10 Things to Add to Eggs to Make Them More Filling

Caroline Tien
·9 min read

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With egg prices sky-high at the moment—and projected to rise even more—your ol’ reliable breakfast scramble may no longer be financially feasible each and every morning. Unless, of course, there was a way to stretch out the eggs so you can still enjoy the recipes you love but maybe just not use up quite as many of them in the process.

Thankfully, there are plenty of things you can add to eggs to make them more filling without breaking the bank. Two things to keep in mind? Protein and fiber, both of which are key for boosting satisfaction and staving off prelunch hunger pangs. Eggs already pack a solid amount of the former (clocking in at about six grams apiece), but even if you eat two for breakfast, you’re still falling short of the often-recommended 20 grams at your morning meal—so anything you can add on the protein front can help deliver the sustained energy you need to seize the day. As for fiber, well, eggs are pretty much lacking in that nutrient, so your eggy add-ins will be particularly clutch there.

Using supplemental ingredients not only “adds more volume and nutritional value, but it also might allow us to maybe only need to use one to two eggs to feel full and satisfied,”Amber Young, MS, RDN, the founder of the North Carolina practice Redefined Nutrition, tells SELF. That way, you can still enjoy all the good things eggs have to offer—along with packing protein, they also include important micronutrients like vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, and choline—without sucking up a good chunk of your grocery budget. Below, we’ve assembled a list of ingredients to add to eggs to keep you satisfied. Some, like the real deal themselves, will keep you full for longer by delivering a hefty dose of protein, while others are packed with fiber. Either way, they’ll all help you make your egg-based breakfast that much more robust—and lighten the burden on your wallet.

1. Milk

Some cooks scoff at the idea of adding milk to plain ol’ eggs, arguing that it makes them rubbery and flavorless, but we’re a fan of adding that to our scramble—and so is Janice Dada, MPH, RDN, a certified intuitive eating counselor based in California. “I’ve experimented both ways, and I find that it [offers] a little bit more fluff,” she tells SELF. Hey, it works for frittatas, quiches, and other fancy egg dishes, so why not your morning scramble? And there’s no need to break out the measuring cups for this tip, either; just “add a splash” (a.k.a. a few tablespoons), Dada says. A quarter cup, or four tablespoons, for instance, will give you an extra two grams of protein for your breakfast. For something that tastes a little richer, sub in heavy cream instead. Either way, you’ll also get a hit of the bone-building mineral calcium.

2. Greek yogurt

For a dairy product that’s thicker than milk, try whisking a dollop or two of plain Greek yogurt into your egg mixture. (You don’t want any vanilla flavoring or added fruit skewing the taste.) Protein contribution aside, Greek yogurt “adds so much to the dish in terms of flavor and texture, and just can make it more enjoyable” overall, Young says. Try adding a quarter cup of a whole-milk option to two eggs—that’ll add five grams of protein.

3. Cottage cheese

Even if you wouldn’t dig into a bowl of cottage cheese, hear us out about adding it to your omelet. “I wouldn’t write it off for mixing it into eggs because it won’t give you the same taste or texture,” Dada says. To eradicate any of those telltale chunks, try blending the eggs and cottage cheese together first. Giving the two a thorough mix will yield “a more smooth and fluffy consistency” in the final product, Young says. In fact, she likens it to Starbucks’s famous sous vide egg bites, a fave on-the-go protein option. A quarter cup of the 2% fat version contains about six grams of protein.

4. Regular cheese

Cheese is rich in protein, as SELF has previously reported, so slip a slice or slab into the skillet along with your eggs for an instant boost (not to mention a “melty, dewy” finish, Young adds.) What’s more, it’s also a quick and easy way to customize the taste: You can choose from a huge range of flavor profiles to select the one you like best—from mild (like provolone) to sharp (like cheddar) to spicy (like pepper jack). Ultimately, “I don’t think there’s any wrong cheese for eggs,” Dada says. “It just depends on what flavor you’re going for.” (For what it’s worth, she’s a feta fan.)

Besides the cheese flavor, you’ll also want to consider the packaging format. Shredded cheese, for example, comes ready to eat (no slicing required), but it has a coating that may hurt the overall texture of the dish. Namely, “it might feel like it’s not blending in as well,” Young says. On the other side of the spectrum, block cheese does require slicing, but it doesn’t have that same coating, meaning it’ll deliver more of that irresistible ooey-gooeyness. Add a slice of cheddar and you’ll be looking at four extra grams of protein for your breakfast.

