Sweet Potato Egg Cups with Feta and Kale
Who says that breakfast has to be a snooze-fest? These sweet potato egg cups are full of veggies and protein to get you energized for your day. With a crispy shredded sweet potato crust and a savory center, they’re the perfect quick bite.
Why I Love This Recipe
This recipe combines nutritious leafy greens and filling protein in a portable breakfast you can make ahead of time. I love how balanced and colorful this recipe is! It also features frozen kale, which is an affordable and healthy staple that can prevent food waste. More on that in a sec…
Nutrition Tidbits
I’m about to make a bold claim… Frozen fruits and veggies can be more nutrient-dense than fresh produce.
Say what?!
Frozen fruits and vegetables are allowed to ripen longer than their fresh counterparts before they are packaged. This lets them reach their full nutritional potential and (literally) freeze there. Some water-soluble vitamins (C and B) are lost during processing and reheating, but a significant amount of nutrients are still retained.
The nutrition benefits are just one reason I included frozen kale in this recipe. I also included it because you can keep it on hand for a long time without it getting wilted like fresh greens. If you’re not a fan of frozen kale, you can absolutely make this with fresh spinach, kale, or any other vegetables you have on hand.
Preparation Steps
For the concise numbered instructions and ingredient amounts, be sure to scroll down to the recipe card!
Prepare the sweet potatoes
I originally posted this recipe back in 2018, and the original version featured thinly sliced sweet potatoes for the crust. It was difficult to cut the sweet potatoes evenly and the crust came out too thick. The new and improved version includes shredded sweet potatoes instead. (SO much better.)
Even though they don’t look like it, potatoes actually have a lot of water in them! Shred your sweet potato with either a grater or food processor and place in a kitchen towel or piece of cheesecloth. Wring out as much water as possible!
Once you’ve shredded the sweet potatoes, mix them with flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic. You should be able to form the mixture into a ball.
Make a sweet potato crust
Before baking, coat a muffin tin with cooking spray. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the sweet potato mixture into each cup of your muffin tin.
To make these sweet potato egg cups more filling, I used a jumbo muffin pan. If you’d like to make this into an appetizer, I’d suggest a regular-sized muffin pan or a mini muffin pan.
Gently push some of the filling up the side of each cup and create a little sweet potato nest. (You can do this with a spoon, or your hand.) Bake the crusts until they’re golden brown, then remove from the oven and brush with a thin layer of whisked egg. Bake for 5 minutes to create a solid crust. This will ensure that the filling doesn’t seep through the crust!
Fill and bake
While the crust is baking, thaw the frozen kale and squeeze out any excess water. Mix with eggs, feta cheese, and red pepper flakes. Once the crusts are ready, spoon in about 1/4 cup of the egg mixture into each cup.
Bake the egg cups for 20 minutes or until you see that the eggs are set.
Cool for at least 5 minutes, as this will help the crust pull away from the muffin tin a bit. If you notice that your egg cups are sticking, run a butter knife around each sweet potato egg cup to loosen them.
Recipe Modifications
- Use different veggies – No frozen kale? No problem. You can use fresh greens, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, or broccoli too.
- Shortcut version – If you don’t want to go through the trouble of making the sweet potato crust from scratch, no problem. Use frozen hash browns and cook until crispy before filling your egg cups.
- Try a different type of cheese – I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like. Almost any cheese will work in this recipe. Shredded cheddar, goat’s cheese, Swiss… the sky is the limit!
Sweet Potato Egg Cups with Feta and Kale
Equipment
- muffin pan
Ingredients
- cooking spray to coat
Sweet Potato Crust
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
Filling
- 8 oz frozen kale thawed according to package instructions
- 7 large eggs divided
- 4 oz feta cheese crumbled
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Coat muffin tins with cooking spray of choice.
- Shred the sweet potato with either a grater or food processor, then place in a kitchen towel or piece of cheesecloth and wring out as much water as possible.
- Mix the shredded sweet potato with flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the sweet potato mixture into each cup of the muffin tin. Use a spoon to gently push some of the filling up the side of each cup and create a little sweet potato nest.
- Bake until the crusts are golden brown (about 10 minutes). Whisk one of the eggs and brush it all over the crusts. Bake for 5 additional minutes.
- Mix the thawed frozen kale, 6 eggs, feta cheese, and red pepper flakes to create the filling. Scoop about ¼ cup into each muffin cup. Bake for 20 minutes or until eggs are set.
Notes
- Please note that nutrition facts are an estimate and can vary widely based on amounts and specific types used.
- These egg cups can be made in bulk and warmed up as leftovers. These egg muffins will stay tasty for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
Originally posted on 3/22/2018. Republished on 4/3/2021.
