Baked eggs with spinach and ricotta are an easy, protein-packed meal that works for breakfast, brunch, or a light dinner. Baked in individual ramekins, these creamy, cheesy vegetarian eggs go from oven to table in about 15 minutes — simple, satisfying, and full of flavor.
Do you have 15 minutes?
Because that's all the time it takes to get these quick and easy baked eggs with spinach and ricotta onto the table. For real. I love this dish because it’s simple and warm and delicious, it’s elegant, it’s nutritious, and it’s easily made for dinner for one or two or more.
Honest to goodness, this Ricotta and Spinach Egg Bake is just a matter of throwing together a few basic ingredients. We're rough-chopping baby spinach, zesting a lemon, and stirring together some creamy ricotta cheese.
A couple of eggs get cracked on top, and then we're slinging this whole thing into the oven. Fifteen minutes later, your breakfast? Brunch? Dinner? is ready, and you'll be feeling pretty darn smug about how good it is. I recommend having some crusty bread on hand for dipping into those yolks and scooping up the creamy ricotta cheese mixture.
Quite possibly the only recipe more straightforward than this is our community-fave quick and easy ricotta toast, and honestly, that's a great way to use up any leftover ricotta from this recipe.
Let's bake some eggs, shall we?
Let's make Ricotta and Spinach Egg Bake together!
Folks, we're looking at a literal five minutes of prep here. This recipe is soooooo easy and soooooo tasty, it's going to make you feel like a genius! Here's what you do:
Step 1: make the ricotta mixture
In a larger bowl (above), mix together ricotta, chopped spinach, lemon zest, herbs, and salt.
Step 2: sauté
Smoosh the ricotta mixture into your buttered ramekins, and using a spoon (or your fingers, let's be real here), create a little groove for the eggs.
Then, crack your eggs on top of the spinach-ricotta mix (above), and let them settle into the grooves you created.
Step 3: sauté
Throw your ramekins into a pre-heated oven, and bake for 12-15 minutes.
How do I know when my baked eggs are ready?
Here's the thing, my friends: you gotta pull these out of the oven before the eggs have finished cooking. This means going against every instinct and pulling them out when not only are the yolks still runny, but the whites are undercooked as well.
Let them sit on the counter for five minutes, and the heat of the dish will finish cooking the eggs for you, for perfectly cooked eggs with runny yolks. Of course, if runny yolks aren't your thing, you're welcome to cook them for a few minutes longer.
Ricotta and Spinach Egg Bake
Ingredients
- butter for greasing the ramekin
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- ½ cup roughly chopped spinach
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper
- 2 slices bread for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F / 195°C
- Butter a ramekin or small baking dish.butter
- In a small bowl, mix together ricotta, spinach, thyme, lemon zest, olive oil, and a bit of salt and pepper.¼ cup ricotta cheese, ½ cup roughly chopped spinach, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper
- Place the ricotta mixture into the prepared ramekin, and create two small wells for the eggs.
- Crack 2 eggs into the ramekins, drizzle with a touch of olive oil, and place in the oven.2 eggs
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until whites are set but yolks are still a bit runny.
- Remove from the oven and serve hot with buttered toast.2 slices bread for serving
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
Nutrition
Donna McT says
This was very enjoyable! Made the main ingredients the night before for two and just added the eggs in the morning. Served sliced tomatoes and avocado along with toast on the plate. This is so easy and fast to make. Waiting for the whites to cook needs to be watched so the yolkes don't harden.
Will make again!
Katie Trant says
So glad you enjoyed this one, Donna!!
Debbie says
Made this today for breakfast. My husband and I both loved it!
As suggested I did remove it from the oven prior to the egg whites completely setting. I let it set out of the oven for a few minutes and once you stirred the eggs into the spinach ricotta mixture the cooking of the whites was completed and the yolk was still nice and runny. Just perfect for spooning into toast.
So easy and yummy!
J says
I did this recipe last time you posted it, but we struggled with the eggs.
It seems whenever a recipe calls for baked eggs, the white never seems to want to set. We ended up taking it out of the oven, leaving it, putting it back in, taking it out again, before eventually microwaving it!
The rest of the recipe was delicious, but the egg ended up pretty solid. Do you have any suggestions?
Katie Trant says
I agree that baked eggs can be tricky! I find that the trick is to take the eggs out of the oven before the whites are completely set and let them rest on the counter to continue cooking with carry-over heat from the oven.
Larni says
Yum - this will definitely be one for my next brunch!
Emily says
Anything that can be into the oven in less than 5 mins is a winner for me. I love eggs, I love spinach, I love ricotta. This dish is a dream.
