Looking for a low-cost meal? Try one of these delicious, inexpensive ways to enjoy eggs for dinner. This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job...
It’s 6 p.m. and you haven’t thought about dinner yet. Or you’ve thought about it but the ideas aren’t coming. Don’t stress out or shell out for Uber Eats just yet.
Even if your fridge is a barren wasteland, you probably have a carton of eggs.
It’s a shame that most people think of egg dishes as just for breakfast when there are many delicious ideas suited for dinner that span cuisines and cooking abilities. A dozen eggs cost only a few dollars, and even if you splurge on free range, they’re still relatively cheap when you consider all that you can make with them.
Plus, they’re loaded with protein and one large egg is only 75 calories. A diet rich in eggs can help keep your wallet fat and your waistline trim!
Two Dozen Delicious Egg Dishes
From fried to frittata, bread pudding to bird’s nest, here are 24 tasty ways to eat eggs for dinner.
1. Eggs Florentine Grain Bowls with Yogurt Hollandaise
Hearty barley bowls are topped with sautéed spinach, fried eggs and healthy yogurt hollandaise sauce.
Barley is cheap, nutritious and filling, so this dinner will keep you full until breakfast, and maybe beyond.
2. Chili Pasta with a Fried Egg
Simple pantry ingredients add tons of flavor and spice to this pappardelle pasta topped with a fried egg.
The magic happens when the yolk breaks and mixes with the garlic oil — you’ll be transported straight to an Italian village.
3. Shakshuka Soup with Swiss Chard
Never heard of shakshuka? It’s a traditional Israeli dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato-pepper sauce, usually topped with a shower of feta cheese and served with fluffy, warm pita.
This version turns it into a soup you can make ahead and freeze for up to three months. Just reheat, top with a poached egg and dinner is done.
Even die-hard carnivores will never miss the meat in this healthy quiche. The crust is made from 100% whole wheat flour, and the filling is loaded up with fresh local veggies and tons of sharp cheddar cheese.
Leftovers are delicious cold for lunch the next day.
5. Baked Eggs in Tomatoes with Lentils and Whipped Goat Cheese
Protein-packed, fiber-rich (and incredibly cheap!) lentils get all fancy and French in this baked egg dish topped with light and creamy whipped goat cheese.
Check out the video to see how quickly it comes together. Weeknight dinners, for the win!
No time for a quiche? No problem. Sheet pan eggs are quick, easy and are a perfect way to use your leftover produce. Make a sheet early in the week and eat your sheet pan eggs on breakfast sandwiches, burritos or just by themselves the rest of the week.
7. Slow-Cooker Ratatouille with Fried Eggs
Got any leftover red wine languishing on your counter? Don’t pour it out!
Throw it in your slow cooker with a bunch of veggies and herbs and make this fragrant, flavorful ratatouille topped with fried eggs.
8. Literally the Best Egg Salad
Those leftover dyed eggs are good for more than just decorating the inside of your fridge. Use them to make the best of the best egg salad! And the best thing about it?
You can add almost anything to it. Avocados? Yes. Swap that mayo out for Greek yogurt? Do it. Bacon bits? Absolutely. We’re frankly offended you felt you had to ask.
9. Bird in a Grilled Cheese Nest
This just might be the ultimate late-night comfort food: a grilled cheese and an egg-in-the-hole in one.
There are times to be healthy and there are times to go for it. This sandwich, with mayonnaise, two kinds of cheese and plenty of butter, is definitely a well-worth-it splurge.
10. Spaghetti Frittata with Turkey Meatballs
Who isn’t bad at eyeballing the right amount of spaghetti to cook?
If you made too much (again!), turn the extra into this kid-friendly frittata topped with juicy turkey meatballs and gooey mozzarella cheese.
11. Easy Avocado Toast with Egg (four ways)
There is no wrong way to enjoy avocado toast, but if you’re not adding an egg to it, it’s just not quite as right as it could be.
Boiled, scrambled, poached or fried, here are four ways a simple egg can upgrade your avo-toast.
12. Bacon Kale and Sweet Potato Hash
This sweet and savory one-skillet dinner has only five simple ingredients, and is both waistline- and wallet-friendly. In fact, this recipe is perfect if you are doing a Whole30, an eating regime that focuses on whole and unprocessed foods. Eggs fit that bill.
13. Savory Ham and Cheese Bread Pudding
Transform day-old bread into this luscious, savory bread pudding with ham, cheddar, nutmeg and fresh thyme.
You can assemble it in advance and then just pop it in the oven an hour before dinner.
Surprise! It’s incredibly easy to make this Chinese takeout staple at home.
This traditional version uses chicken, corn and peas along with beaten eggs to create a creamy, soul-warming soup.
15. Ina Garten’s Fine Herbs Omelet
Eggs can upgrade any meal, but with this simple, herby omelet, you’ll want them to be the main event. Has Ina ever led us astray before? (Never.) Make them for you and your love and imagine sitting in Paris cafe like Ina and Jeffrey.
Get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes with this simple stove-top Huevos Rancheros recipe. Many of the ingredients are pantry items, such as canned beans and jarred salsa, and there’s enough leeway to substitute cheeses and even the type or size of tortilla.
Have a ripe avocado on the counter? Slice it and top the egg dish with it. Likewise, use up those last scoops of sour cream.
17. Asparagus Frittata with Peas, Mint and Feta
The combination of asparagus, peas, mint and salty feta is bright, fresh and perfect for spring.
Think of this recipe as a template, and use whatever veggies are languishing in your refrigerator.
Spring is the ultimate cause for celebration after a winter of quarantines and long-distance holiday video calls. Enter the greenest, most gorgeous salad we’ve ever seen.
Add a soft boiled egg on top and you’ve got a pop of color (and protein) worth celebrating.
19. Sheet Pan Patty Melts with Egg
So you overestimated how many eggs you would really get to dying this Easter. Fear not. Turn those extra dozen (or two) eggs into breakfast sandwiches for the week!
This recipe is so easy, the kids can help, too.
The best things in life are free, but the next best things are the things that seem expensive, but are actually cheap, easy and delicious.
All you need to make this hollandaise sauce is 10 minutes of cook time and you’re on your way to the perfect eggs Benedict.
Easy, versatile, delicious—fried rice is the ultimate end-of-week recipe.
Toss your leftover produce in a skillet, season, add rice and then an egg (or three) to finish and you’ve got a balanced, healthy meal everyone will love.
Just because the eggs are leftover doesn’t mean the celebrating has to stop. This Easter-themed rabbit recipe is egg-celent (sorry, it had to be said.) Now’s the time to bring the kids into the kitchen to help. Just a warning: If you’re going to eat dyed Easter eggs, make sure they haven’t been
23. Breakfast Scramble Stuffed Avocado
Got an avocado toast craving, but short on the toast? No worries, you won’t need it.
This recipe skips the toast and stuffs a perfect, creamy avocado with warm, fluffy scrambled eggs. It’s the perfect morning comfort food.
24. One-Skillet Creamy Chickpeas with Eggs and Prosciutto
This recipe is mess free, uses ingredients you probably already have around and can be served as a starter or doubled to be served as the main course.
Need we say more?
Lucy Baker and Anna Brugmann are contributors to The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.