Loaded with your favorites and made entirely in one pan, this protein-packed skillet is an explosion of flavor and highly adaptable to your taste buds and dietary needs.
Imagine the best parts of a traditional style breakfast all in one recipe: eggs, potatoes, meat, cheese, and even vegetables as an added bonus. And the combination of those best parts provide all three macronutrients – carbohydrates (from the potatoes), fat (from the egg yolks, meat, cheese, and olive oil), and protein (from the egg whites and meat) – making for a balanced breakfast option that will keep you full, satisfied, and energized throughout the morning. It’s giving Cracker Barrel, but make it healthy.
Yummy as is or used as a filling for breakfast taquitos or burritos, this cheesy, hearty dish is dynamic! Aside from delectability, the constants in this recipe are the flexibility and vast room for creativity – which you’ll see in the ingredients below and furthermore in the notes section. Since this skillet is completely customizable though, it would be beneficial to at least skim through the notes section before heading to the kitchen as there are substitutions, variations, and tips to help tailor the recipe to your liking!
Grant’s Breakfast Skillet
Ingredients
- 25 oz. red potatoes
- 6 slices turkey bacon
- 3 eggs
- ½ C liquid egg whites
- ½ C shredded vegan cheese, nutritional yeast, or a combination of the two, divided*
- 1 lb. lean sausage: turkey, venison
- 1 TBSP oil: olive, avocado, almond, walnut
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
Vegetables
- 2 heaping handfuls of spinach
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 2 bell peppers
- ¼ medium medium onion
- 1 small handful of mushrooms
Optional Seasonings:
- Chives, garlic, oregano, parsley, garlic pepper
- Olive or avocado oil spray
Instructions
- Slice and dice the potatoes, vegetables, and turkey bacon, then set aside*
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, and half (¼ C) of the cheese or nutritional yeast, then set aside
- In a deep, oven-safe, sprayed skillet, cook and season the meat and turkey bacon to your liking, then set aside
- In the same skillet, heat the oil (spray the places where the oil doesn’t reach) over low-medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add the potatoes and half of the sea salt (¼ tsp.) to the skillet. Cover and let it cook for 15 minutes, stirring 2-3 times throughout. After 15 minutes, cook uncovered for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring (and spraying if needed) until the edges start to brown and the potatoes are soft and can be pierced with a fork*
- Fold in the vegetables, rest of the salt, pepper, any additional seasonings, and extra spray if needed, then stir and cook for ~5 minutes until the vegetables are almost fully cooked
- Once the vegetables are softened and nearly done, mix the cooked meat into the skillet*
- Pour the egg mixture over the skillet and let the eggs cook through to your liking, ~10 minutes
- Remove from heat and sprinkle the remaining cheese or nutritional yeast on top. At this point, the skillet is ready to be served or it can be broiled at 400°F for ~2-4 minutes until the top is browned and cheese is bubbly
Notes
- *Vegetables: all sorts of vegetables are suitable here and the portions listed are more of a ballpark measure than anything, the exact amounts are left to your discretion
- *Cheese or nutritional yeast: you can use more, less, or none at all – this too is dependent on your preferences
- *1. The potatoes can be shredded, cubed, or finely diced – note the larger the cut, the longer they will take to cook
- *4. Depending on the size of the potatoes, you may find that they need more time cooking covered, so if they aren’t softening after the initial 15 minutes, continue to cook in 5 minute increments until they’re soft, keeping a close eye on them so they don’t overcook or burn
- *6. At this point of integrating the meat, I begin to stir more deliberately knowing that the eggs are being added next, which will in a sense “lock” the contents of the skillet in place. So while the meat is begin mixed in, I consciously try to evenly distribute the rest of the ingredients (by breaking up mounds of potatoes and spreading out clumps of vegetables) in order for a more proportionate dish where each bite has a little bit of everything.
- Substitutes and swaps: sweet potatoes, Polish sausage, vegan sausage, seitan bacon
- Other cooking methods: oven at 375F, grill, smoker
- Store leftovers in the fridge for ~5-7 days, and serve warm in a bowl or on a plate (Grant likes to top it with BBQ, hot sauce, more nutritional yeast, or a dash of BBQ rub for added *spice*)
This can be prepped in advance for a grab-and-go breakfast or served for a sit-down brunch or breakfast for dinner. Grant’s Breakfast Skillet is fitting for fellow meat-loving carnivores, suitable for lacto-ovo vegetarians (sans meat, of course), and modifiable for ovo-vegetarians.
Though the versatility of this recipe can feel overwhelming. If that’s the case, keep to the basics: meat, potatoes, eggs, cheese, and a vegetable. From there, decide what type of meat you want, how you prefer your potatoes to be cut, plant-based or regular cheese, and your favorite vegetable to include. Then with your chosen ingredients at hand, follow the directions accordingly and you’ll have a nutritious, sizzling skillet ready before you know it!
While this is the ultimate smorgasbord of salty + savory breakfast foods, the crowd with the insatiable sweet tooth is not forgotten (if anything, it’s the opposite with how it’s sweet recipes galore at SUNutrition – hence the creation of this recipe). If you roll out of bed craving sweets, there are plenty of healthier sweet breakfast options available. A few personal favorites are, which are also dairy-free and gluten-free friendly: Banana Bread Muffins, Protein French Toast, and Cookie Dough Muffins (these can be found in the Recipe Room).
If interested, the macronutrients are below. They are kept separate at the very end of each recipe blog so that this can remain a safe, positive space for all as not everyone wishes to see the nutritional information.
Macros (per 1 ounce): 2.4 C | 1.3 F | 2.1 P
These are the macros for the entire skillet: 179.4 C | 99.5 F | 157.5 P
And these are the macros for the entire skillet without the optional cheese: 165.4 C | 90.5 F | 155.5 P
Each scoop isn’t going to have an equal share of potatoes, cheese, and meat, so know that the macros aren’t perfectly precise, but they are a useful guideline. And since this recipe is so flexible, the macros will almost certainly fluctuate as everyone is likely to use varying ingredients. But if you do use other ingredients or amounts and still want to know the macros of your skillet:
- Add up the macros for all of the ingredients used
- Weigh the skillet by itself prior to cooking. Once the recipe is cooked, weigh the skillet with the food, then subtract the initial weight of the skillet to determine the weight of the food alone. (Or place a container on the scale, zero the scale, then transfer the food from the skillet to the container.)
- Divide each macro (from step 1) by the total weight of the food in ounces to get the macros per ounce – so entire skillet macros / total weight of food = macros per ounce
- Then weigh your portion and multiply that weight by the macros of the 1 ounce serving to figure out the macros of your helping
To give an example, if the food itself weighs 75 ounces, take the macros for the entire skillet above (179.4 C | 99.5 F | 157.5 P) and divide each macro (carbs, fat, and protein) by 75 ounces to calculate the macros per 1 ounce (2.4 C | 1.3 F | 2.1 P).
The macros for recipes are also available on MyFitnessPal. Simply search the name of the recipe followed by “ – SUNutrition” (so for this recipe, search “Grant’s Breakfast Skillet – SUNutrition”).
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Instructions are so easy to follow and even my picky children loved this