Gail Hunt says
Hey, NL
Made this for our dinner last night. I added green onions. It was great! Thanks for the idea (any combo of spinach and lemon has my vote.)
The baking, in my convection oven took 35 minutes, though, with the eggs still liquid-y for dipping.
Katie Trant says
Interesting! I think I might have a fast oven - it's got this fancy 4D convection fan and just blasts out heat. Though I did also make these at my old apartment and they were done at around the 15 minute mark there as well.
Jo says
Cooked this today for breakfast with my girlfriends on my back deck. It's a hot, hot summer here in Australia and this dish was light and lovely. One of my friends brought her homemade vegan worcestershire sauce which finished it off nicely. I also added a bit of nutmeg as I love the spinach/nutmeg combo. I think this one will be on high rotation for me - quick and super tasty. Thanks, Katie!
Katie Trant says
Yay! Sounds like a wonderful breakfast. I'm intrigued by the homemade vegan worcestershire!
Jo says
She told me it was a family secret - will see if I can get it from her!
Elizabeth says
Perfect lunch! Quick, easy and tasty. Thanks!!
Elena says
Funny that I discovered this recipe when we are switching back to longer days (yahoo!). Even with longer days though here in rainy Vancouver (Katie should know), where March brings lots of storms, recipes like this are life savers! I loved lemon zest there, I would say it's mandatory! Makes it so unusual and fresh, almost summary, good reminder on those rainy days!
Thanks for the great recipe, this will go to my favourites!
Off topic, apart from tea lights, wine at 2 pm, and cozy food, how do people in Sweden survive winter? Vancouver in comparison with Sweden seems like Florida and I still can't get though the winter very well...
Katie Trant says
I guess you just get through it! Lots of candles, lots of cozy nights in with friends, and you just embrace it. Plus you know there's an awesome payback coming in the summer when the sun never sets, so that helps too.
Justine@CookingandBeer says
Ah! I LOVE baked eggs and I love the addition of the spinach and ricotta in your version! Yum! Pinned!
Katie Trant says
The ricotta really is lovely! And a great boost of protein thanks to the ricotta, which is also creamy and delicious.
Annie @Maebells says
This is genius! We have baked eggs with spinach often but I never thought to add ricotta! I bet it makes so perfectly creamy!
Katie Trant says
Indeed it does! And much more protein rich and nutritious than using actual cream. Give it a try!
Deena Kakaya says
I read that a businessman invented the clock changing system, tut tut. Unfortunately I had an all day revision course to teach on the Sunday that the clocks changed but I am totally with you on the comfort thing! I have to say, I really, really like the look of these eggs and would be delightful if someone cooked this creamy dreamy dish up for me on a Sunday morning so that I could curl up and tuck in. Fabulous touch with the ricotta x
Katie Trant says
Of course it was a businessman! The great thing about this dish is you could prep it on Saturday night, then just crack the eggs in and place it in the oven on Sunday morning. Perfect for a cozy morning lie-in!
kellie@foodtoglow says
I am with you on the cozy thing. Embrace the low light/no light and start lighting loads of candles. Check. As a Florida ex-pat living in Scotland I ALWAYS get caught out by the time change thing though. Today - admittedly a low-cloud but weirdly warm day - it felt like the light was waning from 2.30! Your cozy candles and spinach and ricotta-coddled eggs sound so good. A perfect quick supper for one or more. With lots of wholegrain buttered toast for extra coziness. 🙂
Katie Trant says
Moving from wet and rainy Vancouver to cold and dark Stockholm was a shock to my system, so Florida to Scotland must have been a real trip for you! On those low-cloud days here in November and December it can feel like we don't get any daylight at all. Hoping for lots of snow this winter as it really brightens things up! And yes, lots and lots of buttery toast is the key here. Yum!
Sam @ PancakeWarriors says
Oh day light savings is so early there! I am known to stroll out of bed like that on daylight savings as well! These baked eggs look amazing - love the ricotta and spinach. I have some kale that would be beautiful in this dish, maybe add a little garlic or pesto! Thanks for sharing!
Katie Trant says
It is early, but it's made a huge difference in the mornings... which will last for a couple of weeks and then soon we'll have just a couple of hours of daylight on a good day. The only thing to do is embrace the darkness! Kale would be great in this dish, and PESTO is a fantastic idea! I just happen to have a batch of kale pesto in the freezer, so next time I do baked eggs I'm going to stir in a spoonful. Yum!
Jennifer says
Our clocks will be 'falling back' this coming weekend, but already I'm noticing the darkness creeping in on our days. Thanks for the reminder to stock up on tealights....and for the cozy recipe 🙂
Katie Trant says
Definitely stock up on tealights! It's the only way to get through winter here in Stockholm where it gets dark so, so early!