5. Egg whites

Using packaged liquid egg whites to stretch out eggs “is a great option if we’re doing a basic scramble or even an omelet, just to get a bit more volume,” Young says—but you may find the result less creamy than normal. To avoid running into this issue, Young recommends whisking the raw eggs and the liquid whites together beforehand. That way, she says, the mixture is “going to be a lot more cohesive, and those texture differences won’t be as noticeable.” Add a quarter cup of whites to your eggs and you’ll get nearly seven more grams of protein. Besides, you can always add a slice of cheese to compensate for any reduced richness (see above).

6. Tofu

Yes, we said tofu. Specifically, Dada recommends silken tofu, the softest type. With its ability to meld almost seamlessly with other ingredients, this plant-based protein can be stirred into a whole bunch of things: dips, sauces, dressings, soups, mousses, smoothies, custards, and, yep, eggs. Whip it in a bowl before adding it to your eggs to ensure an extra-smooth blend, Dada says. Like dairy, she notes, tofu is an excellent source of calcium, along with other minerals like iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. If you add a quarter-cup of it, you’ll boost your protein by five grams.

If you want to try this swap but don’t have any silken tofu on hand, the firm or extra-firm stuff can also work (though it won’t blend smoothly, of course), according to Dada. Instead, “you would just have cubes of tofu in the egg mixture,” she says—almost like omelet mix-ins.

7. Sausage

“You could do sausage of any variety,” Dada says. Turkey, chicken, pork, plant-based—whatever floats your boat. Chop it up and add it to your eggs as they’re cooking in the pan (or fold them into a finished omelet). Two links of beef breakfast sausage can add five grams of protein to your plate.

8. Spinach, green peppers, asparagus, or pretty much any other veggie

“Eggs are such a nice vehicle for getting veggies in for people who aren’t as into them on their own,” Dada says. Spinach might be the first example that springs to mind, but you can sub in pretty much any other type for a comparable fiber boost—kale, avocado, asparagus, onions, green peas, bell peppers, artichoke hearts, and sweet potatoes, to name a few highlights. “Spinach cooks down so much, you could truly use a whole cup in one person’s egg dish,” Dada says. (Do that, and you’ll gain an extra four grams of fiber, plus five grams of protein). Meanwhile, “avocado is often celebrated for its monounsaturated fats, but it’s such a fiber powerhouse that, I think, often gets overlooked.” (Not to mention, one medium-size avocado also contains about three grams of protein on top of its nine grams of fiber.) Rather than mixing avocado chunks directly into her eggs, Dada typically uses them as a topping, but you can also mash avocado, boiled eggs, and cottage cheese together for a high-protein avocado toast blend.

What’s more, this hack comes with a secondary benefit: Using up leftover veggies that might be hanging out in your fridge rather than letting them go to waste. Per Young, try to choose those with a relatively low water content. Otherwise, “some of that moisture can leak out, and it might cause your eggs to not set correctly,” Young says. No leftovers? No problem, the frozen stuff will work fine. “I personally love using frozen veggies,” Young adds. “They’re available year-round, and there’s mixtures that allow us to get really creative with a lot less work.” Just try to wring out as much liquid as you can beforehand to prevent those setting issues.

9. Leftover rice

When cooked rice cools down, the starch in it starts to retrograde, meaning that essentially it “becomes a lot harder for the body to break down,” Young says. Compared to regular starch, retrograded starch digests more slowly and brings about a lower blood sugar response, so integrating leftover rice into your meals “is a really good trick to just increase that fiber fullness and satisfaction,” she says. Besides that little bit of fiber, the rice will also contribute carbs and folate, and help increase the overall volume of the dish.

Try whipping up Young’s recommended breakfast fried rice recipe—eggs and rice plus frozen peas and carrots. One cup of leftover rice will give you around one gram of fiber, plus another two or so grams from a quarter cup of peas. You can even work in some extra morning protein by adding chicken sausage, turkey sausage, or bacon (see above), Young says.

10. Beans

Of all the entries on this list, beans are unique in that they do double duty as a particularly solid source of protein and fiber. Together, those two amount to “a pretty significant hunger-crushing combo,” Young says. For instance, a half cup of black beans will give you around seven grams of both.

You can take your black-beans-and-eggs blend one step further by turning it into a Tex-Mex-esque scramble. Try adding some salsa, cheese, and avocado for some “spicy Latin flair,” Dada says. (Sautéed peppers and onions, too, Young adds.) Then, eat the scramble on its own or wrap it in a corn tortilla to make a burrito. Like eggs themselves, beans are incredibly versatile—and also “super low-cost for the nutrient value they offer,” Dada says.

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Originally Appeared on Self

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