Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares
Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares are a meatless low-carb breakfast bake that can help you start your day with a healthy dose of veggies!
PIN Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares to try them later!
These Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares are such a delicious and nutritious breakfast option! And when some people asked for Meatless Recipes when they responded to my 15 Year Anniversary post, I was glad that I’d recently made this to update the photos and share it with you. If you’re trying to eat more vegetables (and most of us should be!) starting the day with a breakfast like this that includes vegetables is a great idea.
I first made this recipe more than ten years ago, when I had Red Russian Kale in my garden and was newly infatuated with it. You can definitely make this with any type of kale, but the kale may need to be cooked a bit longer with thicker types of kale. Of course I always try to improve the recipes a bit when I update them, and although I didn’t change this one all that much here’s the original version of the recipe if anyone wants it. And this recipe is what I call a “breakfast bake” with lots of kale and cheese and just enough eggs to hold it together so if you prefer more of an eggy breakfast casserole you might want to add a couple more eggs. I cut this into square pieces to serve, and it makes six servings.
And if you’re familiar with the food concept of Umami (which means “a pleasant savory taste” in Japanese) what really bumps up the Umami flavor in this recipe is the addition of a tiny bit of soy sauce to the eggs! You can make this with Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link) if needed or use Coconut Aminos (affiliate link) if you’re avoiding soy. No matter which option you use, the combination of kale, onion, garlic, soy sauce or alternative, two kinds of cheese, and eggs makes this a breakfast that loaded with savory Umami goodness!
What Foods have Umami Flavors?
The concept of Umami as one of the five distinct types of flavors originated in Japan in the early 1900s, and since then the word has become somewhat synonymous with the word savory when describing foods with this flavor. Common foods considered to be high in Umami include things like fish, tomatoes, mushrooms, meat, all types of cheese, and soy sauce. Umami is also the flavor receptor that makes me love Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) so much. Read more about Umami if you’re curious about this “fifth taste.”
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- chopped kale
- red onion
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- olive oil
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link) or other soy sauce (see notes)
- grated Mozzarella cheese
- coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
- eggs
- Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), or other all-purpose seasoning blend
How to make this recipe:
(Scroll down for complete recipe including nutritional information)
- When I updated the recipe I bought a one-pound bag of chopped kale (and used half of it). See instructions in the recipe below if you need to chop up kale leaves.
- I washed and crisped the 8 oz. chopped kale in my salad spinner, but you don’t absolutely need to do this with kale from a bag. If you wash the kale, be sure to spin really dry (or dry with paper towels.)
- Chop up half of a small red onion.
- Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan and cook onion, then add Minced Garlic (affiliate link) and cook a minute or two longer.
- Then add kale to the frying pan and cook about 5 minutes, turning over and over as the kale wilts. Season kale with a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper as desired.
- While kale cooks, beat the eggs with the soy sauce or coconut aminos and a dash of Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) if using.
- Put the kale into a casserole dish that you’ve sprayed with non-stick spray or olive oil.
- Sprinkle part of the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the kale (saving a little for the top).
- Pour beaten eggs over the kale and cheese; then take a fork and gently “stir” to coat all the pieces of kale with egg.
- Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top of the mixture.,
- Bake at 375F/190C for about 30 minutes, or until eggs are set and starting to lightly brown on top.
- Serve hot, with a little Umami-filled sour cream if desired.
More Meatless Breakfast Recipes with Veggies:
Low-Carb Mushroom and Feta Breakfast Casserole
Breakfast Casserole with Spinach and Goat Cheese
Mushroom-Lover’s Frittata with Spinach and Cheese
Broccoli and Three Cheese Keto Breakfast Casserole
Low-Carb Artichoke-Rosemary Frittata
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares
Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares are a delicious way to start your day with a healthy dose of veggies!
Ingredients
- 8 oz. chopped kale (see notes)
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 T olive oil
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp. Tamari or other soy sauce (see notes)
- 3/4 C grated Mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 eggs, beaten well
- 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F190C. Spray a casserole dish (about 8" x 12") with non-stick spray or olive oil.
- If you need to cut up the kale, start by cuting off kale stems and discarding, then wash kale leaves and dry well. (I used a salad spinner.) Pile kale leaves up on top of each other and cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide, then turn cutting board the other way and cut again so you have squares just under an inch square.
- If you're using chopped kale that comes in a bag it doesn't absolutely need to be washed, but I sometimes give it a soak just to crisp up the leaves.
- Chop onion into pieces about 1/2 inch.
- Heat olive oil in large heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, then add onions and cook 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes more.
- Then add kale to the pan, turning over and over as it wilts and cooking about 5 minutes, or until kale is significantly wilted and softened. (Kale will cook more in the oven, so it doesn't need to be completely soft at this point.)
