the quinoa rests covered off the heat, set the skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for about 45 seconds, until the garlic browns at the edges and turns fragrant. Add the kale with the remaining 2 tablespoons of water and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring, until the leaves collapse and turn dark green. Move the kale to a plate.

Step 4

Wipe the skillet with a paper towel and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in it over medium-low heat. Crack the 4 eggs into the skillet and cook them for about 3 minutes, until the whites turn opaque and set and the edges turn golden and lacy while the yolks stay runny. Season them with the remaining salt.

Step 5

Fluff the quinoa with a fork and stir in the lemon juice. Divide it between two shallow bowls and top each one with the kale, two eggs, the sliced avocado and the toasted pumpkin seeds.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

InflammaScore

1 Good! Very low inflammation potential

Q&A

Q1: Can I prep anything the night before?
A1: Yes. Cook the quinoa and sauté the kale the night before and store them in separate containers in the refrigerator. In the morning, reheat both gently in a skillet while you toast the pumpkin seeds and fry the eggs. Assemble the bowls just before eating so the avocado stays fresh.

Q2: What can I use instead of lacinato kale?
A2: Curly kale works with the same 4 minutes in the skillet, though its ruffled leaves need a few extra stirs to collapse evenly. Bagged pre-chopped kale cooks about a minute faster. Baby spinach wilts in about 2 minutes, so add it last and pull it as soon as the leaves collapse.

Q3: Why does my quinoa turn out bitter or mushy?
A3: Bitterness comes from the seed coating, so rinse the quinoa well before cooking. Mushiness comes from too much water or lifting the lid while it simmers, which releases steam the grains still need. Keep the water ratio as written, keep the lid on, and fluff with a fork only after it rests off the heat.

Q4: Can I cook the eggs a different way?
A4: Yes. Poached eggs and soft-boiled eggs both work here. Cook them however you like, then place two on top of each bowl of quinoa and kale. The runny yolk still spreads over the ingredients and replaces the sauce, so the assembly does not change.

Q5: How do I store and reheat leftovers?
A5: Keep the quinoa, kale and pumpkin seeds in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat the quinoa and kale in a skillet or the microwave. Fry the eggs fresh when you serve, since reheated eggs turn rubbery and the yolk sets. Slice the avocado on the spot.

This bowl reheats well without its egg, so leftover components turn into breakfast in minutes the next morning.