Poached eggs with avocado, spinach & crispy quinoa

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Poached eggs with avocado, spinach & crispy quinoa

I’d love to be one of those people who races to the kitchen in anticipation of their first meal of the day.  I love food, after all, but usually a quick banana or a small bowl of oatmeal is all my stomach can stand at 7am on a midweek morning! Unless of course – when I’m in Athens this is – I skip breakfast at home completely and grab a freshly-made feta cheese ‘koulouri’ (a ring of stuffed bread covered in sesame seeds) from the bakery across the road from the office. Now this I don’t have to force down in the slightest, but then I have a different problem. Resisting the urge to stuff my face with one of these every day with my 10am coffee! It’s a tough one, I can tell you!

Fast forward to the weekend and I do find myself feeling a little more enthusiastic about breakfast. I still don’t get particularly fancy, mostly just rustling up some scrambled eggs and a nice cup of coffee from the posh machine when my stomach has woken up a little more. Or rather Mr. Scrummy rustles up the eggs, since we got married, and yes that’s rather nice!

Since being in Australia though over these last few months I’ve discovered a whole new world of breakfasts! It seems to be a pretty big thing over here to go out for brekky at the weekend, which of course is pretty lovely on a nice sunny day.

Ingredients for a breakfast of poached eggs with avocado, spinach & crispy quinoaIngredients for a breakfast of poached eggs with avocado, spinach & crispy quinoa

I got the inspiration for this particular breakfast idea on one such lovely warm (actually seeringly hot!) sunny Sunday morning recently while breakfasting with friends at a cute and trendy little Italian café by the beach here in Perth. It was nothing all that flash, just eggs, spinach and avocado with a sprinkling of this and that, but boy was it fresh and tasty. So tasty in fact that I decided to have a go at making something similar at home for one of those lazy Sunday breakfasts I love.

What made this for me were the lovely toppings. Lots of chopped, fresh parsley, a heavy sprinkle of crunchy fried quinoa and a generous drizzle of best quality olive oil. Lovely! Don’t forget the olive oil. You’ll see that I still hadn’t drizzled it over in my photos but it really makes all the difference.

Poached eggs with avocado, spinach & crispy quinoa

A note about the quinoa just in case you’re not familiar with it. Quinoa = highly nutritious, protein packed, gluten-free ancient grain originally from high in the Andes. Apparently it’s got all 8 essential amino acids, it’s high in fibre and it’s a good source of iron, calcium, magnesium and vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant. I know there’s only a little quinoa on top of this dish but still … it feels good to know all this! Of course, eggs, spinach and avocado are also full-of-goodness superfoods so I think I can safely declare this a ridiculously healthy January-worthy post!

I warn you, though, this may not be for everyone. Mr. Scrummy wondered where the bacon was, for instance – cheeky monkey that he is. OK, fair point. For me on that lovely day this posh brekky was perfect as it was, but of course go ahead and add bacon to yours if you prefer!

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Poached eggs with avocado, spinach & crispy quinoa on a white plate with a knife and fork and on a black background
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Poached eggs with avocado, spinach & crispy quinoa

A super healthy energy, protein and nutrient-filled vegetarian breakfast to kick-start your day.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 tablespoon quinoa
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 3.5 ounces fresh spinach, (about 1 bag)
  • 4 eggs, 2 per person
  • a large handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • olive oil for drizzling
  • your choice of toast or crusty bread to serve, optional