- Season kale with a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper as desired.
- Put the wilted kale into the casserole dish. Top with 1/2 cup grated Mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese.
- Beat eggs with the soy sauce or Coconut Aminos and Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or other seasoning of your choice.
- Pour eggs over the kale/cheese in the casserole dish. Then use a fork and "stir" gently until ingredients are well distributed.
- Bake about 30 minutes or until eggs are well set and the top is lightly browned.
- Serve hot. This is good with sour cream added at the table.
Notes
I originally made this with Red Russian Kale, but use any kale variety you prefer. Thicker types of kale may need to be sauteed a bit longer.
Be sure to use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link) if needed. You can use Coconut Aminos (affiliate link) instead of soy sauce if you prefer. I love Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) in eggs, but use any all-purpose seasoning blend if you prefer.
Recipe adapted from Regina Schrambling’s Collard Squares.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 266mgSodium: 853mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 15g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares are a great dish for low-carb diet plans, and for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Breakfast Recipes for more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
53 Comments on “Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares”
I’m making this tomorrow morning! My wife got some mystery Kale and Lettuce seeds she planted last year. We had no clue what was growing and used it sparingly with Romaine lettuce. Three of these came back without replanting! One of them is the Red Russian Kale. In its second life it is growing out of control (3 plants)! I never knew lettuce or Kale was Perineal (probably isn’t), but we have Red Leaf lettuce, Red Russian Kale, and something that looks between Asian Dandelions and Arugula lettuce we had to transplant to a new bed. I know this is a meatless recipe, but I’m considering frying a few strips of bacon, chopping them up, and using the bacon grease in place of the “cooking spray”. The bacon will add a little more flavor to the kale and eggs. Growing up, my mom made this exact recipe regularly with spinach instead of Kale.
That’s a fun garden adventure. When I used to grow the red kale I don’t remember it coming back like that, but it might be too cold in Utah. I think bacon should be tasty in it; hope you enjoy!
Turned out really good. I over salted it slightly. While I was wilting the Russian Kale I added the salt and pepper and kept it very light. I didn’t have mozzarella so I substituted 3/4 cup of Kroger’s “Select Italian Blend” which is a mixture of parmesan, romano, and asiago cheese. Those 3 cheeses are pretty salty. Then I used 3 chopped (crispy) bacon strips to add some more flavor. The combination of the cheese and bacon made it slightly too salty. I greased the 8×12 casserole dish with a thin coat of lard (I don’t have any cooking spray). I used the bacon drippings to cook the onion/garlic mixture and wilt the kale. The eggs I used I traded with a friend for. So the only purchased ingredients I used was the minced garlic, salt, pepper, and bacon (yes, I make my own lard). I think I’ll leave out the salt and add a little more cheese next time. Oh, I forgot to mention I slightly over cooked it. I only cooked for 25 minutes. I inspected it at 20 minutes and it looked/tested ready (tooth pick test). I cooked another 5 minutes to be on the safe side. I should have stopped at 20-22 minutes.
So glad you liked it. And I am thinking that with all this attention to detail you must be a VERY good cook!
I’ve made this recipe now three times. My mom loves it. It’s her favorite way to eat kale.
So glad you are enjoying it. You can probably tell that I love kale!
I found this recipe after my husband Phil found red Russian kale in an Atlanta farmer's market. In spite of cooking forever, I'd never used this. It worked out very well to saute the kale, red onion and garlic, refrigerate it and then finish the prep on Sunday morning. I used egg substitute completely (and nearly two cups to cope with a large bunch of kale), but otherwise followed the directions. We both loved it, so much that it only made 4 servings for us, Sunday breakfast and then lunch today. With the extra egg volume, it took longer to cook, of course. We served it with a jarred salsa and I used a Mexican grated cheese blend. Thank you so much.
Laura, so glad you enjoyed it so much. I wish I could find the red kale more often because my new garden doesn't have enough room to grow greens!
Yum! This made for a terrific start to a Monday. I used 1 slice of whole wheat bread, chopped into small pieces, for the bread crumbs. Also used 1/2 c egg substitute for 2 of the eggs and 3 oz of shredded sharp white cheddar. So nice to have this healthy way to use up the last of my CSA share supply of red Russian kale.
Me and my mom made this and added 14 eggs carrots and tomatoes on top, we'll see how it turns out. looks good!
Debbie, glad you liked it. I am definitely growing that Red Russian Kale this year!
I got a bunch of Red Russian Kale in my CSA box today so I finally got around to making this. Of course I got Kale all over the place because I used too small of a skillet, but it is absolutely delicious. Thanks for another great recipe!
Island Girl, so glad you liked it.