I came across this recipe on Pinterest and just thought that it was the cutest thing with the eggs so perfectly nested in little baskets of squash. Although it looks fairly complex, it’s actually quite a simple recipe with few ingredients and is an excellent low carb, high protein breakfast option. It’s also quite a versatile recipe since it’s paleo, gluten free, vegetarian, dairy free and nut free.
Despite thinking it was probably too good to be true, I decided to give the recipe a shot and was pleasantly surprised with the results. That being said, it is a little time consuming and makes several servings so I highly recommend cooking and seasoning the squash beforehand and then just preparing and baking as many egg baskets as you’ll eat in one sitting, rather than making 16 at a time like I did the first time making this recipe.
Prep Time: 10 minutes for the squash and then 25 minutes for the baskets/eggs.
Cook Time: 40 minutes to cook the squash and then 11 minutes to cook the eggs.
Total Time: About an hour and a half
Servings: 16 egg baskets
Photo by Mulin Xiong
Ingredients:
1 large spaghetti squash, about 2 lbs
3 garlic cloves
16 medium eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350º F.
2. Chop the spaghetti squash in half with the biggest knife you can find. Depending on the size of the squash this can require a lot of muscle power.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
3. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon or your fingers. I kind of like using my hands because it’s squishy and feels fun.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
4. Put the squash halves rind side up on a large baking sheet.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on the size of your squash.
6. In the meantime finely chop or press the garlic cloves and grease your two muffin tins.
7. Remove the squash from the oven and begin to fork out the “spaghetti” strands onto a plate.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
8. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper to the cooked squash and mix it up so the spice is distributed evenly. It’s a good idea to try it at this point to make sure the seasoning is on point.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
9. Spoon a couple of ounces of cooked squash mixture into each muffin cup.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
10. Press the squash down into the muffin cups, making a little nest-like lining. Make sure there is a good amount of squash in there. No metal should be visible.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
11. Crack an egg into each squash nest.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
12. Put the eggs and squash in the oven and bake for approximately 11 minutes, longer if your prefer a harder yolk.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
13. Remove the muffin tins from the oven and season the tops of the eggs with a little salt and pepper.
Photo by Mulin Xiong
14. After letting the eggs cool for a minute or two, run a thin knife around the edges of each egg basket and gently remove them from the tin.
Photo by Mulin Xiong