Instructions 

  • Rinse the quinoa in a fine-meshed sieve, then cook it according to the packet instructions.
  • While the quinoa is cooking, put another pot on to boil for the eggs, slice the half avocado into slices widthways and chop the parsley.
  • Once it's cooked, drain the quinoa well, then put it back into the pan with the lid on for a few minutes to dry out. Meanwhile, rinse the spinach, then tip it into a pan and wilt it over the heat for a couple of minutes. Then fry the quinoa in a drizzle of olive oil for a few minutes, stirring every now and again, until nice and crispy.
  • Poach the eggs to your liking, two at a time (2-4 minutes depending on how soft/firm you like them - see here for poaching tips!)
  • While the eggs are poaching, begin to assemble the dish: Squeeze excess water out of the spinach by squeezing it with a spoon in the bottom of a sieve, then place half on each plate along with half of the fanned-out avocado. Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon and also add to the plate.
  • Finally, sprinkle some of the crispy quinoa and chopped parsley over each plate and drizzle with a little olive oil. Enjoy by itself or with your toast or crusty bread.

Notes

The inspiration for this recipe came from a similar breakfast I had at Il Lido Italian Canteen in Cottesloe, Western Australia. Nice cafe!
Use the freshest, best quality free-range eggs you can get.
This is a super easy recipe, but a bit tricky to get everything together and on the plate at the same time. I would advise preparing everything else and making sure the last thing you do is the eggs so that they end up as you like them and don't get cold!

Nutrition

Calories: 244kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 327mg, Sodium: 168mg, Potassium: 683mg, Fiber: 4g, Vitamin A: 5200IU, Vitamin C: 19mg, Calcium: 104mg, Iron: 3.5mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Helen Schofield

Don't expect to find anything fussy or complicated here. Just QUICK, EASY & (mostly!) HEALTHY recipes from the Mediterranean and beyond. ENJOY!

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20 Comments

  1. What a genius idea to use crisply fried quinoa – it’s a whole new fun way to use healthy quinoa. I can think of all kinds of yummy dishes to use it on! And your breakfast looks so tasty. I love avocado and eggs together.

    1. Thank’s for saying so, Margaret, and thanks for visiting the blog as well! I hadn’t really thought about it but I suppose the crispy quinoa could be very versatile indeed … I think it would be good anywhere you might usually use fried breadcrumbs!

  2. YUM! I could totally wake up & have this any day! I love avo & eggs, but added quinoa & spinach…great taste! Thanks for sharing!

    1. You’re very welcome. So glad you appreciated it and hope you try this some day soon!

  3. Poached eggs are the best! And with the spinach, avocado and crispy quinoa this sounds awesome! I don’t like big breakfasts during the week but on the weekends I definitely enjoy it!

    1. Thanks Ashley and thanks for visiting the blog, too! Nice to ‘meet’ you! 🙂

  4. I’m totally with you on breakfast. Normally I just grab a yogurt or banana while heading out the door. But there is so much deliciousness going on in this breakfast! Love the idea of adding crispy quinoa!!

    1. Thanks, Chris. I actually didn’t know you could fry quinoa until recently. It adds a nice contrasting texture!

    1. Thank you, Pamela, and thanks for stopping by! I suppose you could have this for dinner if you wanted to!

    1. Thanks, Jessica! I’ve never made anything like that before but it did taste very fresh and healthy. Just think I’ll need to add some meat for my husband when I make it again! 😉

  5. Gorgeous! I’m pleased to have found your blog, you seem to have great taste 🙂 Looking forward to seeing more of your recipes…

    1. Thank you so much, Aimee! I’m just getting started and learning as I go but really enjoying myself so far. Really enjoyed visiting your blog yesterday, too, and looking forward to following along!

  6. Oh I do enjoy Saturday morning breakfast and coffee a lovely relaxing way to begin the weekend. These eggs look delicious.

    1. Thanks, Denise! They were delicious – and healthy too – although this brekky was a bit too ‘vegetarian’ for my hubby!

  7. I like spending time over the weekend too to make a full breakfasts. This looks so delicious and full of nutrients.

    1. I actually wish I had time to make something like this on weekdays, too. I would look forward to breakfast so much more!

    1. Thank you. It was a nice twist on my usual eggs on toast weekend breakfast treat. Subtle flavours, but the crispy quinoa provides an interesting twist!