Most people don’t automatically associate zucchini with Ohio, but the village of Obetz in the central section of the state hosts a popular Zucchini Festival over Labor Day Weekend each year. Rep. Tim Ryan, who serves the Buckeye State’s 13th congressional district, prefers eating the summer squash—often served as a healthy lunch or dinner side—in the morning for breakfast.–Capri S. Cafaro

Can I Prep This Ahead of Time?

When you’re looking for breakfasts, such as this dish or our breakfast lasagne, being able to cook it quickly and easily will definitely help you stay on track. If you cook all the ingredients (with the exception of the eggs) the night before, all you have to do in the morning is reheat and add the eggs. Breakfast made even simpler!

A green bowl filled with scrambled eggs and green pieces of zucchini on a tile tabletop, with a fork.

Zucchini and Eggs

4.80 / 5 votes
This protein-packed zucchini & eggs recipe is a delicious way to start the day; to mix things up, you can also add feta and dill to make it Greek-style.
David Leite
CourseBreakfast
CuisineAmerican
Servings2 servings
Calories417 kcal
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup (3 oz) yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 medium (10 oz) zucchini , diced
  • 4 large eggs, beaten
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

  • In a skillet over medium-low heat, warm 2 tablespoons oil, add the onions and sauté until slightly translucent, about 4 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and zucchini to the skillet and cook until the zucchini is browned, increasing the heat if needed, and stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to move the vegetables to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and discard any excess oil.
  • Set the skillet over medium heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then stir the vegetable mixture back into the skillet.
  • Pour the eggs into the skillet and scramble with the vegetables until done to your liking, 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
United We Eat

Adapted From

United We Eat

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 servingCalories: 417 kcalCarbohydrates: 7 gProtein: 13 gFat: 38 gSaturated Fat: 7 gMonounsaturated Fat: 24 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 372 mgSodium: 145 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 3 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2020 Capri S. Cafaro. Photo © 2020 Eve Edelheit. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

Zucchini and eggs has always been a huge favorite combo of mine–you can easily pre-cook the non-egg ingredients and hold in the fridge for meal prep–just warm through with the fresh scrambled eggs for an easy meal.

To begin, I halved this recipe–it’s just me this week and I don’t like reheated eggs. As I was prepping, I thought the amount of zucchini was very high in ratio to the eggs, but I proceeded. Even on medium heat the zucchini needed a full ten minutes to brown nicely and become tender. I followed the rest of the recipe precisely and it was delicious. All in all, a lovely meal and definitely no complaints here!

Zucchini and eggs are a great way to get an extra serving of veggies and use up some of the seemingly bottomless supply of zucchini in the summer. This is a versatile dish which could be eaten at any time of day. I prepared it for a weekend breakfast sprinkled with fresh dill and feta and served with buttered sourdough toast but this adaptable base would pair well with most herb and cheese combinations.

Every Saturday morning, I love to hit up my neighborhood farmers market. I spend at least an hour catching up with fellow locavores with adorable dogs, chatting up a variety of vendors about the day’s selection, and lugging a random selection of fruits and vegetables back to my apartment nearly two miles away. The first thing I typically make with my fresh haul is an egg scramble using some of my day’s finds. I could never predict how well it’ll turn out from the get go, but I can at least guarantee I’ll be satisfied and fully ready for a midday nap on the couch after the last bite. This recipe for zucchini and eggs reminds me a lot of my weekly tradition. It was a no-brainer why I initially chose to test this recipe – hearty bits of zucchini intertwining with nature’s favorite aromatics (onion and garlic) and the humble egg all go so well together. While I would never think of eating a scramble with fresh dill and crumbled feta, eating it “Greek style” only added to my enjoyment of it. I honestly don’t have much to complain about with this recipe – it’s extremely straightforward. I have thoughts about suggestions for future iterations of making this dish – how would it turn out if I shredded the zucchini instead of diced it? how about mixing the feta and dill into the scramble prior to it hitting the hot skillet? I guess I’ll have to make this next week to find out. I may also try this as a breakfast taco with corn tortillas and salsa.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appรฉtit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made it for the family with homegrown zucchini and onions. Also added some serrano peppers for a kick, it was great!!