Weeknight dinners
Eggs for dinner
Eggs for dinner are a frittata, a rice skillet, or eggs on beans. Add a vegetable so it is not only breakfast relocated.
Weeknights · 4 min read · Updated 2026-10-16
In the portions written below, protein is about 26–32 g, calories about 290–520, and sodium about 280–360 mg. Those are rounded kitchen estimates before extra cheese, bread, or a heavy pour of sauce.
One egg and toast is a snack. Use two or three, or add whites, if you want it to hold you.
How to run it
- Start with herb egg salad. Plan on about 15 minutes. Cover the eggs with water, bring to a boil, then cover and sit 10 minutes off the heat. Cool them in cold water.
- Next, spinach and pepper frittata. Cottage cheese is the sodium in this pan. Skip it and add two extra eggs if a clinician has you on a tight sodium limit, and expect a little less protein.
- Keep egg and edamame rice skillet for the meal that needs to feel different. Best the day you cook it. Fridge overnight is fine; freeze only if you must, and expect drier eggs.
- Cool anything you will not eat right away within two hours. For egg and edamame rice skillet: Best the day you cook it. Fridge overnight is fine; freeze only if you must, and expect drier eggs.
Cook these
Herb egg salad
15 min · serves 1
- Protein
- 26 g
- Sodium
- 280 mg
- Calories
- 310
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Three eggs is a real lunch. One egg on a giant pile of lettuce is a snack wearing a costume.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- dill or chives
- black pepper
- soft bread or a baked potato, optional
Method
- Cover the eggs with water, bring to a boil, then cover and sit 10 minutes off the heat. Cool them in cold water.
- Chop and stir with yogurt, mustard, herbs, and pepper. Mayo is the saltier habit; yogurt keeps it in a lower range.
- Eat it on soft bread, a potato, or from a bowl with a spoon.
Fridge 2 days. Do not freeze egg salad.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety.
Also used in A grocery list sorted by aisle, A leftovers plan for single cooks, Bean and grain bowls.
Spinach and pepper frittata
30 min · serves 4
- Protein
- 26 g
- Sodium
- 280 mg
- Calories
- 290
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Cottage cheese is the sodium in this pan. Skip it and add two extra eggs if a clinician has you on a tight sodium limit, and expect a little less protein.
Ingredients
- 10 eggs
- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 4 cups spinach
- 1 bell pepper, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- black pepper
Method
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Soften the pepper and onion in the oil in an oven-safe skillet.
- Stir in the spinach until it wilts. Pour in the eggs beaten with the cottage cheese and black pepper.
- Bake 15–18 minutes, until the center is just set and reaches 165°F. Rest 5 minutes. Cut into 4.
Fridge 4 days. A wedge freezes, but the texture is better from the fridge. If you serve it hot, reheat to 165°F with a food thermometer.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety.
Also used in A meal prep day checklist, Cooking for two, High-protein meal prep for shift work.
Egg and edamame rice skillet
15 min · serves 1
- Protein
- 32 g
- Sodium
- 360 mg
- Calories
- 520
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Cold leftover rice stir-fries better than fresh rice, and it is a good reason to make extra rice earlier in the week.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup cooked rice, cold if you have it
- 1/2 cup shelled edamame
- 1 scallion
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
- black pepper
Method
- Scramble the eggs in the oil until just set. Move them to a plate.
- Warm the rice and edamame in the same pan. Add the soy sauce.
- Return the eggs, toss once, and finish with scallion.
Best the day you cook it. Fridge overnight is fine; freeze only if you must, and expect drier eggs.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety.
Chill cooked rice promptly. Vomiting-type Bacillus cereus illness is generally tied to rice and other starchy foods, and that emetic toxin can survive heat that kills the bacteria. FDA Bad Bug Book: Bacillus cereus.
Also used in Cooking for one, Cooking for one on a budget, Cooking for one without waste.
Details that matter
- Repeat a winner next week. Novelty is optional on a Wednesday.
- Decide dinner before you are hungry. The plan can be four words on a card.
- Start with the thing that takes longest: rice, potatoes, or the oven preheat.
Easy mistakes
Forgetting to thaw
Move tomorrow's protein to the fridge tonight, or choose a meal that cooks from frozen on purpose, like the burritos.
Cooking a different meal for every eater
One base, different add-ons: more rice for the hungry person, sauce on the side, a milder portion for a child.
Grocery starter
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- dill or chives
- black pepper
- soft bread or a baked potato, optional
- 10 eggs
- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 4 cups spinach
- 1 bell pepper, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Questions
How should I store herb egg salad?
Fridge 2 days. Do not freeze egg salad.
How much protein is in a serving?
Herb egg salad is about 26 g; Spinach and pepper frittata is about 26 g; Egg and edamame rice skillet is about 32 g. These are kitchen estimates, not a lab analysis.
What is the easy mistake here?
One egg and toast is a snack. Use two or three, or add whites, if you want it to hold you.