Recipe: Veggie Avocado Breakfast Quesadilla
Try switching up your morning meal with this tasty breakfast quesadilla. This recipe is a complete Plate Method meal and is a great way to add variety to your breakfast while sneaking in some healthy fats with an avocado.
Avocados (actually a fruit!) are packed with healthy, unsaturated fats, which not only contribute to this meal’s satiating properties but can also help lower your “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise your “good” HDL cholesterol. Half of a medium avocado has approximately 7 grams of fiber. Fiber can further assist in controlling “bad” LDL cholesterol and is also important for satiety and bowel regularity.
If you’re not a fan of savory breakfasts, this quesadilla can also make a great lunch or dinner!
Veggie Avocado Breakfast Quesadilla
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 avocado, pitted and diced
- 1 C baby spinach leaves
- 4 medium tortillas (8-10 inches)
- 1/2 C sharp cheddar cheese, grated and divided
- Hot sauce or salsa, to taste (optional)
Directions
- Crack eggs into a medium-sized bowl. Whisk together. Set aside.
- Heat a large, nonstick skillet on stove over medium heat. Add avocado oil. Heat pan for 1 minute.
- Add diced onion and red pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes, stirring to cook evenly.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add egg mixture and spinach to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally until eggs set and spinach wilts, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer to plate. Set aside.
- Heat same nonstick skillet on stove over medium-high heat. Place 1 tortilla in the pan and top half of tortilla with 2 Tbsp cheese, 1/4 scrambled egg and veggie mix, and 1/4 diced avocado.
- With spatula, fold tortilla in half to form a half-circle. Press down on tortilla with spatula as cheese melts, to seal the quesadilla. Use the spatula to lift edge of tortilla to check the under-side of the quesadilla.
- When the bottom is golden-brown, flip the quesadilla in the pan to brown the other side.
- Remove quesadilla from pan. Place on serving plate. Repeat steps 5 through 7 with remaining ingredients for 3 additional servings.
- When ready to serve, cut each quesadilla into two or three wedges and serve with optional hot sauce or salsa.
Swaps
- For the avocado oil: olive oil, coconut oil, or another oil of choice
- For the tortillas: gluten-free tortillas, Trader Joe’s jicama wraps, corn tortillas (layering two, sandwich style, instead of folding, for quesadilla assembly), or omit
- For the cheddar cheese: Mexican-blend cheese, mozzarella cheese, or dairy-free cheese of choice
- For the red pepper: green, orange, or yellow pepper, mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes
- For the yellow onion: 1/2 white or red onion, 1 diced shallot, 2 green onions (white parts in recipe, green parts for garnish), 1 clove minced garlic