Veggie Omelet Recipe

It's summer, and many of us have gardens overflowing with fresh vegetables. I'm always so hopeful and motivated in May, but come July I find myself completely overwhelmed by the amount of produce slowly being eaten by the backyard rabbits. Should I can it? No, I don't even know what that means. Give it away? Sure, but there's still a lot of basil to be eaten. One of the easiest and most delicious ways I've found to use up my fresh veggies is to throw them in a pan with eggs and cheese. An omelet is a quick and impossible-to-mess-up way to enjoy fresh vegetables all summer long.

This omelet gets a serious flavor kick with sun-dried tomatoes and creamy goat cheese. Adding the fresh basil on top brings all the flavors together and takes this recipe up to restaurant-quality. You could serve this omelet on its own for breakfast, or make it a complete dinner with some fruit and roasted potatoes on the side. The best part? The entire recipe takes about 15 minutes!

Start by gathering your ingredients together. The omelet will cook up fast, so you want to have all the ingredients ready to go to avoid burning the eggs while frantically chopping a forgotten vegetable. For this omelet, we're using spinach, mushrooms, onion, and sun-dried tomato. Need more details? You'll find the full ingredients list and step-by-step instructions at the end of this article. 

If you're not a fan of one of these ingredients, feel free to substitute. Instead of spinach, you could use any other green, like kale. The mushrooms give the omelet a nice texture and help fill you up, but could be left out if they make you squirm. This recipe calls for about one-quarter of a purple onion, but feel free to add more if you love the flavor. 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and find an oven-safe pan.

Start by dicing the onion and mushrooms — you'll want about 1/4 cup of each. You could add more if you like, but the omelet is going to be pretty full already. Try to avoid so many ingredients that you're not able to close the omelet when you cook it.

Then tear up the spinach leaves into big chunks. If you're pressed for time, you could skip this step. I like keeping the veggies small so I get a little bit of everything in each bite.

Next, take out your jar of sun-dried tomatoes and drain the oil. Measure out 1/4 cup, and place them on your cutting board. Finely chop them to your desired size.

I much prefer the oil-packed tomatoes for this recipe, as opposed to the dried ones that come in a bag. The ones that come in a bag at the grocery store will feel too dry and not mesh with the other flavors. Go for the jar.

Now find a medium bowl and crack all four eggs into it. If you're an egg whites fan, try to resist the urge to toss the yolks. I've made this omelet with half egg whites, and it never holds together properly. A good, hearty omelet really needs the yolks to be sturdy enough to hold all the toppings. Then sprinkle in the salt and pepper.

Using a fork or whisk, start to whisk the eggs as you pour in the whole milk. You could also use half and half for a richer consistency. Skim milk could work in a pinch, but may be a little too watery for this omelet. Whisk until combined, then set aside.

Now that your ingredients are ready to go, it's time to cook. Brace yourself, because this process is going to be fast. Place your oven-safe pan over medium heat on the stove. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray and then add the tablespoon of butter. It's important to use both the spray and the butter to make the omelet easy to flip. We've all been there where we've prepared a gorgeous-looking omelet, only to see it fall apart when you try to flip it. You try to play it off as an egg scramble instead, but deep down you know the truth.

Once the butter is melted, add the diced onions and mushrooms. Cook them until the onion is fragrant and translucent, about four to five minutes. Gently swirl the veggies around to make sure they are all coated in that glorious butter. 

Once the mushrooms and onions are tender, add the fresh spinach and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan. Gently toss them together until coated. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about one to two minutes. 

Once the vegetables are cooked and smelling amazing, remove the pan from the heat and scrape the vegetables onto the cutting board or another dish. They'll sit for a minute or two while you cook the eggs. Don't worry about wiping the pan clean. Return the empty pan to the heat and spray again with nonstick cooking spray.

Once the pan is hot again, slowly pour in the egg mixture, making sure it coats the entire pan. The heat should be no higher than a medium setting. Eggs cook up nice and fluffy on lower heat. If the pan is too hot, the bottom of the omelet could burn quickly. 

Cook the eggs until the bottom of the omelet is set, just one to two minutes. The top of the eggs should still be liquid and runny. As soon as the bottom is set, remove the pan from the heat and turn off the burner. 

Spoon the cooked vegetables back into the pan over the eggs. Place in a single row down the middle of the omelet, making sure it's even. We'll be folding both sides of the omelet over like a burrito, so you want to make sure the veggies are in a tight line in the middle. This will make it easier to flip the sides over.

If you prefer to just flip the omelet in half, you could place the cooked veggies over half of the eggs.

Now it's time to give this omelet a serious flavor kick. With your fingers, break off pieces from half of the goat cheese, about 1 ounce. Place it over the vegetables, reserving the rest of the cheese for topping. Place the oven-safe pan into the preheated oven and cook until the top of the eggs are set, about one to two minutes. As soon as the top is set and no longer runny, remove the pan from the oven and turn off the oven.

Once the eggs have come out of the oven, very gently start to loosen the omelet from the pan with a rubber spatula. Moving around the omelet, start lifting up the sides with the spatula. Once it feels loose, gently flip one side over and hold for a second or two until it stays. Repeat with the other side. 

Place your serving plate in front of the pan, and ever so carefully, slice the omelet onto the plate. Use your spatula to guide it and loosen any pieces still stuck to the pan. Once the omelet has arrived safely at its destination, sprinkle the remaining cheese and fresh basil over it. Cut in half and serve with fruit and roasted potatoes. Enjoy!