Baked Eggs with Butternut Squash, Kale, Lentils, and Goat Cheese
These veggie-heavy baked eggs are your new easy answer to weekend brunch. If Shakshuka and butternut squash had a fling, this dish would be their hearty and healthy brunch baby.
Ingredients
- 2 cups butternut squash cubed
- ½ cup dried split peas substitute lentils
- 1 cup diced onion about half an onion
- a few big handfuls kale removed from stems and roughly chopped
- 28 oz canned whole tomatoes and their juices roughly chopped
- 2 oz goat cheese or ¼ cup goat cheese crumbles
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4-5 eggs
- crusty bread for dipping optional, but encouraged
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Rinse the split peas in a colander, picking through them and discarding any rocks or funky looking peas. Transfer them to a small pot and add just enough water to cover them. Bring the water to a lively simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Continue to simmer the split peas for about 20 minutes until they are tender, but still have a bite.
- While the split peas are cooking, chop the butternut squash into bite-sized cubes (if it isn’t already). In a large oven-safe skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add cubed butternut squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned and on its way to tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add diced onion, turmeric, salt, and pepper (and more olive oil if needed) and continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the onions begin to soften.
- Toss in the chopped kale and a splash of tomato liquid from the canned tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes until kale wilts slightly, stirring and scraping up any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan as it cooks.
- At this point, your split peas should be ready. Add the drained split peas and chopped tomatoes with their juices to the pan. Add a bit more salt and pepper, stir the mixture to combine, and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. The butternut squash should be fork-tender and the mixture should be slightly thickened.
- Turn off the heat. Crumble the goat cheese into the pan. Use the back of a wooden spoon to create 4 or 5 indentations in your giant veggie mixture and crack an egg into each one.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until eggs whites are just set, 8-10 minutes. The egg whites may look a bit jiggly when you remove the pan from the oven, but they will continue to cook and solidify as you plate up.
- Brunch is served, hopefully with crusty bread on the side!
Notes
I often purchase pre-cubed butternut squash because I feel like I’m taking my life in my hands each time I chop up a whole butternut squash. If you can’t find pre-cubed butternut squash or you’re feeling brave, Gimme Some Oven has a helpful tutorial for safely chopping butternut squash.
If you don't have an oven-safe skillet, transfer everything to a baking dish before adding the eggs.